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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)

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)

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: Gazing at the sun will not cause blindness, if done at sunset or sunrise. A Facebook video with over 31,000 likes promotes 'sungazing', saying that advice not to look into the sun is wrong and it won't blind you. This could be dangerous. Bad health information can cause harm if people follow it. It can also undermine good quality information from publi (Source: Full Fact)

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)

Half True: Biparjoy cyclone video. Vishvas News in its investigation found that all three videos going viral in the name of Cyclone Biparjoy are of different incidents and are going viral with a false claim. One video is of a tornado in China, while two other videos are old and related to other incidents.New Delhi (Source: Vishvasnews)

Misleading: Lightning destroys church during gay wedding in the United States Social media posts in Africa recently claimed that an American church was razed to the ground after it was struck by lightning during a gay wedding. The claim is misleading: while the church completely burnt down, and investigators believed the fire was caused by lightning, there was no ceremony going on at the time and no deaths were recorded. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)

No Evidence: German sex education book is not recommended as a textbook for use in schools A German book featuring sexual positions is not recommended by education ministries or authorities producing frameworks for sex education in the country, contrary to online posts claiming it is a textbook used in schools. Publishers say it is an educational book for parents who w (Source: Reuters)

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)

Manipuliert: Das deutsche Satiremagazin Titanic habe im Juni 2023 in einer Sonderausgabe eine Karikatur des ukrainischen Präsidenten Wolodymyr Selenskyj auf dem Titelbild gezeigt. AufEnglisch, Russisch (hierundhier) undChinesischverbreitet sich aktuell ein angebliches Cover einer Sonderausgabe der SatirezeitungTitanicvon Juni 2023. Darauf ist eine Karikatur des ukrainischen Präsidenten Selenskyj mit dem Titel „erfolgreicher Gegenangriff in eigene Hose“ zu  (Source: Correctiv)