rae deng
@raesdeng.bsky.social
fact-checking for snopes, (short) previous life as statehouse reporter covering legislatures in washington, minnesota and ohio (in that order) | they/she
absolutely horrendous that in our current online environment false claims like this one about alex pretti — the result of ai-generated slop on a half-formed wordpress blog — can spread so quickly. for @snopes.com:
www.snopes.com/fact-check/a...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/a...
Was Alex Pretti fired from nursing job for misconduct? Here's the truth
After Pretti was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents, his family and friends said he became the target of a smear campaign.
www.snopes.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:36 AM
absolutely horrendous that in our current online environment false claims like this one about alex pretti — the result of ai-generated slop on a half-formed wordpress blog — can spread so quickly. for @snopes.com:
www.snopes.com/fact-check/a...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/a...
Reposted by rae deng
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:35 PM
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Reposted by rae deng
Becca Good, the wife of Renee Good, has released her first public statement since the shooting
“We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day.”
“We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day.”
Renee Macklin Good’s wife says she nurtured kindness
On Wednesday, Renee Macklin Good was fatally shot by a federal ICE agent. Becca Good, her wife, shared the following statement with MPR News.
www.mprnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Becca Good, the wife of Renee Good, has released her first public statement since the shooting
“We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day.”
“We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day.”
Have Santa's bones been leaking liquid for 1,700 years?
God rest ye leaky gentleman.
www.snopes.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:23 PM
a writer's dream is to one day publish a story that allows them to use as many different descriptors of "drunken raccoon rampage" as possible
www.snopes.com/fact-check/d...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/d...
Fake raccoon liquor store break-in video spreads online. Watch the real footage
Real pictures and videos exist of this trash panda getting sloppy — don't fall for the AI-slop version.
www.snopes.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:10 PM
a writer's dream is to one day publish a story that allows them to use as many different descriptors of "drunken raccoon rampage" as possible
www.snopes.com/fact-check/d...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/d...
used my very expensive journalism degree to prove that democrats aren't shutting the government down to stand in solidarity with "haitian male prostitutes." literally made a data visualization of state dept data on an hiv/aids treatment program for this
www.snopes.com/fact-check/g...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/g...
Democrats don't want $3.6M for 'Haitian male prostitutes' to reopen government
The rumor, popularized by Sen. John Kennedy, appeared to be connected to an HIV/AIDS prevention program started under U.S. President George W. Bush.
www.snopes.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
used my very expensive journalism degree to prove that democrats aren't shutting the government down to stand in solidarity with "haitian male prostitutes." literally made a data visualization of state dept data on an hiv/aids treatment program for this
www.snopes.com/fact-check/g...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/g...
some in the american left like to lionize pope leo — and in this case, spread a claim that he's replacing NY's pro-charlie kirk archbishop with a 'pro-immigration, anti-gun bishop.' the thing is, most bishops are pro-immigration and anti-gun...bc they're catholic.
www.snopes.com/fact-check/p...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/p...
Contextualizing claim Pope Leo XIV is replacing Cardinal Dolan, who compared Charlie Kirk to saint
Here's what's true — and what's false — about rumors that Leo is replacing New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who called Kirk a "modern-day St. Paul."
www.snopes.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:04 PM
some in the american left like to lionize pope leo — and in this case, spread a claim that he's replacing NY's pro-charlie kirk archbishop with a 'pro-immigration, anti-gun bishop.' the thing is, most bishops are pro-immigration and anti-gun...bc they're catholic.
www.snopes.com/fact-check/p...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/p...
Reposted by rae deng
A dark day for Northwest journalism: @cascadepbs.bsky.social is axing the @cascadepbsnewsroom.bsky.social, laying off 17 people, per internal memo obtained by @kuow.org.
Cascade PBS got ~10% of its budget from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Unclear why its whole newsroom had to be axed.
Cascade PBS got ~10% of its budget from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Unclear why its whole newsroom had to be axed.
September 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
A dark day for Northwest journalism: @cascadepbs.bsky.social is axing the @cascadepbsnewsroom.bsky.social, laying off 17 people, per internal memo obtained by @kuow.org.
Cascade PBS got ~10% of its budget from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Unclear why its whole newsroom had to be axed.
Cascade PBS got ~10% of its budget from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Unclear why its whole newsroom had to be axed.
Reposted by rae deng
Devastating news for local journalism.
Seattle's Cascade PBS announces layoffs, end of online long-form journalism
The move, attributed to the loss of federal funding for public media, marks the layoffs of 17 staffers and the creation of three new positions, station President and CEO Rob Dunlop told KUOW.
www.kuow.org
September 22, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Devastating news for local journalism.
got to do a lil dive into americana with this one. fun fact: you don't need to ai generate images of black cowgirls in the old west because they already exist!!
www.snopes.com/fact-check/b...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/b...
Black cowgirls are a real part of American history. This image isn't
Authentic photos of real Black cowgirls are rare, but they exist.
www.snopes.com
August 12, 2025 at 9:17 PM
got to do a lil dive into americana with this one. fun fact: you don't need to ai generate images of black cowgirls in the old west because they already exist!!
www.snopes.com/fact-check/b...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/b...
Reposted by rae deng
I'll be on a panel "identifying anti-trans and anti-queer bias" at @aajaofficial.bsky.social this year with these amazing journalists @gracesdeng.bsky.social, @shaanthx.bsky.social, and Hannah Chinn.
Don't miss it! Saturday, 9 am at the Redwood. See you there. 😤
Don't miss it! Saturday, 9 am at the Redwood. See you there. 😤
July 29, 2025 at 3:30 AM
I'll be on a panel "identifying anti-trans and anti-queer bias" at @aajaofficial.bsky.social this year with these amazing journalists @gracesdeng.bsky.social, @shaanthx.bsky.social, and Hannah Chinn.
