From b057d375eee30bd9a6ea8cfe9077e553d84077b8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: schuellersa Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:31:45 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] #15 update example CSV file + fix take into account maxclaims + fix KeyError exception --- .gitignore | 2 + claim_extractor/extractors/afpfactcheck.py | 11 ++- output_got.csv | 83 ++++++++++++++-------- output_sample_afpfactcheck.csv | 55 ++++++++++++++ 4 files changed, 120 insertions(+), 31 deletions(-) create mode 100644 output_sample_afpfactcheck.csv diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore index ce557c1..2ed4b0d 100644 --- a/.gitignore +++ b/.gitignore @@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ PolitifactFactCheckingSiteExtractor_extraction_failed.log TruthorfictionFactCheckingSiteExtractor_extraction_failed.log CheckyourfactFactCheckingSiteExtractor_extraction_failed.log AfricacheckFactCheckingSiteExtractor_extraction_failed.log +AfpfactcheckFactCheckingSiteExtractor_extraction_failed.log output_dev_fatabyyano.csv output_dev_vishvasnews.csv output_dev_aap.csv @@ -30,3 +31,4 @@ output_dev_politifact.csv output_dev_truthorfiction.csv output_dev_checkyourfact.csv output_dev_africacheck.csv +output_dev_afpfactcheck.csv diff --git a/claim_extractor/extractors/afpfactcheck.py b/claim_extractor/extractors/afpfactcheck.py index 247f7b2..9219105 100644 --- a/claim_extractor/extractors/afpfactcheck.py +++ b/claim_extractor/extractors/afpfactcheck.py @@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ def retrieve_urls(self, parsed_listing_page: BeautifulSoup, listing_page_url: st str]: urls = self.extract_urls(parsed_listing_page) for page_number in trange(1, number_of_pages): + if ((page_number*15) + 14 >= self.configuration.maxClaims): + break url = listing_page_url + "?page=" + str(int(page_number)) page = caching.get(url, headers=self.headers, timeout=20) current_parsed_listing_page = BeautifulSoup(page, "lxml") @@ -102,6 +104,8 @@ def extract_claim_and_review(self, parsed_claim_review_page: BeautifulSoup, url: claim.set_date(data['@graph'][0]['itemReviewed']['datePublished']) except Exception: pass + except KeyError: + pass try: date = data['@graph'][0]['datePublished'] @@ -118,9 +122,10 @@ def extract_claim_and_review(self, parsed_claim_review_page: BeautifulSoup, url: try: if child.name == 'aside': continue - elems = child.findAll('a') - for elem in elems: - links.append(elem['href']) + if (child != "\n" and not " " ): + elems = child.findAll('a') + for elem in elems: + links.append(elem['href']) except Exception as e: continue claim.set_refered_links(links) diff --git a/output_got.csv b/output_got.csv index 7f6dd27..9b3aa1d 100644 --- a/output_got.csv +++ b/output_got.csv @@ -1,28 +1,55 @@ -,rating_ratingValue,rating_worstRating,rating_bestRating,rating_alternateName,creativeWork_author_name,creativeWork_datePublished,creativeWork_author_sameAs,claimReview_author_name,claimReview_author_url,claimReview_url,claimReview_claimReviewed,claimReview_datePublished,claimReview_source,claimReview_author,extra_body,extra_refered_links,extra_title,extra_tags,extra_entities_claimReview_claimReviewed,extra_entities_body,extra_entities_keywords,extra_entities_author,related_links -0,,,,False,Grace Gichuhi,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/grace-gichuhi,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/nairobi-demonstration-solidarity-nigerias-2021-democracy-day-protests-no-photo,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A photo of a group of people waving the flag of Nigeria has been posted on Facebook with the claim that it shows Kenyans in Nairobi “standing in solidarity” with the people of Nigeria.“June 12 Protest: Kenyans stand with Nigerians in solidarity,” the caption reads. “Location: Nairobi. THANK YOU.” The 12 June 2021 post is on a Facebook page with some 14,000 followers. The photo and claim has also been widely shared on Twitter. In 2019, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari signed into law that 12 June would be the national holiday of Democracy Day. The holiday is controversial. In 2021, Democracy Day saw protests in several Nigerian cities. The protests were against poor governance and “terrorism, criminal abductions and separatist movements”, according to one report.But what does the photo really show?#EndSARS ProtestsA Google reverse image search reveals that the photo has been online since at least 18 October 2020 – almost eight months before 12 June 2021. It appears in a 2020 article on the website of Premium Times, a credible Nigerian newspaper. The article’s headline is: “ANALYSIS: Will deployment of troops quell or escalate #EndSARS protests?” The photo is watermarked “Premium Times -- Kabiru Yusuf”.The photo is of #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, in October 2020. The protests demanded that the county’s police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) be disbanded because of the unit’s alleged extrajudicial killings, brutality and human rights abuses.Abuja, not NairobiWe searched the Premium Times news website and found articles by Kabiru Yusuf. Our fact-checking colleagues at Dubawa contacted Yusuf, who said the photo was taken in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. So, no, the photo was not taken in Nairobi, Kenya, on 12 June 2021. It was taken in Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2020 during the county’s #EndSars protests.","https://web.facebook.com/genevievemmiliaku/posts/171519914983217,https://web.facebook.com/genevievemmiliaku/posts/171519914983217,https://twitter.com/_iAlen/status/1403697588935827459,https://twitter.com/chiefagbabiaka1/status/1403833196190605315,https://thenationonlineng.net/buhari-signs-june-12-democracy-day-bill-into-law/,https://theconversation.com/june-12-is-now-democracy-day-in-nigeria-why-it-matters-118572,https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-57418137,https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nation-is-fire-nigerian-lawmakers-demand-action-security-crisis-2021-04-27/,https://www.voanews.com/africa/nigerians-mark-annual-democracy-day-protests,https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2021-07/Google%20Search-Nigeria%20Photo.pdf,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/421617-analysis-will-deployment-of-troops-quell-or-escalate-endsars-protests.html,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/421617-analysis-will-deployment-of-troops-quell-or-escalate-endsars-protests.html,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/421617-analysis-will-deployment-of-troops-quell-or-escalate-endsars-protests.html,https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2021/02/nigeria-end-impunity-for-police-violence-by-sars-endsars/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/author/kabiruyusuf,https://dubawa.org/endsars-photo-used-to-paint-narrative-kenyans-protest-in-solidarity-with-nigerians/","Nairobi demonstration in solidarity with Nigeria’s 2021 Democracy Day protests? No, photo of 2020 #EndSARS protests in Abuja",,,,,, -1,,,,False,Naledi Mashishi,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/naledi-mashishi,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-asymptomatic-covid-patients-can-transmit-virus-and-masks-work,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A Facebook video posted on 5 July 2021 claims that studies show asymptomatic Covid-19 patients – people who don’t get sick – can’t transmit the new coronavirus. It also says the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a review of studies and found wearing a mask doesn’t stop the spread of Covid.In the video, a woman appears to be standing at a podium, talking to an audience off camera. She says: “Nearly 500 people were recently exposed to a Covid positive asymptomatic carrier. Zero got sick. Asymptomatic carriers of Covid do not spread disease.”She goes on to claim: “The CDC a couple weeks ago did a study where they looked at every single other study in the entire world on face mask wearing and this is what they found. The CDC found, quote, ‘no reduction in viral transmission with the use of face masks’.”The words “the information is there dont say u wernt warned” are printed on the video. It’s been shared more than 1,200 times so far, including in South Africa. Since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic in early 2020, the World Health Organization has warned that Covid patients who don’t show any symptoms of the disease can still spread it to others. It also says masks are a “key measure to suppress transmission and save lives”.Do studies prove that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients can’t spread the disease? And has a CDC analysis found that masks don’t reduce transmission?Video of US attorney Leigh DundasThe video does not identify the woman, where she is, or when the video was taken. It’s poor quality, taken from an original that doesn’t appear to be online anymore.But we did find a short video on Vimeo of a woman named Leigh Dundas, speaking on 13 April. Based on her voice, hairstyle, clothing and the background, it’s likely that the video on Facebook shows this woman, at the same event.In the Vimeo video she identifies herself as a human rights attorney. The video is captioned “Leigh Dundas, Board of Supervisors, April 13 2021”. Dundas, a US attorney, publicly supports that country’s anti-vaccination movement. Voice of OC reports that, in May, she helped organise residents in California’s Orange county to go to local Board of Education meetings to petition against mandatory vaccinations and “vaccine passports”.As Africa Check has found, there is no such thing as mandatory or “universal” vaccination in the US. And vaccine passports don’t exist there.Asymptomatic patients can transmit the virusIn the Facebook video, Dundas refers to a May 2020 study in Wuhan, China. It’s titled A study on infectivity of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers. The Covid-19 pandemic is thought to have started in Wuhan.The researchers studied 455 people who had been in contact with asymptomatic Covid-positive patients. None of the 455 tested positive for Covid-19. But the study didn’t find that people with asymptomatic Covid-19 can’t transmit the virus. Instead, it concluded that “the infectivity of some asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers might be weak”. SARS-CoV-2 is the formal name of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19.Other studies of asymptomatic carriers have found that they can transmit the virus.A January 2021 study looked at 2,250 people in a “confined” community of university staff in the Canadian province of Quebec. Confinement, the study says, is “used to reflect social restrictions instructed by Quebec's government”.It found that 1.82% of the staff were asymptomatic carriers. None had contact with any known Covid patients. The researchers concluded: “Our results raise concerns about the possibility of viral spread through asymptomatic transmission.” But they added that the rate of asymptomatic transmission was unknown.In February 2021, a study based on daily mass screenings of some 20,000 residents of Luxembourg, a small country in Europe, was published. It found that, on average, asymptomatic patients infected the same number of people as patients with Covid-19 symptoms. The researchers concluded: “Asymptomatic carriers represent a significant risk for transmission.”CDC: Masks reduce Covid spreadAnd what about Dundas’s claim that a CDC analysis had found that masks didn’t reduce the amount of coronavirus transmitted between people?This is not what the CDC website says. A science brief on the site, updated on 7 May 2021, quotes several studies that found face masks reduced the risk of Covid-19 infection by as much as 79%, and had led to declines in daily new cases.The CDC concludes: “Experimental and epidemiological data support community masking to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.” The CDC also says that making people wear masks can help prevent possible lockdowns in the future. The benefits increase when people are also required to use other measures against Covid: social distancing, hand washing and good ventilation. Conclusion: Video’s claims are falseIn a video posted on Facebook, US anti-vaccination advocate and lawyer Leigh Dundas claims that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients can’t transmit the virus. She also says a study by the US Centers for Disease Control found that masks don’t reduce the spread of the disease.But the CDC study doesn’t conclude that asymptomatic patients can’t transmit the virus. And  other studies have found that asymptomatic patients do transmit the virus. The CDC has published studies supporting the benefits of masks, and says wearing masks can reduce the spread of Covid-19.","https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.cdc.gov/,https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-how-is-it-transmitted,https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-masks,https://vimeo.com/537203201,https://vimeo.com/537203201,https://vimeo.com/537203201,https://www.rawstory.com/leigh-dundas/,https://voiceofoc.org/2021/05/oc-supervisors-debate-cancelling-digital-coronavirus-vaccine-records-hundreds-of-people-rail-against-vaccine-passports/,https://voiceofoc.org/2021/05/oc-supervisors-debate-cancelling-digital-coronavirus-vaccine-records-hundreds-of-people-rail-against-vaccine-passports/,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Orange+County,+CA,+USA/@33.6394877,-118.3298942,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x80dc925c54d5f7cf:0xdea6c3618ff0d607!8m2!3d33.7174708!4d-117.8311428,https://voiceofoc.org/2021/05/oc-supervisors-debate-cancelling-digital-coronavirus-vaccine-records-hundreds-of-people-rail-against-vaccine-passports/,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-us-supreme-court-hasnt-ruled-against-universal-vaccination-theres-no-such,https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:10051817171,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wuhan,+Hubei,+China/@30.5684073,114.0201922,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x342eaef8dd85f26f:0x39c2c9ac6c582210!8m2!3d30.592849!4d114.305539,https://www.google.com/maps/place/China/@34.4504157,86.0458274,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x31508e64e5c642c1:0x951daa7c349f366f!8m2!3d35.86166!4d104.195397,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/,https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00502-4,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/,https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655320307811,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Canada/@56,-96,3z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4b0d03d337cc6ad9:0x9968b72aa2438fa5!8m2!3d56.130366!4d-106.346771,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Quebec,+Canada/@53.4733017,-77.4028603,5z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4c58b5349fd1a8a1:0x1040cadae4d0020!8m2!3d52.9399159!4d-73.5491361,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655320307811,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655320307811,https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00033-8/fulltext,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Luxembourg/@49.8423357,1.6489564,6z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x479545b9ca212147:0x64db60f602d392ef!8m2!3d49.815273!4d6.129583,https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00033-8/fulltext,https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00033-8/fulltext,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html","No, asymptomatic Covid patients can transmit the virus, and masks work",,,,,, -2,,,,Partlyfalse,Mary Alexander,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/mary-alexander,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/photo-2018-fuel-tax-protest-france-not-demonstrators-unleashing-truth-variant,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"“Greece and France... Yep its happening, time to unlesh the new TRUTH variant,” reads the caption of two photos of what seem to be mass protests, posted on Facebook in July 2021 and shared in South Africa.The first photo shows a huge crowd of people on an avenue in Paris, France’s capital city. The city’s famous Arc de Triomphe can be seen in the background. Many in the crowd are wearing yellow reflective vests.The second photo is of another crowd, flanked by police, in a city square. The flag of Greece can be seen waving in the crowd.The photos were also posted on an Australia-based Facebook page, with a similar caption: “Greece & France! Thousands rally against COVID-19 vaccinations and government restrictions.”But do the photos really show people “unleashing the TRUTH variant” in protests against Covid-19 measures in Greece and France?Protest against vaccinations in Greece, against fuel tax in FranceA Google reverse image search of the second photo reveals that it does indeed show a rally against Covid-19 vaccinations, in the Greek capital of Athens on 14 July.The photo appears in an article on M3 News, an international online news magazine.“More than 5,000 anti-vaccine protesters, some of them waving Greek flags and wooden crosses, rallied in Athens on Wednesday to oppose Greece’s coronavirus vaccinations program,” the article reads.It adds: “Protests are fairly common in Greece and there have been several in recent months on issues ranging from new labour law to the most recent Israeli military campaign on Gaza.”But a TinEye reverse image search of the first photo, filtered for the oldest version, reveals that it has been online since at least 4 December 2018 – over a year before the coronavirus was first identified in late December 2019.The photo can be found on the French-language stock photo website Divergence Images. A machine translation of its caption reads: “Demonstration of the Yellow Vests on the Champs-Elysees, Paris on November 24, 2018.” It was taken by Olivier Coret.According to the US National Public Radio website, the 2018 yellow vests protests in France were sparked by the announcement of a new environmental tax on fuel.“Nicknamed for the safety vests worn by protesters, known as gilets jaunes, the yellow vest movement has sparked a political crisis for the French government,” the NPR says.“The protests started in the French provinces but spread to Paris, where demonstrations turned into riots over the weekend and scenes of violent civil unrest played out along the city's famous Avenue des Champs Élysées.”The second photo does show a protest against Covid-19 vaccinations, in Greece, but the first photo is of a demonstration against a fuel tax in France, more than two and a half years ago.","https://www.facebook.com/sonia.bonacci/posts/10161008588853976,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008566563976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Paris,+France/@48.8589507,2.2770201,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x47e66e1f06e2b70f:0x40b82c3688c9460!8m2!3d48.856614!4d2.3522219,https://www.google.com/maps/place/France/@46.1389696,-2.4368094,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xd54a02933785731:0x6bfd3f96c747d9f7!8m2!3d46.227638!4d2.213749,https://www.google.com/maps/@48.8741019,2.293728,3a,75y,111.88h,85.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssbfllIbdqW_ylzUNmOcYbg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008571833976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,https://www.greeka.com/greece-history/flags/,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Greece/@38.0602976,19.99122,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x135b4ac711716c63:0x363a1775dc9a2d1d!8m2!3d39.074208!4d21.824312,https://www.facebook.com/hraaustralia/posts/290279962890655,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008571833976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Athens,+Greece/@37.9908997,23.7033198,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x14a1bd1f067043f1:0x2736354576668ddd!8m2!3d37.9838096!4d23.7275388,https://mw3.news/in-greece-thousands-rally-against-covid-19-vaccinations/,https://mw3.news/contact/staff-directory/,https://mw3.news/in-greece-thousands-rally-against-covid-19-vaccinations/,https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/TinEye-Greece-protests.jpg,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008566563976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,http://www.divergence-images.com/olivier-coret/reportages/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-OCO1193/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-ref-OCO1193001.html,https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.divergence-images.com/olivier-coret/reportages/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-OCO1193/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-ref-OCO1193001.html,https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672862353/who-are-frances-yellow-vest-protesters-and-what-do-they-want,https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672862353/who-are-frances-yellow-vest-protesters-and-what-do-they-want,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008566563976&set=pcb.10161008588853976",Photo of 2018 fuel tax protest in France – not demonstrators ‘unleashing truth variant’ against Covid measures,"fuel tax, protest, covid, Covid-19",,,,, -3,,,,False,Oluseyi Awojulugbe,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/oluseyi-awojulugbe,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-dont-use-garlic-lower-blood-pressure,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A post shared on Facebook in Nigeria claims that garlic can be used to lower high blood pressure.It also credits the World Health Organization (WHO) with saying garlic helps to reduce blood pressure in patients with moderate hypertension.“Garlic works in a way to increase the size of the arteries, which makes it easier for blood to pass. In addition, due to its diuretic properties, it reduces the volume of water in the body and therefore blood pressure,” reads part of the post.The post does include an unusual warning: “Be careful, even regular consumption of garlic does not exempt from appropriate treatment, especially in people with severe hypertension.” But is there any scientific evidence that the bulbous flowering plant can be used to manage high blood pressure? We checked.High blood pressure leads to 9.4 mn deaths annuallyAccording to the WHO, high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is when the force exerted by blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is higher than what is considered normal.“Hypertension is diagnosed if, when it is measured on two different days, the systolic blood pressure readings on both days are greater than 140 mmHg and/or the diastolic blood pressure readings on both days are greater than 90 mmHg,” says a WHO fact sheet on hypertension.Blood pressure is measured in units of millimeters of mercury, or mmHg. It is recorded as two numbers, the systolic or upper value first, followed by the diastolic or lower value. About 1.13 billion people around the world have high blood pressure, with the majority living in low- and middle-income countries. This leads to about 9.4 million deaths annually, says the WHO.‘Not approved by health authorities’ – expertSome studies have documented the potential of garlic in lowering high blood pressure in a similar way to standard medication. A review of trials involving garlic concludes that the vitamin B status of an individual is “an important factor for the responsiveness of high blood pressure to garlic”.But Basden Onwubere, a professor of medicine at the University of Nigeria in southeastern Nigeria, was sceptical. He told Africa Check: “Such prescriptions cannot be made by doctors.” “There are studies that have been published about the use of garlic in managing some health conditions but I am not aware of any traditional medicine that has been approved officially by Nafdac for use in managing high blood pressure,” he said.Nafdac is Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, responsible for regulating and controlling drugs, among other substances.Onwubere said: “Until that [approval] becomes available, what we are using now is the orthodox way of managing hypertension. This is medication and advice on managing the patient’s diet.”Africa Check has also checked claims on Facebook that ginger or ginger tea can prevent heart attack and stroke, and that mixing lemon, ginger and garlic cures high blood pressure. Like this claim, we found no conclusive evidence to support these. Experts advise those with high or elevated blood pressure to ignore miracle cures promoted on social media and seek proper medical care.","https://www.facebook.com/Aduramigbaherbalremedy/posts/293950485769162?_rdc=2&_rdr,https://www.facebook.com/Aduramigbaherbalremedy/posts/293950485769162?_rdc=2&_rdr,https://web.facebook.com/Aduramigbaherbalremedy/posts/293950485769162?_rdc=3&_rdr,https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-300/garlic,https://www.who.int/,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/noncommunicable-diseases-hypertension,https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279251/,https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings,https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/noncommunicable-diseases-hypertension,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4266250/,https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/146/2/389S/4584698,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6966103/,https://www.unn.edu.ng/,https://www.nafdac.gov.ng/,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/ginger-or-ginger-tea-wont-prevent-heart-attack-and-stroke,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-lemon-ginger-and-garlic-wont-cure-high-blood-pressure","No, don’t use garlic to lower blood pressure","Garlic, high blood pressure",,,,, -4,,,,False,Motunrayo Joel,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/motunrayo-joel,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-martine-moise-first-lady-haiti-not-dead,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"Martine Moïse, the wife of Haiti’s assassinated president, is dead, claims a post shared on Facebook in Nigeria in July 2021.On 7 July, Haitian president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his private residence in the capital, Port-au-Prince. His wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot in the attack. Haiti is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea.The post claims that the “First Lady died from her injuries”, after being “rushed to hospital” and “despite the doctors’ best efforts”. The post includes photos of the couple. But is Martine Moïse dead?Alive and well Moïse was seriously injured during the assassination and was flown to Florida in the US for medical treatment.But on 17 July she spoke to the media from her hospital bed, confirming she was alive and well.In an article updated 17 July, she was pictured wearing a bulletproof vest as she returned to Port-au-Prince.Moïse also spoke at her late husband’s funeral on 22 July.","https://web.facebook.com/NGBREAKINGNEWS/posts/1999091423587583?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/assassination-haitian-president-jovenel-moise-what-know,https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/assassination-haitian-president-jovenel-moise-what-know,https://twitter.com/martinejmoise?lang=en,https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti,https://web.facebook.com/NGBREAKINGNEWS/posts/1999091423587583?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/NGBREAKINGNEWS/posts/1999091423587583?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://news.sky.com/story/wife-of-assassinated-haiti-president-jovenel-moise-speaks-from-hospital-bed-12353342,https://www.wsj.com/articles/martine-moise-wife-of-assassinated-president-makes-surprise-return-to-haiti-11626564491,https://www.npr.org/2021/07/17/1017398219/martine-moise-wife-of-slain-president-returns-to-haiti,https://www.voanews.com/americas/gunfire-protests-disrupt-funeral-haitis-assassinated-president","No, Martine Moïse, first lady of Haiti, not dead",,,,,, -5,,,,False,Motunrayo Joel,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/motunrayo-joel,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/biafran-independence-movement-leader-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-not-fake-news,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A post shared on Facebook in Nigeria claims that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), was not arrested, despite news reports saying he was.It reads: “Nnamdi Kanu Arrest. Nigerians and there fake news flying upandan [up and down].” Biafra was a region that roughly correlates with Nigeria’s South East geopolitical zone today.  In May 1967, Biafra declared its independence from the rest of the country. A civil war followed, ending in January 1970 with Biafra’s defeat.  There are continued calls for Biafran independence, most notably by Ipob. But has Kanu, who has been living in London in the UK, been arrested?Kanu arrested and arraigned in courtThere have been multiple reports in the mainstream media of Kanu’s arrest, both in Nigeria and internationally.He was arrested on 27 June 2021 through joint efforts by Nigerian security agents and the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol. But officials have not disclosed where and how.According to Nigeria's justice minister, Abubakar Malami, Kanu was brought back to Nigeria to face trial, after jumping bail in 2019.‘11-count charge’Kanu was previously arrested on 14 October 2015 on 11 charges, including terrorism, treasonable felony and managing an unlawful society. He was granted bail in 2017.He is also accused of inciting violence against the Nigerian state and institutions through TV, radio and online broadcasts, and of instigating violence, particularly in southeastern Nigeria.Kanu appeared before a federal high court in Abuja on 29 June 2021, two days after his arrest. While all the details are still to emerge at the time of writing, claims that he was not arrested are false.","https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=158238561912186&set=pcb.158238601912182&type=3&theater,https://web.facebook.com/groups/388050959313043/posts/466523654799106/?