copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2023-07-28): Out-of-context screenshots were making the rounds on Facebook in early July 2023 asserting the false claim that Olympic athletes had mobilized against Lia Thomas, a highly decorated swimmer who is a transgender woman. [...] "A spokesman for the US Olympic committee responded to our request for comment, noting that they had no idea why the women's volleyball team, the squad in the article's feature image, would care if Lia Thomas got a tryout," the article said. [...] Comments from The Dunning-Kruger Times' Facebook Page on Lia Thomas story. (Screenshot by Snopes. )
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-06-13): Did the U.S. Olympic Committee say that American swimmer Lia Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA swimming championship Division I title, is "welcome to try out for the men's team," as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: The spoof article that made the claim was published by SpaceX Arena, a satirical website. SpaceX Arena's About Us page describes the website as "a platform for fun and comedy" and not a "reliable source of information." [...] US Olympic Committee: Lia Thomas can try out for the men's team. Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete celebrated for her record-breaking performances in NCAA swimming, recently stirred controversy by petitioning to join the US Women's National Team. However, the US Olympic Committee swiftly responded, indicating that such an option wasn't feasible, suggesting she try out for the men's team instead.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-07-29): In May 2024, claims spread across X that U.S. women's Olympians had threatened to quit over former NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas trying out for a spot on the team. Thomas, a transgender woman, become the first known trans athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport in March 2022. "The US Women's team has made it clear that they will resign immediately if the Olympic Committee allows Lia Thomas to try out," one post on the social platform claimed. [...] US Women's Team Says They'll All Quit If Lia Thomas Gets a Tryout: "We Don't Need a Ringer"
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-04-30): U.S. swim team didn’t threaten to quit over Lia Thomas [...] Among them, circulating on a Facebook post: "The US Women’s team has made it clear they will resign immediately if the Olympic Committee allows Lia Thomas to try out." [...] Rather, this post seems to be a variation of an old fake news story posted on a satire site. The headline said: "US Women’s team says they’ll quit if Lia Thomas gets a tryout: ‘We don’t need a ringer.’"
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-06-25): FACT CHECK: Did The Men’s Swim Team Refuse To Compete With Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas? A post shared on social media purports that the men’s swim team has refused to compete with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. [...] The caption reads, "Breaking: Men’s Swimming Team Refuses To Compete Against Lia Thomas, Says ‘He’s A Cheat’"
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2022-06-01): Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas reveals her Olympic dream as US trials for Paris draw closer Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas said she intends to keep competing, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Olympics. [...] After high school, Thomas earned a spot on the men's swimming team at Penn. But by her sophomore year, she struggled with deep depression and suicidal thoughts.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-05-12): Story about US Olympic committee inviting Lia Thomas to try out for men’s team is fake [...] "U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team," reads text in an image labeled "news" that’s being shared on social media. [...] The post included a link in the comments that led to a website called "Freshstoryes." A May 11 post’s headline there said, "US Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out — for the men’s team."
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-07-29): On Oct. 29, 2023, SpaceXMania published an article claiming that competitive swimmer Lia Thomas begged for a tryout for the 2024 Olympic Committee after the organization had issued her a lifetime ban. Thomas became the center of arguments about transgender participation in sports when she became the first openly trans athlete to win a Division 1 national championship in 2022. The article began: Breaking: Lia Thomas Begs for a 2024 Olympic Tryout Following Lifetime Ban by Committee [...] Snopes has fact-checked other claims about Lia Thomas, most recently one claiming that she had decided to compete on a men's team because of the criticism she had faced. That claim was also false and originated from SpaceXMania.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2022-03-23): The policy of the USAU, and many other governing bodies at all levels of sports, is downstream of that of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC most recently updated its inclusion policies in 2015, and its focus on testosterone levels has trickled down to even youth sports in the United States. The IOC rolled out a new framework in March ’22 to encourage moving away from testosterone-based restrictions, but its former policy has already been used as a model for so many other leagues—with devastating consequences for trans athletes. [...] The IOC’s drastic shift is a massive step forward in terms of what true inclusion for trans athletes at elite levels of sport can look like. But is the new framework too little, too late to fix the negative impact the IOC’s previous guidance has had on sports? And is this framework, which has no mechanism for enforcement, doing enough to change the existing narrative around whether—and how—trans athletes should get to play sports? [...] These modifications came down midseason, which some people interpreted to be in response to pushback regarding Penn swimmer Lia Thomas. An NCAA committee decided against imposing the new restrictions immediately—however, it said that Thomas (or any trans woman) must have testosterone levels below 10 nmol/L. And the testosterone-based arguments are continuing to be used for exclusionary purposes. In an op-ed for The Washington Post in which she argues that Thomas should not be able to swim against women, former swimmer Diana Nyad cites the fact that "sports authorities have for decades judged fairness by testing testosterone in both men and women."
