Your hourly fact checks
All English Fact Checks
False: Video shows shooting at Alabama birthday party Social media users are sharing a video they claim shows an April 2023 shooting at a teenager's birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. This is false; the clip is from an earlier incident in a different city in the US state, according to a reverse image search and local authorities. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Misleading: Sajith Premadasa and SJB plans to join Ranil Wickremesinghe's government. An image of Sri Lankan opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has been shared repeatedly online alongside a misleading claim that he announced he and his party would join forces with the ruling United National Party (UNP) led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. A spokesperson for Premadasa's Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party told AFP the claim was false. The picture shared in the misleading posts was taken from a video of a 2020 press conference when Premadasa founded the SJB and asked his former colleague Wickremesinghe to join his party. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Misleading: Photo of Nigerian governor at a beach in Ondo state A social media post claims that a series of pictures show Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo state in southwest Nigeria, at a beach resort in his state. But the claim is misleading: the pictures were taken when Akeredolu visited a resort in Lagos statein 2019. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Joe Biden's "Mayo for Sam" chant was a reference to missiles Tweets claim US President Joe Biden used a short phrase to deliver a coded message about surface-to-air missiles during a speech in Ireland. This is false; the chant is a rallying cry for fans of County Mayo, a Gaelic football club that has not won the coveted Sam Maguire Cup in more than 70 years. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Altered Photo: This is a genuine photo of South Korea's first lady A doctored image of South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee has been shared repeatedly in social media posts that falsely claim it is a genuine photo of her. The image, in which Kim has a drooping lip and appears to have had a cheek and chin lift, circulated in posts criticising her appearance. In fact, the original photo depicts her face with noticeably different features from the modified image. The photo of Kim was taken in April 1998, when she was doing her teacher training course. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Photo of Sri Lankan activist Wasantha Mudalige holding Guinness World Records certificate An altered photo has been repeatedly shared in social media posts falsely claiming it shows a Sri Lankan student activist Wasantha Mudalige holding a Guinness World Records certificate for being enrolled in the same university degree programme for the longest period of time. The original photo shows Mudalige holding a placard with a slogan protesting privatisation of the country's universities. A Guinness World Records spokesperson told AFP that the record is in fact held by Robert Cronin, who took more than 50 years to graduate from an American university, and Mudalige holds no records with the organisation. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Indian company Tata Group built nation's new parliament for only one rupee Social media users in India have repeatedly shared a false claim that the Tata Group conglomerate charged the government a token sum of one rupee and built the country's new parliament in just 17 months. In fact, Tata Group won the construction bid for 8.619 billion rupees ($105 million) which the government declared on its official website. The reported cost estimate later rose to about 12 billion rupees. The completion date of the new building has repeatedly been delayed and is now expected in August 2023. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Photos of fire razing Sudan oil pipeline in April 2023 As deadly clashes erupted in Sudan between the army and paramilitary troops in April 2023, images emerged online alongside a claim that they show fire razing an oil pipeline in Port Sudan. But this is false: AFP Fact Check found the photos were old and unrelated to the unrest in the country. There were no reports of a fire affecting the pipeline as of April 20, 2023. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: A video shows a Chicago Walmart in April 2023 A video shared widely on Twitter is claimed to show a Walmart looted in the US city of Chicago in April 2023. This is false; the footage was captured in June 2020 amid unrest following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, according to the reverse image searches, the American retailer and the journalist who recorded it. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: US gives free travel opportunities to two million Africans A Facebook post shared in Ethiopia claims the United States is offering free travel opportunities to two million Africans. The post includes a link that purportedly leads to an application to register for the green card lottery. However, the US embassy confirmed that the post was a scam. Moreover, the link leads to a job search application unrelated to US visas. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
The NSW government h...: The NSW government has passed a law which makes employers liable for any adverse effects suffered as a result of mandatory vaccination policies. The claim the NSW government has passed a law which makes employers liable for any adverse effects suffered as a result of mandatory vaccination policies is false. The claim is based on the Public Health Amendment (Vaccination Compensation) Bill, which was introduced to parliament in 2021 by then-senator Fred Nile. The bill was voted down after its second reading debate and it never made it into law. (Source: Australian Associated Press - AAP)