Your weekly fact-checks
#Healthcare
Forbes
False: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has contracted a mutated strain of COVID-19.
A digitally altered photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has circulated in posts falsely claiming it shows him hospitalised for a "mutated strain of coronavirus". The image – shared worldwide – was manipulated from a photo of his wife Sara visiting the victim of a 2015 attack in Jerusalem.
Australian Associated Press
False: A peer-reviewed study proves COVID-19 vaccines are more harmful than beneficial.
The claim that a peer-reviewed journal study proves COVID-19 vaccines are more harmful than beneficial is false. Some authors of the study are anti-COVID-vaccine advocates who have spread misinformation about vaccines previously. The study repeats several false claims about COVID-19 vaccines that have already been debunked.
Politifact
False: The CDC officially agrees with conspiracy theorists from 2020 who want to treat COVID-19 like the flu.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on March 1 updated its guidance on COVID-19, putting it in line with other respiratory illnesses, including influenza. People who have COVID-19 no longer are asked to isolate themselves for five days before returning to work or school. Instead, once their symptoms have improved, they can take other preventive measures, such as wearing masks.
#Politics
Snopes
True: U.S. President Joe Biden has a speech impediment.
Discussion over the age and mental acuity of both U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump has become more heated in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. The incumbent president's history of stuttering is being used as a defence for confusing comments made by the president during public appearances.
Politifact
False: A video of Kenyan President William Ruto speaking in French is circulating on social media in Kenya.
Politifact debunks a circulating video claiming Kenyan President William Ruto spoke French, revealing it to be a deepfake; Ruto was speaking in English during an address to the Kenyan diaspora in Tokyo.
India Today
Half True: Video shows a recent incident of a person slapping a political leader in Pakistan.
A video of a public gathering is now making the rounds on social media, in which a man shaking hands with people gets slapped. Those sharing the clip claimed that this was a recent incident where a man expressed his anger against a political leader by slapping him.
#Elections
Africa Check
False: If you don't vote in South Africa's elections, your vote automatically goes to the ruling party.
South Africa's upcoming general election has seen the resurgence of an old rumour – that the vote of anyone who doesn't vote is "automatically" given to the ruling African National Congress. But this is not true. South Africa is set to vote on 29 May 2024 in what could be a contentious election.
PolitiFact
False: Republican Cindy McCain endorses Joe Biden in 2024.
Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has not endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2024 election. A Facebook quoting Cindy McCain endorsing Biden was taken from two 2020 tweets. A review of news clips and her social media accounts does not show she has not yet issued any endorsement in the 2024 presidential election.
#Nordics
Tjekdet
Falsk: Viralt billede viser en palæstinensisk strand.
Viser billedet altså den israelske by Tel Aviv, som blev grundlagt af jøder i 1909, og som helt frem til i dag har været beboet af jøder. Om stranden foran byen, dengang billedet blev taget, dermed er jødisk, eller om stranden kan betegnes som palæstinensk, da området omkring byen dengang var palæstinensisk, må afhænge af øjnene, der ser.
#Other
USA Today
False: New York is giving migrants up to $10,000 on debit cards with no restrictions.
Families will not be issued $10,000 debit cards. The claim centres on a program that would replace the boxes of food provided to migrant families receiving shelter from the city of New York with preloaded debit cards.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: From April 2022 to March 2023, King Charles III made $34 million in rent.
The king's billion-dollar real estate profile, the Duchy of Lancaster, consists of four different categories of income generation: commercial, agricultural, residential and financial. King Charles III made $34 million in money generated from the properties he leased to state institutions, private individuals and other organisations.
Factiverse is searching for its next Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Factiverse is looking for a seasoned professional to join as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to spearhead our mission of shielding individuals and organisations from misinformation. Click here to learn more.
Factiverse GPT
Concerned about hallucinations in ChatGPT? Use our GPT and verify information. We search in real-time in Google, Bing and Semantic Scholar simultaneously and propose the most credible sources. Try our GPT now!