__cft__[0]=AZVbT-nA-yAjwpgsAhc1l4NBvq1ngxoQLVYc2lZNP4J9vZmrzX00uNUbEzMHp7Hn7b7MIcQCW7AdYYkwpsAkwqSPPAadikibVN_pfYbZa1WcKcJCrNNgPGqs9r42hcrlq-A&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/11/nigeria-biafra-kanu-reconciliation-independence/,https://web.facebook.com/groups/388050959313043/posts/466523654799106/?__cft__[0]=AZVbT-nA-yAjwpgsAhc1l4NBvq1ngxoQLVYc2lZNP4J9vZmrzX00uNUbEzMHp7Hn7b7MIcQCW7AdYYkwpsAkwqSPPAadikibVN_pfYbZa1WcKcJCrNNgPGqs9r42hcrlq-A&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://www.britannica.com/place/Biafra,https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Nigeria-and-its-geopolitical-zones-North-Central-Benue-FCT-Kogi-Kwara_fig1_256614605,https://www.britannica.com/place/Biafra,https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/11/nigeria-biafra-kanu-reconciliation-independence/,https://punchng.com/breaking-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-says-malami/,https://ugobestiky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FB_IMG_15681388255829898-750x430.jpg,https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/biafra-separatist-leader-arrested-and-extradited-to-nigeria,https://punchng.com/breaking-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-says-malami/,https://www.interpol.int/en,https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/29/africa/nnamdi-kanu-arrested-nigeria-intl/index.html,https://punchng.com/breaking-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-says-malami/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/470566-updated-nnamdi-kanu-re-arrested-returned-to-nigeria-malami.html,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/470566-updated-nnamdi-kanu-re-arrested-returned-to-nigeria-malami.html,https://guardian.ng/news/nnamdi-kanu-appears-in-court-after-re-arrest/",Biafran independence movement leader Nnamdi Kanu arrested – not ‘fake news’,,,,,, -6,,,,False,Motunrayo Joel,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/motunrayo-joel,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-nigerias-yoruba-separatist-sunday-adeyemo-still-custody-benin-wife-ropo,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A post shared on Facebook in Nigeria on 20 July 2021 claims that Sunday Adeyemo and his wife Ropo Adeyemo have been released from custody in Benin and allowed to board a plane to Germany.Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has been campaigning for the self-determination of the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria.The Facebook post reads: “Breaking news!!!! Sunday Adeyemo (AKA) Igboho and his wife German citizen has been released and allows to board plane on their way to Germany #BeninRepublicNoBeKenya.”The post has been shared several times and some commenters were happy.One Facebook user said: “Just can't express my joy for the great news!!!”Another said: “Good to hear this, shame to the haters.”However, others said the claim was not true.Were Sunday and Ropo Adeyemo jailed and have they been released from custody in Benin?Igboho still held but wife releasedThe Adeyemos fled Nigeria for the neighbouring Republic of Benin in early July after their Ibadan home was raided by the the Department of State Services.Ammunition and weapons were found on the premises during the raid.The Nigerian government then issued a warrant for Sunday Adeyemo’s arrest.On 19 July, the couple were arrested in the port city of Cotonou by Beninoise authorities while trying to travel to Germany. Ropo Adeyemo lives in Germany.The charges brought by the Beninoise court were for immigration-related offences. It ordered Ropo’s release while Sunday remained in custody. His trial continued on 26 July. The claims on Facebook are false.","https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55934275,https://www.ngnews247.com/sunday-igboho-biography-wfe-age-house-sons-family-net-worth-cars/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/471288-lagos-rally-sunday-igboho-yoruba-nation-campaigners-set-for-showdown-with-police.html,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://www.britannica.com/place/Benin,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55934275,https://www.dss.gov.ng/,https://guardian.ng/news/dss-declares-sunday-igboho-wanted-confirms-raid-on-his-residence/,https://guardian.ng/news/dss-declares-sunday-igboho-wanted-confirms-raid-on-his-residence/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/474749-how-sunday-igboho-was-arrested-in-benin-republic.html,http://saharareporters.com/2021/07/22/breaking-beninese-court-releases-sunday-igboho%E2%80%99s-wife-orders-igboho-remain-custody,https://punchng.com/beninoise-courts-not-used-to-large-crowds-igbohos-lawyers-caution-supporters/","No, Nigeria's Yoruba separatist Sunday Adeyemo still in custody in Benin, but wife Ropo Adeyemo released",,,,,, -7,,,,Misleading,Keegan Leech,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/keegan-leech,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/no-south-africa-does-not-account-50-global-mining-deaths,About 50% of global mining deaths occur in South Africa.,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"Messages posted on Twitter and Facebook claim that 50% of global mining deaths occur in South Africa.But the figure is taken from a 2020 report by the International Council on Mining and Minerals, which only records the deaths reported by its 28 member companies. This is not all the mining deaths in the world.There is a lack of reliable global statistics on mining fatalities. Deaths from mining diseases, and the deaths of contractors and small-scale miners, tend to be under-reported.“About 50% of global mining deaths occur in South Africa. Yet no single mining executive has been held accountable,” reads a tweet with more than 850 likes, which has been shared over 500 times on Twitter. The claim has also been posted on Facebook and other social media.When another user asked for “receipts” supporting the claim, the person who posted it said the data came from the International Council on Mining and Metals. Is the claim backed by data? We checked. Only 28 members included in rankingThe source of this claim is a 2020 report published by the International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM). The mining association collates the number of workplace accidents and fatalities recorded by its members.But the ICMM told Africa Check that its 28 member companies represent only about a third of the global mining industry. Not all mining companies are members and not all countries are represented. According to the report, South Africa recorded 22 out of 44 fatalities in 2020. This is 50% of deaths reported by its members – not 50% of global deaths. South Africa also accounted for more total working hours than any other individual country: 17.7% of all recorded hours in 2020.Government records more mining deathsSouth Africa has regularly fared worst in the ICMM’s safety reports. It has contributed the most deaths every year since 2015, the first year the council recorded location data. The one exception was 2019, when the Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil claimed more than 250 lives.But the ICMM’s records likely don’t even represent all mining deaths in South Africa. The last year the country’s department of mineral resources and energy released a tally of mining fatalities was 2018. In that year, the department recorded 81 fatalities, while South African ICMM members recorded just 14.Data on global mining deaths is limited According to the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA), another mining industry employers’ organisation, the ICMM’s 28 members “exclude huge numbers of mining businesses in many parts of the world, including some major mining jurisdictions, most notably China”.But determining the total number of mining fatalities around the world is not easy.“There is no one record of all industry fatalities,” the ICMM told Africa Check. “Individual companies will release their fatality numbers in their own sustainability and annual reports.”In 2019 the Wall Street Journal reported that many of the world’s mining fatalities may not even be counted. Its analysis of mining companies’ safety reports found that many did not record the deaths of contractors, workers transporting extracted minerals or deaths at joint mining ventures, which are managed by more than one company.The journal even found that more than half of the people who died in the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster may not have been included in the official mining death toll. Deaths from mining diseases are even more likely to go unrecorded.Artisanal mining deaths may not be recordedAnother category of fatalities which may go overlooked is artisanal mining. In 2013, the World Bank estimated that there were “approximately 100 million artisanal miners globally”. This form of small-scale mining is often, but not always, conducted illegally. Deaths in this sector are more likely to go unrecorded. In June 2021 the bodies of 20 people believed to be illegal miners or “zama-zamas” were found near abandoned mine shafts in Johannesburg. In a 2016 report, human rights organisation Amnesty International said that in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, “many accidents go unrecorded and bodies are left buried in the rubble”.And a 2004 publication by philanthropy organisation Oxfam, in collaboration with environmental non-profit Earthworks, found that “health and safety data for ASM [artisanal and small-scale mining] are sketchy, but the sector appears to experience a significantly higher accident rate than the industry as a whole”.Conclusion: South Africa accounts for 50% of mining deaths recorded by 28 companies in a single report – not 50% of global deaths. A widely shared social media post claims that South Africa accounted for “about 50% of global mining deaths”. But the report cited as evidence gives mining fatalities for 28 companies in 2020. That year South Africa accounted for half of the 44 recorded fatalities. The report likely doesn't even represent all mining deaths in South Africa. It also excludes major miners and mining countries such as China. We therefore rate the claim misleading. But data on global mining fatalities is fraught with problems. Beyond the lack of reliable global statistics, deaths from disease, and the deaths of contractors and small-scale miners, are regularly under-reported across the world. More and better data is needed to accurately determine how many deaths are due to mining, both globally and in South Africa.","https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/Screenshot_2021-06-21_at_16-00-47_T_on_Twitter.png,https://twitter.com/mokhathi/status/1406134773232418817,https://www.facebook.com/MduZondo/posts/4085206891534393,https://twitter.com/manhlamza/status/1406491787544432643,https://twitter.com/mokhathi/status/1406134773232418817,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2020-safety-data,https://www.icmm.com/,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/about-us,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/about-us/our-members/member-companies,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2019-safety-data,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2018-safety-data,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2015-safety-data,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303243420300192,https://www.dmr.gov.za/,https://www.dmr.gov.za/Portals/0/Resources/Annual%20Reports/DMR_annual_report_2019_low%20res.pdf?ver=2019-11-05-161412-883#page=11,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2018-safety-data,https://www.mineralscouncil.org.za/,https://www.wsj.com/,https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hidden-deaths-of-mining-11577825555,https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hidden-deaths-of-mining-11577825555,https://www.eiti.org/ASM,https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/extractiveindustries/brief/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining,https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-06-15-twenty-bodies-of-alleged-zama-zamas-found-outside-klerksdorp/,https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/this-is-what-we-die-for-human-rights-abuses-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-power-the-global-trade-in-cobalt/,https://www.amnestyusa.org/,https://www.earthworks.org/publications/dirty_metals/,https://www.oxfam.org/en,https://www.earthworks.org/,https://www.earthworks.org/cms/assets/uploads/archive/files/publications/DirtyMetals_Workers.pdf#page=2","No, South Africa does not account for ‘50% of global mining deaths’","mining, global, deaths",,,,, -8,,,,Incorrect,Fatima Abubakar,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/fatima-abubakar,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/lemon-zobo-baya-maganin-zazzabi-aje-asibiti,,2021-07-27,africacheck,,"Wani rubutu da aka buga a Facebook yayi iƙirarin cewa lemon zoɓo “na maganin zazzaɓi.”“ Yadda ake lemon zoɓo na magani,” rubutun ya fara. Ya bayyana yadda za ayi  lemon da a fara  jiƙa ganyen zoɓo, abarba, ganyen lemongiras, citta, biturut, lemon zaƙi, kankana da ruwa.Zoɓo dai wani lemo ne da ya shahara a Najeriya, wanda ake yi da busasshiyar filawar itacen rosilli. Itacen rosilli, wanda ake kira da habiscus sabdariffa a kimiyance ya fito ne daga ayarin itatuwan Malvaceae. Yana fitowa a wurare masu zafi, yana kuma da launin kore mai duhu ko jajayen kara da ganye.Shin lemon da aka bayyana a rubutun yana maganin zazzaɓi?  Abubuwa da dama na jawo zazzaɓiZazzaɓi shine ƙaruwar zafin jiki sama da maki 37 a ma’aunin selshiyos. Wanda ke nuna alamun shigar cuta, kamar yadda Mayo Clinic suka bayyana. Wasu daga cikin alamun zazzaɓi sun haɗa da ciwon kai, rawar jiki, rashin ɗanɗano, rashin ruwa a jiki da kuma kasala. Hukumar lafiya ta Britaniyya(NHS) tace abubuwa da cututtaka da dama na iya jawo zazzaɓi. Yana kuma daga cikin alamun cutar Covid-19.Mutane- manya da yara- idan zazzaɓi ya kama su tare da ciwon kai mai zafi, jijjiga, rikicewar tunani, yawan amai, ciwon ciki da wahala wajen numfashi, ana basu shawarar zuwa asibiti cikin gaggawa.Kada a ɗauki zazzaɓi akan abu mai sauƙi“ Wannan haɗin gargajiya ne, ayi watsi da shi,” Cewar Marycelin Baba, Farfesa a fannin ƙwayoyin cuta ta jami’ar Maiduguri, kamar yadda ta shaidawa Africa Check.Baba wadda suka wallafa wata takarda akan gaza gane cutar zazzaɓin cizon sauro da zazzaɓin taifot. “ Babu wata hujja a kimiyance da ta goyi da bayan wannan da’awar,”  cewar Farfesar. “ Wannan haɗi baya magani ko hana zazzaɓi. Ƴaƴan itatuwan da aka lissafa na da muhimmanci  a jiki amma ba maganin zazzaɓi ba ne”.Baba ta ƙara da cewa: Idan an kamu da zazzaɓi, a hanzarta zuwa asibiti. Kada a dogara da haɗe-haɗe. Kada a ɗauki zazzaɓi da wasa.”","https://web.facebook.com/groups/353470598374000/permalink/1629649860756061/?__cft__%5b0%5d=AZXew-FyosdUNvmFiQHu2WmjBTbE0I-jl6fFvTmV0nZLllEaKq82pDD0kJl1kshMkyhXxKF0T8YLX_s3bUyzEtZRaH-bDeDuN0n0sc1Hbgp3l2kAaIKLJUpzf2F-2u7tfoQU6o5e4rM3jIMNjN2hZKW9&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://thenationonlineng.net/interesting-facts-zobo-roselle-drinks/,https://www.britannica.com/plant/roselle-plant,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.nhs.uk/search/results?q=Fever&page=0,https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-basics,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.unimaid.edu.ng/,https://www.longdom.org/proceedings/arbovirus-coinfections-in-suspected-febrile-malaria-and-typhoid-patients-a-worrisome-situation-in-nigeria-85.html",Lemon Zoɓo baya maganin zazzaɓi- aje asibiti,"zobo, Incorrect",,,,, -9,,,,False,Grace Gichuhi,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/grace-gichuhi,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/nairobi-demonstration-solidarity-nigerias-2021-democracy-day-protests-no-photo,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A photo of a group of people waving the flag of Nigeria has been posted on Facebook with the claim that it shows Kenyans in Nairobi “standing in solidarity” with the people of Nigeria.“June 12 Protest: Kenyans stand with Nigerians in solidarity,” the caption reads. “Location: Nairobi. THANK YOU.” The 12 June 2021 post is on a Facebook page with some 14,000 followers. The photo and claim has also been widely shared on Twitter. In 2019, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari signed into law that 12 June would be the national holiday of Democracy Day. The holiday is controversial. In 2021, Democracy Day saw protests in several Nigerian cities. The protests were against poor governance and “terrorism, criminal abductions and separatist movements”, according to one report.But what does the photo really show?#EndSARS ProtestsA Google reverse image search reveals that the photo has been online since at least 18 October 2020 – almost eight months before 12 June 2021. It appears in a 2020 article on the website of Premium Times, a credible Nigerian newspaper. The article’s headline is: “ANALYSIS: Will deployment of troops quell or escalate #EndSARS protests?” The photo is watermarked “Premium Times -- Kabiru Yusuf”.The photo is of #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, in October 2020. The protests demanded that the county’s police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) be disbanded because of the unit’s alleged extrajudicial killings, brutality and human rights abuses.Abuja, not NairobiWe searched the Premium Times news website and found articles by Kabiru Yusuf. Our fact-checking colleagues at Dubawa contacted Yusuf, who said the photo was taken in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. So, no, the photo was not taken in Nairobi, Kenya, on 12 June 2021. It was taken in Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2020 during the county’s #EndSars protests.","https://web.facebook.com/genevievemmiliaku/posts/171519914983217,https://web.facebook.com/genevievemmiliaku/posts/171519914983217,https://twitter.com/_iAlen/status/1403697588935827459,https://twitter.com/chiefagbabiaka1/status/1403833196190605315,https://thenationonlineng.net/buhari-signs-june-12-democracy-day-bill-into-law/,https://theconversation.com/june-12-is-now-democracy-day-in-nigeria-why-it-matters-118572,https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-57418137,https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nation-is-fire-nigerian-lawmakers-demand-action-security-crisis-2021-04-27/,https://www.voanews.com/africa/nigerians-mark-annual-democracy-day-protests,https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2021-07/Google%20Search-Nigeria%20Photo.pdf,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/421617-analysis-will-deployment-of-troops-quell-or-escalate-endsars-protests.html,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/421617-analysis-will-deployment-of-troops-quell-or-escalate-endsars-protests.html,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/421617-analysis-will-deployment-of-troops-quell-or-escalate-endsars-protests.html,https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2021/02/nigeria-end-impunity-for-police-violence-by-sars-endsars/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/author/kabiruyusuf,https://dubawa.org/endsars-photo-used-to-paint-narrative-kenyans-protest-in-solidarity-with-nigerians/","Nairobi demonstration in solidarity with Nigeria’s 2021 Democracy Day protests? No, photo of 2020 #EndSARS protests in Abuja",,,,,, -10,,,,False,Naledi Mashishi,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/naledi-mashishi,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-asymptomatic-covid-patients-can-transmit-virus-and-masks-work,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A Facebook video posted on 5 July 2021 claims that studies show asymptomatic Covid-19 patients – people who don’t get sick – can’t transmit the new coronavirus. It also says the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a review of studies and found wearing a mask doesn’t stop the spread of Covid.In the video, a woman appears to be standing at a podium, talking to an audience off camera. She says: “Nearly 500 people were recently exposed to a Covid positive asymptomatic carrier. Zero got sick. Asymptomatic carriers of Covid do not spread disease.”She goes on to claim: “The CDC a couple weeks ago did a study where they looked at every single other study in the entire world on face mask wearing and this is what they found. The CDC found, quote, ‘no reduction in viral transmission with the use of face masks’.”The words “the information is there dont say u wernt warned” are printed on the video. It’s been shared more than 1,200 times so far, including in South Africa. Since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic in early 2020, the World Health Organization has warned that Covid patients who don’t show any symptoms of the disease can still spread it to others. It also says masks are a “key measure to suppress transmission and save lives”.Do studies prove that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients can’t spread the disease? And has a CDC analysis found that masks don’t reduce transmission?Video of US attorney Leigh DundasThe video does not identify the woman, where she is, or when the video was taken. It’s poor quality, taken from an original that doesn’t appear to be online anymore.But we did find a short video on Vimeo of a woman named Leigh Dundas, speaking on 13 April. Based on her voice, hairstyle, clothing and the background, it’s likely that the video on Facebook shows this woman, at the same event.In the Vimeo video she identifies herself as a human rights attorney. The video is captioned “Leigh Dundas, Board of Supervisors, April 13 2021”. Dundas, a US attorney, publicly supports that country’s anti-vaccination movement. Voice of OC reports that, in May, she helped organise residents in California’s Orange county to go to local Board of Education meetings to petition against mandatory vaccinations and “vaccine passports”.As Africa Check has found, there is no such thing as mandatory or “universal” vaccination in the US. And vaccine passports don’t exist there.Asymptomatic patients can transmit the virusIn the Facebook video, Dundas refers to a May 2020 study in Wuhan, China. It’s titled A study on infectivity of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers. The Covid-19 pandemic is thought to have started in Wuhan.The researchers studied 455 people who had been in contact with asymptomatic Covid-positive patients. None of the 455 tested positive for Covid-19. But the study didn’t find that people with asymptomatic Covid-19 can’t transmit the virus. Instead, it concluded that “the infectivity of some asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers might be weak”. SARS-CoV-2 is the formal name of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19.Other studies of asymptomatic carriers have found that they can transmit the virus.A January 2021 study looked at 2,250 people in a “confined” community of university staff in the Canadian province of Quebec. Confinement, the study says, is “used to reflect social restrictions instructed by Quebec's government”.It found that 1.82% of the staff were asymptomatic carriers. None had contact with any known Covid patients. The researchers concluded: “Our results raise concerns about the possibility of viral spread through asymptomatic transmission.” But they added that the rate of asymptomatic transmission was unknown.In February 2021, a study based on daily mass screenings of some 20,000 residents of Luxembourg, a small country in Europe, was published. It found that, on average, asymptomatic patients infected the same number of people as patients with Covid-19 symptoms. The researchers concluded: “Asymptomatic carriers represent a significant risk for transmission.”CDC: Masks reduce Covid spreadAnd what about Dundas’s claim that a CDC analysis had found that masks didn’t reduce the amount of coronavirus transmitted between people?This is not what the CDC website says. A science brief on the site, updated on 7 May 2021, quotes several studies that found face masks reduced the risk of Covid-19 infection by as much as 79%, and had led to declines in daily new cases.The CDC concludes: “Experimental and epidemiological data support community masking to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.” The CDC also says that making people wear masks can help prevent possible lockdowns in the future. The benefits increase when people are also required to use other measures against Covid: social distancing, hand washing and good ventilation. Conclusion: Video’s claims are falseIn a video posted on Facebook, US anti-vaccination advocate and lawyer Leigh Dundas claims that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients can’t transmit the virus. She also says a study by the US Centers for Disease Control found that masks don’t reduce the spread of the disease.But the CDC study doesn’t conclude that asymptomatic patients can’t transmit the virus. And  other studies have found that asymptomatic patients do transmit the virus. The CDC has published studies supporting the benefits of masks, and says wearing masks can reduce the spread of Covid-19.","https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.cdc.gov/,https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.facebook.com/zaayiin.yellodd/videos/vb.100066665882510/247084380557206/?type=2&theater,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-how-is-it-transmitted,https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-masks,https://vimeo.com/537203201,https://vimeo.com/537203201,https://vimeo.com/537203201,https://www.rawstory.com/leigh-dundas/,https://voiceofoc.org/2021/05/oc-supervisors-debate-cancelling-digital-coronavirus-vaccine-records-hundreds-of-people-rail-against-vaccine-passports/,https://voiceofoc.org/2021/05/oc-supervisors-debate-cancelling-digital-coronavirus-vaccine-records-hundreds-of-people-rail-against-vaccine-passports/,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Orange+County,+CA,+USA/@33.6394877,-118.3298942,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x80dc925c54d5f7cf:0xdea6c3618ff0d607!8m2!3d33.7174708!4d-117.8311428,https://voiceofoc.org/2021/05/oc-supervisors-debate-cancelling-digital-coronavirus-vaccine-records-hundreds-of-people-rail-against-vaccine-passports/,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-us-supreme-court-hasnt-ruled-against-universal-vaccination-theres-no-such,https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:10051817171,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wuhan,+Hubei,+China/@30.5684073,114.0201922,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x342eaef8dd85f26f:0x39c2c9ac6c582210!8m2!3d30.592849!4d114.305539,https://www.google.com/maps/place/China/@34.4504157,86.0458274,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x31508e64e5c642c1:0x951daa7c349f366f!8m2!3d35.86166!4d104.195397,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/,https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00502-4,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/,https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655320307811,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Canada/@56,-96,3z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4b0d03d337cc6ad9:0x9968b72aa2438fa5!8m2!3d56.130366!4d-106.346771,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Quebec,+Canada/@53.4733017,-77.4028603,5z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4c58b5349fd1a8a1:0x1040cadae4d0020!8m2!3d52.9399159!4d-73.5491361,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655320307811,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655320307811,https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00033-8/fulltext,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Luxembourg/@49.8423357,1.6489564,6z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x479545b9ca212147:0x64db60f602d392ef!8m2!3d49.815273!4d6.129583,https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00033-8/fulltext,https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00033-8/fulltext,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html","No, asymptomatic Covid patients can transmit the virus, and masks work",,,,,, -11,,,,Partlyfalse,Mary Alexander,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/mary-alexander,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/photo-2018-fuel-tax-protest-france-not-demonstrators-unleashing-truth-variant,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"“Greece and France... Yep its happening, time to unlesh the new TRUTH variant,” reads the caption of two photos of what seem to be mass protests, posted on Facebook in July 2021 and shared in South Africa.The first photo shows a huge crowd of people on an avenue in Paris, France’s capital city. The city’s famous Arc de Triomphe can be seen in the background. Many in the crowd are wearing yellow reflective vests.The second photo is of another crowd, flanked by police, in a city square. The flag of Greece can be seen waving in the crowd.The photos were also posted on an Australia-based Facebook page, with a similar caption: “Greece & France! Thousands rally against COVID-19 vaccinations and government restrictions.”But do the photos really show people “unleashing the TRUTH variant” in protests against Covid-19 measures in Greece and France?Protest against vaccinations in Greece, against fuel tax in FranceA Google reverse image search of the second photo reveals that it does indeed show a rally against Covid-19 vaccinations, in the Greek capital of Athens on 14 July.The photo appears in an article on M3 News, an international online news magazine.