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The image in this meme does not show a lithium mine, as posts claim
If Your Time is short
- The bottom photo shows a copper mine, not a lithium mine.
A frequently debunked meme purporting to show the barren landscape of a massive lithium mine is again making the rounds on social media.
"Finished pipeline," the top of the image reads in a February Facebook post. It shows a pristine, grassy expanse allegedly covering an oil-extraction apparatus.
"Lithium mine," reads the text across the adjoining bottom image showing an expansive and arrid pit. "Your environmental argument is stupid."
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
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A Facebook post says a photo of an expansive, arrid pit shows a lithium mine.
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Our Sources
Facebook post, Feb. 5
Minerals Education Coalition, Minerals Database, accessed March 30, 2021
Superfund Research Center at the University of Arizona, Copper Mining and Processing: Processing Copper Ores, accessed March 30, 2021
Snopes, Lithium Mine vs. Oil Sands Extraction, June 3, 2016
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, accessed March 30, 2021
Mining Technology, The 10 Biggest Copper Mines in the World, Nov. 4, 2013 and updated July 9, 2020
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The image in this meme does not show a lithium mine, as posts claim
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