Your weekly fact-checks
#Navalny
Snopes
Unproven: Russian dissident Alexei Navalny's death notice was posted just two minutes after his official time of death.
The Kremlin has not been transparent in releasing more specific details the exact cause of Navalny's death; therefore, information surrounding the exact cause and time of Navalny's death cannot be absolutely confirmed without independent investigation.
Snopes
Miscaptioned: An image captured of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny behind bars is the last photograph of him alive.
The image in question was taken from a January 2024 hearing in which Navalny appeared via video link. His last appearance in court was recorded on Feb. 15, 2024, a day before his death. We do not know whether there are other photographs of Navalny taken in the day prior to his death.
#Nordics
Snopes
True: Cats are banned in the town of Longyearbyen, Norway.
It is forbidden to bring live mammals and birds of all kinds into Svalbard. This measure is to "protect the fragile flora and fauna."
#Other
PolitiFact
True: “[In the US] Marijuana is currently classified in the same category of drugs as heroin and a more dangerous category than fentanyl or cocaine.”
The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, which means that it is considered a greater concern than either fentanyl or cocaine, which are classified as Schedule 2 drugs.
Snopes
True: The space agency stopped painting its shuttles' fuel tank because the white paint added about 600 pounds of weight.
During the first two space shuttle launches the external tank was painted white to protect its insulating foam from ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun while the spacecraft sat on its launch pad.
The amount of white latex paint needed to cover such a large surface area added an estimated 600 pounds — weight that could be better reserved for other items, such as propellant.
Agence France-Presse
Misleading: Solar storm in 2024 will lead to 17 days of darkness in 2024
While a once-in-a-century solar storm could cause surges in electricity power grids that lead to long blackouts, experts told AFP it was highly unlikely for a storm to blanket the Earth in darkness for 17 days.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Full Fact
False: Princess Diana appeared in public earlier this month to confirm she is still alive.
The claims use a photograph taken in January 1997 which has been digitally altered. Princess Diana died in August 1997.
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