“More than 5,000 anti-vaccine protesters, some of them waving Greek flags and wooden crosses, rallied in Athens on Wednesday to oppose Greece’s coronavirus vaccinations program,” the article reads.It adds: “Protests are fairly common in Greece and there have been several in recent months on issues ranging from new labour law to the most recent Israeli military campaign on Gaza.”But a TinEye reverse image search of the first photo, filtered for the oldest version, reveals that it has been online since at least 4 December 2018 – over a year before the coronavirus was first identified in late December 2019.The photo can be found on the French-language stock photo website Divergence Images. A machine translation of its caption reads: “Demonstration of the Yellow Vests on the Champs-Elysees, Paris on November 24, 2018.” It was taken by Olivier Coret.According to the US National Public Radio website, the 2018 yellow vests protests in France were sparked by the announcement of a new environmental tax on fuel.“Nicknamed for the safety vests worn by protesters, known as gilets jaunes, the yellow vest movement has sparked a political crisis for the French government,” the NPR says.“The protests started in the French provinces but spread to Paris, where demonstrations turned into riots over the weekend and scenes of violent civil unrest played out along the city's famous Avenue des Champs Élysées.”The second photo does show a protest against Covid-19 vaccinations, in Greece, but the first photo is of a demonstration against a fuel tax in France, more than two and a half years ago.","https://www.facebook.com/sonia.bonacci/posts/10161008588853976,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008566563976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Paris,+France/@48.8589507,2.2770201,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x47e66e1f06e2b70f:0x40b82c3688c9460!8m2!3d48.856614!4d2.3522219,https://www.google.com/maps/place/France/@46.1389696,-2.4368094,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xd54a02933785731:0x6bfd3f96c747d9f7!8m2!3d46.227638!4d2.213749,https://www.google.com/maps/@48.8741019,2.293728,3a,75y,111.88h,85.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssbfllIbdqW_ylzUNmOcYbg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008571833976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,https://www.greeka.com/greece-history/flags/,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Greece/@38.0602976,19.99122,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x135b4ac711716c63:0x363a1775dc9a2d1d!8m2!3d39.074208!4d21.824312,https://www.facebook.com/hraaustralia/posts/290279962890655,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008571833976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Athens,+Greece/@37.9908997,23.7033198,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x14a1bd1f067043f1:0x2736354576668ddd!8m2!3d37.9838096!4d23.7275388,https://mw3.news/in-greece-thousands-rally-against-covid-19-vaccinations/,https://mw3.news/contact/staff-directory/,https://mw3.news/in-greece-thousands-rally-against-covid-19-vaccinations/,https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/TinEye-Greece-protests.jpg,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008566563976&set=pcb.10161008588853976,http://www.divergence-images.com/olivier-coret/reportages/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-OCO1193/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-ref-OCO1193001.html,https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.divergence-images.com/olivier-coret/reportages/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-OCO1193/gilets-jaunes-champs-elysees-ref-OCO1193001.html,https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672862353/who-are-frances-yellow-vest-protesters-and-what-do-they-want,https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672862353/who-are-frances-yellow-vest-protesters-and-what-do-they-want,https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161008566563976&set=pcb.10161008588853976",Photo of 2018 fuel tax protest in France – not demonstrators ‘unleashing truth variant’ against Covid measures,"fuel tax, protest, covid, Covid-19",,,,, -12,,,,False,Oluseyi Awojulugbe,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/oluseyi-awojulugbe,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-dont-use-garlic-lower-blood-pressure,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A post shared on Facebook in Nigeria claims that garlic can be used to lower high blood pressure.It also credits the World Health Organization (WHO) with saying garlic helps to reduce blood pressure in patients with moderate hypertension.“Garlic works in a way to increase the size of the arteries, which makes it easier for blood to pass. In addition, due to its diuretic properties, it reduces the volume of water in the body and therefore blood pressure,” reads part of the post.The post does include an unusual warning: “Be careful, even regular consumption of garlic does not exempt from appropriate treatment, especially in people with severe hypertension.” But is there any scientific evidence that the bulbous flowering plant can be used to manage high blood pressure? We checked.High blood pressure leads to 9.4 mn deaths annuallyAccording to the WHO, high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is when the force exerted by blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is higher than what is considered normal.“Hypertension is diagnosed if, when it is measured on two different days, the systolic blood pressure readings on both days are greater than 140 mmHg and/or the diastolic blood pressure readings on both days are greater than 90 mmHg,” says a WHO fact sheet on hypertension.Blood pressure is measured in units of millimeters of mercury, or mmHg. It is recorded as two numbers, the systolic or upper value first, followed by the diastolic or lower value. About 1.13 billion people around the world have high blood pressure, with the majority living in low- and middle-income countries. This leads to about 9.4 million deaths annually, says the WHO.‘Not approved by health authorities’ – expertSome studies have documented the potential of garlic in lowering high blood pressure in a similar way to standard medication. A review of trials involving garlic concludes that the vitamin B status of an individual is “an important factor for the responsiveness of high blood pressure to garlic”.But Basden Onwubere, a professor of medicine at the University of Nigeria in southeastern Nigeria, was sceptical. He told Africa Check: “Such prescriptions cannot be made by doctors.” “There are studies that have been published about the use of garlic in managing some health conditions but I am not aware of any traditional medicine that has been approved officially by Nafdac for use in managing high blood pressure,” he said.Nafdac is Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, responsible for regulating and controlling drugs, among other substances.Onwubere said: “Until that [approval] becomes available, what we are using now is the orthodox way of managing hypertension. This is medication and advice on managing the patient’s diet.”Africa Check has also checked claims on Facebook that ginger or ginger tea can prevent heart attack and stroke, and that mixing lemon, ginger and garlic cures high blood pressure. Like this claim, we found no conclusive evidence to support these. Experts advise those with high or elevated blood pressure to ignore miracle cures promoted on social media and seek proper medical care.","https://www.facebook.com/Aduramigbaherbalremedy/posts/293950485769162?_rdc=2&_rdr,https://www.facebook.com/Aduramigbaherbalremedy/posts/293950485769162?_rdc=2&_rdr,https://web.facebook.com/Aduramigbaherbalremedy/posts/293950485769162?_rdc=3&_rdr,https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-300/garlic,https://www.who.int/,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/noncommunicable-diseases-hypertension,https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279251/,https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings,https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/noncommunicable-diseases-hypertension,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4266250/,https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/146/2/389S/4584698,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6966103/,https://www.unn.edu.ng/,https://www.nafdac.gov.ng/,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/ginger-or-ginger-tea-wont-prevent-heart-attack-and-stroke,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-lemon-ginger-and-garlic-wont-cure-high-blood-pressure","No, don’t use garlic to lower blood pressure","Garlic, high blood pressure",,,,, -13,,,,False,Motunrayo Joel,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/motunrayo-joel,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-martine-moise-first-lady-haiti-not-dead,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"Martine Moïse, the wife of Haiti’s assassinated president, is dead, claims a post shared on Facebook in Nigeria in July 2021.On 7 July, Haitian president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his private residence in the capital, Port-au-Prince. His wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot in the attack. Haiti is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea.The post claims that the “First Lady died from her injuries”, after being “rushed to hospital” and “despite the doctors’ best efforts”. The post includes photos of the couple. But is Martine Moïse dead?Alive and well Moïse was seriously injured during the assassination and was flown to Florida in the US for medical treatment.But on 17 July she spoke to the media from her hospital bed, confirming she was alive and well.In an article updated 17 July, she was pictured wearing a bulletproof vest as she returned to Port-au-Prince.Moïse also spoke at her late husband’s funeral on 22 July.","https://web.facebook.com/NGBREAKINGNEWS/posts/1999091423587583?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/assassination-haitian-president-jovenel-moise-what-know,https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/assassination-haitian-president-jovenel-moise-what-know,https://twitter.com/martinejmoise?lang=en,https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti,https://web.facebook.com/NGBREAKINGNEWS/posts/1999091423587583?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/NGBREAKINGNEWS/posts/1999091423587583?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://news.sky.com/story/wife-of-assassinated-haiti-president-jovenel-moise-speaks-from-hospital-bed-12353342,https://www.wsj.com/articles/martine-moise-wife-of-assassinated-president-makes-surprise-return-to-haiti-11626564491,https://www.npr.org/2021/07/17/1017398219/martine-moise-wife-of-slain-president-returns-to-haiti,https://www.voanews.com/americas/gunfire-protests-disrupt-funeral-haitis-assassinated-president","No, Martine Moïse, first lady of Haiti, not dead",,,,,, -14,,,,False,Motunrayo Joel,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/motunrayo-joel,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/biafran-independence-movement-leader-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-not-fake-news,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A post shared on Facebook in Nigeria claims that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), was not arrested, despite news reports saying he was.It reads: “Nnamdi Kanu Arrest. Nigerians and there fake news flying upandan [up and down].” Biafra was a region that roughly correlates with Nigeria’s South East geopolitical zone today.  In May 1967, Biafra declared its independence from the rest of the country. A civil war followed, ending in January 1970 with Biafra’s defeat.  There are continued calls for Biafran independence, most notably by Ipob. But has Kanu, who has been living in London in the UK, been arrested?Kanu arrested and arraigned in courtThere have been multiple reports in the mainstream media of Kanu’s arrest, both in Nigeria and internationally.He was arrested on 27 June 2021 through joint efforts by Nigerian security agents and the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol. But officials have not disclosed where and how.According to Nigeria's justice minister, Abubakar Malami, Kanu was brought back to Nigeria to face trial, after jumping bail in 2019.‘11-count charge’Kanu was previously arrested on 14 October 2015 on 11 charges, including terrorism, treasonable felony and managing an unlawful society. He was granted bail in 2017.He is also accused of inciting violence against the Nigerian state and institutions through TV, radio and online broadcasts, and of instigating violence, particularly in southeastern Nigeria.Kanu appeared before a federal high court in Abuja on 29 June 2021, two days after his arrest. While all the details are still to emerge at the time of writing, claims that he was not arrested are false.","https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=158238561912186&set=pcb.158238601912182&type=3&theater,https://web.facebook.com/groups/388050959313043/posts/466523654799106/?__cft__[0]=AZVbT-nA-yAjwpgsAhc1l4NBvq1ngxoQLVYc2lZNP4J9vZmrzX00uNUbEzMHp7Hn7b7MIcQCW7AdYYkwpsAkwqSPPAadikibVN_pfYbZa1WcKcJCrNNgPGqs9r42hcrlq-A&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/11/nigeria-biafra-kanu-reconciliation-independence/,https://web.facebook.com/groups/388050959313043/posts/466523654799106/?__cft__[0]=AZVbT-nA-yAjwpgsAhc1l4NBvq1ngxoQLVYc2lZNP4J9vZmrzX00uNUbEzMHp7Hn7b7MIcQCW7AdYYkwpsAkwqSPPAadikibVN_pfYbZa1WcKcJCrNNgPGqs9r42hcrlq-A&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://www.britannica.com/place/Biafra,https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Nigeria-and-its-geopolitical-zones-North-Central-Benue-FCT-Kogi-Kwara_fig1_256614605,https://www.britannica.com/place/Biafra,https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/11/nigeria-biafra-kanu-reconciliation-independence/,https://punchng.com/breaking-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-says-malami/,https://ugobestiky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FB_IMG_15681388255829898-750x430.jpg,https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/biafra-separatist-leader-arrested-and-extradited-to-nigeria,https://punchng.com/breaking-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-says-malami/,https://www.interpol.int/en,https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/29/africa/nnamdi-kanu-arrested-nigeria-intl/index.html,https://punchng.com/breaking-nnamdi-kanu-arrested-says-malami/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/470566-updated-nnamdi-kanu-re-arrested-returned-to-nigeria-malami.html,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/470566-updated-nnamdi-kanu-re-arrested-returned-to-nigeria-malami.html,https://guardian.ng/news/nnamdi-kanu-appears-in-court-after-re-arrest/",Biafran independence movement leader Nnamdi Kanu arrested – not ‘fake news’,,,,,, -15,,,,False,Motunrayo Joel,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/motunrayo-joel,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-nigerias-yoruba-separatist-sunday-adeyemo-still-custody-benin-wife-ropo,,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"A post shared on Facebook in Nigeria on 20 July 2021 claims that Sunday Adeyemo and his wife Ropo Adeyemo have been released from custody in Benin and allowed to board a plane to Germany.Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has been campaigning for the self-determination of the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria.The Facebook post reads: “Breaking news!!!! Sunday Adeyemo (AKA) Igboho and his wife German citizen has been released and allows to board plane on their way to Germany #BeninRepublicNoBeKenya.”The post has been shared several times and some commenters were happy.One Facebook user said: “Just can't express my joy for the great news!!!”Another said: “Good to hear this, shame to the haters.”However, others said the claim was not true.Were Sunday and Ropo Adeyemo jailed and have they been released from custody in Benin?Igboho still held but wife releasedThe Adeyemos fled Nigeria for the neighbouring Republic of Benin in early July after their Ibadan home was raided by the the Department of State Services.Ammunition and weapons were found on the premises during the raid.The Nigerian government then issued a warrant for Sunday Adeyemo’s arrest.On 19 July, the couple were arrested in the port city of Cotonou by Beninoise authorities while trying to travel to Germany. Ropo Adeyemo lives in Germany.The charges brought by the Beninoise court were for immigration-related offences. It ordered Ropo’s release while Sunday remained in custody. His trial continued on 26 July. The claims on Facebook are false.","https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55934275,https://www.ngnews247.com/sunday-igboho-biography-wfe-age-house-sons-family-net-worth-cars/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/471288-lagos-rally-sunday-igboho-yoruba-nation-campaigners-set-for-showdown-with-police.html,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://web.facebook.com/pdployalistsfanpage/posts/336548608129514?__tn__=%2CO*F,https://www.britannica.com/place/Benin,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55934275,https://www.dss.gov.ng/,https://guardian.ng/news/dss-declares-sunday-igboho-wanted-confirms-raid-on-his-residence/,https://guardian.ng/news/dss-declares-sunday-igboho-wanted-confirms-raid-on-his-residence/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/474749-how-sunday-igboho-was-arrested-in-benin-republic.html,http://saharareporters.com/2021/07/22/breaking-beninese-court-releases-sunday-igboho%E2%80%99s-wife-orders-igboho-remain-custody,https://punchng.com/beninoise-courts-not-used-to-large-crowds-igbohos-lawyers-caution-supporters/","No, Nigeria's Yoruba separatist Sunday Adeyemo still in custody in Benin, but wife Ropo Adeyemo released",,,,,, -16,,,,Misleading,Keegan Leech,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/keegan-leech,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/no-south-africa-does-not-account-50-global-mining-deaths,About 50% of global mining deaths occur in South Africa.,2021-07-28,africacheck,,"Messages posted on Twitter and Facebook claim that 50% of global mining deaths occur in South Africa.But the figure is taken from a 2020 report by the International Council on Mining and Minerals, which only records the deaths reported by its 28 member companies. This is not all the mining deaths in the world.There is a lack of reliable global statistics on mining fatalities. Deaths from mining diseases, and the deaths of contractors and small-scale miners, tend to be under-reported.“About 50% of global mining deaths occur in South Africa. Yet no single mining executive has been held accountable,” reads a tweet with more than 850 likes, which has been shared over 500 times on Twitter. The claim has also been posted on Facebook and other social media.When another user asked for “receipts” supporting the claim, the person who posted it said the data came from the International Council on Mining and Metals. Is the claim backed by data? We checked. Only 28 members included in rankingThe source of this claim is a 2020 report published by the International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM). The mining association collates the number of workplace accidents and fatalities recorded by its members.But the ICMM told Africa Check that its 28 member companies represent only about a third of the global mining industry. Not all mining companies are members and not all countries are represented. According to the report, South Africa recorded 22 out of 44 fatalities in 2020. This is 50% of deaths reported by its members – not 50% of global deaths. South Africa also accounted for more total working hours than any other individual country: 17.7% of all recorded hours in 2020.Government records more mining deathsSouth Africa has regularly fared worst in the ICMM’s safety reports. It has contributed the most deaths every year since 2015, the first year the council recorded location data. The one exception was 2019, when the Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil claimed more than 250 lives.But the ICMM’s records likely don’t even represent all mining deaths in South Africa. The last year the country’s department of mineral resources and energy released a tally of mining fatalities was 2018. In that year, the department recorded 81 fatalities, while South African ICMM members recorded just 14.Data on global mining deaths is limited According to the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA), another mining industry employers’ organisation, the ICMM’s 28 members “exclude huge numbers of mining businesses in many parts of the world, including some major mining jurisdictions, most notably China”.But determining the total number of mining fatalities around the world is not easy.“There is no one record of all industry fatalities,” the ICMM told Africa Check. “Individual companies will release their fatality numbers in their own sustainability and annual reports.”In 2019 the Wall Street Journal reported that many of the world’s mining fatalities may not even be counted. Its analysis of mining companies’ safety reports found that many did not record the deaths of contractors, workers transporting extracted minerals or deaths at joint mining ventures, which are managed by more than one company.The journal even found that more than half of the people who died in the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster may not have been included in the official mining death toll. Deaths from mining diseases are even more likely to go unrecorded.Artisanal mining deaths may not be recordedAnother category of fatalities which may go overlooked is artisanal mining. In 2013, the World Bank estimated that there were “approximately 100 million artisanal miners globally”. This form of small-scale mining is often, but not always, conducted illegally. Deaths in this sector are more likely to go unrecorded. In June 2021 the bodies of 20 people believed to be illegal miners or “zama-zamas” were found near abandoned mine shafts in Johannesburg. In a 2016 report, human rights organisation Amnesty International said that in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, “many accidents go unrecorded and bodies are left buried in the rubble”.And a 2004 publication by philanthropy organisation Oxfam, in collaboration with environmental non-profit Earthworks, found that “health and safety data for ASM [artisanal and small-scale mining] are sketchy, but the sector appears to experience a significantly higher accident rate than the industry as a whole”.Conclusion: South Africa accounts for 50% of mining deaths recorded by 28 companies in a single report – not 50% of global deaths. A widely shared social media post claims that South Africa accounted for “about 50% of global mining deaths”. But the report cited as evidence gives mining fatalities for 28 companies in 2020. That year South Africa accounted for half of the 44 recorded fatalities. The report likely doesn't even represent all mining deaths in South Africa. It also excludes major miners and mining countries such as China. We therefore rate the claim misleading. But data on global mining fatalities is fraught with problems. Beyond the lack of reliable global statistics, deaths from disease, and the deaths of contractors and small-scale miners, are regularly under-reported across the world. More and better data is needed to accurately determine how many deaths are due to mining, both globally and in South Africa.","https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/Screenshot_2021-06-21_at_16-00-47_T_on_Twitter.png,https://twitter.com/mokhathi/status/1406134773232418817,https://www.facebook.com/MduZondo/posts/4085206891534393,https://twitter.com/manhlamza/status/1406491787544432643,https://twitter.com/mokhathi/status/1406134773232418817,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2020-safety-data,https://www.icmm.com/,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/about-us,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/about-us/our-members/member-companies,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2019-safety-data,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2018-safety-data,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2015-safety-data,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303243420300192,https://www.dmr.gov.za/,https://www.dmr.gov.za/Portals/0/Resources/Annual%20Reports/DMR_annual_report_2019_low%20res.pdf?ver=2019-11-05-161412-883#page=11,https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/research/health-safety/benchmarking-2018-safety-data,https://www.mineralscouncil.org.za/,https://www.wsj.com/,https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hidden-deaths-of-mining-11577825555,https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hidden-deaths-of-mining-11577825555,https://www.eiti.org/ASM,https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/extractiveindustries/brief/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining,https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-06-15-twenty-bodies-of-alleged-zama-zamas-found-outside-klerksdorp/,https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/this-is-what-we-die-for-human-rights-abuses-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-power-the-global-trade-in-cobalt/,https://www.amnestyusa.org/,https://www.earthworks.org/publications/dirty_metals/,https://www.oxfam.org/en,https://www.earthworks.org/,https://www.earthworks.org/cms/assets/uploads/archive/files/publications/DirtyMetals_Workers.pdf#page=2","No, South Africa does not account for ‘50% of global mining deaths’","mining, global, deaths",,,,, -17,,,,Incorrect,Fatima Abubakar,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/fatima-abubakar,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/lemon-zobo-baya-maganin-zazzabi-aje-asibiti,,2021-07-27,africacheck,,"Wani rubutu da aka buga a Facebook yayi iƙirarin cewa lemon zoɓo “na maganin zazzaɓi.”“ Yadda ake lemon zoɓo na magani,” rubutun ya fara. Ya bayyana yadda za ayi  lemon da a fara  jiƙa ganyen zoɓo, abarba, ganyen lemongiras, citta, biturut, lemon zaƙi, kankana da ruwa.Zoɓo dai wani lemo ne da ya shahara a Najeriya, wanda ake yi da busasshiyar filawar itacen rosilli. Itacen rosilli, wanda ake kira da habiscus sabdariffa a kimiyance ya fito ne daga ayarin itatuwan Malvaceae. Yana fitowa a wurare masu zafi, yana kuma da launin kore mai duhu ko jajayen kara da ganye.Shin lemon da aka bayyana a rubutun yana maganin zazzaɓi?  Abubuwa da dama na jawo zazzaɓiZazzaɓi shine ƙaruwar zafin jiki sama da maki 37 a ma’aunin selshiyos. Wanda ke nuna alamun shigar cuta, kamar yadda Mayo Clinic suka bayyana. Wasu daga cikin alamun zazzaɓi sun haɗa da ciwon kai, rawar jiki, rashin ɗanɗano, rashin ruwa a jiki da kuma kasala. Hukumar lafiya ta Britaniyya(NHS) tace abubuwa da cututtaka da dama na iya jawo zazzaɓi. Yana kuma daga cikin alamun cutar Covid-19.Mutane- manya da yara- idan zazzaɓi ya kama su tare da ciwon kai mai zafi, jijjiga, rikicewar tunani, yawan amai, ciwon ciki da wahala wajen numfashi, ana basu shawarar zuwa asibiti cikin gaggawa.Kada a ɗauki zazzaɓi akan abu mai sauƙi“ Wannan haɗin gargajiya ne, ayi watsi da shi,” Cewar Marycelin Baba, Farfesa a fannin ƙwayoyin cuta ta jami’ar Maiduguri, kamar yadda ta shaidawa Africa Check.Baba wadda suka wallafa wata takarda akan gaza gane cutar zazzaɓin cizon sauro da zazzaɓin taifot. “ Babu wata hujja a kimiyance da ta goyi da bayan wannan da’awar,”  cewar Farfesar. “ Wannan haɗi baya magani ko hana zazzaɓi. Ƴaƴan itatuwan da aka lissafa na da muhimmanci  a jiki amma ba maganin zazzaɓi ba ne”.Baba ta ƙara da cewa: Idan an kamu da zazzaɓi, a hanzarta zuwa asibiti. Kada a dogara da haɗe-haɗe. Kada a ɗauki zazzaɓi da wasa.”","https://web.facebook.com/groups/353470598374000/permalink/1629649860756061/?