Your weekly fact-checks
#Elections2026
This week's election: 2026 Antiguan general election
Antigua Newsroom
Election Date: 30/04/2026
The 2026 Antiguan general election is being held on 30 April 2026, with the ruling Labour Party (ABLP) under Prime Minister Gaston Browne seeking to build on its slim parliamentary majority. The election was called following a series of political developments, including a decisive ABLP by-election victory in March 2026 and ongoing opposition dysfunction within the UPP.
#TrumpCheck
Snopes
True: In an April 26, 2026, interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes," U.S. President Donald Trump said: "I'm not a rapist" and "I'm not a pedophile."
During an April 26, 2026 "60 Minutes" interview, Trump denied being a rapist or pedophile after correspondent Norah O'Donnell read from the alleged manifesto of Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate him at the White House Correspondents' dinner. The quotes circulating on social media are genuine, with Trump making the statements in reaction to Allen's writing, which referenced a "pedophile, rapist and traitor" without explicitly naming the president.
Lead Stories
False: Trump posted a screenshot of an X post to Truth Social with eight AI-generated women that Iran is preparing to hang.
The women are real and are facing a variety of charges, Iran Human Rights in Oslo, Norway, told Lead Stories. The organisation said, "Only one of the women has a death sentence," though others faced death-related charges.
#Politics
StopFake
False: The King of Sweden “humiliated” Ukraine and President Zelensky.
Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf visited Lviv this week in what the Swedish Royal House called a demonstration of “broad and unwavering support” for Ukraine — the first such royal visit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Sweden is among Ukraine’s largest donors, and the trip was intended to underscore that commitment.
PolitiFact
False: Newly released FOIA door logs show that former President Joe Biden didn't enter the Oval Office once after the 2024 election.
There’s no evidence that there are "newly released" Freedom of Information Act door logs that show former President Joe Biden didn’t enter the Oval Office after the 2024 election.We found multiple instances where Biden spoke and held meetings at the Oval Office after that election, including one with President Donald Trump.
Snopes
False: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said, "Republicans are trying to rig elections by only allowing U.S. citizens to vote."
A quote attributed to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claiming "Republicans are trying to rig elections by only allowing U.S. citizens to vote" spread on social media in April 2026, but it is fabricated. Her office confirmed she never said it, and her actual recorded statements on related topics focused on congressional overreach into D.C.'s self-governance, not on opposing citizen-only voting requirements.
#Healthcare
Snopes
True: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, "If you have a $600 drug and reduce it to $10, that's a 600% reduction."
Kennedy told Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that U.S. President Donald Trump "has a different way of calculating" percentages. The next day at the White House, as he stood behind Trump, he defended this incorrect calculation using two other incorrect calculations.
PolitiFact
Barely-True: With one dose of ibogaine, more than 80% of people are free of (opioid) addiction. With two doses, it's more than 90%.
Ibogaine is a plant-derived psychedelic medication that is illegal in the U.S. and many other countries. It causes hallucinations that can last more than 24 hours and cause cardiac problems. Studies show that ibogaine can be effective for short-term opioid addiction treatment, especially reducing drug cravings and some withdrawal symptoms.None of the three studies that looked at ibogaine and longer-term opioid cessation found numbers as high as Rogan said. These small, observational studies found opioid cessation rates between 23% to 55% after a year.
Africa Check
False: Pomegranate fruit can prevent or treat cancer
While there may be promising studies on the effects on pomegranate on cancerous cells in-vitro and in animals, there is no evidence that the fruit can prevent, treat or cure cancer, as claimed by multiple Facebook posts.
#Economy
Africa Check
Mostly False: Kenya is a middle-income country. Kenya's neighbouring countries are least developed countries.
Not all of Kenya’s neighbours are low-income: Tanzania, like Kenya, is lower-middle-income. Calling Kenya simply “middle-income”, as Ruto did, also blurs this distinction, and the category itself mixes very different economies, making comparisons misleading.
#Conflicts
Lead Stories
False: A real photo shows an IDF soldier vandalising another Christian statue in Lebanon after the incident IDF apologised for on April 23, 2026.
It's a fake photo. Two days after an image surfaced showing a real vandalism incident in Lebanon, there was no news reporting about a documented second instance of IDF vandalism of a Christian icon. An AI detection tool reported 83.2 percent confidence the image was AI-generated.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: A zoo in the U.K. had to split up a group of five African gray parrots because the birds shouted expletives at guests and staff.
Lincolnshire Wildlife Park separated five African gray parrots after they repeatedly swore at visitors and staff, with three other birds also picking up the habit. As of 2026, all five have been reintegrated into the main flock and still occasionally curse, though mostly at staff rather than guests.
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