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All English Fact Checks
False: Video of Muslim boy praying in street is from Karanataka in May 2023 A video of a Muslim boy praying in the middle of a busy street has been shared on social media with a false claim that it took place in the Indian state of Karnataka after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost to the opposition Congress party in local elections held in May 2023. The uploader of the video told AFP it was in fact filmed in the United Arab Emirates in January 2023. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Museveni's has died Days after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19 on June 7, 2023, online posts circulated claiming his health had quickly deteriorated and that he was admitted to hospital where he died from coronavirus complications. But the 78-year-old, who was in self-isolation for more than a week, had not died; this soon became evident when he addressed the Ugandan parliament on June 15, 2023. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Misleading: Humphrey Nwosu declared MKO Abiola as the winner of 1993 election Nigeria's 1993 election is widely regarded as the country’s freest and fairest poll since its independence. Online claims now allege that the chairman of the electoral commission at the time declared opposition candidate Moshood Abiola as the winner. This is misleading: the electoral body was only able to declare partial results before a court order blocked any further announcements and the election was annulled. The commission’s chairman, Humphrey Nwosu, was thus unable to officially declare any winner. Years later, however, he said in an interview that Abiola “was the winner”. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Thailand signed WHO pandemic treaty that strips the kingdom of sovereignty Social media posts that have circulated in May falsely claim Thailand "just signed" a World Health Organization pandemic accord that strips the kingdom of its power to deal with national health crises. Legal experts told AFP the draft accord aiming to help countries deal with pandemics after Covid-19 actually guarantees state sovereignty. The WHO and Thailand's disease control agency separately said negotiations are continuing until 2024. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Public Health Fakes: Ukrainian television reported on the work of “black transplant specialists”. Issue #36 Russian media once again spread horror stories about the activities of “black transplantologists” in Ukraine. Now they claim that journalists from “TSN” told the “truth” and showed how people are “harvested for organs” and others make money from it during the war. We also debunke (Source: Vox Ukraine)
False: Policies to be enacted if Indigenous voice to parliament approved. A screenshot appearing to show a list of policies has been shared hundreds of times in Australian social media posts that falsely claim it shows measures that will come into force if the country votes to grant Indigenous people a voice in parliament. But the list is unrelated to the 'voice' referendum, and in fact shows ideas that were floated during meetings with Indigenous Australians to discuss constitutional recognition. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Clove-spiked limes will keep dengue-carrying mosquitoes away. As Sri Lankan officials warned of an increase in the number of cases of dengue, posts circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp that falsely claimed limes spiked with cloves would repel the mosquitoes that carry the viral infection. Although the "natural repellent" claim has spread online for years, health experts and an entomologist told AFP the home remedy should not be promoted as a way to prevent dengue. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Partly False: If you call 999 but aren't able to speak, press 55. This means emergency services will be able to trace your location through new technology. A post on Facebook , shared more than 38,000 times, wrongly claims that "new technology" means people who are unable to speak on a 999 call can press 55 and the operator will be able to locate them. The post says: "If you ever find yourself dialling 999 and you can't speak press (Source: Full Fact)
Misleading: Recent video of Nigerian oil boss at illegal pipeline site A Facebook post featuring a video of the head of Nigeria’s national oil company at the site of an illegal pipeline claims that his visit was in response to President Bola Tinubu’s promise to deal with oil theft. But this is misleading: the clip dates back to 2022, when former president Muhammadu Buhari was Nigeria’s leader — not Tinubu, who was sworn in on May 29, 2023. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Barely-True: Científicos descubren que al “consumir 3 tazas de leche diaria, las personas tienen más riesgos de desarrollar cáncer de mama”. La publicación dice que su fuente es un estudio de Noruega. Pero ese estudio contradice la publicación.Los científicos encontraron que las mujeres que tomaban más de 3 vasos de leche al día en su adultez tuvieron menos incidentes de cáncer de mama que las mujeres que no tomaban leche. Otros estudios han encontrado un posible riesgo de cáncer de mama al consumir leche. Pero expertos dicen que es necesario hacer más investigaciones antes de llegar a una conclusión como lo hace la publicación en Facebook. (Source: PolitiFact)
False: Wells Fargo is rationing cash due to emergency conditions Social media posts are sharing an image of a purported Wells Fargo notice that says it is limiting cash withdrawals to $1,000 due to "emergency conditions." This is false; the US banking giant said no such limitations are in place and customers have full access to their deposits. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: “Arma que EE.UU. le dio a Ucrania es vista en manos de cártel”. La presentadora hispanohablante de Milenio TV no dijo que una arma que EE.UU. envió a Ucrania acabó en manos de un cártel mexicano. No encontramos pruebas de que un cártel mexicano obtuviera armas estadounidenses destinadas a Ucrania.Los expertos también dicen que un video muestra al supuesto miembro del cártel llevando un AT4, no un Javelin. (Source: PolitiFact)
False: Former Attorney General Bill Barr “says Donald Trump is a spy.” A conservative commentator mischaracterized the remarks of Bill Barr, who served as attorney general under former President Donald Trump. Barr did not call Trump a spy. (Source: PolitiFact)
False: A picture that went viral in June 2023 authentically showed an extremely steep hill in San Francisco. About this rating The image is a digitally created composite, combining a photograph of a real California Street in San Francisco with an aerial drone shot. Apicturesharedby various social media accounts in mid-June 2023 allegedly showed an extremely steep hill in San Francisco. (Source: Snopes)