Your weekly fact-checks
International Women's Day
The past year has seen significant setbacks to women's rights: From the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which ended the constitutional right to abortion to the Taliban's restrictive rules on women and girls after 20 years of relative freedom. However, the fight for equality continues and inspires many people to protest, as has happened in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini.
Opinion: "Gender equality won’t be achieved for 300 years"
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted this week that women’s rights were “abused, threatened and violated” around the world (Source: AP News)
Fact check: Have the Taliban kept their promises?
Broken Promise: Women's rights will be respected within the norms of Islamic law
Women must cover themselves from head to toe in public, can't board planes without a male guardian, should leave their home only when necessary.
Broken Promise: Girls will be able to attend high school
The Education Ministry announced that classes would open for all students, including girls. However, one day later, it reversed the order, calling for female students to leave school.
(Source: DW)
#Health
False: New Zealand is seeing its biggest increase in deaths in a century because of the coronavirus vaccine.
Government officials and experts in New Zealand say the rise in deaths last year is the result of the country’s first true wave of COVID-19 infections, which follow the lifting of the strict lockdown policy maintained during the first two years of the pandemic. (Source: AP News)
Exaggeration: Study Found Dangerous Levels Of Heavy Metals In Pink Himalayan Salt
Although the study found metal contaminants, all pink salt samples in the study - with the exception of one - were within safe and allowable limits. (Source: Lead Stories)
#Other
False: Astronauts can't cut hair while in space
Astronauts use special clippers with a vacuum attachment to cut their hair while in space, and space agencies have documented the process online. (Source: Reuters)
False: The UK’s Parliament closed its borders to prevent Harry and Meg from flying to the UK in order to protect the king
This is baseless. The United Kingdom didn't close its borders at all, much less to stop Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, from traveling there. (Source: Politifact)
False: "Back to the Future 4" is expected to be released sometime in 2023.
Cast and crew have denied making a new movie. It turned out they were teasing a "Back to the Future"-themed store. (Source: Snopes)
#Nordics
Stemmer, men...: Utslippene fra forbrenning av oljen og gassen i Rosebank vil være lik de totale, årlige CO₂-utslippene fra de 28 fattigste landene i verden.
Dette stemmer hvis man legger til grunn at de forventede utvinnbare reservene er rundt 500 millioner fat oljeekvivalenter. Tallene som brukes er usikre fordi man ikke vet nøyaktig hvor mye olje som blir hentet opp, og utslippstall fra fattige land er heller ikke nøyaktige. (Source: Faktisk)
Satire: Kører du tre kilometer i timen hurtigere end det tilladte, udløser det et klip i kørekortet fra 1. maj
Sådan kan man læse i et populært facebookopslag fra 2014, hvor der opfordres til at gøre sine venner opmærksomme på lovændringen ved at dele opslaget. Men opslaget er en vaskeægte aprilsnar. Hverken dengang eller nu træder nye regler i kraft 1. maj (Source: Tjekdet)
Ikke muligt: Tyrkie må have vidst, at der var et voldsomt jordskælv på vej
24 timer før, et voldsomt jordskælv ramte Tyrkiet 6. februar 2023, trak otte lande deres ambassadører ud af landet. De må have fået nys om, hvilken katastrofe der skulle til at udspille sig. Men størstedelen af landenes ambassader afviser, at deres ambassadører blev kaldt hjem inden jordskælvet. (Source: Tjekdet)
FactiSearch.ai
Want to continue reading? Explore FactiSearch.ai, which gives you instant access to the latest fact-checks in 40 languages. Subscribe today and never miss crucial information in your region or topic of your interest.
Our Why
The spread of misinformation and disinformation has implications for democracies, businesses, and security. At Factiverse, we build products that create value and provide clarity in a world full of false information. We are happiest when our users get an overview and make informed decisions for a more impactful and sustainable future. Reach out or follow us on Linkedin for new updates.
info@factiverse.no
We at Factiverse would appreciate if you would answer a few short questions about the newsletter here. It only takes 2 minutes.