There has been a surge lately of fake stories going around the internet crediting Donald Trump with everything from helping the military to championing Christianity. He has already made quite a few “red meat” statements to appeal to conservatives, so making up more stories seems silly and overkill.

Why are these false stories being spread? Perhaps it is a modern version of folklore, a way of spreading positive information about someone in order to make them into a popular legend. Notably, many of the satire news sites they emerge from just popped up recently, such as Fail Much News, which launched last year and hides behind the legitimate sounding name “Burrard Street Journal.” Do they have ties to the Trump campaign, or is it just another entrepreneur trying to make a buck off of a phenomenon?

Just because a good friend sends you a story over email does not mean it’s trustworthy — most of us have been guilty of not only believing them but then forwarding them to other gullible people who continue the chain. There are certain websites known for posting these types of fake articles; there is a list of the most common ones at the end of this article. If someone sends you an article over email, with no website to check, please look it up on a site like Snopes which exposes these stories.

Let’s take a look at some of the latest stories that have cropped up portraying Trump as a hero to the right and the alt-right:

Donald Trump’s Tower Air supplied flights home for Gulf War soldiers in 1991 when they faced otherwise long waits for military transportation.

According to Snopes, there is zero truth to this email that started circulating in February. Trump doesn’t have any association with Tower Air. Snopes claims that conservative Fox News talk show Sean Hannity was fooled, posting the story on his website on May 19.

Donald Trump said that he doesn’t like Muslims because they killed Jesus.

Snopes says this article came from a site that solely produces satire and fiction, The Evening Harold. The story started circulating on the internet in March.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau banned U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from entering Canada.

According to Snopes, the site running the article, Hot Global News, is a satire site. The story, which emerged in late December, probably got legs due to critical remarks Trudeau has said about Trump and two petitions calling for Trudeau to ban Trump from the country.

Donald Trump said that as president he would build a wall along the U.S.-Canadian border.

Snopes says the satire site Fail Much News posted a doctored video on March 22 that made it deceptively look like Trump was saying this.

Donald Trump said that he would revoke U.S. citizenship from all Puerto Ricans if elected president.

Snopes reveals that this was posted on the parody site The Adobo Chronicles in February, where it was then picked up as legitimate news by several Spanish news sites.

A stranger who stopped to change a tire on a disabled limo was rewarded for his efforts when the vehicle’s passenger, Donald Trump, paid off his mortgage.

Snopes says this is false, reporting, “Reputed to have come from Donald Trump’s publicity people, the following tale found its way into the news media via the magazine Forbes in February 1996.” Curiously, Snopes says when Trump was asked about it on his TV show, The Apprentice, he responded, “That’s true.” Apparently this is a common story that floats around about celebrities, with slight variations.

Snopes will probably not have a close relationship with Trump if he is elected president.

If you want to spread a kind, charitable story about Trump, go with this one, which Snopes has verified is true,

Trump’s 79-year-old mother was mugged in 1991, suffering broken bones and severe facial bruises. A passing truck driver who witnessed the assault brought down the mugger and handed him over to justice. (The robber was later sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison). The Donald had dinner with the rescuer, his sister, and his son; offered the Samaritan a better job; and gave him a check for an undisclosed amount.

Sites with fake news

http://nationalreport.net

http://theonion.com

http://www.private-eye.co.uk

http://www.newsbiscuit.com

http://www.thespoof.com

http://www.sportspickle.com

http://www.unconfirmedsources.com

http://www.crystalair.com

http://www.enduringvision.com/index.php

http://www.derfmagazine.com

http://www.newsmutiny.com/Index.html

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk

http://www.duffelblog.com

http://newstoad.net

http://dailycurrant.com

http://rockcitytimes.com

http://worldnewsdailyreport.com

http://huzlers.com

http://abriluno.com

http://diversitychronicle.wordpress.com

http://holyobserver.com

http://News-Hound.org (maybe not satirical but a lot are definitely fake)

http://www.sott.net/ (seems to be a mixture of satire/real news with no obvious way to tell which is which)

http://adobochronicles.com

https://aceflashman.wordpress.com (News lifted straight from The National Reporter)

http://thepeoplescube.com

http://dailyleak.org

http://odgossip.com

http://witscience.org

http://empirenews.net

http://christwire.org

http://nymeta.co (News lifted straight from The National Reporter without checking them)

http://worldnewsdailyreport.com

http://tyronetribulations.com

http://www.gomerblog.com

http://madworldnews.com (potentially fake stories)

http://wundergroundmusic.com

http://dailybuzzlive.com

http://www.thenewsnerd.com

http://newsthump.com

http://stuppid.com (http://realorsatire.com/stuppid-com)

http://newsexaminer.net – mixture of real and fake news