Your weekly fact-checks
FactiSearch is gathering fact-checks in over 52 languages!
A recent update to our FactiSearch tool has raised the bar yet again. FactiSearch now gathers fact-checks in over 52 languages ensuring you get the latest crucial insights and trending facts from all over the world. FactiSearch makes staying informed simple and easy.
Click here to try it out for yourself!
Newly added languages include Swedish, Greek, Indonesian, Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, and Malay. Here are some new languages in action:
#Politics
Factcheck.afp
False: Videos show Putin announcing Jesus was black.
Users in Africa recently shared two videos claiming they show Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that newly discovered religious icons proved Jesus was black. The clips come from Putin’s New Year’s Eve address and a visit to Kherson. Putin made no mention of Jesus’ skin tone in either footage.
Lead Stories
False: US Navy JAG charges Merrick Garland with treason.
Merrick Garland has not been charged with treason or any other crime. A Pentagon duty officer stated that the information in this claim is false. This claim originated on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content.
#Healthcare
Politifact
True: Many Wisconsin police agencies have two officers present during the analysis of drugs.
There is guidance from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group that two officers be present when drugs are handled in evidence rooms, one inside the processing room and one outside to ensure the other is safe. The Madison Police Department, the Sheboygan Sheriff’s Department and the Waukesha Police Department all have similar policies in place.
Australian Associated Press
False: Japan has banned COVID-19 vaccines because of soaring deaths.
COVID vaccines are still available in the country and the Japanese health ministry says there is no scientific evidence vaccination has caused excess deaths.
Politifact
Half True: Insulin for Medicare beneficiaries previously cost 400 dollars per month month on average. It now costs $35 a month.
The Inflation Reduction Act capped the monthly price of insulin at $35 for Medicare enrollees starting in 2023. Drug pricing experts said most Medicare enrollees likely were not paying a monthly average of $400 before these changes. Research shows that patients with private insurance or Medicare often paid more than $35 a month for their insulin, but not as high as the $400 average President Biden cited.
#Conflicts
Factcheck.afp
False: Clip shows supposed victim of Moscow concert hall attack smoking after the attack had taken place.
An old clip from the making of a Russian music video has resurfaced in posts that falsely claimed it proved deaths during an attack at a Moscow concert hall in March 2024 were staged. The footage of a person smoking a cigarette while wrapped in a body bag was in fact taken from behind-the-scenes footage of a music video released by Russian rapper Husky in September 2020.
Factcheck.afp
False: Muslims killed 8 million Buddhists in Indonesia in 1965.
Social media posts repeatedly shared in Myanmar falsely claimed Muslims massacred "eight million Buddhists" in Indonesia in 1965. Multiple scholars stated the shared images and posts misrepresent mass killings in Indonesia in the mid-1960s which they said targeted communists and not Buddhists.
#Disasters
AfricaCheck
False: A school structure collapsed in Uganda.
A video circulating widely on social media showing a school structure collapse is wrongly claimed to have occurred in Uganda. But it actually happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Factcheck.afp
False: Video shows the aftermath of an earthquake on Indonesia's Bawean Island in March 2024.
Dramatic footage of a street in Indonesia reduced to rubble after a deadly earthquake in 2022 surfaced in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed the aftermath of a tremor that displaced thousands of people in March 2024.
#Other
Factcheck.afp
False: Bill Gates said he wants to replace all farmers with AI.
This claim distorts 2024 blog posts from the billionaire philanthropist in which he discusses how smart technology is helping farmers in India keep their crops safe from natural disasters and pests.
#Nordics
Tjekdet
Halvt sandt: Videoer af beskadigede bygninger dukker op på sociale medier, efter at et jordskælv på 7,4 har ramt Taiwan.
Indlæg på sociale medier, der gentagne gange er blevet delt i Myanmar, hævder fejlagtigt, at muslimer massakrerede "otte millioner buddhister" i Indonesien i 1965. Flere forskere har udtalt, at de delte billeder og opslag giver et forkert billede af massedrabene i Indonesien i midten af 1960'erne, som de siger var rettet mod kommunister og ikke buddhister.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
USA Today
True: Texas man named 'Literally Anybody Else' is running for president.
A 35-year-old man in Texas has legally changed his name to ‘Literally Anybody Else’ and announced he will attempt to run for President, against Trump and Biden. The man in question was frustrated with the lack of voting options in the lead-up to the presidential race. He has launched a campaign website and is working to collect signatures in the state of Texas.
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