Your hourly fact checks
All English Fact Checks
False: New York City to ban meat New York City's popular pastrami, corned beef and hot dogs are not going away anytime soon. Social media posts claiming Mayor Eric Adams is banning animal products are false; while the city encourages residents to consume more plant-based foods to decrease their carbon footprint, it is not prohibiting meat consumption. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Misleading: Joe Biden did away with Donald Trump's efforts to lower insulin costs Social media posts claim US President Joe Biden took credit for lowering insulin prices after reversing a similar action from predecessor Donald Trump. This is misleading; Trump approved a voluntary program capping insulin costs at $35 for many seniors and issued an executive order that was never implemented, while Biden signed a law mandating low prices and encouraged pharmaceutical firms to limit costs for all diabetics. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Video of Kenya's Odinga apologising for protests A video surfaced on TikTok claiming to show Kenyan opposition leader apologising to President William Ruto for spearheading violent anti-government protests in late March. But this is false: the footage was filmed at a national prayer breakfast in 2018 where Odinga apologised to former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta over insults traded between the two rivals during the 2017 presidential elections. This was spliced together with another scene from the same breakfast where Odinga shook hands with Ruto, who was deputy president at the time. However, he did not apologise to Ruto. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Image of Ugandan cult massacre A graphic image of multiple burnt bodies is being shared in online posts in Kenya with claims it shows a cult-related massacre, which took place in Uganda in 2000. While such an indicent did indeed happen, this picture is unrelated. It shows the aftermath of an oil tanker explosion in DR Congo that killed more than 230 people in 2010. AFP Fact Check previously debunked the same image in relation with another false claim. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Dr Willie Ong promotes Cystocure Advance as treatment for lumps and cancer. An edited video that appears to show a Filipino physician promoting a food supplement that treats cancer or abnormal growths without surgery has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook. But the video has been misleadingly edited to insert references to the product, which health experts told AFP was not proven to treat cancer or remove lumps. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Facebook pages sell genuine GIBI SHOES Facebook pages impersonating a popular footwear brand in the Philippines have repeatedly posted adverts for what they falsely claim are genuine products. A representative for the brand, GIBI SHOES, told AFP the pages were fraudulent. On the company's official Facebook page, it warned its customers that it does not sell shoes on the social networking site. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Misleading: Photos show HK actor Andy Lau celeberating Songkran in Thailand in 2023 Old photos of Hong Kong film star Andy Lau being doused with water have resurfaced on social media posts and news reports that misleadingly claim they were taken during Thailand's Songkran festivities in April 2023. The photos previously appeared online when Lau shot a commercial in the kingdom's northeast Nakhon Ratchasima province in April 2016. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Animal deworming drug fenbendazole can cure cancer in humans A video circulating on TikTok and Facebook shows a Canadian veterinarian claiming the dog deworming drug fenbendazole cures cancer in humans. This is unproven; some preclinical studies are examining this class of pharmaceuticals as a potential cancer treatment, but it is only approved in Canada as an antiparasitic for animals and a cancer researcher told AFP such drugs have not been shown to effectively treat humans. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: International Space Station is fake as an astronaut drops a ball A video that appears to show a globe dropping from under a NASA astronaut's arm has been viewed thousands of times in posts around the world which falsely claim it proves the International Space Station (ISS) is "fake". Experts have told AFP that the astronaut actually pushed the globe "downwards" in the space station. They also said other objects in the video -- including a microphone -- can be seen floating among crew members, proving the clip was filmed in a weightless environment. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
MPs have had a 42.7%...: MPs have had a 42.7% pay increase since 2008 and junior doctors a 25% decrease since 2010. During the most recent junior doctors' strike in England, we saw a number of different claims made about how their pay demands compare to recent salary increases for MPs. The claims quoted a range of different figures and dates, but generally suggested that the pay increase MPs h (Source: Full Fact)
Junior doctors are s...: Junior doctors are seeking a 35% pay uplift to reverse a real-terms pay cut since 2008/09. Over the same period MPs have had a pay rise of about 30%, and are now effectively saying to junior doctors "paying you what we've been paid is unfair". During the most recent junior doctors' strike in England, we saw a number of different claims made about how their pay demands compare to recent salary increases for MPs. The claims quoted a range of different figures and dates, but generally suggested that the pay increase MPs h (Source: Full Fact)
MPs have had a real-...: MPs have had a real-terms pay rise of about 30% since 2008/09. During the most recent junior doctors' strike in England, we saw a number of different claims made about how their pay demands compare to recent salary increases for MPs. The claims quoted a range of different figures and dates, but generally suggested that the pay increase MPs h (Source: Full Fact)
MPs have had a 36% p...: MPs have had a 36% pay rise since 2010 and junior doctors are asking for "the same as" this. During the most recent junior doctors' strike in England, we saw a number of different claims made about how their pay demands compare to recent salary increases for MPs. The claims quoted a range of different figures and dates, but generally suggested that the pay increase MPs h (Source: Full Fact)
False: “¡Los préstamos de estímulo de $50,000 finalmente están aquí!” Los préstamos Stimulus del gobierno se popularizaron durante la pandemia, pero eran préstamos de emergencia y ya no se pueden solicitar. No existen los préstamos estímulo descritos en un post en Facebook. (Source: PolitiFact)
False: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is withdrawing the interest earned by gold reserves deposited by his father, ex-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., at the World Bank A TikTok video is rehashing bogus claims about the Marcos family's supposed gold reserves stored in the World Bank. These "deposits" are non-existent.Specifically, it claimed that:President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is withdrawing the interest earned by gold reserves deposited by his (Source: Vera Files)
False: Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s meeting with World Bank officials was not reported by the mainstream media. A TikTok video is rehashing bogus claims about the Marcos family's supposed gold reserves stored in the World Bank. These "deposits" are non-existent.Specifically, it claimed that:President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is withdrawing the interest earned by gold reserves deposited by his (Source: Vera Files)
False: The Marcoses have trillions of dollars in gold reserves A TikTok video is rehashing bogus claims about the Marcos family's supposed gold reserves stored in the World Bank. These "deposits" are non-existent.Specifically, it claimed that:President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is withdrawing the interest earned by gold reserves deposited by his (Source: Vera Files)
Fake: Willie Ong and his wife Liza Ramoso-Ong are promoting an antibacterial gel called Kavern intimate wash Several impostor Facebook (FB) pages and sites are spreading a post about an antibacterial gel and claiming it is being promoted by cardiologist Willie Ong and his general practitioner wife Liza Ramoso-Ong. This is fake.The couple is not endorsing this product called Kavern intim (Source: Vera Files)
Fake: Dr. Anthony "Tony" Leachon is promoting Penirum Pro+ which treats erectile dysfunction Yet another website is misusing the identity of former National Task Force against COVID-19 special adviser Tony Leachon to promote fake health products.Leachon has disowned the advertisement which has been circulating on Facebook (FB) since April 13.The website pusup.shop publis (Source: Vera Files)
False: Dalai Lama gets arrested; Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden have converted to Buddhism The viral images of the Dalai Lama, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are fake and were created with the help of AI tools. All three pictures are being shared with false claims.New Delhi (Vishvas News): Days after the huge controversy over the alleged vi (Source: Vishvasnews)