Your weekly-fact checks
The Factiverse Matter Of Fact Report is out!
Using the Factiverse Live Fact Checking product, we analysed the various claims that came from the first US Presidential Debate in June, last month. In this report, we delve into various points of analysis pertaining to this debate.
Details like the total number of claims, the most/least discussed topics and most how supported or disputed each candidates claims were.
Here is a link to read the report in full: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O5EpUAn8cSU0txa7pRWsSciSfGdC6ZAa/view?usp=sharing
#Politics
Reuters
False: The ballot deadline has not passed in any US states.
U.S. President Joe Biden was not yet certified as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate before he withdrew from the race, so posts online insisting it is too late to remove his name from the ballot in certain states misinterpret the election process.
PolitiFact
False: 100 million ballots (Democrats) prefilled now have the wrong name.
There are no official ballots for the general election yet. The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee will be determined in a virtual nominating process ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August. State deadlines for receiving the presidential nominee’s name for ballot printing generally fall after that.
Snopes
False: On July 22, 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris said, "Our support for Israel will continue" amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States.
While Harris did not use the above words, she has continuously supported Israel amid its assault on Gaza. Recently she called for a temporary cease-fire, becoming the first person in the Biden administration to do so, and for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
#Healthcare
Full Fact
False: Study verifies that the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine causes cancer.
A video on Instagram claims that a study has "verified" that the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, which was marketed under the trade name Comirnaty, causes cancer. The video shows screenshots of a study juxtaposed with images of frequent subjects of misinformation like Bill Gates. However, the study referenced in the video does not look at whether the Comirnaty vaccine causes cancer and does not showcase any evidence that the Pfizer vaccine causes cancer.
Reuters
False: CBC headline pushes for medical assisted dying.
A CBC News article on Canadian psychiatrists pushing medical assistance in dying (MAID) to combat ideological extremism is altered. The headline was not published by the outlet, a spokesperson said. In 2016, Canada legalized MAID for people with a terminal illness and it was expanded to people with incurable conditions in 2021. Those suffering solely from mental illness will be excluded from the procedure until 2027 after a provision preventing this group of people from accessing MAID was extended in 2024.
Snopes
Mostly False: Twerking removes stagnant blood and fibroid cysts from the uterus.
Twerking promotes health in several different ways, by strengthening the core, legs and gluteal muscles, and improving hip mobility. All of which support the pelvic floor. Activity of any type can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of fibroids, along with a healthy diet but twerking, dance, or exercise of any type cannot be the sole line of treatment for endometriosis.
#Conflicts
StopFake
False: Ukraine Is Ready for Peace with Russia according to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister did not speak about Ukraine’s readiness to immediately start negotiations with Russia on the Kremlin’s terms. Dmytro Kuleba repeated the widely known official position of Ukraine on achieving peace on the terms of Ukraine and its partners.
Africa Check
False: Photo shows clash between Israeli settlers and police in West Bank, not settlers trying to 'tear Palestinian child apart'
A photo taken in the West Bank has been doing the rounds on social media in 2024, with the claim it shows Israeli settlers pulling savagely at a Palestinian child. A reverse image search revealed that the photo was from 2009 – nearly fifteen years ago– and the person being pulled at was an Israeli settler, not a Palestinian child. Israeli settlers were trying to pull a fellow settler as he is dragged away by border policemen during clashes at the entrance to the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad, west of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. This is after Israeli police tried to confiscate a truck containing material to build a new house on the settlement.
#Nordics
Faktisk
Falsk: Et bilde av det som skal forestille israelske svømmere som skriver «Bring them home now», med kroppene i et basseng, hevdes av flere på sosiale medier å være en feiring i forbindelse med OL i Paris. Bildet er riktignok tatt av en fotograf sammen med et israelsk svømmelag, men i november 2023. Det har altså ingenting med OL i 2024 å gjøre.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: Former U.S. President Barack Obama and actor Brad Pitt are ninth cousins.
Genealogists at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) — a genealogical organization founded in 1845 — unearthed the connection between the two men in 2008, according to reports by numerous credible news outlets. according to NEHGS's research, Pitt and Obama shared a common ancestor, Edwin Hickman, who lived in Virginia and died in 1769. Genealogists identified Hickman as the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of the two men, making them ninth cousins.
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Check out the Factiverse Blog
Want to know more about the world of misinformation and fact-checking? If so, make sure to out the Factiverse Blog! We explore these topics to give our readers a better understanding of these topics while also giving guidelines on how organisations can protect themselves. Click here to look at our list of posts.