Don't miss it! Saturday, 9 am at the Redwood. See you there. 😤
Don't miss it! Saturday, 9 am at the Redwood. See you there. 😤
Also, as of today my email is now rae@snopes.com -- if your son is interested please have him email me there! Thanks
July 8, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Also, as of today my email is now rae@snopes.com -- if your son is interested please have him email me there! Thanks
Thanks Tom! (I'm guessing the middle part of your reply here about places is an accidental voice-to-text? Am I missing anything there?)
July 8, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Thanks Tom! (I'm guessing the middle part of your reply here about places is an accidental voice-to-text? Am I missing anything there?)
Hi Tom, I'm a fact-checker with Snopes.com. Would you mind confirming that your son, Michael Rocchio, spoke with the Houston Chronicle and that the photo was taken at about 6 p.m. Athens time? I'm also at grace@snopes.com if your son is willing to chat. Thank you!
July 8, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Hi Tom, I'm a fact-checker with Snopes.com. Would you mind confirming that your son, Michael Rocchio, spoke with the Houston Chronicle and that the photo was taken at about 6 p.m. Athens time? I'm also at grace@snopes.com if your son is willing to chat. Thank you!
my attempt for @snopes.com to break down the extremely wonky trump admin provision(s) that, in short, will likely make care more expensive and less accessible for trans people on private insurance.
www.snopes.com/news/2025/07...
www.snopes.com/news/2025/07...
How Trump admin's policies may affect gender-affirming care for patients on private insurance
A federal health agency already passed a rule that could make care more expensive for trans people, but the Big, Beautiful Bill seeks to enshrine it.
www.snopes.com
July 1, 2025 at 4:28 PM
my attempt for @snopes.com to break down the extremely wonky trump admin provision(s) that, in short, will likely make care more expensive and less accessible for trans people on private insurance.
www.snopes.com/news/2025/07...
www.snopes.com/news/2025/07...
Reposted by rae deng
Fact-checkers always want the facts. That’s why Snopes is unionizing for transparency from management. @snopes.com
June 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Fact-checkers always want the facts. That’s why Snopes is unionizing for transparency from management. @snopes.com
Reposted by rae deng
June 9, 2025 at 2:28 AM
amid all the discourse on whether or not the pope is woke: i found out in the course of writing this story that the vatican literally helped invent the term "gender ideology" in the 1980s-90s as essentially a catch-all for "politics the catholic church is against"
www.snopes.com/news/2025/05...
www.snopes.com/news/2025/05...
Breaking down rumor Pope Leo XIV once said 'gender ideology' creates 'genders that don't exist'
The American-born pontiff allegedly said this in 2016 in response to a proposed education curriculum promoting gender equality in Peru.
www.snopes.com
May 13, 2025 at 9:08 PM
amid all the discourse on whether or not the pope is woke: i found out in the course of writing this story that the vatican literally helped invent the term "gender ideology" in the 1980s-90s as essentially a catch-all for "politics the catholic church is against"
www.snopes.com/news/2025/05...
www.snopes.com/news/2025/05...
og stat news story here: www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/n...
NIH cancels participation in Safe to Sleep campaign that decreased infant deaths
NIH has cancelled its participation in Safe to Sleep, a 30-year campaign to prevent babies from dying in their sleep
www.statnews.com
May 7, 2025 at 8:11 PM
og stat news story here: www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/n...
for @snopes.com: amid a @statnews.com report that trump admin is pulling out of the 30-yr long 'safe to sleep' campaign which reduced SIDS, the american academy of pediatrics says they'll keep the program going alongside partners — but it won't have the same capacity. www.snopes.com/news/2025/05...
Former NIH official says Trump admin cut government's 'Safe to Sleep' team that helped reduce infant deaths
The National Institutes of Health said no final decisions had been made about the program's future.
www.snopes.com
May 7, 2025 at 8:11 PM
for @snopes.com: amid a @statnews.com report that trump admin is pulling out of the 30-yr long 'safe to sleep' campaign which reduced SIDS, the american academy of pediatrics says they'll keep the program going alongside partners — but it won't have the same capacity. www.snopes.com/news/2025/05...
when i said 'schools should teach students how to engage with and study misinformation' this is not what i meant, oklahoma!!
www.snopes.com/fact-check/o...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/o...
Oklahoma will teach high school students debunked 2020 election-fraud theories as fact
The new academic standards promote U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies' groundless 2020 election conspiracy theories.
www.snopes.com
May 6, 2025 at 1:26 PM
when i said 'schools should teach students how to engage with and study misinformation' this is not what i meant, oklahoma!!
www.snopes.com/fact-check/o...
www.snopes.com/fact-check/o...
great reporting from @hashtagjames.bsky.social for @objectivejournos.bsky.social
objectivejournalism.org/2025/04/whit...
objectivejournalism.org/2025/04/whit...
White House says no comment to reporters with pronouns in bio, in email to one such reporter
Limiting press access through this policy is at the intersection of the administration's anti-press attitudes and transphobia.
objectivejournalism.org
April 25, 2025 at 11:14 PM
great reporting from @hashtagjames.bsky.social for @objectivejournos.bsky.social
objectivejournalism.org/2025/04/whit...
objectivejournalism.org/2025/04/whit...
that's a good idea! the signature on the back wasn't super readable otherwise i prob would've tried to find the guy myself
April 25, 2025 at 4:29 PM
that's a good idea! the signature on the back wasn't super readable otherwise i prob would've tried to find the guy myself