October 22, 2021

“Shocking news!” says the title of a nearly 13-minute video on Facebook. “Mass media destroyed! Blackout for mass arrests event!”

But the video offers no evidence of the aforementioned shocking news. A woman can be heard reading what she calls a “report” as photos of cities and people are shown. She discusses shipping disruptions and the rising costs of goods, but also Satanists and “the cabal,” which feature prominently in the QAnon conspiracy theory.

“Between now and Thursday, Nov. 11,” she says at one point, “expect a market crash, blackouts, revelations, a military takeover, lockdowns, and mass arrests.”

About 10 minutes into the video, she says: “Monday, Oct. 4, mass media satellites destroyed, world switched over to the Starlink satellite system that would eventually support a new internet. I’m wondering if that means the mass media is now completely controlled by the White House.”

Later she claims that Oct. 15 saw “Canada’s mainstream media arrested” with “the mass media across the globe to soon follow.”

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

A quick visit to the websites of news organizations like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press show that they are all up and running with current, new articles and broadcasts.

We found nothing to support the claim in the video title or the speculation in the actual video. There’s also no evidence that there were media arrests in Canada.

We rate this post Pants on Fire!

This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. It is republished here with permission. See the sources for this fact check here and more of their fact checks here.

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Ciara O'Rourke is a contributing writer for PolitiFact. Previously, Ciara covered local government and public safety for the Austin American-Statesman and fact-checked elected officials and…
Ciara O'Rourke

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