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2023-09-01): Post claiming IOC banned transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for life is satire | Fact check [...] "International Olympic Committee Issues Lifetime Ban For Lia Thomas," reads text in the photo. [...] A previous satirical story on the site claimed the U.S. national women’s volleyball team threatened to quit if Thomas had been allowed to try out.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-06-13): Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas will not be allowed to compete in the Olympics (AP) - Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas failed in her challenge against rules that stop her from competing in elite women’s races because judges ruled she did not have standing to bring the case. [...] Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) president/CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement that Thomas deserves a chance to participate in her sport like all human beings who work hard and follow their dream. [...] The world swim body argued to CAS that Thomas was not a member of its member federation USA Swimming when the legal case was started. She also had not competed in female events "for the purpose of qualification or selection" for World Aquatics competitions, such as the Olympics or world championships.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2022-03-17): Lia Thomas has been swimming since she was five years old. As a high schooler, she was one of the top swimmers in Texas, an All-American. She followed her older brother onto the men’s team at the University of Pennsylvania, and established herself as a strong competitor in distance races; in her sophomore season, at the Ivy League championships, she finished second in three events. Out of the pool, though, she was struggling. Her body, with its solid pectorals and compact, muscled hips, characteristic traits of a male athlete, didn’t align with her sense of who she was, she later told the podcast SwimSwam, in one of the two interviews she has given this season. She read the personal stories of trans women online, and was paired with a trans mentor through a group at Penn. She saw her own feelings reflected in their stories, she recently told Sports Illustrated. In the summer of 2018, after her freshman season, she realized that she was a woman, not a man.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2022-02-03): Thomas, a transgender woman who swims for the Quakers women’s team, competed for the Penn men’s team for three seasons. After undergoing more than two years of hormone replacement therapy as part of her transition, she has posted the fastest times of any female college swimmer in two events this season. The letter from Thomas’s teammates raised the question of fairness and said she was taking "competitive opportunities" away from them — namely spots in the Ivy League championship meet, where schools can only send about half of their rosters to compete. "We fully support Lia Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity and to transition from a man to a woman. Lia has every right to live her life authentically," the letter read. "However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someone’s gender identity. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women’s category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female. If she were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Women’s Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete."