__cft__%5b0%5d=AZXew-FyosdUNvmFiQHu2WmjBTbE0I-jl6fFvTmV0nZLllEaKq82pDD0kJl1kshMkyhXxKF0T8YLX_s3bUyzEtZRaH-bDeDuN0n0sc1Hbgp3l2kAaIKLJUpzf2F-2u7tfoQU6o5e4rM3jIMNjN2hZKW9&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://thenationonlineng.net/interesting-facts-zobo-roselle-drinks/,https://www.britannica.com/plant/roselle-plant,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.nhs.uk/search/results?q=Fever&page=0,https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-basics,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759,https://www.unimaid.edu.ng/,https://www.longdom.org/proceedings/arbovirus-coinfections-in-suspected-febrile-malaria-and-typhoid-patients-a-worrisome-situation-in-nigeria-85.html",Lemon Zoɓo baya maganin zazzaɓi- aje asibiti,"zobo, Incorrect",,,,, -18,,,,False,Fatima Abubakar,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/fatima-abubakar,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/shafa-kugu-baya-kara-yawan-maniyyi,,2021-07-27,africacheck,,"Shafa tsakiyar ƙugu na sa ƙarin ruwan maniyyi, a cewar wani hoto a Facebook wanda mutane da dama suka aka rarraba shi.Hoton na ɗauke da kanun rubutun kamar haka, “ Yawan maniyyi” da kuma hoton babban ɗan yatsa akan tsakiyar ƙugu. “ Ku ƙara yawan maniyyi ta hanyar shafa nan wajen a ƙugun ku,” aka rubuta akan hoton.Wasu da su ke tsokaci a ƙasan rubutun waɗanda suka kai sama da mutum 600, na neman a tabbatar musu da gaskiyar batun. Akwai wata hujja a kimiyyance? Menene ƙarancin ruwan maniyyi?A cewar Mayo Clinic, wata cibiyar kiwon lafiya mallakar Amurka, ana ƙirga yawan maniyyin namiji ne ta hanyar dubawa da madubin dibarudu, sannan a ƙirga yawan ƙwayoyin halittar maniyyin da suka bayyana.Yawan ƙwayoyin halittar maniyyin lafiyayyen mutum yana kamawa daga miliyan 15 zuwa sama da miliyan 200 kowanne milimita. Wannan na nufin ƙasa da miliyan 39 yayin inzali. Babu hujja a kimiyyance “ Wannan ai abun dariya ne, duk shekarun da nayi ina aikin kiwon lafiya ban taɓa jin haka ba,” Cewar Sulyman Kuranga, Farfesan mafitsara na jami’ar Ilorin da ke arewa ta tsakiya a Najeriya, kamar yadda ya shaidawa Africa Check.Ya ce: “ Babu wata hujja a kimiyance cewa wannan zai ƙara yawan maniyyi. Sau tari ƙwayoyin cuta ke jawo matsalar ƙarancin yawan maniyyi. Idan an magance cutar, yawan maniyyi namiji na dawowa dai dai.”Don haka shafa ƙugu baya ƙara yawan maniyyi. Babu hujjar da ta tabbatar da hakan a kimiyance, hakan bashi da nasaba da samuwar ruwan maniyyi,” Kuranga ya ce.Bamu samu wani bayani ko bincike da akayi akan hakan ba.Africa Check ta taɓa tantance wata da’awa makamanciyar wannan, wadda ke cewa haɗa wasu  magungunan gargajiya na ƙara yawan maniyyi. Kamar dai wannan su ma ba mu samu wata hujja a kimiyyance ba, don haka da’awar ƙarya ce.","https://web.facebook.com/567790056994933/photos/a.568016010305671/596256384148300/,https://web.facebook.com/567790056994933/photos/a.568016010305671/596256384148300/,https://web.facebook.com/567790056994933/photos/a.568016010305671/596256384148300/,https://web.facebook.com/567790056994933/photos/a.568016010305671/596256384148300/,https://www.mayoclinic.org/,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sperm-count/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374591,https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sperm-count/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374591,https://www.unilorin.edu.ng/,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-combination-fruit-and-spices-wont-boost-sperm-count,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/mixture-bitter-kola-powder-honey-and-ginger-no-cure-low-or-no-sperm-count",Shafa ƙugu baya ƙara yawan maniyyi,"Wrist, massage, sperm count",,,,, -19,,,,Incorrect,Fatima Abubakar,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/fatima-abubakar,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/babu-wata-cikakkiyar-hujjar-cewa-jikakken-ganyen-mangwaro-na-taimakawa-masu,,2021-07-27,africacheck,,"Wani saƙo da ke yawo a Facebook a Najeriya na iƙirarin cewa za a iya amfani da  ganyen mangwaro don kula da cutar suga nau’i na biyu. Rubutun na Facebook na cewa: “ Ganyen Mangwaro na ɗauke da sindarin tanins da antosiyanis waɗanda suke da ikon taimakawa jiki ya samar da sinadarin insulin, ya daidaita yawan suga a jiki, ya taimakawa mai cutar suga nau’i na 2. Yana taimakawa mai ciwon rage alamomin ciwon a jiki, kamar yawan fitsari da daddare, ya kuma yi maganin cutukan sugan da akafi sani da aniyofati da ratinofati.”Ciwon suga cuta ce da ake rayuwa da ita a jiki, wacce ke haddasa hauhawar sikarin da ke jiki. Saboda gazawar jiki wajen samar da isasshen sinadarin insulin, ko kuma baya amfani da insulin ɗin da jiki ke samarwa yadda ya kamata. Jiki na amfani da sinadarin insulin wajen sarrafa suga da kitse.Cutar suga nau’i na 1 na afkuwa ne lokacin da jiki baya iya samar da isasshen sinadarin insulin, yayin da cutar suga nau’i na 2 na afkuwa ne lokacin da jiki ya gaza amfani da sinadarin insulin.Rubutun na Facebook ya bayyana yadda za’a haɗa da kuma yadda za’a yi amfani da jiƙon ganyen mangwaron.Shin akwai hujja a kimiyyance da ta tabbatar da hakan? Mun bincika. ‘Ba zan bawa kowa shawarar ya sha haɗin ba’ - cewar ƙwararre a fannin.A duk duniya, kimanin mutane miliyan 400 ke fama da cutar suga. Da dama sun fito daga ƙasashe masu ƙarancin tattalin arziƙi. Cutar na kashe aƙalla mutane milyan 1.6 a kowacce shekara, kamar yadda Hukumar Lafiya ta Duniya ta bayyana.Wasu binciken sun tattara bayanai akan sinadarin yaƙi da cutar suga da ke jikin mangwaro. Sharhi akan ayyukan ɗa itace da ganyen mangwaro wajen magani ya nuna cewa “ zai iya zama yana cikin magungunan maganin cutar suga”.“ Wasu daga cikin waɗannan itatuwa na da abubuwa kala kala a jikin su masu amfani,” Aihanuwa Eregie, Farfesa akan magunguna ta jami’ar Benin da ke kudu maso yammacin Najeriya ta shaidawa Africa Check.“Zan fi so ace anyi binciken waɗannan abubuwan a kimiyance, a fitar da abu mai amfani a yi gwaji akan sa na ɗan lokaci. Amma yanzu ba zan bawa kowa shawarar ya sha wannan haɗin ba,” Farfesar ta ce.Ta ƙara da cewa: “ Duk likitan da ya samo cikakken horo akan cutar suga, ba zai ce a sha ganyen mangwaro ba.”Hukumar kula da cututtaka masu yaɗuwa ta Amurka ta ce, za’a iya rayuwa da cutar suga tare da cin abincin da ya dace da shan magunguna don sauƙaƙa cutar suga, hawan jini da yawan kitse.","https://web.facebook.com/peterfatomilolaofficialpag/posts/1552215944969948,https://web.facebook.com/peterfatomilolaofficialpag/posts/1552215944969948,https://web.facebook.com/peterfatomilolaofficialpag/posts/1552215944969948,https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes,https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/hormones/insulin,https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes,https://web.facebook.com/peterfatomilolaofficialpag/posts/1552215944969948,https://www.who.int/health-topics/diabetes#tab=tab_1,https://www.who.int/health-topics/diabetes#tab=tab_1,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452316X17300819,https://www.phytojournal.com/archives/2016/vol5issue3/PartA/5-2-21-518.pdf,https://www.uniben.edu/,https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html",Babu wata cikakkiyar hujjar cewa jiƙaƙƙen ganyen mangwaro na taimakawa masu cutar suga nau’i na biyu,"fake cures, diabetes, mixtures",,,,, -20,,,,False,Fatima Abubakar,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/fatima-abubakar,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/babu-hujjar-cewa-sojojin-najeriya-300-sun-bar-aiki-tun-bayan-hatsarin-jirgin,,2021-07-27,africacheck,,"“ SAMA DA SOJOJIN NAJERIYA 300 NE SUKA BAR AIKI BAYAN JIRGIN DA AKE ZARGI YA FADO DA SHUGABAN SOJOJIN DA WASU,” cewar wani rubutu da aka wallafa a Facebook a Najeriya, a watan Mayu 2021.Rubutun ya ƙara da cewa: “ MU DAI MUNA ZUBA IDO.”Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, shugaban sojoji, ya rasa ransa da wasu mutane 10 ranar 21 ga watan Mayu a wani hatsarin jirgin sama a jihar Kaduna, arewa maso yammacin Najeriya. Jirgin ya taso ne daga Abuja, babban birnin tarayya, inda ya faɗi yayin da ya ke ƙoƙarin sauka a Kaduna sanadiyar rashin kyan yanayi. Ko sojojin Najeriya da dama sun bar aiki bayan afkuwar hatsarin? Mun bincika. Bamu samu inda aka fitar da labarin cewa sojoji 300 sun bar aiki baLabarin barin aikin sojoji na kwana-kwanan nan dai anyi shi tun watan Junerun 2021, inda aka ce an bawa sojojin 127 damar ajiye aiki idan suna so kafin watan Mayu. Kwamitin wakilai a Najeriya ya tabbatar da cewa a shekarar 2020 dai sojoji 386 sun ajiye aikin da kansu, dalilin matsalar rashin lafiya da wasu matsalolin..Amma babu rahoton barin aikin sojoji 300 bayan rasuwar Attahiru.Bamu samu shelar barin sojoji aiki ba a shafin rundunar sojojin, hanyoyin watsa labaran su ko a shafukan su na yanar gizo.","https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=181073540577691&id=105023624849350&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZW0YHH6bwRBXe-Tm52ZxFFYVtNi242-Bs0ZKoZn90_qYyPbqXSjtNrHMemTglJb0ASictBnUG2YF1ypVpmOZlpfLCltDQj2TqIRZtOv7USb2BaZwaMWFMGgNhMbi_FVIhfV4sPX6KifvXumZqxYT9fp&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57208951,https://army.mil.ng/chief-of-army-staff-lt-gen-ibrahim-attahiru-dies-in-air-crash/,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/437852-exclusive-127-soldiers-resign-from-nigerian-army.html,https://www.icirnigeria.org/why-3https:/www.icirnigeria.org/why-386-soldiers-resigned-from-nigerian-army-in-q2-of-2020-reps/,https://dailytrust.com/386-soldiers-quit-army-in-1-year-reps,https://army.mil.ng/,https://twitter.com/HQNigerianArmy",Babu hujjar cewa sojojin Najeriya 300 sun bar aiki tun bayan hatsarin jirgin saman da yayi sanadin mutuwar shugaban sojojin,military,,,,, -21,,,,Fake,Grace Gichuhi,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/grace-gichuhi,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-tanzanian-president-suluhu-didnt-tweet-twitter-activist-kigogo2014-should,,2021-07-26,africacheck,,"Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu has come out in support of a prominent but anonymous Twitter user with the handle @Kigogo2014, a whistleblower and human rights activist who was threatened with arrest by the administration of late president John Magufuli.At least, so it appears in what seems to be a screenshot of a tweet from Suluhu’s verified Twitter account, circulating on Facebook since June 2021.“Mwacheni Kigogo2014 Fanyeni mambo ya msingi na yenye Tija katika nchi, Kila mmoja ana Haki na Uhuru wa kujieleza,” the tweet reads, in Kiswahili.This roughly translates as: “Let Kigogo2014 be. Focus on important and productive issues in the country. Every person has a right and freedom to express themselves.”The screenshot has been shared in two public Facebook groups, one with more than 280,000 members, the other with some 67,000 members. False claims of copyright infringement have been used in an attempt to silence @Kigogo2014, who has more than 577,000 followers and has been described in Tanzania as “our president of the Twitter republic”.The activist’s identity is unknown, a “closely guarded secret”, the BBC says. He or she told the BBC: “I'm a whistleblower and I expose corruption and human rights abuses in the country.”But did Suluhu, who succeeded Magufuli when he died in March, really tweet that @Kigogo2104 should be left alone?We checked.‘This information is not true’There is no reference to “Kigogo2014” on the Tanzanian presidency’s official Facebook page. An advanced Twitter search also returned no results. But the screenshot was posted on “Ikulu Mawasiliano”, the Facebook page of the president’s communication team – stamped “FAKE NEWS”.“TAARIFA HII SIYO YA KWELI. IPUUZWE,” the post reads. Translation: “This information is not true. Ignore it.” A screenshot of a tweet suggests that Tanzanian president Suluhu has called for activist Twitter user @Kigogo2014 to be left alone. But the president’s communications team dismissed it as fake.","https://www.ikulu.go.tz/,https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/minister-lugola-launches-attack-on-twitter-user-kigogo-ahead-of-civic-polls-2695988,https://twitter.com/kigogo2014,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55186932,https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/minister-lugola-launches-attack-on-twitter-user-kigogo-ahead-of-civic-polls-2695988,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56437852,https://www.facebook.com/groups/305876886781039/posts/787087178660005/,https://www.facebook.com/groups/329927404946164/posts/498008031471433/,https://web.facebook.com/groups/329927404946164/permalink/498008031471433/,https://www.facebook.com/groups/329927404946164/posts/498008031471433/,https://www.facebook.com/groups/305876886781039/posts/787087178660005/,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55186932,https://twitter.com/kigogo2014,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55186932,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55186932,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56437852,https://www.facebook.com/groups/305876886781039/posts/787087178660005/,https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/Kigogo2014.JPG,https://www.facebook.com/ikulu.mawasiliano,https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/Kigogo2014Twitter.JPG,https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=129513889284026&id=100402328861849,https://web.facebook.com/Ikulu-Mawasiliano-100402328861849/?__cft__%5b0%5d=AZWm2B-o-K7ntsm7IN5Cy5w_26GOSiZRCheTSp_FZvK4JsVHslryicDjSarNS8U6Fgz4HozXk-_LKiwIEwRDXWryZ2AKNN_QNArcPCFCF4YaVjHmQOuGz_5Xq-MQ1q-Oy0H3Uy0sMFpbECCwqzBz0D8j&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R,https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=129513889284026&id=100402328861849","No, Tanzanian president Suluhu didn’t tweet that Twitter activist @Kigogo2014 should be left alone",,,,,, -22,,,,Correct,Mandy Lombo,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/mandy-lombo,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/yes-video-shows-massive-queue-shops-ulundi-after-shutdownsa-protests,,2021-07-26,africacheck,,"South Africa’s Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces experienced a week of looting, protests and violence following former president Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment for contempt of court. During the tense week several false and misleading videos were shared online. In many cases old or out of context videos were passed off as recent events. Social media users tagged Africa Check in many of the posts, including one with a video of a long queue winding along a road. Most posts of the video, filmed from a helicopter, said it showed food queues in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal. We checked. Google Maps confirms video filmed in Ulundi Using Google Maps we were able to confirm that the video was filmed in Ulundi. At the beginning of the video there’s a building on the corner of a T-junction. This is the Ulundi police station on King Zwelithini street. A billboard in the video is also visible in Google street view. At 19 seconds the Ulundi municipal building appears in the video. In Google satellite view, the same building and green roofs can be seen. Video filmed on 16 July 2021The next step was to confirm if the video was filmed after the violence and looting in KwaZulu-Natal. Africa Check spoke to Ulundi’s municipality speaker, councillor Johanna Manana. She confirmed that the video was shot on 16 July 2021, by municipal manager Nkosenye Zulu.  Manana said the queue formed because the municipality had decided that “only two shops, Spar and Boxer, would be open on that day. This was to try and avoid looting and burning of shops.” She said that all shops in Ulundi had since been opened.","https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/13/south-africa-zuma-protests-violence/,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57650517,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/beware-you-share-these-shutdownsa-videos-are-misleading,https://twitter.com/SammyJoeD/status/1416056830661382147,https://twitter.com/SammyJoeD/status/1416056830661382147,https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ulundi/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x1ef0636c86b220c3:0xcb1dd66c50c6974d?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWiKnD5fjxAhX3QUEAHZW1AxsQ8gEwJHoECFMQAQ,https://www.google.com/maps/@-28.2951811,31.4291395,3a,75y,225.26h,83.33t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1svjOb6-wXxoZCsxqhwVg5XQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DvjOb6-wXxoZCsxqhwVg5XQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D304.48022%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656,https://www.google.com/maps/@-28.2954652,31.4281484,329m/data=!3m1!1e3,https://www.google.com/maps/@-28.2924603,31.4252623,329m/data=!3m1!1e3,https://www.ulundi.gov.za/office-mm","Yes, video shows massive queue for shops in Ulundi after #ShutdownSA protests",,,,,, -23,,,,False,Taryn Willows,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/taryn-willows,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-covid-vaccines-cannot-make-you-magnetic-videos-claim,,2021-07-23,africacheck,,"Several videos doing the rounds on Facebook in South Africa appear to show different metal objects sticking to people who have recently received the Covid-19 vaccine.One video shows a phone stuck to a man’s arm, apparently after he received the second jab of the vaccine against Covid.Another shows a metal spoon sticking to a woman’s arm, apparently also  after she received the vaccine.A third video, with people speaking isiZulu, shows a woman putting a coin against a man’s arm and it also sticking to him. It’s unclear whether the man and woman in the third video are in fact South African, as the dialogue is out of sync with the people speaking, so may have been recorded over a video from elsewhere. The man and woman in the first and second videos sound Nigerian, though this could not be immediately confirmed.These videos have been widely shared since vaccines against Covid-19 first became available in South Africa, with claims the vaccines contain metals or microchips that make the site of injection magnetic. But could this startling claim be true? We checked.Debunked by South African government news agencyThe South African government news agency put out a statement about the reported phenomena on 11 June 2021, in response to the viral videos. It started: “The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has welcomed input from top global health experts, who have dismissed purported links between the Covid-19 vaccine and magnetic fields.”Provincial government minister of health Nomagugu Simelane said that “several international medical scientists have rejected these claims as scientifically improbable and false”.“According to a report shared by World Health Organization (WHO) affiliated group, Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (Aira), Covid-19 vaccines do not contain magnetic microchips.”An earlier statement by the South African government on 9 June quoted Dr Stephen Schrantz, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Chicago. He said: “No, getting a Covid-19 vaccine cannot cause your arm to be magnetised. This is a hoax, plain and simple”.“There is absolutely no way that a vaccine can lead to the reaction shown in these videos posted to Instagram and YouTube. It is better explained by two-sided tape on the metal disc being applied to the skin, rather than a magnetic reaction,” he said.The government also quoted Dr Thomas Hope, vaccine researcher and professor of cell and developmental biology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the US, who also debunked the claim.He said: “This is impossible. There’s nothing there [in the vaccine] that a magnet can interact with, it’s protein and lipids, salts, water and chemicals that maintain the pH. That’s basically it, so this is not possible.”Nothing magnetic in vaccine ingredients?In order for these metal objects to stick to where someone has received the vaccine jab, the ingredients would have to have a metal base.According to the WHO, none of the ingredients in Covid vaccines have a metal base.The WHO also says that many of the components used in vaccines “occur naturally in the body, in the environment, and in the foods we eat”. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also lists the ingredients for each of the Covid-19 vaccines approved around the world.The various ingredients in the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are listed by the FDA. None of these vaccines list any metal-based ingredients. The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) notes that “Covid-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of your injection”. (Note: Only the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines have been administered in South Africa at the time of writing.)Doses so small, even if were magnetic, wouldn’t attract objects shown in videosSome fact-checking organisations have also made the point that even if the vaccines did contain magnetic metals, one dose could not possibly cause a magnetic reaction. Medical professionals at the Meedan Health Desk have explained why: “The amount of metal that would need to be in a vaccine for it to attract a magnet is much more substantial than the amounts that could be present in a vaccine's small dose.”An expert the BBC spoke to gave some ways one can get metals to appear to stick to the skin. These include surface oils or tension and “trickery like band-aid residue or other sticky residue”. The claim that Covid-19 vaccines can cause a person to become magnetic at the vaccination site has been widely debunked by several other fact-checking organisations. It is simply not possible.","https://www.facebook.com/ruth.suowari/videos/418750162587520/,https://www.facebook.com/poemosis/videos/1168663400313236/,https://www.facebook.com/mbokazi/posts/10224841580205302,https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/covid-19-vaccine-magnetic-fields-claims-dismissed,https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/covid-19-vaccine-magnetic-fields-claims-dismissed,https://www.gov.za/speeches/mec-nomagugu-simelane-welcomes-dismissal-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-%E2%80%9Cmagnet%E2%80%9D-claims-hoax,https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/vaccines-and-immunization-what-is-vaccination?topicsurvey=)&gclid=CjwKCAjwruSHBhAtEiwA_qCppkxj3NWUiMNQ3be39DV5yPfZ19F0O0YrB_Nqn0Zl4w7rsn2qR5939RoCvbEQAvD_BwE,https://www.fda.gov/,https://www.fda.gov/media/144414/download#page=2,https://www.fda.gov/media/144638/download#page=2,https://www.fda.gov/media/146305/download#page=2,https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html,https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-vaccine-idUSL2N2N41KA,https://health-desk.org/articles/what-do-we-know-about-the-pfizer-vaccine-and-magnets,https://www.bbc.com/news/av/57207134,https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/06/21/fact-check-covid-19-vaccines-arent-magnetic/7698556002/,https://www.jacarandafm.com/shows/mornings-with-mack/watch-covid-19-vaccine-wont-make-you-magnetic/,https://www.bbc.com/news/av/57207134","No, Covid vaccines cannot make you magnetic as videos claim","magnet, Coronavirus, Covid-19 vaccine",,,,, -24,,,,Incorrect,Naledi Mashishi,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/naledi-mashishi,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/state-emergency-would-not-strip-ramaphosas-powers-and-make-dlamini-zuma,"If a state of emergency is declared in South Africa the president will be stripped of his powers, which will go to the military. Cooperative governance minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will, in terms of the disaster management act, “take over”.",2021-07-23,africacheck,,"After calls for a state of emergency to deal with protests and looting in South Africa, a message appeared on social media claiming that an emergency declaration would give the president’s powers to the military and put cooperative governance minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in charge.Constitutional law experts told Africa Check this was false. A state of emergency would give the president more power, and he would retain control of the military.The current state of disaster to control Covid-19 does give the cooperative governance minister limited new powers. But she would not “take over”, as the message claims, under a state of emergency.A message heavily shared on WhatsApp and Facebook warns about the consequences of a state of emergency being declared in South Africa.“If a state of emergency is declared the military takes over the rule of the land and the state president is stripped of his powers,” it reads. “In terms of the Disaster management Act Nkosazana dlamini Zuma will take over giving power to the Zuma’s.” Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is South Africa’s minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta). She was married to former president Jacob Zuma from 1993 to 1998.South Africa saw a week of violent protests and looting after Zuma was taken into custody to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. At least 337 people were killed and 1,500 arrested. The violence led to calls for the government to declare a state of emergency to restore order.Is the message an accurate reflection of what would happen if a state of emergency was declared in South Africa? We checked. Viral message is ‘absurd’Prof Pierre de Vos, a constitutional law expert in the department of public law at the University of Cape Town, said the viral message was “absurd”. He explained that under a state of emergency, governance still lies with parliament and the executive. But the presidency is given more powers –  they are not “stripped” away. The South African constitution and the State of Emergency Act allow the president to declare a state of emergency only when “the life of the nation is threatened by war, invasion, general insurrection, disorder, natural disaster, or other public emergency”. It can apply to the whole country or a specific area. “It gives the president Cyril Ramaphosa more power to make regulations,” de Vos said. But he added that there were limits to the presidency’s additional powers under a state of emergency: “The extra powers can only be used if they are necessary to deal with the emergency. You cannot make regulations about things that are not directly linked to trying to deal with the emergency.”Michael Evans is an attorney and partner at law firm Webber Wentzel with experience in local government, and administrative and constitutional issues. He told Africa Check that the military would not take over during a state of emergency. “The president is still the one who [delegates] responsibility and [confers] power and he can at any time withdraw it.”State of disaster during Covid pandemic  The message also claims that “in terms of the Disaster management Act Nkosazana dlamini Zuma will take over giving power to the Zuma’s”. South Africa is currently under a state of disaster, which was declared on 15 March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Disaster Management Act, which falls under Cogta, dictates which regulations are enforced. At the moment these include mandatory mask-wearing in public, a curfew, restrictions on gatherings and an alcohol ban.But De Vos said the act was “completely separate” legislation that could not override the constitution. Evans told Africa Check that while the state of disaster has given Dlamini-Zuma powers that she would not ordinarily have as Cogta minister, she does not take the place of the president. He said there were key differences between a state of emergency and a state of disaster.A state of emergency has more parliamentary oversight than a state of disaster. Under the constitution, parliament must review a state of emergency after 21 days. “One of the problems with the national disaster has been that once a national disaster has been declared there is very little parliamentary oversight, which we’ve seen in the last year and a half,” Evans explained. Another major difference is that the public still have all of their basic constitutional rights under a state of disaster. But these rights can be limited under a state of emergency.  No state of emergency since apartheid ended South Africa last saw a state of emergency under the apartheid regime, in 1986. Evans, who was detained three times during apartheid-era states of emergency, told Africa Check the current state of emergency act was a “much better situation”.