Read on Twitter
Thread: The brick conspiracy, which alleges that piles of bricks are being left around the country for rioters, has returned for the election.
I'm going to break down how I debunked this specific tweet making the rounds today.
I'm going to break down how I debunked this specific tweet making the rounds today.
The first thing I noticed was the word "Sherman's" on the shop window over what appears to be an ice cream cone.
By searching "Sherman's Ice Cream" on Google I was able to find the company's site and confirm that the logo was the same https://www.shermanicecream.com/
By searching "Sherman's Ice Cream" on Google I was able to find the company's site and confirm that the logo was the same https://www.shermanicecream.com/
Sherman's is based out of Michigan, but I couldn't find any shop in the state that matched the photo.
I eventually came across a TripAdvisor page about an ice cream shop in Illinois called "Every Day's a Sundae" that looked similar.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g35904-d830912-r492263718-Every_Day_s_A_Sundae-Downers_Grove_DuPage_County_Illinois.html
I eventually came across a TripAdvisor page about an ice cream shop in Illinois called "Every Day's a Sundae" that looked similar.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g35904-d830912-r492263718-Every_Day_s_A_Sundae-Downers_Grove_DuPage_County_Illinois.html
I used Google Maps and Street View to check the address and was able to confirm that the locations matched. You can see the sign that says "Evolve" on the shop next door.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Every+Day's+A+Sundae/@41.7958412,-88.0100611,3a,22.1y,349.05h,89.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDtS34lI5tpnVg4-0J5BEFw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e4e270c1cfea1:0x6609149989a7ee95!8m2!3d41.796058!4d-88.0101247
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Every+Day's+A+Sundae/@41.7958412,-88.0100611,3a,22.1y,349.05h,89.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDtS34lI5tpnVg4-0J5BEFw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e4e270c1cfea1:0x6609149989a7ee95!8m2!3d41.796058!4d-88.0101247
Next, I simply called the ice cream shop, explained the situation, and asked them about the bricks.
They said the bricks were being used by the restaurant next door, GIA MIA, to build a patio.
I was able to confirm this on the restaurant's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/giamiadownersgrove/posts/173476951158103
They said the bricks were being used by the restaurant next door, GIA MIA, to build a patio.
I was able to confirm this on the restaurant's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/giamiadownersgrove/posts/173476951158103
If you're wondering about all the other brick theories from this year, @CraigSilverman did a great job debunking several back in June https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/investigating-bricks-at-protests
Additional note: Some people are asking why the bricks are still outside if the patio project was finished in October.
I called GIA MIA and spoke to a manager who said the bricks are not outside and were removed some time ago, which suggests that the initial photo is old.
I called GIA MIA and spoke to a manager who said the bricks are not outside and were removed some time ago, which suggests that the initial photo is old.
This photo was allegedly taken outside of the ice cream shop today https://twitter.com/mattred33/status/1323710961077944320?s=20
My article for the @dailydot which also breaks down how I quickly debunked the Election Day brick pile conspiracy https://www.dailydot.com/debug/brick-conspiracy-2020-election/
