Your weekly fact-checks
#Elections2025
This week's election: Dutch Second Chamber Elections
BBC
Election Date: 29/10/2025
The 2025 Dutch general election, held on 29 October, was a snap election triggered by the collapse of the Schoof cabinet after the PVV withdrew from the coalition over asylum policy, followed by NSC’s departure over foreign policy disputes. Major issues in the campaign included housing, immigration, and healthcare, with parties deeply divided on taxes, climate measures, and welfare policies, while coalition prospects remained uncertain as several parties ruled out working with Geert Wilders’ PVV.
#TrumpCheck
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: Trump will place a tariff on Blue Jays Baseball team.
As the Toronto Blue Jays head to the World Series for the first time in over 30 years, social media accounts are claiming US President Donald Trump has announced a tariff on games involving Canada's only team in Major League Baseball. This is unfounded; there is no public record of Trump making such a statement – a remark that originally appeared as satire.
#Politics
PolitiFact
False: The US Government declared that erecting a ballroom is the main priority, rather than issues such as the cost of living and health care.
In a briefing, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about President Donald Trump’s priorities for renovating parts of the White House campus.Leavitt responded that the ballroom is his top priority. Leavitt did not say the ballroom is Trump’s priority among all policies, such as inflation and health care.
Snopes
Mostly False: The "No Kings" protests in October 2025 against U.S. President Donald Trump's administration were financially backed by billionaires, who provided nearly $300 million for the movement.
Billionaires of all political stripes fund groups that push their preferred sentiments, and some of the organizations working on the "No Kings" movement have received grant money or other funds from charities with ties to billionaires such as George Soros. Billionaires did not spend $300 million on funding the "No Kings" protests.
#Healthcare
Snopes
True: In October 2025, a study showed that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines helped extend cancer survival.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines create enough of an immunity boost to extend survival in certain types of lung and skin cancers, an analysis of more than 1,000 patient files showed. The scientific journal Nature published a research team's article about the study on Oct. 22, 2025. The lead scientist told The Washington Post the data needed "to be confirmed in a Phase III trial."
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: Pakistan's HPV vaccine drive will create infertility among women there.
Misinformation has plagued Pakistan's first rollout of a jab to protect girls against cervical cancer, which kills thousands of women in the country each year. A widely shared online clip shows a conservative politician inaccurately claiming the shot is "making our daughters infertile". Experts say there is no evidence linking such a side effect to the vaccine, which has been continuously monitored for safety since it was licensed in 2006.
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: Isolation facilties are being set up because of a chikungunya uptick in China.
China's National Health Commission (NHC) says confirmed or suspected chikungunya patients are required to undergo isolation in the hospital after thousands of cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported in 2025 in the country as of September 27. However, a video shared in social media posts falsely claiming it showed a massive confinement complex in the country was actually filmed at a quarantine camp during the Covid-19 pandemic. The NHC says chikungunya patients are isolated to prevent them from coming into contact with mosquitoes.
#PopCulture
Snopes
False: The American singer-songwriter Joan Baez sued White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt for $50 million.
A false online rumor in October 2025 claimed that Joan Baez sued White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt for $50 million after a supposed “Tonight Show” ambush. No credible news outlets reported the story, which originated from ad-driven, AI-generated content and fake WordPress sites spreading similar celebrity lawsuit hoaxes.
#Climate
India Today
False: Plastic waste completely overwhelming a water body in India.
A viral post falsely claimed to show plastic pollution in India, but fact checkers found the video was actually filmed in Guatemala. Reports from CBS News, Reuters, and The Telegraph confirm the footage depicts waste from the Rio Motagua and its tributary Rio Las Vacas, among the world’s most polluted rivers.
#Conflicts
StopFake
False: Canada backtracks on [lan to send repaired armored vehicles to Ukraine.
Pro-Kremlin outlets have distorted the facts, portraying a routine contract adjustment as a sign that Ottawa is «abandoning» Kyiv. In truth, Canada remains a steadfast supporter of Ukraine—continuing to deliver weapons, train Ukrainian forces, and finance key defense initiatives.
Snopes
Mostly-false: In 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement started stockpiling guided missile warheads, explosive components and chemical weapons.
ICE purchased chemical weapons such as pepper spray in 2025 — as it did in previous years. However, ICE was not "stockpiling" guided missile warheads as of this writing. One other point is that a $61,000 purchase for "distraction devices" was categorised under the federal code for "guided missile warheads and explosive components." Evidence suggested someone likely made an error, but ICE did not confirm that on the record. It's unclear what, exactly, ICE purchased under that specific contract.
#Nordics
Tjekdet
Falsk: Interview med Mette Frederiksen indrømmer nederlag for Ukraine.
Mette Frederiksen har indset, at krigen er tabt for Ukraine. Det skriver en kendt russisk tv-vært med henvisning til et interview, Mette Frederiksen gav til Financial Times forud for et topmøde om blandt andet EU's støtte til Ukraine. Men i interviewet nævner Mette Frederiksen ikke engang muligheden for et ukrainsk nederlag.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: Certain mummies in ancient egypt were discovered with golden tongues.
Archaeologists led by Kathleen Martinez uncovered 16 burial shafts at Egypt’s Taposiris Magna Temple, revealing 2,000-year-old mummies with golden tongue amulets. The golden tongue-shaped amulets placed inside the mouths of some mummies were part of a ritual intended to enable the deceased to speak in the afterworld. This practice reflects the external adornments emphasized in Greek and Roman-era mummifications, where symbolic objects were added to facilitate the soul's journey and abilities in the afterlife rather than focusing on preserving the body itself.
Check out the new Factiverse blog post
This week's blog post: The digital battlefield: how elections are being manipulated now
Elections worldwide are increasingly targeted by foreign disinformation campaigns, with countries including the US, European and Asian countries experiencing coordinated efforts by Russia, China, and Iran to manipulate voters. Social media platforms' inconsistent content moderation and lack of safeguards are enabling these attacks, which prompts the question of how democracies protect themselves from this.
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