“Under the apartheid era we had no constitution so there was absolutely no protection. You could detain people, for example, indefinitely under the emergency in the apartheid era,” he said. “Now, if we have a state of emergency it will be very different because you will still retain a number of your constitutional rights and some of the other issues are quite heavily regulated.”The constitution includes a section setting out which rights can be limited under a state of emergency, and to what extent. Importantly, the right to life and human dignity are entirely protected from limitation. But De Vos warned that a state of emergency should not be taken lightly, as other rights could be limited. “They could, for example, allow people to be detained for 30 or 60 days without a trial.” The government could have the power to limit the media and communication, such as by shutting down the internet, if it is deemed necessary to deal with the emergency.Conclusion: No accuracy in claims about state of emergency in South AfricaA viral message on WhatsApp and Facebook warns that a declaration of a state of emergency in South Africa would strip powers from the president and give them to the military. It also claims that under the Disaster Management Act, Cogta minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma would become president.Two constitutional law experts rubbished these claims. Under a state of emergency the president is given more power and retains control of the military. The current state of disaster to deal with Covid-19 does give Dlamini-Zuma more power than before. But she would not become the president under a state of emergency.We therefore rate the message as incorrect.The experts warned, however, that a state of emergency should not be taken lightly as it could allow basic rights to be limited.","https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/images/2021-07/State%20of%20Emergency.png,https://www.facebook.com/bevlee.naidoo/posts/10159575876567498,https://www.dpme.gov.za/about/Pages/Minister-Nkosazana-Dlamini-Zuma.aspx,https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/nkosazana-clarice-dlamini-zuma,https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-17-this-is-us-those-trying-to-tear-south-africa-apart/,https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/22/south-africa-unrest-death-toll-jumps-to-more-than-300,https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/505776/more-groups-call-for-state-of-emergency-in-south-africa/,http://www.publiclaw.uct.ac.za/pbl/staff/pdevos,http://www.publiclaw.uct.ac.za/,http://www.uct.ac.za/,https://www.gov.za/about-government/government-system/executive-authority-president-cabinet-and-deputy-ministers,https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a64-97.pdf,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a64-97.pdf#page=2,https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf#page=20,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a64-97.pdf#page=2,https://www.webberwentzel.com/Specialists/Pages/Michael-Evans.aspx,https://www.webberwentzel.com/Pages/default.aspx,http://declared,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202106/44772rg11299gon565.pdf,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202106/44772rg11299gon565.pdf#page=3,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202106/44772rg11299gon565.pdf#page=5,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202106/44772rg11299gon565.pdf#page=7,https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202106/44772rg11299gon565.pdf#page=14,https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf#page=20,https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/states-emergency-south-africa-1960s-and-1980s,https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf#page=22,https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf#page=22",State of emergency would NOT strip Ramaphosa’s powers and make Dlamini-Zuma president,"state of emergency, president, Dlamini-Zuma",,,,, -25,,,,False,Dancan Bwire,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/dancan-bwire,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-evidence-nairobi-county-deputy-governor-made-statement-about-kenya-trade,,2021-07-23,africacheck,,"Has the acting governor of Kenya’s capital credited her success to a prominent trade unionist?A graphic shared in a Facebook group with over a million members includes a photo of and supposedly quotes Nairobi county deputy governor Anne Kananu Mwenda. She has been acting governor since January 2021. The quote reads: “Without Francis Atwoli I wouldn't be deputy governor of Nairobi today, it is him who called Murathe and told him that regardless of being a Sonko nominee he believed that I would deliver. It is great honor to rename Dik Dik Road after my political godfather. On top of that he is also a staunch supporter of BBI.” Atwoli is the general secretary of Kenya’s Central Organization of Trade Unions. A road in Nairobi was named after him in May and he publicly thanked Mwenda for the honour on Twitter. But the renaming was criticised by some Kenyans and new road signs have been vandalised at least twice.David Murathe is the vice-chairperson of the country’s ruling party, Jubilee. Mike Mbuvi Sonko is the former governor of Nairobi county who was removed from office in December 2020.The graphic also shows the logo of the trusted news outlet Nation Africa. It has been shared by other users and Facebook groups. But is the quote genuine?No evidence Mwenda said anything similarThe graphic looks badly photoshopped and the photo of Mwenda is blurry. The quote includes misspellings and missing words, which is unusual in a communication from a trustworthy news organisation. The font is also different from the one used in other similar graphics from Nation Africa. These are all signs that the graphic wasn’t issued by the news outlet and is fake.Africa Check looked at all similar graphics published since 18 June 2021 and did not find this quote from Mwenda, or anything similar.Using the Nairobi City County website, we found the county’s Twitter handle and from there, the county deputy boss’s account. She has not posted anything on Twitter like the comment in the digitally manipulated graphic.We could find no coverage in any news outlet of a quote like it. It appears to have been made up.","https://www.facebook.com/groups/kenyapolitforum/permalink/2871879856444117/,https://citizentv.co.ke/news/who-is-anne-kananu-mwenda-the-new-nairobi-deputy-governor-311181/,https://citizentv.co.ke/news/who-is-anne-kananu-mwenda-the-new-nairobi-deputy-governor-311181/,https://www.pulselive.co.ke/news/local/jubilee-partys-message-to-anne-kananu-mwenda-after-taking-over-as-acting-nairobi/3h5jgg2,https://www.facebook.com/khalifoi/posts/10220970494184595,https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/lifestyle/profiles/francis-atwoli-straight-shooter-no-hostages-over-street-name-3425646,https://cotu-kenya.org/,https://twitter.com/AtwoliDza/status/1397894774787616775,https://twitter.com/AtwoliDza/status/1397894774787616775,https://citizentv.co.ke/news/francis-atwoli-road-sign-in-kileleshwa-burnt-down-11932708/,https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/nainotepad/2001308336/david-murathe-the-chief-chef-in-uhurus-kitchen-cabinet,https://twitter.com/MikeSonko,https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/politics/article/2001397657/its-over-for-sonko,https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=192229306150952&id=103041941736356,https://nation.africa/kenya,https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10219545116081750&set=bc.Abo0ISOgdBjLRJsp5pZmVgWquSoilJF5aqwBgAh8vVrEwN6TqiPjZQmE-ieYH54Qsbc8zq3CR5XoONVicDSSrcjsNQMG9SGmp22TEEPxc5YU87w4Kcgzj8O3cQu35AhVdh2jYpVYM5YZUrD5Xlj-4bLrS_0nyHsgsQlo5jhq7Nb9BeGCEJ99jqXLUA3xttjWpSaxrRgfYTnha_vinzbp2fH0NH5gHPMIY4AnrX5QTJRIs94YTuKrVoyjyieDkD7JLoCDQFYAy3kalnCn2FkIgMa9qJwsF6WIW75tjzqsJHa48dS-xYvBuD--uGqcvaZ7V18rjVpVRwRM1Uepy0eJVXXkDtYBCHv4eS9XGFB6YEDWdnCzSXtNDfcRV6m0qFjePuM&opaqueCursor=AbpySrKdzkXnOLaMMmf8XWMhrGtdJs2NotEy4bPwnkorwa91N9RlmWY5Ubav8iriaBEkfXTMJNp_IMTLmOPXgKbf7l9XB-xjAVzdNo0pc04VMN_qpGT2EiwchadFQJ0IDe55-qWUjvVjbtOkuA92RnmM2UYhyWb4v_u-c3NztQ3KVuiLE_hUtA6j3aXTEp3EfG9HuzZm7KI7ZnN1gLvOzJhY_K1w3X20sVWyiBeEpctqVRR1X412c-iCOxkyuaWPl2X0gcCp8jEUjTt4LbYa7d22IUu0N41GVUQCexpklQoIk_SSzs35Cy8qB7udXRemIJlM_5JwSIa2RvY0s1uDLxAgzU6tXaEAvIqAKhUJM4H53coGmr2gZhV1MuZNLhE7JZAPwnQUQsxD9ZSWFFpbAFtzmAk1Ht5xF3K4_SsPc82hxWIiaMyw0PNt_zT7gQwPVMCWoktJROLNOqGOmgymN6hSAzLcqmKGdVS3tYD7ejFBhIYJ5A58Ux3tjj2L8csU2Sj6k9GhOj_5puB6kACTewy1qohzEyMYrEXAYM5dizx__oC96hf5YULjHQqf0T2FYGY,https://www.facebook.com/khalifoi/posts/10220970494184595,https://www.facebook.com/groups/3061760543907386/permalink/4226008697482559,https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=192229306150952&id=103041941736356,https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=192229306150952&id=103041941736356,https://www.facebook.com/nation/photos/10159823771319497,https://nairobi.go.ke/,https://twitter.com/047County?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3A047County%7Ctwgr%5EeyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnairobi.go.ke%2F,https://twitter.com/047County/status/1405170397369282562,https://twitter.com/AnnKMwenda1,https://twitter.com/AnnKMwenda1",No evidence Nairobi county deputy governor made statement about Kenya trade unionist helping her get top job,,,,,, -26,,,,False,Taryn Willows,,,africacheck,https://africacheck.org/about/authors/taryn-willows,https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/fbchecks/no-photos-dont-show-actual-house-russias-president-just-design-concept,,2021-07-23,africacheck,,"Photos shared on Facebook show a futuristic structure like something from a James Bond movie, set on a high v-shaped platform among trees. The caption to the photos claims it is the home of a former spy – former intelligence officer and long-time Russian president Vladimir Putin. It reads: “Putin House in Sochi, Russia designed by Roman Vlasov.”Putin has been president since 2012, and also served in the position from 1999 to 2008. Sochi is a city and resort area on the Black Sea in southwestern Russia. But is this really Putin’s house in Sochi? We investigated.‘This is my vision of the house of the president of my country, Vladimir Putin’ – architectA reverse image search for the three photos revealed the same three images shared on Instagram, posted by the architect Roman Vlasov.They are all captioned “PUTIN HOUSE or a story about what his villa might look like By @_vlasov_roman_”.These images are design concepts, illustrations for an idea created by the architect. They do not show a building that has been built, or what Putin’s house actually looks like.Vlasov told AFP Fact-Check this was just a concept.“In my Instagram account there is a description for this work,” he said. “And it says that this is my vision of the house of the president of my country, Vladimir Putin. I have not written anywhere that this house is his property.”Many Putin residencesThere was controversy in early 2021 about Putin building himself a “mega-palace” and spending more time away from his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, just outside the Russian capital, than he admitted. His official residence is in the Kremlin, the fortified complex in the center of Moscow which is home to the Russian government. But news sources say Putin mostly lives at Novo-Ogaryovo.","https://www.facebook.com/ugandazukuka/posts/2678393912459239?__xts__[0]=68.ARCxFUlL6PEtEOa3KAawjzpiXbe_DcT9RYEDpTUTjdo11lmVY3cRO4J3RP478MCWJN0Hmw6Yab-gZ9RErLIWK16jhXQoU1u3XblPgUE4PE14iG1ZLqlFrT9ZL0w37Gzmnp8HrGMR8ygnk0XSVGfFy0Fwsd0kkplsG0XepwfiEHa7JQz4BKjg_NwPaI5jLLdWjPTHQnkeSdffXA3-2Dq2EZyF85Vl0jMPnyUG8WpQEmNcnnyu-WLYN3gUGt_EdX-Z7GU8S2PszAc6Skjz9NdHxoPArOLmaAtIZHA,https://www.facebook.com/ugandazukuka/posts/2678393912459239?__xts__[0]=68.ARCxFUlL6PEtEOa3KAawjzpiXbe_DcT9RYEDpTUTjdo11lmVY3cRO4J3RP478MCWJN0Hmw6Yab-gZ9RErLIWK16jhXQoU1u3XblPgUE4PE14iG1ZLqlFrT9ZL0w37Gzmnp8HrGMR8ygnk0XSVGfFy0Fwsd0kkplsG0XepwfiEHa7JQz4BKjg_NwPaI5jLLdWjPTHQnkeSdffXA3-2Dq2EZyF85Vl0jMPnyUG8WpQEmNcnnyu-WLYN3gUGt_EdX-Z7GU8S2PszAc6Skjz9NdHxoPArOLmaAtIZHA,https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Putin,https://www.britannica.com/place/Sochi,https://www.instagram.com/p/CKd69C2haip/,https://www.instagram.com/p/CKd62C0h32C/,https://www.instagram.com/p/CKd6qKkhlJ_/,http://archvizual.com/,https://factcheck.afp.com/picture-shows-design-concept-house-created-russia-based-architect?fbclid=IwAR1mzHU2hpd6KUOBwXiEv1PDM1xth1qm9dbNNAGfvWKZibc-NtCQSByZXQU,https://www.newsweek.com/putin-denies-navalny-black-sea-palace-expose-1564222,https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/world/europe/putin-russia-office-sochi.html,https://www.rferl.org/a/24690543.html,https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-russia-putin-idUSKBN23N3B4,https://www.britannica.com/technology/kremlin,https://www.britannica.com/video/179907/Overview-Kremlin-Moscow,https://www.britannica.com/place/Moscow,https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1210121.shtml,https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/06/theres-more-to-russia-than-putin/,https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/04/01/putin-working-remotely-after-meeting-infected-doctor-kremlin-says-a69826","No, photos don’t show actual house of Russia’s president, just design concept","Putin, households",,,,, +,rating_ratingValue,rating_worstRating,rating_bestRating,rating_alternateName,creativeWork_author_name,creativeWork_datePublished,creativeWork_author_sameAs,claimReview_author_name,claimReview_author_url,claimReview_url,claimReview_claimReviewed,claimReview_datePublished,claimReview_source,claimReview_author,extra_body,extra_refered_links,extra_title,extra_tags,extra_entities_claimReview_claimReviewed,extra_entities_body,extra_entities_keywords,extra_entities_author,related_links +0,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FP3CE-1,Propolis throat spray treats coronavirus in the throat,2021-07-16,factcheck_afp,,"As Thailand's healthcare system struggled to cope with surging Covid-19 cases in July, multiple Facebook posts claimed a brand of throat spray could ""contain the infection"". The posts are misleading: health experts say the throat spray has not been proven to treat or cure Covid-19. The posts also shared false claims about other home remedies that experts say do not treat or cure the virus.The claim was shared here on Facebook on July 20, 2021.The post has been shared more than 15,000 times.The post's Thai-language caption translates in part as: ""The coronavirus stays in the throat for four days, before it enters the lungs. During this time, we will have symptoms such as itchy throat, dry throat, coughing or sore throat, increased temperature, weakened respiratory system, and the loss of taste.""During this time, you should use lime, vinegar, salt, strong alcohol, and mix them with warm water to rinse your throat. Drink warm water or use propolis extract throat spray to help reduce and contain the infection."" ""Propolis"" refers to a substance obtained from beehives that appears to work against bacteria, viruses, and fungi.A throat spray containing the extract is commercially available in Thailand under the name Propoliz -- approved by the kingdom's Food and Drug Administration as a sore throat remedy.The misleading post circulated online as the kingdom endured its worst Covid-19 wave, with hospitals buckling under the pressure of record daily infections, AFP reported. Similar claims were also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here, and here. These posts are misleading, according to multiple experts.Throat spray""There is not yet enough scientific evidence to use [propolis throat spray] for Covid-19 symptoms,"" Dr. Thira Woratanarat, an associate professor at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP on July 27.""The research requires more clinical trials.""While several studies have been conducted on the efficacy of propolis against Covid-19, they were done with small sample sizes, Dr. Thira said.""You have to be careful if they claim it has properties against Covid-19,"" he said.Jessada Denduangboripant, a professor at Chulalongkorn University's Department of Biology, told AFP that the claim propolis throat spray works against Covid-19 is ""an exaggeration"". ""Propolis is a natural substance which existed in beehives. It does not have enough power to treat Covid-19.""Home remediesAFP has previously debunked here, here and here claims that gargling various substances, drinking warm water or consuming alcohol can prevent or cure Covid-19 .The World Health Organization (WHO) states: ""If you have any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, call your health care provider or COVID-19 hotline for instructions and find out when and where to get a test, stay at home for 14 days away from others and monitor your health.""If you have shortness of breath or pain or pressure in the chest, seek medical attention at a health facility immediately.""No evidenceThe claim that the coronavirus stays in the throat for four days is not supported by ""any evidence"", according to Dr. Thiravat Hemachudha, head of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Health Science Center at Chulalongkorn University.""Each person's response to the infection is different that's why the severity of symptoms between us [is] not the same"", he told AFP.",,Thai social media users share misleading claim about 'Covid-19 throat spray',,,,,, +1,1,1,5,False,Multiple persons,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GF7PU-1,This photo shows a political rally for Asaduddin Owaisi in India,2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared hundreds of times in multiple social media posts that claim it shows a large rally for an Indian Muslim politician during the pandemic. The claim is false: the photo shows an Islamic procession in Bangladesh in 2019.The image was shared in a Hindi-language tweet posted on July 19.The caption translates to English as: ""Huge crowd of a specific community gathered in UP’s Moradabad in Asaduddin Owaisi’s rally and here we are, entangled over BJP, BSP and SP. You people too should stop being in any delusion and think about your future"".""UP"" refers to India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.Asaduddin Owaisi is leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party and member of parliament for Hyderabad in India's southern Telangana state. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 25, 2021The post emerged online after speculation about the AIMIM teaming up with other parties in a bid to defeat the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh's upcoming assembly elections in February 2022. The post also misleadingly suggests India's Muslims are permitted to gather for certain political events, while Hindus have been banned from gathering for religious festivals.The photo was posted with a similar claim here, here, and here on Facebook. However, the claim is false.A reverse image search on Google found the photo was published in this Facebook post on November 26, 2019. It was uploaded by photographer Faisal bin Latif in a post about a religious procession in the Bangladeshi city of Chattogram. A photo of the event shared by Faisal bin Latif on 26 November, 2019He also uploaded an album of photos showing the same event on photo-sharing website Flickr.The album's title reads: ""Jashney Julus, Miladunnabi, November 2019.”AFP found a similar video here on a Bengali-language YouTube channel showing a scene that corresponds with the image in the misleading posts.The video's title states that it shows the Miladun Nabi procession in Chattogram in November 2019.Miladun Nabi is an Islamic festival observed by Muslims as Prophet Mohammed’s birthday according to the Islamic calendar.In 2019, the festival was celebrated on November 10 in Bangladesh. Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube video's one-minute 17-second mark (R): Comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube videoThe same procession was also reported by Bengali news website Banglanews24.com on November 10, 2019.AFP found a similar structure pictured in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R): Similarity between the image in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R) snapshotAFP previously debunked posts sharing the same photo alongside a claim they showed the funeral procession of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed while covering fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban.",,Bangladesh religious procession image shared in false posts about Indian political rally,,,,,, +2,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9F66BR-1,Consuming durian before or after Covid-19 vaccination can cause death,2021-06-22,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook users in Malaysia are sharing posts that warn against eating durian before or after receiving a Covid-19 jab because it can be ""fatal"". Some of the posts share a photo of a man who purportedly died a day after he was vaccinated because he ate the fruit. The claim is false. The Malaysian deputy health minister said the warning has no medical basis, while police told AFP a post-mortem examination found the man died from heart disease. The claim was shared on June 22, 2021, on Facebook here.The Chinese-language post reads: ""Tell family and friends not to eat durian before or after vaccination. The friend of a person in my garden was vaccinated, and died the next day after eating durian. It is necessary to know and better to be cautious. Life is precious, and it's a pity to lose life due to a moment of ignorance."" Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on July 13, 2021The claim was also shared on Facebook in Chinese here and in Malaysian here.Some posts, including here, here and here, share a photo of a man wearing a pink T-shirt, claiming it shows the man who was vaccinated and purportedly died after consuming durian.However, the claims are false.""Medically speaking, no one has said that. Even in the medical books, it has never been raised that people should not eat durian after getting their vaccine. This is wrong,"" said Malaysian Deputy Health Minister Noor Azmi Ghazali, reported by local media here and here.Malaysia’s Ministry of Health (KKM) posted on June 23, 2021, rejecting the claim as ""false news"". Berita palsu. Jangan sebar atau berkongsi. pic.twitter.com/onVjuvhvy2 — KKMalaysia (@KKMPutrajaya) June 23, 2021 The statement was also shared on its official Facebook page here.The man in the photo was identified as Cheah Kum Seng , 49, who lost consciousness while buying food at a restaurant and was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on June 21, 2021, according to local news reports here and here.In a media statement sent to AFP on July 26, 2021, Sentul district police chief, Assistant Commisioner Beh Eng Lai, said: ""A post-mortem examination was conducted on June 22, 2021, and the cause of death was 'ischemic heart disease'. The case is classified as sudden death.""",,Malaysian authorities rubbish posts linking 'Covid-19 vaccine death' to eating durian,,,,,, +3,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple sources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FM2DM-1,Make-A-Wish denies certain wishes to unvaccinated children,2021-06-28,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple social media posts shared in June 2021 claim a US charity that grants ""wishes"" to critically ill children will no longer reward them if they are unvaccinated against Covid-19. The claim is misleading: the posts shared an edited video from the charity's CEO in which he outlined vaccination requirements for rewards that involve air travel and large gatherings. The charity told AFP that its Covid-19 vaccine policy will not apply to children who have received an end-of-life prognosis.The misleading Facebook post about US charity Make-A-Wish was published here on June 28, 2021.""WE’VE [REACHED] A NEW LOW. I always wondered what level of madness was required before ordinary citizens would engage in ACTS OF PURE EVIL,"" the text below the image reads.""When Make-a-Wish forces terminally ill kids & their families to be injected with an experimental genetic agent otherwise they’ll discriminate against and refuse a dying child their last wish, even though the W.H.O recommends not injecting children - we have reached that point."" The post's caption reads: ""How low can humanity go?! Really low!! I recon (sic) there is lower tho (sic)...prove me wrong humans"". A screenshot of the post as of July 27, 2021.A YouTube video has been shared in the Facebook post.It is titled: ""Make-A-Wish will only grant certain wishes to fully vaccinated wish kids"". However, the video is no longer available on YouTube as the user's account has been terminated.Other instances of the claim appear on Facebook here and here, as well as on Twitter here and Telegram here.However, the claim is misleading.Edited videoA reverse image search of the archived version of the YouTube video in the misleading posts found this original video dated June 10, 2021.It features Make-A-Wish America CEO Richard Davis speaking about updates to the charity's Covid-19 policies.In March 2020, the charity postponed all ""wishes"" that involved major travel due to the pandemic.In the two-minute, 22-second video, Davis says all participants for ""wishes"" involving air travel within the US and large gatherings must be fully vaccinated from September 15, 2021.Davis' announcement can be seen below: “We respect everyone’s freedom of choice,” Davis says in the full video, in which he also acknowledges that some children may be too young or too ill to be vaccinated.“We can’t wait until Sept. 15, when we can expand the types of life-changing wishes we can grant.”Charity statementIn a June 28 statement on its website, the charity said it ""has not, does not and will not deny wishes to children who are not vaccinated.""""Since the beginning of the pandemic, Make-A-Wish has safely granted over 6,500 wishes to children and families – regardless of vaccination status. Make-A-Wish will continue to grant wishes to children who are not vaccinated,"" the statement reads.The vaccine policy does not apply to children who have received an end-of-life prognosis, according to the statement.The charity said it would not require anyone to get vaccinated in order to receive a wish.",,This video has been edited -- US charity says it will continue to grant 'wishes' to unvaccinated children,,,,,, +4,5,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GE6MH-1,"All Covid-19 hospital patients were vaccinated, except for one",2021-07-25,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple social media posts shared in July 2021 claim that all Covid-19 patients being treated in hospitals in the Australian state of New South Wales had been vaccinated. The claim is misleading: as of July 26, all of the hospitalised Covid-19 patients were unvaccinated except for one, the state's health authority told AFP.The misleading claim was published in this Instagram post on July 25, 2021.It reads: ""Vaccinated getting Covid??! Out of these Covid cases ALL ARE FULLY VACCINATED (two doses) EXCEPT ONE WHO ONLY HAD ONE DOSE. Why are the vaccinated getting Covid and the unvaccinated are not?! WAKE UP"". A screenshot of the misleading post as of July 26, 2021.The post circulated online following an announcement on July 25 that there were 141 patients being treated for Covid-19 in hospitals in New South Wales, including 43 people in intensive care.The video in the post features a portion of a press conference with Dr Jeremy McAnulty, an official at NSW Health, giving details on new Covid-19 cases.Other instances of the claim appear on Instagram here, here and here. A similar claim appeared here on Facebook. The claim is misleading.A spokesperson for NSW Health told AFP on July 26 that the claims were ""incorrect.""""All [patients in hospital] were unvaccinated save for one,"" the spokesperson said.The misleading claim circulated online after McAnulty misspoke in a press conference broadcast here live by ABC on July 25. At around the six-minute mark, he said: ""141 people are in hospital with Covid at present, and 43 are in intensive care, 18 of whom require ventilation ... all but one person are vaccinated, one person has received one dose of vaccine."" When asked to clarify his remark, McAnulty acknowledged that he had misspoken.At around the 34-minute mark, he clarified: ""Of the 43 patients in intensive care units, 42 have not been vaccinated. One person had a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.""",,Posts mislead on proportion of vaccinated Covid-19 victims in Australian state's hospitals,,,,,, +5,1,1,5,False,Hal Turner Radio Show,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GJ3LG-1,French president's entire security force resigned,2021-07-24,factcheck_afp,,"A French member of parliament and an American radio host claimed that Emmanuel Macron's entire security detail resigned to protest the French president's initiative imposing health passes to participate in many aspects of public life. This is false; the Republican Guard did not resign, and it is tasked with presidential palace security, not his direct physical safety.""Protective Detail of France President ALL Resign over COVID Restrictions; will no longer protect President Macron,"" reads the headline of a July 24, 2021 article on the website of the Hal Turner Radio Show, a conspiracy-oriented program AFP has fact-checked before. Below the headline, a photo shows members of the Garde Républicaine, or Republican Guard, an elite French army corps tasked with special missions. Screenshot of an online article taken on July 26, 2021""The Republican Guard, a security detail established to protect the President of France, have ALL resigned, and will no longer protect President Macron!"" the article says of the 2,800-strong force.The Covid-19 restrictions mentioned in the headline refer to a decree by Macron that required proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test to be able to attend events or enter places with more than 50 people. The ""health pass"" will be extended to restaurants, cafes and shopping centers in August. This was formalized into law by the country's parliament on July 25, 2021, despite widespread protests against it.However, the Republican Guard did not resign in relation to this law, and is not tasked with the French president's immediate physical safety.The unit responsible for direct personal protection of the French head of state is the Groupe de sécurité de la présidence de la République, whose members hail from both the police and the Gendarmerie.The Republican Guard is a French army unit tasked with ""public safety missions and protocol representation,"" according to its official webpage. Its members are not in charge of the direct safety of the French president like the US Secret Service, but they indirectly play this role by ensuring the security of the Elysee Palace, where the president lives. A spokesperson for the Gendarmerie told AFP on July 26, 2021 that the Republican Guard ""is still"" performing its palace duties. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French army tasked with law enforcement roles, to which the Republican Guard answers. On social media, neither the Garde Républicaine nor the Gendarmerie, nor any French media, mentioned a mass resignation of the force's members.The false claims regarding the Republican Guard began when Martine Wonner, an independent member of parliament in France, claimed in a video that the force no longer wished to protect Macron.Wonner is a Covid-skeptic who was part of the government's party before she was ousted due to her controversial stances.She also faced calls from her opposition party to quit that group after she urged people to lay siege to MPs who approved the health pass.Before the vaccine passport law can be applied, it must be approved by France's highest administrative authority, the Constitutional Council, which will vote on it on August 5.",,French president's security detail did not resign over Covid-19 bill,,,,,, +6,1,1,5,False,Multiple authors,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR6XQ-1,Aborted foetus cells in Covid-19 mRNA vaccines,2021-07-15,factcheck_afp,,"A video shared hundreds of times on Facebook in South Africa and Zambia claims that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines contain cells taken from aborted human foetuses. The claim is false: the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa told AFP Fact Check that Covid-19 vaccines do not contain cells from aborted foetuses or other human tissue.The three-minute clip has been shared more than 330 times since it was posted on Facebook on July 17, 2021.Besides including the claim that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines contain aborted human foetal matter, the video makes two other unsubstantiated claims: that the vaccines can alter a person’s DNA and that they can render people sterile. Screenshot of the false post, taken on July 20, 2021The clip, which was extracted from a longer video originally posted here on YouTube on February 5, 2021, features preacher Joshua Maponga interviewing guest Mike Southwood in a show dubbed “why Africans should not take vaccine (sic)”.The Zimbabwe-born Maponga lives in South Africa and is an author of several books and has a large following on social media. He also runs Galaxy Universal Network, a media production company in South Africa.Southwood — who makes the false and unsubstantiated claims during his interview — is the founder of the Unity Group in South Africa, which styles itself as a governance reform movement. According to media, Southwood is also the administrator of the #EndTheLockdownMzanzi group, which has been urging South Africans to defy Covid-19 lockdown laws. A shorter version of the clip was published here on Facebook in South Africa on July 15, 2021, and shared more than 600 times.How mRNA vaccines workPfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines are made from messenger RNA. The two vaccines work by giving a “blueprint” of a part of the virus that the body can then recognise and fight when confronted by it later.The vaccines use tiny fat bubbles called lipid nanoparticles to encapsulate fragile mRNA molecules and the information they contain to protect them until they can be safely delivered into cells without being degraded by the body’s enzymes. However, the claim made in the clip that the vaccines include aborted foetus cells is false. No material from aborted foetusesProfessor Penny Moore, from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), told AFP Fact Check that Covid-19 vaccines do not contain cells from aborted foetuses or any other human material.