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Your weekly fact-checks

Your weekly fact-checks

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#TrumpCheck

Snopes
True: U.S. President Donald Trump called California Gov. Gavin Newsom "the president of the United States, Gavin Newscum."
The White House confirmed that Trump referred to Newsom as "Newscum" but would not confirm whether Trump mistakenly, sarcastically or hypothetically referred to Newsom as president.

PolitiFact
True: “In the modern era, no American president has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Donald Trump.”
From the start of his first term to now, Trump has authorised military strikes in 10 countries, more than any other president in the 21st century. He has also authorised a higher number of military strikes than any other modern president. An expert said the use of ground troops is a better way to analyze military activity. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush deployed a far greater number of American troops during their tenures.

#Politics

India Today
False: This video shows Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi saying she will never set foot in the United States again after Trump’s Pearl Harbour joke.
Fact-checkers found that both videos are deepfakes. So far, Sanae Takaichi has not said anything like that about her US visit.

Snopes
False: In March 2026, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that anyone who insulted the Prophet Muhammad or the Islamic faith would face a five-year prison sentence.
A claim that circulated widely in March 2026 alleged that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a five-year prison sentence for insulting the Prophet Muhammad or Islam. Fact-checkers however found no credible news reports, no amendments to Spain's criminal code (the Código Penal), and the accompanying image of Sánchez holding a Quran was identified as AI-manipulated, based on photos from a 2022 press conference in Slovakia.

PolitiFact
Half-True: The SAVE America Act “requires everyone to re-register to vote in person and your driver’s license, REAL ID, or military ID aren’t even good enough.”
The SAVE America Act would not require everyone to reregister to vote. But those who move, even locally, or change their party registration or name, would likely need to update their registrations. The bill requires people registering to vote to present documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate. The Trump-supported legislation passed the House in February and it’s up for debate in the Senate.

#Economy

PolitiFact
Barely-True: Florida school districts are the “biggest” drivers of increased property taxes.
Florida’s public schools received $21.6 billion in property taxes in 2024, around 40% of the state’s property tax revenue. Higher property taxes, however, are largely driven by increased property values.Florida school districts have control over some of the local tax money they receive and have the ability to decrease tax rates, but all taxes that school districts levy have some level of state control. School districts can ask taxpayers for more money to finance specific projects. Voters must approve these increases.

#Conflicts

Lead Stories
False: Kuwait has declared war on Iran.
There is no evidence that Kuwait made any such declaration; however, it did declare force majeure due to the Middle East conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. By doing so, Kuwait is legally suspending, delaying, or canceling oil and gas shipments due to events beyond its control, protecting it from breach of contract for delivery delays.

Snopes
False: In mid-March 2026, Argentina announced it was sending warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a request from the U.S., becoming became the first country to do so.
Claims that Argentina deployed frigates to the Strait of Hormuz are false — no credible sources confirmed it, and the original post was found to be 100% AI-generated. The rumor exploited real tensions surrounding the US-Israel-Iran conflict and Trump's push for a naval coalition to reopen the strait.

WebQoof - The Quint
False: This video shows the aftermath of an Iranian attack on Israel.
The claim is false. The video dates back to November 2025 and shows an explosion at an industrial park near Buenos Aires, Argentina.

#Nordics

Tjekdet
Sandt: Cyberangreb mod danske politiske partier på tærsklen til valget.
På tærsklen til det danske snapvalg påtog den prorussiske hackergruppe NoName057(16) sig ansvaret for DDoS-angreb mod flere danske politiske partiers hjemmesider, og Det Radikale Venstre bekræftede, at partiet var blevet angrebet, men havde afværget angrebet. De danske myndigheder havde på forhånd advaret om, at sådanne angreb var sandsynlige, og gruppen kædede angrebene direkte sammen med valget — som statsminister Mette Frederiksen havde udskrevet på grund af øgede spændinger omkring Trumps trusler mod Grønland.

#WTF?! What The Fact of the week

Snopes
True: a University of Arkansas at Little Rock study found that raccoons from urban environments have begun to show signs of domestication.
Researchers compared thousands of images of raccoons from iNaturalist, a website where users post images of flora and fauna, based on location. They found that raccoons photographed in urban areas in North America showed a reduction in snout length compared with those in rural areas. Reduced snout length is typical of what scientists call "domestication syndrome," a set of traits shared by domesticated animals.

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