California boosts anti-human trafficking teams
The California attorney general launched new anti-human trafficking teams to apprehend perpetrators and support survivors on Friday amid an alarming increase in labor and sexual exploitation statewide during the coronavirus pandemic.(June 18)
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The claim: Florence, Ky., police have received reports of men drugging women by spraying air with sedatives
A Facebook post shared by over 2,000 users claims that a woman was drugged by airborne sedatives at a Walmart in Florence, Kentucky — and that her experience matched that of at least three others at the same location.
"Two men sprayed something in the air as she walked by, which meant she walked through it," the creator of the post writes. "She started feeling dizzy and weird. She made it to her vehicle and noticed the two men were walking to her vehicle. She locked her doors and left."
According to the post, when the woman called to report the incident, police told her she was the fourth person to describe such an incident occurring at the local Walmart.
But the post is fiction. The City of Florence Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY that it received no such reports.
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USA TODAY reached out to the poster for comment.
Local police received no such reports
The Facebook post claims a woman felt "dizzy and weird" after two men sprayed the air in which she was walking, but this never happened. Nor did anyone report such incidents to police, Capt. Gregory Rehkamp of the Florence Police Department, told USA TODAY.
"The Florence Police Department has received no reports or calls in reference to anyone being sprayed, walking through a spray, reports from anyone feeling 'dizzy or weird' after walking through a spray or anything resembling the Facebook post claims," Rehkamp wrote to USA TODAY in an email.
Rehkard said police reached out to the creator of the post as well as the friend she references, and officials found neither had reported or witnessed a similar incident occurring.
"[The creator of the post] stated that she overheard someone speaking to a friend of hers about not feeling well at Walmart but had no first-hand knowledge of any of this information," Rekhamp said. "What is contained in this Facebook post did not happen, and (her friend) never called the police."
This isn't the first time misinformation about predatory behavior at that Walmart has spread on social media, Rehkamp said. The retailer has been the backdrop for several other claims that his department has investigated and found to be baseless.
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"There have been numerous false social media posts on Facebook in the past in reference to suspicious activity at Walmart, such as roses containing drugs being placed on vehicles, which have all been verified to be completely false and never reported to police," he said.
Our rating: False
We rate the claim that predatory men have tried to drug women using spray sedatives at a Kentucky Walmart FALSE, based on our research. The city police department confirmed it has never received reports of this or a similar incident occurring.
Our fact-check sources:
- Capt. Gregory Rehkamp, July 6, Phone and email interviews with USA TODAY
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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
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