Online rumours claim that popular kid’s cartoon Paw Patrol has been cancelled due to it featuring a police dog character. The rumours are spreading to the backdrop of Black Lives Matter protests around the world that has led to many cop based TV shows such as Cops being cancelled.
As the Black Lives Matter protests happen across the United States, many have called for serious police reform, and some have even called for police departments to be defunded or abolished. This has thrown the spotlight on policing in the US, and in turn has led to may police centric TV shows – including Cops and Live PD having the plug pulled.
And, according to social media at least, Paw Patrol. That’s a kid’s TV cartoon about a police dog and his friends who embark on various missions to “save the day”. However the rumour is false, Paw Patrol has not been cancelled, and there are no [serious] calls for it to be cancelled.
A number of memes had begun to spread in early June 2020, jokingly claiming that Nickelodeon was helping to end police brutality by defunding Paw Patrol. It is possible that these memes were responsible for kickstarting this hoax.
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The rumour’s sudden and seemingly inexplicable popularity follows a template that – as fact checkers – we’re all too used to seeing.
People post a joke or satirical content on social media.
Some people take it at face value and post their disappointment or outrage on social media.
That outrage is seen by others who share it or express their own opinion on social media.
The media gets involved.
The original jokes soon become outnumbered by the volume of posts who believe it’s real, and another hoax takes off.
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As is often the case, while we can find numerous examples of people expressing disappointment or outrage, we have not been able to identify many genuinely calling for the end of the cartoon. Paw Patrol has recently been renewed for a new season and is also slated for a movie in 2021.
The rumour was reignited towards the end of July 2020 when White House Press Secretary falsely claimed the cartoon was cancelled. This spawned a tweet from the official Paw Patrol Twitter account dismissing the hoax (below.)