“They are produced through high-tech molecular biology approaches and in cultures in rigorously controlled laboratories,” said Moore.The World Health Organization (WHO) told AFP Fact Check that “the new mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer and Moderna, are synthetic vaccines and do not use foetal cell lines in their production.”What are cell lines?According to the WHO, vaccines are made by growing cultures of the target virus or bacterium: “Viruses need to grow in cells and so vaccine viruses are often grown in eggs (such as the influenza vaccine) or in cell lines derived from mammals, including humans.”The cell lines that are used to grow the viruses originate from a primary culture of cells from an organ of a single animal that has been propagated repeatedly in a laboratory, often over many decades.AFP Fact Check has previously debunked social media posts claiming that Covid-19 vaccines contain MRC-5, which the posts claim are “aborted foetal cells and other DNA”.The best known human cell line is MRC-5, or Medical Research Council cell strain 5, which are cells used to grow viruses for vaccines against rubella, chickenpox and hepatitis A in laboratories. MRC-5 was originally derived from the lung tissue of an aborted foetus in the 1960s but has since been grown without recourse to foetal tissue.The History of Vaccines, an educational tool developed by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, states that “in total, only two foetuses, both obtained from abortions done by maternal choice, have given rise to the human cell strains used in vaccine development”.The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine — which is not an mRNA but a viral vector vaccine — used a human cell line developed from the retinal cells of a foetus aborted in 1985 in its early production stage. But, the WHO said, “no foetal material is present” in the final J&J Covid-19 vaccine product or any other vaccine that uses human cell lines in early production stages.A spokesperson for the Oxford Vaccine Group, an organisation that was involved in producing the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, told AFP Fact Check that during its development, they used HEK-293 cells.The HEK-293 cell line was originally cultivated from a foetus aborted in the Netherlands in the early 1970s. The NICD’s Moore added that human cell lines were used only in the early stages of the production of some vaccines. “For all vaccines that use cell lines during early production stages, all cells are removed during the purification process and the final vaccine product does not contain this material.”The WHO told AFP Fact Check that it is not aware of any vaccines currently being developed for Covid-19 that contain cell lines obtained from foetal tissue. mRNA Covid-19 vaccines do not alter people’s DNA The unsubstantiated claim that mRNA vaccines can modify human DNA has been widely rejected by scientists. AFP Fact Check has previously debunked the claim here and here.Matthew Miller, an associate professor with the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Science at McMaster University in Canada, was quoted in a previous AFP Fact Check from March 2021 as saying that “mRNA is the code for proteins. It does not alter the DNA of your cells. Indeed, your cells naturally make mRNA from DNA.”Barry Pakes, an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, told AFP Fact Check in April 2021 that “the mRNA cannot be integrated into the human genome. We (humans) lack the enzymes to reverse transcribe mRNA to DNA”.The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also refutes the claim that Covid-19 vaccines can alter people’s DNA.“Covid-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. Both mRNA and viral vector CovidD-19 vaccines deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes Covid-19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept,” the organisation states on its website.Vaccines do not cause infertilityIn the video, Southwood claims that Covid-19 vaccines can cause infertility. “We believe that there are a lot of things in this vaccine that will render people sterile…”The CDC states on its website that “there is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including Covid-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant)”.Kate White, an obstetrics and gynaecology professor at Boston School of Medicine, told AFP Fact Check in March 2021 that “there’s no vaccine in the world that can cause infertility”.Dasantila Golemi-Kotra, a microbiologist at York University, told AFP that “vaccine-induced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are unlikely to cross-react with the syncytin-1 or -2 in the body and lead to infertility”.Golemi-Kotra explained that the misinformation could be stemming from the fact that the anti-spike protein antibodies and the syncytin-1 protein of the placenta share a “very short amino acid region”.But this doesn’t mean that the immune system would attack the syncytin protein. The immune system can “recognise a surface in their target protein, which rarely is confined to a single short amino acid sequence,” she said.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous claims about Covid-19 vaccines, available here.",,mRNA Covid-19 vaccines do not contain cells from aborted human foetuses,,,,,, +7,1,1,5,False,Jane Ruby and Stew Peters,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FM82U-1,Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine contains dangerous graphene oxide,2021-07-07,factcheck_afp,,"A video featuring a US pundit who claims the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is dangerous because it contains the nanoparticle graphene oxide has been watched more than a million times on social media. But the claims are based on a study whose methodology experts have questioned, Pfizer said the substance is not used in the manufacturing of its shot, and researchers told AFP there is no evidence graphene oxide is used in any vaccines currently on the market.""BREAKING DISCOVERY! The ACTUAL CONTENTS Inside Pfizer Vials EXPOSED!"" says text promoting a segment from the ""Stew Peters Show"" on Canadian video sharing platform Rumble.Peters discusses the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with Jane Ruby -- a self-described ""health economist and New Right political pundit"" whom AFP has fact-checked before. Screenshot taken on July 22, 2021 of a video from the Stew Peters Show shared on RumbleRuby claims that she read an English translation of the Spanish research that shows the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine is dangerous because it contains graphene oxide.Graphene oxide is a derivative of graphene, which has been reported to have antibacterial and antiviral properties. Graphene is super strong, ultra thin and has potential applications in a range of industries.""It's virtually 99.99 percent graphene oxide,"" Ruby says of the shot, while also claiming the substance is a ""poison"" and that it ""destroys literally everything in the cell.""Clips from the segment can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, and the video-sharing platform BitChute.It is part of a torrent of inaccurate claims about vaccines that have proliferated across the internet as countries around the world seek to immunize their populations against Covid-19.The same claim was amplified by GlobalResearch.ca, a Canadian website that the US State Department has described as ""deeply enmeshed in Russia's broader disinformation and propaganda ecosystem."" But the ingredients of all the Covid-19 vaccines authorized for use in the US and Canada (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca) are publicly listed and do not include graphene oxide.Pfizer spokeswomanDervila Keane confirmed to AFP on July 8, 2021 that ""graphene oxide is not used in the manufacture of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.""Spanish studyIn the video, Ruby is referencing a Spanish study published by Dr Pablo Campra at the end of June. The study was not published in a scientific journal, and has not been subjected to peer review.In it, Campra says that Ricardo Delgado requested the study. Delgado is the founder of La Quinta Columna (Fifth Column), a group that has spread misleading information about masks and PCR tests. Their claims about graphene in Covid-19 shots -- including that it generates electromagnetic properties in humans -- were debunked by AFP Factual in early June.To conduct the study, Campra examined a single sample of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine using optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). He then compared the images with those in other scientific literature.He said he found ""solid evidence of the probable presence of graphene derivatives"". Ester Vazquez, an expert in graphene health and safety who works with the European Commission's Graphene Flagship research group, told AFP on July 13 that she had read the study and found it ""rather inconclusive.""She said that microscopy is not an adequate method to study the presence of graphene or graphene oxide.""The tests carried out are insufficient to characterize graphene. It only shows some microscopy images that resemble pictures of graphene and graphene oxide in the literature. However, this is far from scientific proof -- graphene identification would require further analysis using other techniques,"" Vazquez said.Contacted by AFP about the study, Campra said on July 14: ""Our finding is that 99 percent of UV absorbance does not come from RNA, and its signal is compatible with graphene. But, many other substances show the same signal. We found microscopic evidence of graphene sheets, but further spectroscopic evidence is needed to confirm this structure.""Campra, who teaches at the University of Almeria, said that the results and conclusions of his report ""do not imply any institutional position"" of the school.The university issued a statement on July 2 on Twitter distancing itself from the study -- which it called ""unofficial"" -- saying it used methodology that lacked transparency.The methodology of the study was also questioned in a fact check by Health Feedback, a network of scientists, which concluded that Campra did not adhere to ""traceability"" protocols. This leaves the origin of his sample unclear, and makes it impossible to know if it was contaminated during the investigation process.Graphene in vaccinesProfessor Hong Byung-hee, an expert in nanomaterials at Seoul National University, told AFP for another fact-check on July 19 that ""graphene is being tested for biomedical purposes, including for vaccines, but these applications are still in an experimental phase and a long wait is expected before they become commercially available following clinical trials.""Graphene oxide is being studied in vaccines as a possible adjuvant, or ingredient to help the shot trigger stronger immune response. It was recently used as an adjuvant in the investigation of an intranasal vaccine against influenza, developed by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, in the United States. This vaccine has only been tested in mice and cell culture.Dr Park Jong-bo, a researcher at Biographene, a company that develops graphene-based medicine, also confirmed on July 20 that ""no vaccines on the market (are) based on graphene oxide.""Vaccines currently in use are ""comprised of phospholipid layers, peptides or nucleic acids, and graphene oxide is not part of these categories,"" Park said.AFP Fact Check has debunked a series of inaccurate claims about vaccines, available in English here.",,Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine does not contain dangerous ingredient,,,,,, +8,1,1,5,False,Joe Biden,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR7KY-1,Vaccinated people won't get Covid-19,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"US President Joe Biden claimed during a CNN town hall that vaccinated people will not get Covid-19. This is false; despite the high efficacy of the shots, infections still occur among the fully vaccinated population, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.""You're not gonna get Covid if you have these vaccinations,"" Biden said during the July 21, 2021 event, which came as the Covid-19 pandemic is again surging in the United States, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. US President Joe Biden (L) participates in a CNN Town Hall meeting hosted by Don Lemon (R) at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 21, 2021 ( AFP / Saul Loeb)But Biden's claim is inaccurate: the vaccines are very effective, but cases among vaccinated people are possible.The CDC said that as of July 12, it had received reports of 5,492 patients with Covid-19 ""breakthrough"" infections being hospitalized or dying, out of a total of more than 159 million fully vaccinated people in the United States.""Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing infection and even more effective in preventing the serious illness that results in hospitalization and death,"" but no vaccine is 100 percent effective, Tom Skinner, senior public affairs officer at the CDC, told AFP on July 23. During a briefing at the White House on July 22, Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed a reporter's question regarding the president's remarks on vaccination, saying that vaccinated people were ""largely protected.""""That was the point he was trying to make last night,"" she said.During the town hall, Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated. ""It's really kind of basic,"" he said, at a time when the US vaccination rate has significantly slowed.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous other inaccurate claims related to Covid-19 and vaccines.July 26, 2021 This story was updated to correct the spelling of exaggerated in the headline.",,Joe Biden exaggerated Covid-19 vaccine efficacy,,,,,, +9,5,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL9LJ-3,Aerial footage of an anti-lockdown protest in Greece in 2021,2021-07-16,factcheck_afp,,"As thousands took to the streets in Greece to protest new coronavirus measures, social media posts shared what they claimed to be footage of the demonstration. However, the claim is false; the video shows a protest in Athens in January 2019 against a controversial agreement to rename Macedonia.""Greece Anti Youth [vaccination] Rally. An aerial view, I'd say from these images, the People have had a gutful,"" reads a Facebook post published on July 16, 2021.The video shared alongside the post shows a large demonstration, with many people displaying Greek flags. A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post as of July 22, 2021.The same video was widely shared on social media alongside similar claims, including here and here on Facebook, as well as on Instagram and Twitter.Thousands of people gathered on July 14 in central Athens to protest against new virus measures, after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for all health workers and people entering closed venues such as bars, cinemas and theatres. However, the claim is false. The video in fact shows a different protest in the Greek capital in January 2019, many months before the first Covid-19 cases were reported.A Google reverse image search of keyframes from the video led to this YouTube video from January 21, 2019 about Greeks protesting an agreement to rename Macedonia, now known as North Macedonia.The title of the video reads in Greek: ""Video III - Demonstration for Macedonia. Syntagma Square, 20/01/2019"". Thousands demonstrated in Athen's central Syntagma Square in Athens on January 20, 2019 against Greece's deal with Macedonia that saw it renamed to the Republic of North Macedonia.Macedonia is a former Yugoslav republic, but for most Greeks, Macedonia is the name of their history-rich northern province made famous by Alexander the Great's conquests.Below is a comparison between the video in the misleading post (L) and the YouTube video at 0:19 (R): Similar aerial footage has also been published here in a report about the same demonstration by Greek newspaper Proto Thema on January 20, 2019.The Greek article's headline reads: ""The big rally for Macedonia in 20 photos"".The article translates to English in part: ""A gathering of different ages took place in Syntagma [the square in front of the Greek parliament] in the big march for Macedonia. From all over Greece, citizens were present responding to the invitation of macedonian unions and associations against the Prespa agreement.""Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the misleading post (L) and a photo published in the Proto Thema report(R):",,This video shows protesters rallying against a deal to rename Macedonia in 2019,,,,,, +10,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL92E-4,Video shows Covid-19 victims' bodies wrapped in plastic bags in Indonesia,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts that claim it shows Covid-19 victims wrapped in plastic bags in Indonesia. The claim is false: the clip actually shows an anti-government protest in Colombia in May 2021. ""In Indonesia, Covid-19 victims were wrapped in a plastic bag. Some people were not even dead. What a sad image! Wish Thailand never has to experience this. Protect yourselves and do not go out,"" reads the Thai-language caption of this video posted on Facebook on July 21, 2021.The video has been viewed more than 4,100 times. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 22, 2021The post circulated online in Thailand after the kingdom's Covid-19 infection and death rates increased, as AFP has reported here. The country has recorded 426, 475 Covid-19 infections and 3,502 deaths as of July 21.The same video was shared here, here, and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.The claim is false: the video actually shows an anti-government protest in Colombia in 2021.A reverse Google image search with video keyframes extracted with InVID-WeVerify, a digital verification tool, found this longer version footage uploaded on YouTube on May 27, 2021.The video's Spanish-language caption translates to English as: ""Performance [packed] in Medellin during a national strike on May 26, 2021. Medellin is Colombia's second-largest city. At the video's nine-minute 13-second mark, a woman can be heard saying: ""Today is Wednesday, May 26 we are in Poblado Park in Medellin.""This is a performance called ""Empaquetados"" [Packed] in homage to the people who have been found dead or to the people who have not appeared. It is a cry for help to know what is happening with the people who until today nobody knows where they are, people who were captured by the police or by civilians accompanied by the police"". Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (L) and the YouTube video (R): Screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (L) and video uploaded on YouTube (R)Colombia has been rocked by protests which broke out late April in opposition to a proposed tax hike under the right-wing administration of President Ivan Duque, AFP reported. The international community has condemned a security response that left more than 60 people dead. A subsequent keyword search found photos of the same event published here on May 28, 2021, by Le Cuento, Colombia-based digital media. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Le cuento (@lecuento_) The photos were credited to Jhonatan Rodriguez, a Colombian photographer. He told AFP he took the photos at an anti-government protest in Medellin on May 26.He said: ""It is an artistic performance that took place on May 26 of this year in Medellin, Colombia. The act of the performance was carried out as a way to protest against the government of Colombia .""Google Street View imagery of Poblado Park also corresponds to the footage shared in the misleading posts. Screenshot of the Google Street View image of Poblado ParkThe event was also reported here on page six of the Colombian newspaper, ADN Medellin, on May 27, 2021.",,This video shows an anti-government protest in Colombia -- not virus victims in Indonesia,,,,,, +11,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FH42Z-1,No Covid-19 patients die outside of hospitals,2021-07-15,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook posts circulating in Indonesia claim that nobody has died from Covid-19 outside of the Southeast Asian nation's hospitals. The posts misleadingly question whether the disease is deadly whilst implying Indonesian hospitals are responsible for its virus deaths. The claims are false: thousands of Covid-19 victims in Indonesia have died outside hospitals, according to data recorded by a volunteer group. AFP and other media have reported people died of Covid-19 while self-isolating at home and elsewhere after hospitals became overwhelmed with patients.The claim was shared in this July 15, 2021, Facebook post.It has received more than 120 likes. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 21, 2021The post's Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: ""THEY SAY IT'S FEROCIOUS AND DEADLY. If Covid-19 is dangerous, why don't people die on the streets, at home, the farms, plantations, markets and shopping malls? They always die of Covid-19 at hospitals. WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH HOSPITALS?????""A similar claim was also posted here, here, here and here. The claim is false.As of July 23, 2021, Indonesian volunteer group Lapor Covid-19 has recorded at least 2,491 people who died of Covid-19 while they were self-isolating at home or in places other than hospitals. AFP has reported that Covid-19 patients have died at home after an explosion of Covid-19 cases overwhelmed hospitals in the Southeast Asian archipelago.AFP photos published here and here show health workers removing the body of a Covid-19 patient who died while isolating at home in Bandung, West Java province. Health workers removed the body of a Covid-19 victim who died while isolating at home in Bandung, West Java province, on July 18, 2021, as skyrocketing Covid-19 cases are overwhelming hospitals in the country. ( AFP / Timur Matahari)Indonesian media sites have also reported Covid-19 patients who died on the street; in a market; in a car park; in a streetside stall and on a pedicab.Indonesia has recorded more than three million Covid-19 cases and more than 79,000 deaths, according to the Indonesian Health Ministry's data on July 22, 2021.",,False claim circulates in Indonesia that 'no Covid-19 victims died outside hospitals',,,,,, +12,1,1,5,False,TLC4SuperTeams,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL2T7-5,Vaccinated people are at greatest risk from coronavirus Delta variant,2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"A Facebook video cites Harvard research to claim that people vaccinated against Covid-19 are at greatest risk from the coronavirus Delta variant that causes the disease. However, a Harvard professor confirmed that the video misrepresents his analysis, and health authorities and studies suggest the best protection from the virus is through vaccination.""Delta Variant Targets Vaxxers,"" says text accompanying a July 18, 2021 Facebook video featuring Jen DePice, a chiropractor and exercise physiologist who goes by ""Dr Jen"" on social media. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken July 21, 2021The highly infectious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has contributed to a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in the United States.Delta is one of four notable variants circulating in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website.In her video, DePice discusses the Delta variant, citing research ""from Harvard"" as evidence to support her claims, and the post links to a Q&A with William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology and a faculty member in the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.However, Hanage says that his remarks do not support DePice's claims in the video.""Not only are all the claims false, but I did not make them,"" he told AFP on July 20.DePice says ""that the people at greatest risk for the Delta variant are the people that are vaccinated, not the people that are unvaccinated that have already had natural exposure,"" attributing this theory to the Harvard analysis, despite the fact that Hanage makes no mention in the Q&A of people who may have a natural immunity to the Covid-19 virus.Hanage told AFP on July 22, 2021 that ""there is pretty good evidence that the quality of immunity following infection is more variable than following immunization with vaccines available in the US.""""So some people who have prior immunity through infection may be well protected, but others won't be,"" he said. He added that immunity can wane over time, and pointed to research that found: ""If you have recovered from infection and get an mRNA vaccine regardless,... you can expect really quite amazing protection against variants.""The CDC recommends getting the Covid-19 vaccine ""regardless of whether you already had Covid-19.""It says: ""Studies have shown that vaccination provides a strong boost in protection in people who have recovered from Covid-19.""Hanage addressed another of DePice's claims in which she states: ""We are not seeing increasing numbers of people hospitalized or deaths around the world even with an increase of Delta variants."" ""This is not true. Hospitalizations and deaths are increasing wherever Delta has emerged,"" Hanage said. Vaccination is key to preventing severe illness and hospitalization.US surgeon general, Dr Vivek Murthy, told CNN's ""State of the Union"" on July 18: ""We are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while if you are vaccinated you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated.""Additional studies suggest that those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 retain protection against the Delta variant.This is indicated in a peer-reviewed article in the scientific journal Nature. A similar conclusion was reached by medical researchers, whose letter on the topic was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.Top US infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci said at a July 16 briefing that vaccines work against Delta.""The message loud and clear that we need to reiterate is that these vaccines continue to (offer) strong protection against SARS-CoV-2, including the Delta variant,"" meaning ""it's so important for yourself, your family, and your community to get vaccinated,"" said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous other inaccurate claims related to Covid-19 and vaccines.",,Vaccinated people do not face greatest risk from coronavirus Delta variant,,,,,, +13,2,1,5,Misleading,Multiple source,2021-07-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FH3YV-2,Turkey never closes mosques during the Covid-19 pandemic,2021-07-14,factcheck_afp,,"An image of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been shared in multiple posts on Facebook alongside a claim that he announced no mosque in Turkey would be closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The claim circulated online in Indonesia after the country imposed social restrictions in early July 2021. The claim is misleading: Turkey previously ordered all mosques to close in March 2020 in a bid to reduce the spread of Covid-19. As of July 22, 2021, AFP found no evidence that Erdogan announced he would not close Turkey's mosques in 2020 or 2021.One post was shared here on Facebook on July 14, 2021. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 21, 2021The post's Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: ""I hope the Indonesian leader has thoughts like this Turkish leader.""The text superimposed on the picture reads in part: ""'No mosques will be closed in Turkey from the threat of the coronavirus. Closing mosques is more dangerous than the coronavirus.""'Whoever leaves the mosque today, tomorrow he will lose faith because of the False Messiah. Trust in Allah and only Allah will give help'. Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey)"".Indonesia imposed tougher social restrictions on July 3, 2021, after Covid-19 cases grew significantly in the country. Shopping malls and places of worship were shuttered in the hand hard-hit islands of Java and Bali, AFP reported here. On July 9, 2021, however, the restrictions were revised to allow places of worship to open but without communal prayers. A similar claim, along with the photo, has been shared more than 80 times on Facebook here, here, here and here. The claim, however, is misleading. Mosque closuresTurkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs announced on its website here on March 19, 2020, that mosques would be closed.The closures were implemented for Friday, March 20, as well as Saturday, March 21 — when Muslims celebrate the Night of Prophet Mohammed's Ascension.Turkey's English newspaper Hurriyet Daily News also published this report about the mosques closure on March 19, 2020.The headline reads: ""Turkey shutters mosques for Friday prayers and holy night"". Turkey also banned communal prayers in mosques during the pandemic from March 2020 until May 2020. As of July 22, 2021, AFP found no credible report about Erdogan insisting that mosques should remain open throughout the pandemic.Erdogan speechA reverse image search on Yandex followed by subsequent keyword searches found the picture shared in the misleading posts was originally published here on the Associated Press (AP) website on December 3, 2019.It shows Erdogan delivering a speech before travelling to a NATO leaders summit in December 2019.The caption reads: ""Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks before departing to attend a NATO leader's summit in London, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Erdogan says there is no change in Turkey's position that is holding up a NATO defense proposal for Poland and Baltic nations until the alliance supports Ankara's concerns related to Syrian Kurdish fighters.""Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the AP photo (R): Screenshot comparison between the picture in the misleading post (L) and the AP photo (R)",,Indonesian Facebook users share misleading claim about Turkey's mosque closures during pandemic,,,,,, +14,3,1,5,Misleading,multiple sources,2021-07-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FE6UH-1,Vaccines on the market contain carcinogenic graphene oxide,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook posts have repeatedly shared a claim that all commercially available vaccines purportedly contain a cancer-causing substance called graphene oxide. But these posts are misleading: experts separately told AFP that graphene oxide is not used in commercially available vaccines. The most commonly used vaccines go through rigorous testing and have been safely used for decades, according to the World Health Organization.""After investigating the contents of vaccines, 99% was found to be graphene oxide. Like asbestos this causes cancer,"" reads this Korean-language Facebook post on July 12, 2021.""Graphene oxide was found in all vaccines commercially available,"" the post adds. Screenshot of the misleading post. Captured July 20, 2021.Graphene oxide is a derivative of graphene which is reportedly the world's thinnest material first isolated in 2004.A similar claim was also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here and here.But these posts are misleading, according to multiple experts.Graphene oxide ""No vaccines on the market [is] based on graphene oxide,"" Dr Park Jong-bo, a researcher at Biographene, a company that develops graphene-based medicine, told AFP on July 20, 2021.Vaccines currently in use are ""comprised of phospholipid layers, peptides or nucleic acids, and graphene oxide is not part of these categories,"" Park said. The claim that all commercially available vaccines were 99% made up of graphene oxide was ""ungrounded in fact,"" Professor Hong Byung-hee, an expert in nanomaterials at Seoul National University, told AFP on July 19, 2021.""Graphene is being tested for biomedical purposes, including for vaccines, but these applications are still in an experimental phase and a long wait is expected before they become commercially available following clinical trials,"" Hong said.Hong added that the claim that graphene oxide is purportedly like asbestos and causes cancer is misleading.""Graphene has a planar structure, and is very different from asbestos, which has a needle structure,"" he explained.""In the case of graphene oxide... there is some toxicity but relatively little, so the material is being widely researched for use in drug delivery systems and in vivo diagnostic sensors.""Published lists of ingredients in widely used Covid-19 vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen -- do not include graphene oxide. Vaccine safetyVaccines are available for some two dozen diseases including Covid-19, according to this list from the World Health Organization (WHO).""The most commonly used vaccines have been around for decades, with millions of people receiving them safely every year,"" the WHO states here.""Following the introduction of a vaccine, close monitoring continues to detect any unexpected adverse side effects.""",,"Available vaccines do not contain graphene oxide, experts say",,,,,, +15,1,1,5,False,የኢትዮጵያ ብልፅግና ፓርቲ,2021-07-20,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/no-evidence-putin-congratulated-ethiopian-pm-second-filling-controversial-mega-dam,Putin congratulates Ethiopian PM over GERD filling,2021-07-06,factcheck_afp,,"A Facebook post shared hundreds of times on Facebook claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently congratulated Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, on the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia's construction of the mega-dam has been a source of diplomatic tension with its downstream neighbours. However, this is false; the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa told AFP Fact Check that Putin never made any such comments. Furthermore, there is no official evidence of the Russian head of state issuing a statement regarding the GERD filling. The post, archived here, has been shared more than 350 times since it was published on Facebook on July 6, 2021. It was shared from an account called “Ethiopian Prosperity Party”, the political party led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. However, the page is not an official account and was created by a party supporter.  Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 16, 2021The post features an image of Putin and Abiy shaking hands. “Congratulations Ethiopians! The second phase of the Abay dam filling is legitimate and demonstrates the right to use its own natural resources (sic),” reads a quote attributed to the Russian leader translated to English. “A country that has many thousand years of history, an example of freedom that doesn’t bend to oppression, the mother of many proud heroes, congratulations Ethiopia,” it concludes.The post surfaced after the onset of this year’s rainy season, which helped speed up the process of filling the mega-dam. An official told AFP  on July 19, 2021, that Ethiopia had attained its second-year target for filling the mega-dam on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia hit its first target of 4.9 billion cubic metres in July 2020.Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been locked in a tug of war over the use of the Nile ever since Ethiopia started building and filling the GERD using water from the river. Both the governments of Egypt and Sudan have expressed concern that diverting Nile water into the GERD will restrict water supplies in the two countries, affecting millions of people’s livelihoods.Russian embassy denies remarksHowever, the remarks attributed to Putin are fabricated.Valentina Kim, a spokeswoman for the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa, said the leader had not congratulated Abiy. When asked about the false claims, Kim said: “We have not seen them”.“We cannot comment on an event [whose] existence is not proved,” she added. According to the Kremlin’s website, the most recent conversation between both leaders was a phone conversation on April 7, 2020.AFP Fact Check previously debunked a claim that Putin was backing Ethiopia in the dispute over the GERD. Similarly, AFP Fact Check debunked remarks falsely attributed to Putin where he allegedly ridiculed Ethiopia’s prime minister about cloud seeding technology.",,No evidence that Putin congratulated Ethiopian PM on the second filling of controversial mega-dam,,,,,, +16,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-19,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9F63C6-1,Photos show water shortage and COVID-19 crisis in Kejriwal ruled Delhi,2021-07-13,factcheck_afp,,"Politicians from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have shared photos they claim show various crises under the rule of Delhi's chief minister and opposition politician Arvind Kejriwal. The claim is misleading: most of the images were taken before Arvind was elected as Delhi's chief minister, or do not show events in Delhi.""Kejriwal's development model!"" reads a tweet from July 13 by Adesh Gupta, a BJP politician and head of the party's Delhi unit.He has more than 100,000 Twitter followers.The illustration shows Kejriwal, the leader of India's Aam Aadmi Party, alongside photos purportedly depicting water, oxygen, ventilator, and pollution problems in Delhi. Screenshot of misleading post taken on July 16, 2021. ( AFP)Kejriwal was elected Delhi's chief minister in February 2015. Fellow BJP politicians Dheeraj Pradhan and Rachna Garg also shared the photo in posts here, here and here.However, the posts are misleading. Water crisisThe first photo of a crowd of people scrambling for water was taken before Kejriwal took office.A reverse image search on TinEye shows the picture was taken in 2009 in New Delhi.It was captured by photographer Adnan Abidi for Reuters news agency. It can be found on the agency's website here. The photo's caption reads, ""Residents of Sanjay Colony, a residential neighbourhood, crowd around a water tanker provided by the state-run Delhi Jal (water) Board to fill their containers in New Delhi June 30, 2009. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has given directives to tackle the burgeoning water crisis caused by uneven distribution of water in the city according to local media. The board is responsible for supplying water in the capital.""Below is a comparison of the photo used in the misleading post (L) and the photo on Reuters' website (R): Screenshot comparing the misleading post and the original image ( AFP)Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party was formed in October 2012, years after the photo was taken. This photo has previously been shared in a misleading context. AFP debunked posts claiming the photo shows Delhi's water crisis in July 2021.Oxygen crisisThe second photo of oxygen tanks was taken in the city of Prayagraj in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh.A reverse image search on TinEye found the photo was taken by Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).It can be found here on the agency's website. The photo was also used in this article by The Indian Express about the shortage of oxygen in India during the second Covid-19 wave in spring 2021.The photo's caption reads: ""Several states are facing acute oxygen shortage owing to the rising Covid-19 cases. In pic, workers unload oxygen cylinders from a truck at a hospital in Prayagraj. (PTI Photo).""Below is a comparison between the photo used in the misleading post (L) and the photo used in The Indian Express article (R): Screenshot comparing the misleading post and the original image ( AFP)Ventilator crisisThe third photo, which shows a hospital, was taken in Iran, not India.A reverse image search on TinEye shows that the photo was taken in Tehran, Iran.It was captured by photographer Ali Shirband on March 1, 2020 for news agency Associated Press.It can be found on AP's website here. The photo's caption reads: ""In this Sunday, March 1, 2020 photo, a medic treats a patient infected with coronavirus, at a hospital in Tehran, Iran. A member of a council that advises Iran's supreme leader died Monday after falling sick from the new coronavirus, becoming the first top official to succumb to the illness striking both citizens and leaders of the Islamic Republic.""Below is a comparison between the photo shared in the misleading post (L) and the photo on AP's website (R): Screenshot comparing the misleading post and the original image ( AFP)The photo was also used in a news article about Iran's Covid-19 crisis here. Pollution problemThe final photo showing pollution was genuinely taken in Delhi when Kejriwal was in power.A reverse image search on TinEye shows that the photo was taken in October, 2018 by AFP photographer Dominique Faget.It can be found on AFP's website here. The photo caption reads: ""Indian pedestrians walk near the India Gate monument amid heavy smog conditions in New Delhi on October 30, 2018. Smog levels spike during winter in Delhi, when air quality often eclipses the World Health Organization's safe levels. Cooler air traps pollutants -- such as from vehicles, building sites and farmers burning crops in regions outside the Indian capital.""The photo was also used in this news report by AFP about Delhi's air pollution.",,BJP politicians share misleading posts critical of Delhi chief minister,,,,,, +17,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-19,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9F92G2-1,This photo shows a Chinese vessel dumping sewage and human waste in the West Philippine Sea,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared in multiple Twitter and Facebook posts that claim it shows a Chinese shipping vessel dumping human waste in Philippine waters. The claim is false: the photo has in fact circulated in reports about dredging off the coast of Australia.""Chinese vessels dumping human waste part of west philippine sea,"" reads the caption to this photo shared on Twitter on July 12, 2021. Screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 17, 2021""West Philippine Sea"" is the term used in the Philippines for the maritime area in the western part of the Philippine archipelago.The misleading post circulated online after Philippine news organisation GMA News erroneously published a report showing the same photo and claim.The organisation has since apologised for the oversight. In a tweet on July 12, it said: ""We took down the original tweet containing an inaccurate image. We want to thank our followers for tweeting us this feedback. We apologize for the oversight.""The same photo was also shared hundreds of times alongside a similar claim here, here and here on Facebook.The claim is false.A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the photo was originally published in this press release on October 3, 2014.It was circulated by the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC), an environmental group based in Australia.In the press release, it states that the photo shows: ""Maintenance dredging in Cairns show the impact of dredging and dumping in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area"".The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system.It is located in northeastern Australia, more than 4,800 kilometers away from the West Philippine Sea as shown here on Google Maps.  Screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the CAFNEC photo (R)According to the photo’s caption, it was taken by photographer Xanthe Rivett for CAFNEC and World Wildlife Fund Australia.The WWF also posted the image on its official Instagram account on the same day.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by WWF-Australia (@wwf_australia) In response to the misleading posts, a World Wildlife Fund Australia representative told AFP on July 16: ""I can confirm the photos were taken in the Cairns Port in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area on 19 September 2014.""They show a ship dumping dredged material.""Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files also debunked this misleading claim here.",,"This photo has circulated in reports about dredging off the coast of Australia, not the Philippines",,,,,, +18,5,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-13,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EE4BW-1,An image of an electric car cemetery in France,2021-07-07,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared thousands of times in posts claiming it shows an ""electric car cemetery"" in France, where electric cars are purportedly dumped when their batteries wear out. The claim is false; the image in fact shows a Chinese rideshare company's cars parked on the outskirts of Hangzhou. The company's former manager said most of the cars were first-generation electric vehicles set to be replaced with newer models.""Here is an electric car cemetery in France. Nobody wants to buy a used electric car when the battery wears out,"" reads this Facebook post published on July 7. It has since been shared more than 1,000 times. A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post as of July 9, 2021.The same photo was shared alongside similar claims appear on Facebook here and here, and in this tweet shared more than 4,000 times.""Green madness. Electric cars belonging to the city of Paris. No one will buy them because of the cost of the replacement battery. Who will dispose of this junk, especially the batteries?"" the tweet reads.However, the claim is false. A reverse image search and keyword searches found similar photos published by Chinese state-owned newspaper People's Daily here on April 25, 2019. The article refers to the photos, credited to Chinese state news agency Chinanews, as ""a car cemetery in Hangzhou"". A screenshot of an article on the Chinese website (taken 8 July 2021)According to the article, the vehicles are ""new energy-shared cars abandoned in a car park near Hangzhou city along the Qiantang River"".The cars appear to be electric cars manufactured by China's Kandi Technologies Group. In 2015, China's state-owned newspaper Global Times identified similar vehicles with the same logos and white-green paint in Hangzhou as having been produced by Kandi. Identical visual clues can be seen in the photo circulating in misleading posts (L) and Chinanews's image (R), including buildings in the background, an electicity pylon and logos on the cars. On the left, a picture of the Facebook update and on the right, a picture taken by the Chinanews website. AFP has circled the similarities in red.The exact location of the image can also be confirmed through the satellite images of the Shuangpuzhen area on Zoom Earth, where the parking lot and its cars can be seen.The satellite images show pools of water and the buildings in the background. A satellite image of the parking lot, with the buildings visible in the Facebook photo circled in red (Zoom.earth)The electricity pylons visible in the Facebook post also can be found on the highway, south of the parking lot: A satellite image of the parking lot, with the location of the electricity pylons circled in red by AFP (Zoom.earth)The vehicles belong to a Hangzhou-based electric car rideshare company called Microcity, subsidiarity of an electric car rental company named Zhejiang Zuozhongyou Electric Car Service Limited, according to the company's former brand manager.""The cars in the photo belonged to Hangzhou Microcity,""Lou Gaofeng told AFP.Launched in Hangzhou in 2013, Microcity's electric car rideshare service aimed to tackle emissions, congestion and limited parking space, according to the local government's website.Car sharing services in Chinese have struggled to keep their business model profitable. In 2019, Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that many firms had gone bankrupt after an initial boom in ride sharing apps the 2010s, aided by the low price of electric cars.Chinese media reported that thousands of Microcity electric cars have ended up in parking lots on the outskirts of Hangzhou from 2019 (here, here and here).Lou told local newspaper Hangzhou.com.cn in April 2019 that around 3,000 Microcity cars are parked in three different parking lots along the Qiantang River. However, according to the former manager of the company, not all the cars were defective.""I had clearly explained at that time that not all of them had problems. Some of them had problems, some could still be used, others were old enough to be sold to another company and disassembled,"" he told AFP.""Second, it had nothing to do with the spontaneous combustion of the battery, most of them were the first generation electric vehicles which had been produced in 2013 and even earlier and should be replaced due to technologcial progress.""Microcity's current management did not respond to AFP's enquiries on what the company plans to do with the cars in the future.CORRECTION 15/7/21: This article was amended to clarify Lou Gaofeng's quote that the cars in the photograph were first-generation electric cars set to be replaced with newer models.",,This photo does not show an 'electric car cemetery' in France,,,,,, +19,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-09,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EG3DM-1,Photo shows helicopter operated by the Royal Thai Army,2021-07-05,factcheck_afp,,"After a fire at a plastics factory in Thailand injured dozens, a photo surfaced in Facebook posts purporting to show a Royal Thai Army helicopter and questioning why the chopper was not deployed to quell the blaze. The claim is misleading; the photo actually shows a helitanker during an exercise in the United States in 2020. Meanwhile, a second photo in the posts genuinely shows a Thai helicopter.The photos were published here on Facebook on July 5, 2021. ""The Royal Thai Army has chinook, the forest department has a helicopter with a water bucket, why didn't anybody collaborate with them?"" the Thai-language post's caption reads. Chinook refers to a type of military, heavy-lift helicopter. ( Montira RUNGJIRAJITTRANON)The images circulated online after an explosion at a plastics factory near the Thai capital Bangkok sent plumes of smoke across the skyline, killing one firefighter and injuring at least 33 people, AFP reported.The photos were also shared on Facebook here and here alongside a similar claim. The images, however, have been shared in a misleading context.First photoA reverse image search on Google found the first photo was published in this article by the US-based blog site Fire Aviation on November 19, 2020.Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and on the Fire Aviation website (R):  ""A CH-47 Chinook Very Large Helitanker (VLHT) with night-flying capability operated by Coulson Aviation is working under an 83-day contract in collaboration with Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA),"" the article reads.""The Chinook is based at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base in Orange County"".The photo was screenshotted from this  footage tweeted by Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA) on November 19, 2020.The clip shows the helitanker exercise, which was coordinated by  L.A. County Fire Department  and the Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA). Yesterday we had a successful exercise with @LACoFDPIO to showcase the new joint agency Helitanker. This is a regional asset that can be used in multiple counties to fight fires. The helitanker:•Takes 1 min to fill 3,000 gallons•Has a water drop cover of approx 10 acres pic.twitter.com/mzMC2j3pZr — OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) November 19, 2020 Second photoThe second photo genuinely shows a Thai helicopter.Reverse image searches for the second photo found it was previously published in this 2016 report by Thai news site Manager Online.The Thai government staged a demonstration to show how the helicopter was used to extinguish fires in Phitsanulok province, the report says.""Helicopter owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was used to extinguish wildfire in Nan, using the water from Nan River, in the middle of a campaign to stop burning the forest,"" the Thai-language article reads.Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and on the Manager Online website (R):  Thailand's Forest Department operates under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.The photo was also published in another report about the event by a Thai-language website here. CORRECTION: This article was updated on July 12, 2021 to clarify that the Facebook posts claimed the photos showed Thai helicopters, but not necessarily Thai helicopters at the scene of the plastics factory fire.",,Wrong helicopter photo shared in posts about Thai factory fire,,,,,, +20,5,1,5,False,Multiples sources,2021-07-07,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9DZ6YU-3,Photo of polluted river is from India,2021-06-27,factcheck_afp,,"A photo of a river clogged with rubbish has been shared in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts which claim that the river is in the Indian city of Mumbai. However, the claim is false; the photo actually shows a river in Philippines' capital Manila. The photo was shared on Facebook here on June 27, 2021, by a page with some 75,000 followers.The Facebook post, sharing two photos, appears to compare two rivers with one looking clean and the other filled with garbage.The caption to the post reads:""Pic 1 - Sabaramati Riverfront, Ahmedabad, Gujarat (Fund spent by Gujarat State: ₹1400 crores)Pic 2 - Mithi River, Mumbai, Maharashtra (Funds spent by BMC & MMRDA: ₹1000+ crores)#TaleOfTwoCities #ModiHaiToMumkinHai"" (#If Modi IsThere It's Possible)   ""Sabaramati Riverfront"" refers to Sabarmati Riverfront in Indian state Gujarat, which is controlled by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The Mithi River is located in the city of Mumbai in Maharashtra, a state which is controlled by a coalition of opposition parties. The Mithi River was Maharashtra's most polluted river in 2018, according to this report released by the state's Pollution Control Board. The report found that the level of coliform content, which indicates the presence of human and animal excreta, was at least 15 times above the safe limit, as reported by local news outlet Hindustan Times.Since November 2019, a coalition of three parties -- Shiv Sena, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) -- have formed the government in Maharashtra. However, before that Maharashtra was governed by BJP, which had formed an alliance with Shiv Sena in the state after the 2014 state legislative assembly elections. The identical photos were published by several other accounts on Facebook, for example here and here alongside a similar claim. They were also shared by BJP party members on Twitter as seen here and here. However, the claim is false. While the first image does show the Sabarmati Riverfront as seen on Google Maps, the second photo of the river clogged with garbage is not of the Mithi River in India, but actually shows the Philippines' capital city Manila. A reverse image search on TinEye shows that the original photo was taken in January 2008 in Manila, Philippines by photographer Antonio V. Oquias, as can be seen on the Shutterstock Images website. The caption to the photo reads: ""MANILA, PHILIPPINES - JANUARY 6: A river of garbage prevents the flow of water on January 6, 2008 in Manila, Philippines. Poverty and garbage disposal are major issues in the Philippines.""The photo was also used in this news report on plastic pollution by UK broadcaster BBC. Below is a comparison of the photo used in the Facebook post and the one found on Shutterstock.",,"This photo shows a river in the Philippines, not India",,,,,, +21,1,1,5,False,Gech Ethiopia,2021-07-06,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/image-elephant-shaped-mountain-composite-created-polish-artist-mirekis,This image of an elephant-shaped mountain is a composite created by Polish artist Mirekis,2021-07-01,factcheck_afp,,"An image has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook in Ethiopia alongside a claim that it shows a real mountain cliff shaped like an elephant. But this is false: AFP Fact Check found that the image was digitally created by Polish artist Mirekis.The claim has been shared more than 100 times and had over 500 reactions since it was published on July 1, 2021. “Beautiful Elephant mountain!” the post’s caption reads.  Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 5, 2021The image shows a mountain cliff in the shape of an elephant overlooking a snowy valley.However, the image does not show a real landscape. It was digitally created by Mirekis, a Polish artist who combined three images to create the artwork. AFP Fact Check ran a reverse image search and traced the picture to several websites showing Mirekis’s work. The composite comes from a series of images called ""Over the precipice"", initially posted on Mirekis’s Facebook page on January 18, 2018. “The series is still missing spring and fall,” the post’s Polish caption reads. Mirekis shared the image a few days later on Instagram as well as on his 500px page, a photo-sharing platform.    View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Is Mirek (@mirekis7) Original picturesThe composite was created by layering three different images. The original image that can be seen in the foreground of Mirekis’s work was uploaded on Wikimedia Commons by a user called “Giacomozanni” in April 2010. The image shows a mountain in the north-east of Italy where the Malatesta Fortress of Verucchio sits.Noticeable details stand out in the foreground of both images such as the trees and bushes. Image highlighting similarities between the original picture (right) and the compositeThe other two images are composed of a picture of an elephant superimposed on an image of the Creux du Van, a natural rocky cirque located in east Switzerland near the French border. Image highlighting similarities between the original pictures (top) and the compositeMirekis confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the photo in the misleading Facebook showed his artwork. The claim had already been debunked by Snopes in January 2018. While Mirekis’s work was digitally altered and created as a form of art, there is an actual “Elephant Rock” in the cliffs of the island Heimaey in Iceland.  Image from Wiki Commons of “Elephant Rock” in Iceland",,This image of an elephant-shaped mountain is a composite created by Polish artist Mirekis,,,,,, +22,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple sources,2021-07-02,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9DP93D-1,Posts compare Manila Bay images before and during Rodrigo Duterte presidency,2021-07-26,factcheck_afp,,"A photo collage has been shared thousands of times in Facebook posts that claim it shows a trash-filled beach in the Philippine capital Manila purportedly before Rodrigo Duterte was elected president -- and the same beach after he ordered a cleanup during his term. But these posts are misleading: the trash-filled beach photo is miscaptioned as taken during the presidency of former leader Benigno Aquino III; both images in the photo collage have circulated in news reports since 2020 during Duterte’s term as president.The photo collage was posted here on Facebook on June 26, 2021. It has been shared over 3,000 times since.The photo collage juxtaposes two images of Manila Bay, a natural harbour located west of the Philippine capital Manila.The first image shows a trash-filled beach overlaid with text that reads: “NOYNOY BEFORE”. The second shows a clean beach superimposed with the text: “DUTERTE NOW”.The post’s Tagalog-language caption translates in part as: “They say President BS Aquino III is the protector against environmental waste.”  