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All English Fact Checks

Misleading: Cambodia declares war with Thailand As Thailand geared up for a general election in May 2023, a video surfaced in social media posts that misleadingly claimed it shows Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen declaring war with the country. The posts mocked a Thai opposition politician who called to cut the army's budget. However, Hun Sen did not declare war with Thailand in his speech, which he gave at a graduation ceremony in August 2022. The leader in fact urged voters to keep the Cambodian opposition out of power, claiming they would bring the country to war. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

Missing Context: Very few people attended a Move Forward Party rally in Krabi province. A photo showing only around two dozen people at a political rally has been misleadingly shared in posts that mock Thailand's second largest opposition party for what appears to be a poorly attended event. But the photo -- which surfaced on social media weeks before Thai voters head to the polls -- only captures a snippet of a rally for the leftist Move Forward Party in southern Krabi province in April. Local police and multiple news reports say hundreds more people trickled in after the event was delayed by rain. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

Misleading: Video shows huge crowd of mainland Chinese tourist in Hong Kong. A video has attracted tens of thousands of views in social media posts that misleadingly claim it shows crowds of mainland Chinese tourists in Hong Kong during an extended holiday weekend. In fact, the video shows fans of a local Cantopop star who gathered to celebrate his birthday. A woman who attended the event told AFP there were some tourists among the crowd, but that most were fans of the singer. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

Misleading: Solar, wind power drive up electricity prices A video clip from testimony before a US congressional committee features claims that solar and wind power drives up the price of electricity due to the cost of installing backup energy sources. This is misleading; experts told AFP data shows no clear link between prices paid by consumers and the share of renewables in the electric grid, and the cost of backups can be mitigated. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

False: A video shows migrants at the US-Mexico border in May 2023 Social media users are claiming a video shows migrants scaling a fence at the United States border with Mexico in May 2023 as the US government prepares to lift pandemic-era immigration restrictions. This is false; the footage shows people entering the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in March 2022. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

Altered Image: Photo shows Canadian singer Celine Dion in hospital bed A doctored image of a woman in a hospital bed has surfaced in social media posts that falsely claim it shows Canadian singer Celine Dion after she announced she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder. However, the original photo -- which has circulated online since 2014 -- shows an elderly woman who was mistreated by family members. AFP found no official reports the star had been admitted to hospital, as of May 5, 2023. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

False: Canadians can earn thousands with Petro-Canada investment app A Facebook ad uses clips of a Canadian television anchor and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to pitch an opportunity to invest in Petro-Canada via an online platform. This is false; the oil company confirmed it made no such offer and the videos of Trudeau and the news presenter are manipulated to include words neither of them said. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

False: Photo of locked grave is from Pakistan and done to prevent rape A photo of a grave with a padlocked gate has surfaced on social media, with posts shared tens of thousands of times falsely claiming it shows a Pakistan cemetery where a woman's burial place was locked to prevent necrophilia. While cases of the crime have been reported in Pakistan, the photo was taken in Hyderabad, India. A local mosque representative said the gate was installed to prevent other families burying their loved ones in the same plot. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

False: Photo shows victims of Kenyan starvation cult After Kenyan authorities uncovered mass graves linked to a religious cult whose members starved to death, a photo showing three emaciated men was shared on social media with claims that it showed surviving members of the sect. But this is false: the images show suspected cattle rustlers recently released from a detention facility in Uganda. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

False: A 'love-jihad' case of a Muslim man who confessed about killing his wife in the name of Islam. Social media is rife with a video of a bearded man who confesses to a journalist from इंसाफ 24 न्यूज़ that he has murdered his wife in the name of Allah. He states, "I killed my wife because of my love for Khuda…It was a matter of respect for Islam." He elucidates that they had b (Source: Alt News)

Fake: Dr Willie Ong is endorsing Bestkill insecticide, a product that can kill various kinds of bugs in one spray Scammers are again using the identity of cardiologist Dr. Willie Ong to fraudulently promote unlicensed products, this time for pesticide.The advertisements continue to circulate this May, over two weeks since first appearing on April 18. Part of the text of one of the ads read:" (Source: Vera Files)