🧶 Folklore
⚠️ These are rumors, not facts.
Everything on this page is what people are saying, summarized by a language model, not what is true. A claim appearing here does not mean it's true, and many are false. Its genre, motif and cast (villain, victim, hero) describe the shape of the story as its tellers tell it, the way a folklorist classifies a legend: they are not truth claims, and they're the same whether people tell the story or argue against it. Where a fact-checker has examined a claim, the check is linked (🔎).
From 42,025 posts by 25,095 accounts in the 3 hours before 2026-10-04 14:38: 25 narratives told by at least 10 people each in their own words (34 more told by fewer aren't shown), and 11 copypasta (the same words, pasted).
How this works
Folklore travels as variants: one claim or story told by many unrelated people, each in their own words. Copypasta and coordinated posting travel as the same words. So posts saying the same thing in different words are grouped together (by meaning, with an embedding model), and each group is measured by how many different people posted it and how varied their wording is. Feeds, bots and accounts posting many times an hour are left out.
For each big group, our local language model reads a few versions and says what they share, whether it's retold or just a shared topic, its genre, its chapter of Thompson's Motif-Index (the folklorist's catalog of story elements), and who it casts as villain, victim and hero. When the posts share articles from outlets we follow, those articles are shown (an exact link to the story); otherwise a link to the day's news appears only when the model, choosing among the closest stories with "none" on offer, picks one. When a fact-checker (PolitiFact, Snopes, FactCheck.org, Lead Stories, Full Fact, NewsGuard, Science Feedback) has examined the same claim in the last 30 days, the check is linked (🔎), chosen the same way.
People's posts are never shown here, only the model's summary of what they share; accounts are never identified. Raw posts are kept 30 days for this research and never published.
What the labels mean
Genre
The kind of folklore the model thinks it is, from folklorists' categories:
- 🗣️ rumor: an unconfirmed claim passed along as news ("I heard that…")
- 🏙️ contemporary legend: a story told as true and recent, often about a friend of a friend (the folklorists' name for an "urban legend")
- 🕸️ conspiracy theory: a hidden group said to be secretly behind events
- 🔮 folk belief: something held as known without evidence, often about health, luck or how the world works
- 🔭 prophecy or prediction: what's going to happen
- ⚠️ cautionary tale: a story told as a warning
- 🩸 atrocity story: a story of shocking cruelty by the other side, told to show what they're like
- 🦊 trickster tale: a clever figure outwitting the powerful
- 🤡 joke formula or meme: a joke shape people refill with new content
- 📜 proverb or catchphrase: a stock saying or slogan repeated as wisdom
- 🙋 personal testimony: many people telling the same kind of experience as their own
- 📣 news report or shared reaction: many people passing on, or reacting to, the same news; not folklore in itself, kept for comparison
📚 Motif-Index
Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932–36, revised 1955–58) is the folklorists' standard catalog of the recurring elements in folktales, myths and legends from around the world, sorted into lettered chapters, A to Z. The model picks the chapter a narrative fits best. It's a rough way to see which old story shapes today's narratives reuse. Only chapters are shown: matching a narrative to one of the index's 46,000 specific motifs is still being tested, by hand, and isn't reliable enough to publish. Chapters on this page:
- J · The wise and the foolish: cleverness and stupidity, good and bad judgment
- K · Deceptions: tricks, disguises, frauds, hidden plots and false appearances
- M · Ordaining the future: oaths, bargains, curses and prophecies
- P · Society: rulers, classes, families, trades and customs
- S · Unnatural cruelty: cruel relatives, murders, abandonment and sacrifice
- T · Sex: love, marriage, seduction and birth
- W · Traits of character: virtues and vices
- Z · Miscellaneous groups of motifs: formulas, symbols, numbers and other patterns
Rumor, conspiracy and subject
Three short label sets from the study of rumor, read by the model from each story as its tellers tell it, never as a judgment of whether it's true:
- Rumor, by what drives it (Robert Knapp, 1944; Nicholas DiFonzo and Prashant Bordia, 2007): 🌈 wish, what its tellers hope is true: a good deed, a rescue, a win, a cure; 😨 dread, what its tellers fear: a danger, a disaster, a threat, a cover-up of harm; 🪓 wedge, turns one group against another: blames, vilifies or scapegoats a group.
- Conspiracy, by the scope of the secret plot it claims (Michael Barkun, 2003): 🕵️ event, a secret plot behind one event (a staged attack, a hidden cause of one disaster); 🏛️ systemic, a secret group controlling an institution or system (elections, the press, a government agency); 🐙 superconspiracy, plots nested inside plots, all run by one hidden, all-powerful force.
- Subject: a broad family (crime and danger, health, celebrities, government…), our own list, after the way urban-legend collections such as Jan Harold Brunvand's sort legends into chapters.
The story's cast
Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale (1928) found that folktales cast their characters in a few fixed parts, whatever the plot. Three of them fit a great deal of political storytelling: 🦹 the villain who does harm, 🫂 the victim who suffers it, and 🦸 the hero who fights back or sets things right. The names in each part are the model's words for who the posts cast there, and a part is left out when the posts don't fill it.
Wording and tellers
Told by counts different accounts, not posts. How they say it runs from 📋 copied (the same words, pasted) to 🗣️ each in their own words; folklore is retold in people's own words, while coordinated posting and copypasta are copied.
The Jets are celebrating an interception before the referee explains it was an illegal facemask.
📣 news report or shared reaction
Political ads for Ken Paxton are appearing during unrelated football games in different states, which is seen as inappropriate and confusing for viewers.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
Zionism is equated with evil, particularly in the context of Israeli actions, and is associated with far-right or fascist ideologies.