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-06-13): The US swimmer Lia Thomas, who rose to global prominence after becoming the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA college title in March 2022, has lost a legal case against World Aquatics at the court of arbitration for sport – and with it any hopes of making next month’s Paris Olympics. [...] Thomas had argued that those rules should be declared "invalid and unlawful" as they were contrary to the Olympic charter and the World Aquatics constitution. [...] In a scientific document that informed its decision, it said swimmers such as Thomas retained significant physical advantages – in endurance, power, speed, strength and lung size – from undergoing male puberty, even after reducing their testosterone levels through medication.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-01-27): Trans-identifying swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male who competed on UPenn’s women’s swimming team, has mounted a legal challenge in hopes of reversing regulations placed on men competing in women’s swimming with his eyes set on the Olympics, according to a report from The Telegraph. [...] World Aquatics later said it would add an "open category" allowing trans-identifying swimmers, such as Thomas, to still compete. Only a month before the World Aquatics instituted its new rules regarding trans-identifying swimmers, Thomas told "Good Morning America" that he was hoping to try out for the U.S. Olympic team. [...] Weeks before Thomas took home a Division 1 swimming title, USA Swimming passed new regulations on trans-identifying men competing in women’s swimming that critics said didn’t go far enough. The regulations passed by USA Swimming simply set up regular monitoring of testosterone levels instead of implementing any sort of outright ban on men swimming against women.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-06-13): Swimmer Lia Thomas' case against World Aquatics transgender athlete rules dismissed Lia Thomas' attempt to challenge World Aquatics' policy for transgender athletes has been dismissed. Thomas, a transgender woman, argued the ruling was discriminatory and took legal action against it earlier this year, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled this week she is not entitled to challenge the rules. [...] Thomas previously swam on the men's team and followed NCAA and Ivy League rules when she began transitioning in 2019. Thomas said during a podcast interview that her coach, Mike Schnur, and team were "unbelievably supportive since the beginning." Both the university and the Ivy League also released statements supporting Thomas.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2022-07-13): Female athletes compete at every level, including the Olympic and professional levels. Women even compete in professional boxing and mixed martial arts. But they, as do the males, compete against each other — not against the opposite sex, except at the very earliest ages. [...] In March a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who prefers to be called Lia Thomas won a NCAA swimming contest and was hailed as the first transgender athlete to win a Division I championship in any sport. Thomas, by the way, swam for the men’s team at Penn for three years before taking the trophies away from the female athletes. This has to stop. It makes a mockery of Title IX. It is insulting and demeaning for the women who watch their sports being dominated by increasing numbers of biological males. If high schools, colleges, and the Olympic committee wish to introduce a new "transgender division," it couldn’t be any more bizarre that what is happening already and it would be preferable than seeing women’s sports destroyed.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2022-06-19): FINA votes to restrict transgender swimmers, including Lia Thomas, in elite women's events [...] The decision most immediately impacts Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender NCAA champion in Division I history when she won the women's 500-yard freestyle in March. Thomas competed on the Penn men's team before transitioning and competing as a woman for the first time in 2021-22. Thomas met NCAA standards for competition after undergoing testosterone suppression therapy for more than two years. She has said she wants to continue swimming after college and eyed the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-05-08): Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has been the subject of several false claims that have drawn the attention of social media users critical of the athlete’s participation in women’s sports. Among them, circulating on a Facebook post: "The US Women’s team has made it clear they will resign immediately if the Olympic Committee allows Lia Thomas to try out." [...] Rather, this post seems to be a variation of an old fake news story posted on a satire site. The headline said: "US Women’s team says they’ll quit if Lia Thomas gets a tryout: ‘We don’t need a ringer.’"
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-02-02): Lia Thomas’ legal battle to compete in the Olympics: the first trans athlete to win an NCAA title, the former UPenn swimmer faced backlash – but still advocates for the LGBT community - Thomas, formerly part of the University of Pennsylvania’s swim team, is trying to take World Aquatics to court over its rules change preventing her from competing in swimming as a transgender woman - She has courted the criticism of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, her former teammate Paula Scanlan, and parents of her Ivy League teammates issued a complaint letter picked up by the media [...] Lia Thomas’ fight to compete [...] Per the New Yorker, Thomas began swimming when she was five years old. Her talent was evident as she grew up, becoming one of the top swimmers in Texas. Her brother made it onto the men’s team at the University of Pennsylvania and she followed in his footsteps.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-01-26): Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is lawyering up, seeking to coerce the Olympic governing body for swimming — which operates in the dark, behind closed doors — to accept biological males competing against females. [...] The 24-year-old Thomas, formerly named Will Thomas, previously swam for the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team for three years. Thomas was decent, but far from outstanding in that male division.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2023-08-16): Scanlan: Well, growing up, I swam with boys, and I always knew that they were always faster than me. Didn’t matter who they were, always faster. I think part of this situation, the reason why the Lia situation blew up so much bigger is that Lia’s times as Will, so will Thomas on the men’s side, had faster times in all the female world records in all those events, which is very drastic. Not every male who competes is going to be at that level. And for me, I was worried genuinely because I didn’t know how much you’d slow down if you take these hormones. And it’s still unclear at best. And I was very worried that if Lia showed up and swam the exact same times Will did, obviously that didn’t quite happen, they would break world records. And that really opened my eyes to how dramatic it could be. Obviously, every instance of a male competing is not that dramatic. But to be clear, I’ve trained with boys my entire life growing up. I trained with boys in college as well. They’re always faster. They always are.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2023-08-28): Lia Thomas, the biological male who went swimming as a female and shattered every record in NCAA history, has officially petitioned the US Olympic Committee for a spot on the Women’s National Team. "That’s not an option," answered Committee Chair Joe Barron, "But you are welcome to try out for the men’s team." [...] Thomas plans to appeal the decision to the International Committee, which gives us the opportunity to cover this again with a slightly different headline.
