Your weekly fact-checks
#Politics
False: Domestic violence calls are the biggest cause of death for cops
FBI data does not show that more police officers are killed responding to those calls than any other calls. 504 officers were feloniously killed from 2012 to 2021, 19 of which related to domestic violence. (Source: Politifact)
False: Only 250 people supported petition to improve representation of Indigenous Australians
The claim the Uluru Statement from the Heart was written by only 250 Indigenous people is misleading by omission. While the statement was agreed by 250 delegates, discussions were based on priorities agreed by Indigenous communities at regional dialogue events across Australia. (Source: AAP)
#Health
False: Trudeau threatens to pull health funding without digital IDs
Social media posts claim Canada's prime minister refused to release billions in health care funding to provinces and territories unless they agreed to require the use of digital identifications. This is false; federal and local officials confirmed no such electronic documents will be mandated. (Source: AFP)
False: Dental products containing fluoride are unsafe because the substance has been directly linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s
There is no research supporting this claim. But consuming high levels of fluoride isn’t without health risks, such as brittle bones, and some studies have suggested too much fluoride in young children may be related to IQ or neurodevelopmental issues. (Source: AP News)
False: The Ahu plant is a powerful drug that eradicates cancer
Multiple Facebook posts falsely claim a plant used in herbal medicine in Sri Lanka is a cure for cancer that is "far more powerful than any western medication". However, medical experts warned against consuming the plant as a cancer treatment, saying there was no scientific basis for the claim. (Source: AFP)
#Nordics
Misvisende: Reinen har mindre enn 40 prosent av landarealet å beite på
Det stemmer at samisk reindrift omfatter rundt 40 prosent av landets areal. Men dette er et bruttoareal som også inkluderer byer, tettsteder, isbreer, innsjøer, veier også videre. Det finnes ikke statistikk som sier noe om hvor stort område reinen i praksis har til å beite på. (Source: Faktisk)
Falsk: Svensk politi kan ikke bekræfte DF-politikers fortælling om knivoverfald på 10-årig pige
2. marts blev en 10-årig pige stukket i maven med en kniv af en 35-årig mand i Göteborg. Ifølge Dansk Folkepartis Kenneth Kristensen Berth råbte gerningsmanden “Allahu Akbar”, og så blev sagen slet ikke omtalt i danske medier, skriver han. Men flere danske medier har skrevet om sagen og Svensk politi oplyser desuden, at intet foreløbigt tyder på, at gerningsmanden råbte “Allahu Akbar”. (Source: TjekDet)
#Other
True: Lithuanian artist designed a "Euthanasia Coaster" intended to kill its passengers.
While Julijonas Urbonas' design is real, it is best described as a thought experiment or conceptual art project. The Euthanasia Coaster does not exist in the real world, nor was it meant to. (Source: Snopes)
False: Dinosaurs never existed. They were invented by the Royal Society in 1841
Three experts and a spokesperson for the Royal Society told Reuters separately that these claims are false. They say Sir Richard Owen first used the term ‘Dinosauria’ in the early 1840s but that dinosaurs and their fossils existed and were documented long before. (Source: Reuters)
False: A South African electricity utility recommends using hand signals while driving to save energy
It is correct that the power utility Eskom has suggested that South Africans should "use electricity smartly". However, graphics from this campaign have been edited with the above claim and shared on Facebook. (Source: Africacheck)
False: ‘The Simpsons’ predicted the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
A 1990s episode of The Simpsons about a bank failure was edited to substitute the name Silicon Valley Bank instead of First Bank of Springfield. (Source: Reuters)
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