🕸️ conspiracy theory · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index K · Deceptions
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Zionists (particularly Israelis and the far right) 🫂 victim Palestinians, Jews who are anti-Zionist, and those who oppose far-right ideologies 🦸 hero Anti-Zionist Jewish antifascists, the Green Party, and those who resist far-right narratives
A researcher died from pneumonic plague due to a lab accident in Russia, and the incident is being used to speculate about biological weapons or government secrecy.
🕸️ conspiracy theory · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index K · Deceptions
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Russian government 🫂 victim researcher and those exposed to the plague 🦸 hero public health officials and scientists
AI is a panacea that will solve all problems in education, work, and creativity, and it is being overhyped by developers and institutions.
🕸️ conspiracy theory
📚 Motif-Index J · The wise and the foolish
the story's cast: 🦹 villain AI developers and institutions 🫂 victim students, educators, and creative professionals 🦸 hero skeptical programmers and educators
Banned Books Week is a celebration of the freedom to read and resistance against censorship.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
Renée Slegers is failing to manage Arsenal Women effectively, leading to poor results and a loss of title contention.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
Drake Maye is prone to fumbling the ball under pressure, leading to criticism and frustration among fans.
🏙️ contemporary legend
📚 Motif-Index W · Traits of character
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Drake Maye 🫂 victim the team and fans
The Eagles are struggling to defend against blitzes and are performing poorly on third downs.
📣 news report or shared reaction
Jack Smith attended the Power to the People concert and was seen wearing a 'No Kings' shirt.
🏙️ contemporary legend · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index P · Society
the story's cast: 🦸 hero Jack Smith
Ja'Marr Chase was injured due to a violent and dangerous play by the Jaguars.
🩸 atrocity story
📚 Motif-Index S · Unnatural cruelty
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Jaguars players 🫂 victim Ja'Marr Chase
A Canadian air ambulance carrying six people has gone missing over the Atlantic, and debris has been found off the coast of Nantucket in the ongoing search for the missing individuals.
📣 news report or shared reaction
📰 In the news: Coast Guard searches for missing medical plane off Massachusetts coast
John Cena is complicit in Vince McMahon's unethical or illegal actions due to his close relationship and potential awareness of McMahon's misconduct.
🕸️ conspiracy theory · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index K · Deceptions
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Vince McMahon 🫂 victim children or young people (implied through pedophilia allegations) 🦸 hero John Cena (as a potential whistleblower or truth-teller, though not clearly defined)
A woman was harassed and stalked by a man who tried to evade accountability by spreading rumors and lies.
🏙️ contemporary legend
📚 Motif-Index K · Deceptions
the story's cast: 🦹 villain the man who harassed and stalked the woman 🫂 victim the woman who was harassed and stalked 🦸 hero the anonymous poster and other victims who spoke out and provided context
📰 In the news: Portland Trail Blazers fire announcer over past social media posts
Canadians are negatively impacting Florida's economy by owning second homes and are being targeted for higher taxes by Florida politicians.
🏙️ contemporary legend · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index J · The wise and the foolish
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Florida politicians (especially Ron DeSantis) 🫂 victim Florida residents and local businesses 🦸 hero Canadians who are leaving Florida
Donald Trump established a 'Super Intelligence Force' led by Jay Clayton to address AI risks and opportunities.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
📰 In the news: Trump names Jay Clayton to lead AI task force
Saquon Barkley has a hamstring injury and is questionable to return.
📣 news report or shared reaction
In America, we have no kings. Power does not belong to billionaires, strongmen, or politicians who believe they are above accountability.
🏙️ contemporary legend · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index M · Ordaining the future
the story's cast: 🦹 villain billionaires, strongmen, politicians who believe they are above accountability 🫂 victim the people 🦸 hero the people
Blizzard is failing to address player concerns and is losing the trust and enthusiasm of the WoW community.
🏙️ contemporary legend
📚 Motif-Index P · Society
the story's cast: 🦹 villain Blizzard 🫂 victim WoW players 🦸 hero players seeking change or escape
Simon Andriesz, a former banker, uncovered evidence of Howard Lutnick's business ties to Jeffrey Epstein and later died by suicide.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
Latino voters are increasingly turning away from Republicans and Trump, favoring Democrats in Congress.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
A U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan, is accused of murdering and robbing a Japanese woman.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
📰 In the news: U.S. Marine arrested in Japan on suspicion of killing woman
The posts are promoting a conspiracy against 'MAGA' figures and encouraging political action against them.
🕸️ conspiracy theory · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index J · The wise and the foolish
the story's cast: 🦹 villain MAGA figures 🫂 victim the public (implied through the call to action against 'treasonous' figures) 🦸 hero the audience (those who are encouraged to 'vote these out')
Christa Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator in a hospital after a botched execution attempt in Tennessee.
📣 news report or shared reaction · 🏛️ politics
📰 In the news: Tennessee inmate survives botched execution attempt
A gang rape at Cornell University is part of a long-standing systemic issue of sexual violence and rape culture in higher education.
🩸 atrocity story · 🏛️ politics
📚 Motif-Index T · Sex
the story's cast: 🦹 villain systemic rape culture, higher education institutions, misogyny, patriarchy 🫂 victim women and girls 🦸 hero activists, survivors, advocates for change
📰 In the news: Cornell university faces scrutiny over rape allegations and investigation
Copypasta
The same words posted by many accounts: 19 accounts, 16 accounts, 10 accounts, 10 accounts, 8 accounts, 6 accounts, 5 accounts, 5 accounts, 5 accounts, 5 accounts, 5 accounts.