Your weekly fact-checks
#Elections2024
This week's election: European Parliament
Euronews
Election Date: 09/06/2023
Around 185 million voters across 27 EU countries have had their say, and right-wing parties have seen support creep up in all corners of the continent, tilting the balance of power in the European Parliament. But the projected surge in support for far-right parties was not as pronounced as some had expected, meaning that the pro-European coalition at the centre will hold if there is sufficient political will.
#Politics
PolitiFact
False: Former President Donald Trump blew off his post-sentencing probation report.
Former President Donald Trump hasn’t been sentenced following his recent Manhattan falsified documents trial. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11. Will Scharf, Trump’s lawyer, said Trump will cooperate with the presentence investigation.
PolitiFact
Mostly True: “Due to the arrangements that I've reached with (Mexico) President Obrador, the number of migrants coming … to our shared border unlawfully in recent months has dropped dramatically.”
U.S. Border Patrol data shows migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped from December to April. Immigration experts said it’s difficult to pinpoint a single reason for any change in border crossings. But they acknowledged that Mexico has been intercepting a much higher number of migrants in recent months because of agreements with the U.S. government.
Factly
False: BJP and PM Modi are offering free recharge on the occasion of forming the government for a third term.
Multiple posts containing links to unknown websites are being widely shared on social media, claiming that PM Modi and BJP are offering free mobile recharge for three months to every Indian as a reward for winning the 2024 elections. These viral posts are fake. Neither BJP nor PM Modi is offering this. The links provided in the posts direct to dubious websites. There are numerous news reports about cybercriminals committing cybercrimes through such fake messages and websites.
Snopes
False: A photograph showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska posing in front of stacks of money.
A photograph was shared to X (formerly Twitter), allegedly showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska posing in front of stacks of money. This is a fake photo. The original photo is of the boxer Floyd Mayweather posing with stacks of dollar bills. However, the fake version swaps out the boxer with the Ukrainian President and First Lady.
#Conflicts
Check Your Fact
False: US-Built Pier In Gaza Collapsed Into The Sea.
The pier did not collapse but, instead, was removed for repairs. The pier was damaged due to “rough seas and weather” and was sent to Ashdod, where the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) was set to repair it, the outlet reported, citing the Pentagon. The pier was used to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Reuters
Half-True: Indonesia offered to send troops to protect just Palestinians from Israel.
Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto has said the country is willing to send troops to maintain a potential ceasefire and protect “all parties” and “all sides” amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, contrary to posts online saying the Southeast Asian nation will only “protect Palestinians from Israel.”.
Africa Check
False: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A number of social media posts are claiming that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. But while the court’s chief prosecutor has applied for warrants against five people in the “situation in the State of Palestine”, the court has not issued them yet and the application is likely to take many months.
Africa Check
False: Photo shows Russian troops taking over US base in Niger.
A photo spread widely on social media doesn’t show Russian soldiers taking over a US military base in the African country of Niger but was taken at least four years ago in Syria.
#Healthcare
AAP
False: Rubbing hydrogen peroxide on your skin can cure cancer.
The claim that rubbing hydrogen peroxide on the skin can cure cancer is false. Experts have stated there is no clinical evidence to support this claim, and trying it could be harmful. They also said any posts containing alternative cancer treatments should be considered with extreme scepticism.
Africa Check
False: Kenyans beware, doctored video falsely claims miracle cure for diabetes.
A video circulating online claims that taking “two capsules a day” for two weeks will cure diabetes. But there is no cure for the disease and the video is AI-generated.
#Nordics
Faktisk
Falsk: Vaksiner har ført til overdødelighet.
I en artikkel publisert på Steigan.no 5. juni skriver nettstedet at forskere nå har påvist en sammenheng mellom covid-19-vaksinen og overdødelighet i 47 land. I rapporten fremgår det at det var en høy overdødelighet under pandemien. Rapporten slår imidlertid ikke fast noen årsak til denne overdødeligheten. Det henvises riktignok til vaksinen som en mulig årsak, men det presenteres ingen bevis for eller mot at dette stemmer.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: The Beatles' 1966 album "Yesterday & Today" featured dismembered baby dolls and cuts of raw meat on its cover.
This is a genuine album cover made by the Beatles. American record label Capitol Records promptly recalled the album after distributors and retailers said they were offended by the content of the photograph, leading the record company to paste an alternative cover picture over the original image — which has become known as "the butcher cover." John Lennon's personal copy of the "butcher cover" sold for $234,000 — the third-highest price for a vinyl record at the time of the sale.
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