Your weekly fact-checks
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#Politics
PolitiFact
Half-True: Trump said the US has “automobile plants being built at levels we've never seen … and they're going up fast.”
The White House cited announcements of major U.S. investments by Hyundai, Honda and Stellantis since President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20. With one exception, these were reallocations of investments at existing facilities, not "plants being built." Building a plant, or even increasing production at an existing plant, can take years. Automotive manufacturing construction increased substantially under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
Reuters
False: Canadian Prime Minister Carney was pictured on Epstein's Island.
A viral image claiming to show Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Tom Hanks on a beach on Epstein's Island is likely AI-generated, according to experts. Signs of manipulation include distorted hands, inconsistent focus, and a Grok watermark, indicating the image was created or edited using AI, with no evidence supporting the claim that they were together.
Snopes
True: The U.S. Department of Defense removed a webpage reporting the history of "Golden Girls" actor Bea Arthur enlisting in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve during World War II.
The U.S. Department of Defense temporarily removed and later restored a webpage about Bea Arthur’s World War II service in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, citing a video about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as the reason for its removal. The page detailed Arthur’s 1943 enlistment and service as a typist, truck driver, and dispatcher.
Lead Stories
False: US code allows 'illegal aliens' to vote legally simply on the basis that they believe they are citizens.
A professor specializing in election law to that what was referred to on social media as a "loophole" described such a narrow exception that "it's hard to imagine whom it might cover". Contrary to online speculations, noncitizen voting is strongly prohibited under existing laws.
#Healthcare
Full Fact
False: The Cancer Act 1939 makes it illegal for doctors to advise patients on cancer cures.
The Cancer Act 1939 restricts advertising cancer treatments to protect the public from unproven remedies but does not criminalize doctors for advising on or researching cancer cures. Claims that doctors are jailed for attempting to cure cancer are false, with no evidence supporting such allegations—cases like David Noakes' 2018 conviction involved the illegal sale of unlicensed medicine, not legitimate medical research.
Africa Check
False: Amref Africa boss promoted a 'tomato method' cure for diabetes.
A deepfake video falsely claims that Dr. Githinji Gitahi promotes a "tomato method" to cure diabetes in 30 seconds, using AI to manipulate his speech and lip movements. The original 2019 video was about ethics training, proving the Facebook clip is a scam designed to mislead viewers and push fraudulent products.
#Economy
PolitiFact
False: Canada to shut down Tesla and the US auto industry.”
Tesla and other American car companies have not shut down sales in Canada. No credible news or official statement was saying that American vehicles are no longer being sold in Canada.
Lead Stories
False: U.S. President Donald Trump wrote "I am ending all the tariffs today against China, Canada and Mexico" in an April 1, 2025, post on Truth Social.
A screenshot shared by users on other social media platforms was fake. Trump has marked April 2 as a day on which his administration will roll out new tariffs.
Full Fact
False: Tax fraud is 30 times larger than benefit fraud.
The most recent comparable official statistics show that in 2022/23 estimated losses due to tax fraud (also known as evasion) were £5.5 billion—less than the £6.3 billion estimated to have been overpaid due to benefit fraud that year. And even higher estimates for the ‘tax gap’, which includes more than just tax fraud, aren’t 30 times estimated benefit fraud.
#Climate
PolitiFact
False: Phoenix’s increased wildfire risk is linked to Bill Gates’ “smart city” plans.
Phoenix’s increased wildfire risk is based on factors such as climate change and highly flammable invasive plants, a recent report found. In 2017, a Bill Gates-linked investment firm spent $80 million on a 24,800-acre property named Belmont located just outside Buckeye, Arizona, and a press release about the purchase described plans for something akin to a smart city. The land remains undeveloped, and there’s no credible information linking it to wildfire risk.
#Nordics
Tjekdet
Falsk: Man vaccinerer hønseæg med mRNA-vacciner og sælger dem i supermarkeder.
Et viralt Facebook-opslag hævder fejlagtigt, at hollandske hønseæg vaccineres med mRNA-vacciner, men i virkeligheden får kun nyudklækkede kyllinger en vektorvaccine (Innovax-ND-H5) mod fugleinfluenza. Eksperter bekræfter, at denne vaccine ikke er mRNA-baseret, og der er ingen tegn på sundhedsrisici ved at spise æg lagt af vaccinerede høns.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: 'Extinct' Species Found Alive in 'Lost City' in Honduran Rainforest.
La Ciudad Blanca, an ancient site deep in Honduras' Mosquitia rainforest, was rediscovered in 2012 and later explored, revealing a pristine ecosystem. In 2019, researchers in Ciudad del Jaguar conducted a biological survey, rediscovering three species thought to be extinct—including a tiger beetle, a false tree coral snake, and a pale-faced bat—along with a potentially new fish species. The survey documented over 700 plant and animal species, emphasizing the region’s extraordinary biodiversity and the urgent need for conservation efforts.
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