A look at what didn’t happen last week

Associated Press

A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out; here are the real facts:

NOT REAL: Trump Jr.: “My Russian meetings prove i’m a real American that knows how to create opportunities and fake advantages”

THE FACTS: Hoax site politicot.com published a lengthy defense attributed to Donald Trump Jr. of his meeting with a Russian lawyer last summer during the campaign against Hillary Clinton, featuring a screen grab of the president’s son speaking on Fox News. Trump never made the remarks, with quotes such as “our people value results above all else” and “the end justifies the means,” in public statements.

NOT REAL: Rapper Lil’ Wayne makes a shocking announcement. He is left with just a month to live.

THE FACTS: The story from huntingforusa.com claims Lil’ Wayne had a news conference in Atlanta to announce that he has stage 4 skin cancer brought on by his numerous tattoos. Wayne never had such a news conference, and it appears the hoax has been circulating online for more than a year. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, doctors have never found an increased prevalence of skin cancer in people with tattoos.

NOT REAL: Nancy Pelosi taken from her home by DEA after her own daughters sold her out

THE FACTS: A series of stories from several sites claim House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is embroiled in a drug scandal after daughters were caught with cocaine in Berkeley, Calif., or the Mexican border. The names of the daughters in the stories vary, but none of them are the names of Pelosi’s actual daughters, Christine, Alexandra, Jacqueline and Nancy. A search of the federal court system reveals no pending drug cases against anyone named Pelosi.

NOT REAL: Body of homeless man turns out to be the legendary Elvis Presley.

THE FACTS: This story from Now8News, an admitted hoax site, resurrects an old claim by Elvis conspiracy theorists that the King didn’t actually die and instead entered the “witness protection program.”

The theory was the basis for a now-shuttered facility in Missouri called The Elvis Is Alive Museum. Elvis Presley was buried at Graceland, his Memphis, Tenn., home after his death in 1977.