Your hourly fact checks
All English Fact Checks
False: An increase in child vaccines has caused autism rates to rise from one in 10,000 to one in 36 over the past four decades. The claim autism rates have gone from one in 10,000 to one in 36 in line with an increase in childhood vaccines is false. Multiple studies prove vaccines are not linked to an increase in autism. Experts told AAP FactCheck the increase is largely due to a greater understanding of the condition and a broader diagnostic criteria, leading to more people getting the help they need. (Source: Australian Associated Press - AAP)
Weather-Caused: 30 tons of stolen ammonia nitrate were taken to Canada to start the wildfires that began burning in Quebec in May 2023. Weather-CausedWere "30 tons of stolen ammonia nitrate ... taken to Canada to start" the wildfires that began burning in Quebec in May 2023 and blanketed the northeastern United States in early June 2023? No, that's not true: There is no credible information or evidence to support (Source: Lead Stories)
No Evidence: No evidence Italian PM Giorgia Meloni launched ‘Family Pride’ month There is no evidence Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni replaced or countered LGBTQ Pride celebrations with Family Pride month, despite contrary claims spreading online. Posts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube claim Meloni debuted month-long festivities across Italy (here,herea (Source: Reuters)
False: Video shows a Harvard professor criticising Chinese education system As millions of students in China prepared to sit the highly competitive national college entrance exam, a video surfaced in posts falsely claiming it showed a Harvard professor blaming the country's competitive education system for its lack of Nobel Prize winners. The clip actually shows John Sautelle, a leadership coach who does not teach at Harvard, giving a TED Talk about the power of stories. His talk, whose audio has been edited in the false posts, did not mention China or the Nobel Prize. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Video shows the production of plastic rice A video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in social media posts in the Philippines that falsely claim it shows a machine making "plastic rice". But the video in fact shows an advertisement for a machine used to add nutrients to rice. The Philippine National Food Authority told AFP no plastic rice is being sold in the archipelago, where the grain is a staple. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Video shows money found in Godwin Emefiele's house A video showing people counting large sums of money has been shared in social media posts alongside claims that the cash was seized from the home of Nigeria’s suspended central bank chief Godwin Emefiele. This is false. The video is old: it began circulating online in 2019 and was said to show part of the fortune seized from ousted Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir. Other false claims have been linked to the video. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
False: Namibia scaps visas for all Africa nations Posts shared on social media in Zambia and Kenya claim that Namibia has become the first African country to abolish travel visas for all countries on the continent. But this is false: a review of the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs website shows that not all African nations are visa-exempt. A government spokeswoman also told AFP Fact Check that the claim was false. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Missing Context: A Nivea sunscreen product for children does not include almond oil as an ingredient labelled on its package. Facebook posts have been shared by thousands of people warning that a Nivea sunscreen product for children has changed its formula and does not include the ingredient 'almond oil' labelled on its package. Almond oil has always been listed on the label but originally appeared unde (Source: Full Fact)
All German Fact Checks
Unbelegt: Im Raum Wuppertal gäbe es einen weißen Lieferwagen, dessen Fahrer oder Fahrerin versuche, Kinder zu entführen. Die Kripo wisse Bescheid. In einemTiktok-Videoheißt es am 10. Juni, in Wuppertal gäbe es einen weißen Lieferwagen, dessen Fahrer oder Fahrerin versuche, Kinder zu entführen. AufFacebookkursiert anschließend ein Screenshot des Videos, jedoch ohne die Behauptung, dass der Transporter in Wuppertal unterwegs (Source: Correctiv)