Claim: “U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-13)
Evidence (2024-05-13): No, transphobes, Lia Thomas didn't cause the U.S. Swimming team to almost quit [...] A false Facebook post claiming the U.S. women's swimming team threatened to quit if trans athlete Lia Thomas was allowed to try out have been debunked.
Claim: “Dr. Sebi’s daughter was sentenced to 155 years in prison for revealing top secret health hacks.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-14)
Evidence (2024-05-14): We found no evidence to support this claim.
Claim: “Dr. Sebi’s daughter was sentenced to 155 years in prison for revealing top secret health hacks.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-14)
Evidence (2023-05-19): Alfredo "Dr. Sebi" Bowman died in 2016 after contracting pneumonia while in jail in Honduras. In 2019, his family debunked claims about his death. [...] We rate the claim that Dr. Sebi was killed "for revealing the truth" about the health benefits of burdock plants False. [...] More by Gabrielle Settles ‘Dr. Sebi,’ promoter of controversial diets, died from pneumonia. He was not killed
Claim: “Dr. Sebi’s daughter was sentenced to 155 years in prison for revealing top secret health hacks.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-14)
Evidence (2024-05-07): Does a photograph show "Dr. Sebi's cousin" on trial, purportedly for "revealing... GATEKEPT health secrets," as a post on Facebook suggested? No, that's not true: Multiple AI detection tools found evidence that the image of the man in an orange prison jumpsuit was likely AI-generated. There are no credible news reports of Dr. Sebi's cousin being arrested, put on trial or sentenced to prison. The claim was made without providing names, dates, locations or other details by which to independently verify that such a trial occurred or that the person shown is related to the late Alfredo "Dr. Sebi" Bowman. A reverse image search for the photograph returns zero matches. Finally, the account that posted the image sells alternative health products and likely uses the photo as a marketing tool. [...] Dr. Sebi's cousin was just sentenced to 155 YEARS IN PRISON for revealing these GATEKEPT health secrets... 😣🙏 share before it's deleted... [...] A Google Lens search (archived here) of the image of the man revealed similar digitally manipulated photos of different men pictured in orange jumpsuits in courtrooms with superimposed text claiming these men are "Dr. Sebi's" sons who are also being "sentenced to 155 YEARS IN PRISON" for "revealing these GATEKEPT health secrets."
Claim: “Dr. Sebi’s daughter was sentenced to 155 years in prison for revealing top secret health hacks.” (Facebook posts, 2024-05-14)
Evidence (2016-08-06): Alfredo Darrington Bowman (26 November 1933 – 6 August 2016),[2] also known as Dr. Sebi (/seɪbiː/), was a Honduran self-proclaimed herbalist healer, who also practiced in the United States in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Bowman falsely claimed to cure all disease with herbs and a plant-based alkaline diet based on various pseudoscientific claims, and denied that HIV caused AIDS. He set up a treatment center in Honduras, then moved his practice to New York City and Los Angeles. Numerous entertainment and acting celebrities were among his clients, including Michael Jackson, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, and John Travolta.[6] [...] Rapper Kendrick Lamar references "Dr. Sebi" by name in the lyrics to the song "Worldwide Steppers" from his 2022 album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.[29] References - ^ a b c d e f Shah Be Allah (8 August 2016). "Dr. Sebi Dies In Police Custody In Honduras". The Source. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.