Your weekly fact-checks
#Ukraine
AP News
False: A photo shows a Ukrainian soldier who lost both legs and his left arm in the Russia-Ukraine war giving the Nazi salute.
The soldier, Roman Tsymbalyuk, was attempting to steady himself while waving and giving a traditional military salute on his new prosthetic legs. Tsymbalyuk posted the image on social media without realizing it could appear he was giving the Nazi salute but removed it when he noticed the resemblance.
India Today
False: An image shows a fire at a Russian oil refinery following an attack by Ukraine.
A Ukrainian artist digitally created the image in question and it was shared on social media with the assumption that it was a photo that was taken after a drone strike in Russia by Ukraine. This image was created using multiple photo editing tools, including some AI tools.
#Elections
Factcheck.afp
False: Video shows Vladimir Putin expressing support for Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.
A video of Russian leader Vladimir Putin talking about the upcoming US presidential election has been shared with false subtitles to make it appear he was expressing support for Indonesian presidential frontrunner Prabowo Subianto.
Politifact
False: The 2020 election was the only time in the history of the United States that an election took more than 24 hours to count.
There has never been a US presidential election where every vote has been counted within 24 hours. Official results take days to weeks to certify, experts said.
Snopes
Half True: Donald Trump said: "Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it."
The context of the remark suggests Trump was predicting an "economic bloodbath" for the country, not a literal one if he loses the 2024 presidential election.
Factcheck.afp
False: Trump endorsing South Africa's Umkhonto we Sizwe party.
A 2017 video NBC interview with Trump was altered to depict him endorsing South Africa’s newly launched Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) – a political party backed by the country’s ex-leader Jacob Zuma ahead of national elections in May 2024.
#Healthcare
Africa Check
True: Over 200 million girls and women are survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) globally.
Nigeria's health ministry is correct that over 200 million girls and women around the world have survived FGM. The ministry's claim that Nigeria accounts for about a third of that estimate is however incorrect – the accurate figure is a tenth.
Factcheck.afp
False: Drinking extract from Moringa leaves can cure HIV.
Scientists have warned people with HIV against taking moringa juice to treat the virus after Facebook posts touted the plant as a "cure" for the condition. The false claim, which has circulated on social media in Myanmar for years, resurfaced after the ongoing political crisis in the Southeast Asian country led to the collapse of its healthcare system.
#Disasters
Factcheck.afp
False: Video shows gas explosion in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Dramatic footage of an explosion in Mongolia that circulated online since January 2024 resurfaced in social media posts that falsely linked it to a gas station fire in South Korea.
#Nordics
Faktabaari
Sant: Videoene til Perussuomalaiset er de mest anbefalte på Youtube.
Ifølge en rapport publisert av Faktabaari og Check First fungerer Youtubes anbefalingsalgoritme som en trakt som leder brukerne til finnmarkskandidatene og andre høyreekstreme youtube-kanaler.
Tjekdet
Falsk: 1.000-1.500 kriminelle er ikke blevet identificeret i boligforeningen Gellerupparken.
Tallene stammer fra et folketingssvar fra justitsminister Peter Hummelgaard, som igen henviser til en undersøgelse fra Østjyllands Politi. Men tallene er refereret forkert. Politiet har ikke identificeret mellem 1.000 og 1.500 kriminelle - og slet ikke i Gellerupparken.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: The Republic of Kiribati is the only country in the world to touch all four hemispheres.
Based on its main landmass alone, Kiribati is the only country that stretches across all four hemispheres. Though Kiribati's landmass encompasses only about 323 square miles, these islands are spread over 1.35 million square miles that straddle the equator and the 180th meridian.
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