Your weekly fact-checks
#Ukraine
False: Ukrainian citizens tied to poles, humiliated for refusing to join the war against Russia
Viral video claimed to be of Ukraine military humiliating citizens for refusing to join the war was found to be a 2022 clip of ‘thieves’ being publicly humiliated. (Source: Newschecker)
False: Twitter sent a notice saying only subscriber pages can use Ukrainian flags
A widely shared image claims to show a notice from Twitter informing users that only the platform's paid subscribers would be able to feature the Ukrainian flag emoji on their profiles. This is false; the supposed screenshot appears to be a digital fabrication, and Twitter has made no such policy announcement. (Source: Agence France-Presse - AFP)
True: A factory in Pennsylvania produces ammunition for the Ukrainian military
In February 2023, videos spread online claiming that an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania was producing artillery for Ukraine in its war against invading Russian forces. The videos we examined were real and accurate. (Source: Snopes)
#USA
False: People in Ohio and Pennsylvania are experiencing third-degree burns because of acid rain
A screenshot of a tweet claims the residents in Ohio and Pennsylvania are experiencing third-degree burns on their bodies because of the acid rain caused by the chemicals released in the train derailment.
The image matches those from an article on ‘What are signs of a hookworm infection?’ exactly except for the point that it is flipped horizontally in the viral post. (Source: News Mobile)
False: 53% of Americans made aware of the Hunter Biden laptop story would have changed their vote in 2020
The poll question was limited to a subset of people who were following the laptop story, or 37% of the total sample. This subset leaned Republican, compared with the U.S. general population. 53% of the subset represents only 19.6% of Americans. (Source: PolitiFact)
#Climate change
False: Hillary Clinton said, ‘It’s time to ban cash to fight climate change'
While speaking at the New York State Democratic Convention in New York on Thursday, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about former president Donald Trump and said the country is "deeply and dangerously divided."
The News Punch article provided no evidence in support of the claim or any quotes of Clinton discussing cash or cryptocurrency. (Source: USA Today)
Missing Context: Falling sea level in Norway shows global sea levels aren't rising
While NOAA data does show the sea level in Oslo is falling relative to the land, this is only because the land is rising.
"Sea level in Oslo is rising, but the uplift of land has been faster," Stendel said. (Source: USA Today)
#Natural disasters
Recycled Rumor: The HAARP project manufactures disasters
The manager of the HAARP project told Lead Stories that the facility "cannot create or amplify natural disasters."
HAARP studies are not classified, and the facility regularly conducts annual open houses for the public to attend for free.
The clip from Facebook reused a series of shots showing an electric discharge, but they did not capture the HAARP facility in Alaska. (Source: Lead Stories)
False: This picture shows two people buried under rubble after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
The image shows two characters from the fantasy drama series called Game of Thrones. (Source: WebQoof - The Quint)
#Nordics
Falsk: Hvis du ser på den totale pakka som USA har levert, så snakker vi omtrent like mye penger som det norske oljefondet
Oljefondet var verdt rundt 13 600 milliarder kroner ved utgangen av februar. USAs samlede bidrag til Ukraina er mange ganger lavere. (Source: Faktisk)
#Other
False: 7% of the world’s population is transgender.
Reputable surveys and census records generally put the figure between 0.33% and 1.6%. Most research into transgender populations has been done in Western nations. There is no evidence to suggest the proportion of transgender people would be significantly higher in other parts of the world. (Source: AAP)
False: Apple will give $700 to anyone whose iPhone was slowed down
Apple's last known settlement in the U.S. over battery slowdowns will not pay anything near $700 per phone, according to a legal expert and settlement terms. The deadline in that case was in 2020. (Source: USA Today)
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