A look at what didn’t happen last week

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

CLAIM: NASCAR, which recently banned the Confederate flag at its events, is now forcing its drivers to engage in Muslim prayer.

THE FACTS: NASCAR is not forcing drivers to engage in Muslim prayer. The bogus claim circulated with a photo that showed drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway taking part in a longstanding tradition called “kissing the bricks.” A post featuring the photo racked up more than 140,000 views last weekend. “So NASCAR bans the confederate flag but FORCES all their drivers to do Muslim prayer?” it read. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. Unacceptable!!”

NASCAR has been the target of heavy praise and some disdain since it announced it would ban the Confederate flag from its events and properties, citing a need to provide a more “welcoming and inclusive” environment for its fans. But the auto racing association has not asked its athletes to participate in a Muslim prayer. The photo that went viral on social media actually shows drivers participating in a well-known NASCAR tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Yard of Bricks. It was started by driver Dale Jarrett in 1996. A reverse image search reveals the photo was taken in July 2016, when Kyle Busch won the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 race at the track.

CLAIM: Public service announcement warns of a white supremacist who has been shooting at black people at traffic lights. He drives a white truck and was last seen in Mesa, Arizona.

THE FACTS: State and local police officials in Arizona as well as organizations that track violence by white supremacists said they received no reports of a gunman targeting black motorists in Mesa, surrounding cities or elsewhere in the state last week. Nor did they release a public service announcement. On the evening of June 16, a post made to look like a public service announcement began circulating on Instagram and Facebook with claims of a violent white supremacist in Arizona. “PSA,” the post said, “If you’re in AZ there is a white supremacist shooting black people at stop lights. He drives a white truck.” The post added that the driver was last seen in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix.

By Wednesday afternoon, identical posts shared on Facebook had been viewed more than 100,000 times. Mesa Police Department officials said there was no evidence of any such activity in the city. “We have not had any calls regarding this or anything similar,” Detective Jason Flam, the department’s public information officer, said in an email to the AP. “Our intelligence unit is aware and looking into this fake PSA.” Flam said he was concerned that someone was “trying to create fear” with the unfounded post. The Arizona Department of Public Safety had not seen any incidents like the one described in the post, spokesman Raul Garcia told the AP. “This may be an example of disinformation designed to divide the community and cause fear,” he said in an email. “I have submitted the information to the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center.”

CLAIM: “Nancy Green (aka Aunt Jemima) was born into slavery. She was a magnificent cook. When she was ‘freed’ she rolled her talent into a cooking brand that General Mills bought & used her likeness. She died in 1923 as one of America’s first black millionaires.”

THE FACTS: There is no evidence that Green’s portrayal as Aunt Jemima made her into a millionaire. After Quaker Oats announced Wednesday it would retire the Aunt Jemima brand, known for its pancake mixes, posts online began circulating a false tale about the first woman who portrayed Aunt Jemima. “Aunt Jemima really do you know her history?” a Facebook post carrying the false claim stated, criticizing Quaker Oats’ decision to remove the character from the brand.

The brand got its name from the minstrel song “Old Aunt Jemima,” which was composed by African American comedian and performer Billy Kersands. Chris Rutt, who created the pancake flour in 1889, was inspired by the song after hearing it during a minstrel performance and decided to give the name to his pancake flour. At the time, Aunt Jemima was seen as a “mammy” character, a racial stereotype of a slave happy to please her white masters. Rutt then sold his company to a larger milling company, R.T. Davis Milling Co., after failing to sell the flour. The milling company brought its mix to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and hired Nancy Green, a former slave who was working as a cook for a judge, to act as Aunt Jemima and sell the pancake flour. “This began a really long tradition of women being Aunt Jemima in public performance,” said Maurice M. Manring, author of “Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima.” Manring added that the fame of the brand Aunt Jemima coincided with the explosion of advertising during World War I. The brand created a whole backstory for Aunt Jemima giving her a fictional family and creating made up events about her life. However, there is no evidence that Nancy Green shared in any of the profits from the company that sold the pancake mix, said Patricia A. Turner, professor of African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author. Green would continue her work as a housekeeper and died in 1923 after being hit by a car. The brand would replace Green as Aunt Jemima with several different women.

CLAIM: All California voters, if you are registered to vote as an independent, you will not be able to vote Republican come 2020. You must go online and change to Republican. California changed the rules and is hoping no one figures it out in time.

THE FACTS: Information contained in the post does not apply to the general election this fall. During California’s presidential primary election on March 3, independent voters, also known as “no party preference” voters, could vote in the Democratic presidential primary without changing their party affiliation, but not in the Republican primary.

A post that circulated at the time of the primary is recirculating now to make it appear as though California’s independent voters will not be able to vote Republican in the general election unless they change their party affiliation to Republican. “California voters please read,” reads a June 6 Facebook post, featuring a text post spreading the false information. The post had more than 5,000 shares. The California Secretary of State’s office confirmed to the AP that independent voters were only barred from voting Republican in the presidential primary. During the general election in November they can vote for a candidate belonging to any party.

The Democratic Party, American Independent Party and Libertarian Party all notified the Secretary of State’s office they would be allowing California’s “no party preference voters” to request their party’s presidential ballot in the March 3 presidential primary election. More than 5.4 million Californians are listed as “no party preference” voters. In February, The Associated Press reported that “no party preference” voters in California who vote by mail could apply for a crossover ballot to vote Democrat or re-register as Republicans to vote in the Republican presidential primary. The GOP and national party leaders set the rules for the Republican presidential primary barring “no party preference” voters from participating.