Screenshot of misleading post taken on July 1, 2021The misleading post circulated days after the death of former Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on June 24, 2021, AFP reported.Aquino III was the president from 2010 to 2016. He was succeeded by Rodrigo Duterte whose term is until 2022.In 2019, Duterte announced a “major” Manila Bay cleanup. The following year his government began construction of an artificial white sand beach along a portion of the bay.The controversial project has spurred a slew of misinformation, for example here, here and here debunked by AFP.An identical photo collage was also shared alongside a similar claim in Facebook posts here, here and here.But these posts are misleading: both images in the photo collage have circulated in reports published during Duterte’s term.First image A reverse search on Google found the image of the trash-filled beach was published here by Philippine broadcaster GMA News on September 8, 2020 when the Duterte government’s white sand beach project was underway, not during former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino's term.The image’s caption states in part: “A lot of trash drifted to Manila Bay, near the Manila Yacht Club. [This side] is more polluted compared to the other end where the [environment agency] is dumping white sand.”The image corresponds to the 19-second mark of this television report aired by GMA News the same day. Below is a screenshot comparison of the first image in the misleading posts (L) and the original photo from GMA News (R):   The image was taken in this location as seen on Google Maps. Second imageFurther reverse image searches found the second image had also appeared in a news report during the Duterte administration. It was shared here on May 24, 2021 by local media organisation SMNI News.The image’s caption reads in part: “#ManilaBayRehab… #DuterteAdministration”.Below is a screenshot comparison of the second image in the misleading posts (L) and photo shared by SMNI News (R):   The rainbow-colored crosswalk seen in the image corresponds to these photos posted on the Facebook page of Manila City’s mayor in December 2020, when the newly-painted lanes were opened to the public.The image corresponds to this location on Google Street View.The misleading posts were also debunked by Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files here.",,Misleading posts circulate anew about beach cleanup in Philippine capital,,,,,, +23,1,1,5,False,Multiple,2021-06-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9DC9V8-1,Photos show malnourished lions at Bangladesh zoo,2021-06-19,factcheck_afp,,"Three photos of malnourished lions are circulating in Facebook posts that claim they were taken at a zoo in Bangladesh. The claim is false: the images were originally shared in reports about a zoo in Sudan in January 2020.  The photos of the lions were posted here on Facebook on June 19, 2021. The post has been shared more than 700 times.The post’s Bengali-language caption reads: ''We request the authority of Mirpur Zoo to set these wild animals free. If you can't fulfil your duty, then there is no right to trade with these wild animals. If anyone comes across this post who has the ability to do something about it, then please take some action.''  Mirpur Zoo is Bangladesh’s National Zoo in the capital Dhaka. It is home to more than 2,500 creatures, including eight endangered Bengal tigers, as reported here by AFP.The same images were shared with a similar claim here, here and here on Facebook.However, the claim is false. A reverse image search found two of the three photos were posted here on Facebook in January 2020.They were uploaded on the verified page of Osman Salih, who describes himself as CEO at Sudan Animal Rescue.His post reads in part: ""I was shaken when I saw these lions at the park... their bones are protruding from the skin”.""I urge interested people and institutions to help them,"" he wrote. Below is a screenshot comparison of the images in the misleading post (L) and the images shared by Salih (R) : The campaign to save the five lions caged in Khartoum's Al-Qureshi Park was reported here by AFP on January 20, 2020.The final photo in the misleading post was taken by AFP photographer Ashraf Shazly at al-Qureshi Park in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on January 20, 2020. Below is a screenshot comparison of the final photo in the misleading post (L) and Shazly’s photo (R): Shazly posted the images on Facebook here.",,Facebook users share old photos of lions in Sudan in posts about Bangladesh zoo,,,,,, +24,5,1,5,False,Multiple Sources,2021-06-25,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/these-images-have-circulated-online-reports-about-meteor-sightings-october-2015,Images of meteor visible in northern Thailand in June 2021,2021-06-22,factcheck_afp,,"Images that show a meteor have been shared widely in Twitter and Facebook posts that claim these were shot in Thailand in June 2021. But this claim is false: the images are unrelated to recent meteor sightings in Thailand and have in fact circulated online since October 2015.The images were posted on Twitter here on June 22, 2021. They have been shared more than 1,800 times since.The Thai-language post translates as: “Who is in Chiangmai, they said a loud noise was heard along with green light during around 18:35 it is [an] #asteroid!!! #Chiangrai #meteor”. Screenshot of the misleading Twitter post taken on June 23, 2021The misleading post circulated the same night social media users in Chiang Mai and other areas in northern Thailand reported seeing flashes of light in the sky followed by loud noises.The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) confirmed the event was due to a meteor that had broken off from an asteroid and entered the Earth’s atmosphere.Identical images were also shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here, here and here; and on Twitter here and here.The claim is false: the images have circulated online since at least 2015.First imageA reverse search on Google found the first image was posted here on Instagram by weather photographer Marko Korosec on October 31, 2015.Its caption reads in part: “This spectacular and very bright bolide (fireball) from Southern Taurids meteor shower was observed this evening at 18:12 UTC, Oct 30th, 2015. Looking towards south from Brkini, SW Slovenia.”    View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Marko Korosec (@markokorosecnet)Below is a screenshot comparison of the first image in the misleading post (L) and Korosec’s photo (R): Screenshot comparison of the first image in the misleading post (L) and Korosec’s photo (R)The image was also shared here on the website Spaceweather.com on October 31, 2015 -- and credited to Korosec.Second imageA further reverse search found the second image corresponds to the 59-second mark of this YouTube video posted on November 2, 2015.The video’s caption reads: “Collection of the November 2, 2015 meteorite clips in Thailand”.Below is a screenshot comparison of the second image in the misleading post (L) and its corresponding frame in the YouTube video (R): Screenshot comparison of the second image in the misleading post (L) and its corresponding frame in the YouTube video (R)Video clips showing the same meteor were also shown in this news report aired on November 4, 2015 by Thai broadcaster Ch.3.",,These images have circulated online in reports about meteor sightings since October 2015,,,,,, +25,1,1,5,FALSE,Multiple Sources,2021-06-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/californians-can-charge-electric-vehicles-despite-heat-waves,California told everyone to not charge their electric cars,2021-06-18,factcheck_afp,,"Posts shared thousands of times on social media say California told its residents not to charge their electric cars because of a power shortage. This is false; the state has released voluntary energy saving tips that include charging vehicles before an electricity conservation alert is issued, and a spokeswoman for the grid operator denied people were forbidden from charging.“CALIFORNIA literally just told everyone to not charge their electric cars Due to power shortage,” a June 18, 2021 Facebook post read during a heat wave which sent temperatures soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit on some days, posing threats of energy shortages.  A screenshot of a Facebook post taken on June 22, 2021“So much for those green energy vehicles. California is asking us to conserve energy and strain on our power grid. No charging electric cars,” a social media user commented in a June 18 tweet. Other examples of the post can also be found on Twitter here, as well as Instagram and Facebook, here and here. “There is no truth in that statement,” Lindsay Buckley, director of communications and external affairs at the California Energy Commission, the state’s energy policy agency, said of the claim.Much of the western United States suffered a record heat wave in June, with approximately 50 million Americans placed on alert on June 15 for ""excessive"" temperatures, approaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.As a result, the state’s non-profit power grid manager, California Independent System Operator (ISO), issued  several “Flex Alerts” to help keep the power grid stable. These called on residents to voluntarily conserve energy at selected times including during peak hours of consumption. Alerts were sent state-wide on June 17 and June 18, coinciding with when the social media claims about the electric vehicles started spreading. Anne Gonzales, senior public information officer at ISO, told AFP that they “have encouraged consumers to charge EVs (electric vehicles) before a Flex Alert begins. We do not say anything about ‘not charging’ in our messaging.”On June 17, California ISO also posted advice on what to do before and during a Flex Alert. The organization recommended charging battery powered cars prior to its start.  A screenshot of the Flex Alert website’s tips to help conserve energy in California The website dedicated to these energy saving tips recommends that people avoid charging electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles during an alert, and to charge them overnight instead. Buckley, of the Energy Commission, confirmed to AFP that Flex Alerts “are fully voluntary, and the program's messaging emphasizes shifting energy consumption -- not sacrificing.”Gil Tal, director of the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, told AFP that “Flex Alerts ask the public not to charge electric vehicles during the alert, which is usually 6:00 pm-9:00 pm or 5:00 pm-10:00 pm at the most.”Most drivers don’t replenish their vehicle batteries during those times anyway, Tal said.Electric vehicle drivers “usually charge at home and can use a timer to start charging after midnight or at work during the day. Very few actually charge during those (peak) hours and even fewer need to charge at that time,” he explained.He added that electric cars’ improved battery life generally only requires a charge every few days. As Californians rely heavily on motor vehicles, the transport sector accounts for about half of the state's greenhouse gas emissions.In September 2020, the office of Governor Gavin Newsom ordered that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state by 2035 should be zero-emission under a new rule aimed at fighting climate change and smog-fouled air.",,Californians can charge electric vehicles despite heat waves,,,,,, +26,3,1,5,Misleading,multiple sources,2021-07-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FE6UH-1,Vaccines on the market contain carcinogenic graphene oxide,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook posts have repeatedly shared a claim that all commercially available vaccines purportedly contain a cancer-causing substance called graphene oxide. But these posts are misleading: experts separately told AFP that graphene oxide is not used in commercially available vaccines. The most commonly used vaccines go through rigorous testing and have been safely used for decades, according to the World Health Organization.""After investigating the contents of vaccines, 99% was found to be graphene oxide. Like asbestos this causes cancer,"" reads this Korean-language Facebook post on July 12, 2021.""Graphene oxide was found in all vaccines commercially available,"" the post adds. Screenshot of the misleading post. Captured July 20, 2021.Graphene oxide is a derivative of graphene which is reportedly the world's thinnest material first isolated in 2004.A similar claim was also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here and here.But these posts are misleading, according to multiple experts.Graphene oxide ""No vaccines on the market [is] based on graphene oxide,"" Dr Park Jong-bo, a researcher at Biographene, a company that develops graphene-based medicine, told AFP on July 20, 2021.Vaccines currently in use are ""comprised of phospholipid layers, peptides or nucleic acids, and graphene oxide is not part of these categories,"" Park said. The claim that all commercially available vaccines were 99% made up of graphene oxide was ""ungrounded in fact,"" Professor Hong Byung-hee, an expert in nanomaterials at Seoul National University, told AFP on July 19, 2021.""Graphene is being tested for biomedical purposes, including for vaccines, but these applications are still in an experimental phase and a long wait is expected before they become commercially available following clinical trials,"" Hong said.Hong added that the claim that graphene oxide is purportedly like asbestos and causes cancer is misleading.""Graphene has a planar structure, and is very different from asbestos, which has a needle structure,"" he explained.""In the case of graphene oxide... there is some toxicity but relatively little, so the material is being widely researched for use in drug delivery systems and in vivo diagnostic sensors.""Published lists of ingredients in widely used Covid-19 vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen -- do not include graphene oxide. Vaccine safetyVaccines are available for some two dozen diseases including Covid-19, according to this list from the World Health Organization (WHO).""The most commonly used vaccines have been around for decades, with millions of people receiving them safely every year,"" the WHO states here.""Following the introduction of a vaccine, close monitoring continues to detect any unexpected adverse side effects.""",,"Available vaccines do not contain graphene oxide, experts say",,,,,, +27,1,1,5,False,የኢትዮጵያ ብልፅግና ፓርቲ,2021-07-20,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/no-evidence-putin-congratulated-ethiopian-pm-second-filling-controversial-mega-dam,Putin congratulates Ethiopian PM over GERD filling,2021-07-06,factcheck_afp,,"A Facebook post shared hundreds of times on Facebook claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently congratulated Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, on the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia's construction of the mega-dam has been a source of diplomatic tension with its downstream neighbours. However, this is false; the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa told AFP Fact Check that Putin never made any such comments. Furthermore, there is no official evidence of the Russian head of state issuing a statement regarding the GERD filling. The post, archived here, has been shared more than 350 times since it was published on Facebook on July 6, 2021. It was shared from an account called “Ethiopian Prosperity Party”, the political party led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. However, the page is not an official account and was created by a party supporter.  Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 16, 2021The post features an image of Putin and Abiy shaking hands. “Congratulations Ethiopians! The second phase of the Abay dam filling is legitimate and demonstrates the right to use its own natural resources (sic),” reads a quote attributed to the Russian leader translated to English. “A country that has many thousand years of history, an example of freedom that doesn’t bend to oppression, the mother of many proud heroes, congratulations Ethiopia,” it concludes.The post surfaced after the onset of this year’s rainy season, which helped speed up the process of filling the mega-dam. An official told AFP  on July 19, 2021, that Ethiopia had attained its second-year target for filling the mega-dam on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia hit its first target of 4.9 billion cubic metres in July 2020.Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been locked in a tug of war over the use of the Nile ever since Ethiopia started building and filling the GERD using water from the river. Both the governments of Egypt and Sudan have expressed concern that diverting Nile water into the GERD will restrict water supplies in the two countries, affecting millions of people’s livelihoods.Russian embassy denies remarksHowever, the remarks attributed to Putin are fabricated.Valentina Kim, a spokeswoman for the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa, said the leader had not congratulated Abiy. When asked about the false claims, Kim said: “We have not seen them”.“We cannot comment on an event [whose] existence is not proved,” she added. According to the Kremlin’s website, the most recent conversation between both leaders was a phone conversation on April 7, 2020.AFP Fact Check previously debunked a claim that Putin was backing Ethiopia in the dispute over the GERD. Similarly, AFP Fact Check debunked remarks falsely attributed to Putin where he allegedly ridiculed Ethiopia’s prime minister about cloud seeding technology.",,No evidence that Putin congratulated Ethiopian PM on the second filling of controversial mega-dam,,,,,, +28,2,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-14,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EV3G3-1,"Covid-19 vaccines contain ""nanotechnology"" that can change people's DNA",2021-07-05,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts claim that Covid-19 vaccines contain robotic ""nanotechnology"" that can change people's DNA. While they do include tiny fat bubbles to protect mRNA molecules -- an essential component of the shots -- they do not feature miniature robots, and experts say Covid-19 jabs cannot alter a person's genetic makeup.""NANOTECHNOLOGY IS IN THIS JAB THAT WILL ALTER DNA - STAY AWAY!"" warns a July 5, 2021 Facebook post that features images of miniature robots flooding out of a syringe and interacting with DNA and cells. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on July 13, 2021But the word ""nanotechnology"" refers to anything that has been engineered at the nanoscale, and it does not necessarily relate to mechanical or mineral elements, as the photo suggests. Nanotechnology is used in the food and cosmetics industries, for example.The mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna differ from previously administered inoculations. Instead of confronting the immune system with part of a virus in a weakened or deactivated form to build antibodies, they give it a ""blueprint"" of a part of the virus that the body can then recognize and fight when confronted by it later.They use tiny fat bubbles called lipid nanoparticles to encapsulate fragile mRNA molecules and the information they contain to protect them until they can be safely delivered into cells without being degraded by the body's enzymes. This video explains how the shots work.Most of the 334 million doses of Covid-19 administered in the United States were mRNA shots. More than 43 million doses in total have been put into arms in Canada.'Nanotechnology' misinterpretedCatherine Klapperich, professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, told AFP on July 12 that ""there are no robots"" in the Covid-19 vaccines.She lamented that the word ""nanotechnology,"" coined decades ago, has been misinterpreted over time to suggest that ""there's some sort of active, living component that's going to go into your body and be like a little robot, march around and do stuff, and that that must be nefarious.""""But in actuality, the word 'nanotechnology' just simply means that these are technologies or materials that are the scale of a nanometer, and that's it. This is actually a very passive material, it's a lipid,"" she explained.""There's nothing mechanical, there's nothing electrical, there's nothing magnetic,"" she said, adding that without the lipids, very little of the mRNA would get into cells ""and the immune response would not be very strong.""A deluge of inaccurate claims about vaccines has spread across the internet as countries around the world seek to immunize their populations against Covid-19, which has killed more than four million people around the world.Covid-19 vaccines cannot alter people's DNAScientists have widely rejected the unsubstantiated claim that mRNA vaccines can modify human DNA, which AFP earlier debunked here and here.Matthew Miller, associate professor with the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Science at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said for a previous fact-check that ""mRNA is the code for proteins. It does not alter the DNA of your cells. Indeed, your cells naturally make mRNA from DNA.” Boston University's Klapperich explained that ""in your body, messenger RNA is made from DNA, and not the other way around... DNA is never edited, never copied, never changed"" -- and she said it cannot be because that is not something mRNA can do.Barry Pakes, assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto , told AFP on April 28 that ""the mRNA cannot be integrated into the human genome. We (humans) lack the enzymes to reverse transcribe mRNA to DNA.""The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also refuted the claim that Covid-19 vaccines can alter people's DNA here.""Covid-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. Both mRNA and viral vector Covid-19 vaccines deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes Covid-19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept,"" the federal health agency states on its website.",,Covid-19 vaccines do not contain DNA-altering robots,,,,,, +29,1,1,5,False,Multiple Sources,2021-07-14,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EY2LT-1,Image shows sunset at North Pole,2021-06-07,factcheck_afp,,"A picture that purports to show the Moon above the Sun has been shared thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts that claim it shows a real sunset at the North Pole. The claim is false: the image has been digitally created by an artist. It has circulated online in misleading posts since at least 2006. The image was shared here on June 7, 2021 by a Facebook page based in New Zealand. A screenshot of the image shared to Facebook, taken July 14, 2021.The post's caption reads: “This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point last week. A scene most of us will probably never get to see in person. An amazing photo. Enjoy!”The image has been shared thousands of times alongside a similar claim on Facebook pages around the world, including Britain, Italy and the United States.The claim is false.The image, titled ""Hideaway"", was created by Germany-based artist Inga Nielsen.She creates artworks under her online pseudonym Gate to Nowhere and uploads them here on the art-sharing website Deviant Art.  A screenshot of the original artwork. ( AFP)The original image was created using Photoshop and digital landscape rendering software Terragen, according to Nielsen's caption on the original Deviant Art image. “After someone spread it on the web as [sic] photograph of a ‘Sunset at the north pole’, this image became quite popular. It is of course not a photo and it does not show a place anywhere near the terrestrial North Pole,” the caption reads. NASA explanationNASA featured 'Hideaway' as its Astronomy Photo of the Day.It debunked the claim the image showed a sunset at the North Pole, after it initally circulated online in misleading posts in 2006. “The scene could not exist anywhere on the Earth because from the Earth, the Moon and the Sun always have nearly the same angular size,” the NASA website reads. In 2011, astronomer Phil Plait also published this story in Discovery Magazine debunking claims that the image shows a sunset at the North Pole. In this Facebook post sharing the Discovery Magazine article, Nielsen confirmed the image was never intended to be a sunset on Earth. ""This is an alien world thousands if not millions of light years away,"" she wrote.",,This image of the Moon above the Sun was created digitally by an artist,,,,,, +30,1,1,5,False,multiple sources,2021-07-02,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/vaccination-does-not-cause-babies-die-their-sleep,Childhood vaccination causes Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS),2021-06-14,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts make a series of inaccurate claims linking childhood vaccination and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). But medical experts say vaccines do not cause babies to suddenly die, and that evidence indicates there are lower rates of SIDS in children who receive the recommended shots.Medical understanding of SIDS -- a sudden death of a seemingly healthy infant, generally during sleep -- remains incomplete. But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia say studies show that vaccines do not cause the rare syndrome.Below, AFP Fact Check examines various claims about SIDS and vaccines.‘VIDS’“SIDS has always been VIDS,” says a June 14, 2021 Facebook post with a screenshot of a tweet, abbreviating “Vaccine Infant Death Syndrome.” “Everyone knows a family who lost a perfectly healthy baby to SIDS- a mysterious infant death for no medical reason. Now look around you. How many perfectly healthy adults are dying shortly after their vaccine shot. 2+2=?” says the June 13 tweet, in an implied comparison between SIDS deaths and purported fatalities linked to Covid-19 shots.AFP has debunked numerous false or misleading claims linking the Covid-19 inoculations to deaths. Screenshot of a tweet taken on June 30, 2021But childhood vaccines and Covid-19 shots are not comparable. In the US, the vaccine schedule between the ages of two and four months -- when an infant is most at risk for SIDS -- prevents diseases including hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio.By contrast, Covid-19 shots protect against the illness caused by the novel coronavirus and are not currently recommended for children under 12 years old. Mayo Clinic, Children's National and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) say that immunizing babies may be associated with lower risk of SIDS.Dr Rachel Moon, who chairs the AAP Task Force on SIDS, said that while there is overlap in the period of high risk for SIDS and frequent vaccinations for babies, “multiple studies have looked at this relationship and found that there is no causal relationship, meaning that it’s a coincidence in timing.”“There is no increased risk of SIDS when you get the vaccines. And actually, the studies suggest that babies who are vaccinated are at lower risk of SIDS. That may be because if you’ve been recently ill, you’re more likely to die from SIDS. Vaccinated babies are less likely to get ill, for multiple reasons,” she added.Dr Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic, agreed. “If anything, we see lower rates of Sudden Infant Death among infants vaccinated than in infants who have foregone the vaccinations,” he said.While this reduction may not be directly due to vaccination, ""there’s no data that has shown any one of the vaccines actually increases your risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,” he said.Link to coronavirus restrictions?Social media posts that circulated in 2020 claimed that the decline in immunizations brought on by measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 led to a decrease in SIDS cases. ""One of the many lessons from the pandemic: fewer pediatrician vaccine visits… and a massive decline in children inexplicably dying in their sleep. (SIDS/SUIDS). Related? Yes. Stop pretending otherwise,” said a screenshot of a tweet in a July 20, 2020 Facebook post. Screenshot of part of a Facebook post, taken on July 2, 2021A Twitter spokesperson said that the account that shared the message is now suspended from Twitter for “coordinated harmful activity,” which can include spreading medical misinformation.The head of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Robert Anderson, said that data does not show evidence of a “massive” decline in SIDS or infant mortality in general for the first half of 2020.In fact, the yearly number of infant deaths attributed to SIDS ending in the second half of 2019 is equal to the amount during the first half of 2020 -- less than 34 per 100,000 live births.   Screenshot of SIDS death data on the National Center for Health Statistics website, taken on July 1, 2021 Anderson noted that the 2020 data may be “slightly underestimated” because “deaths ultimately attributed to SIDS (or similar terminology) tend to be delayed as they typically require a lengthy investigation.”Faulty ‘evidence’False claims of a link between childhood vaccines and SIDS long predate Covid-19. Some social media posts cite a study by Dr William Torch to back the claim that vaccines cause SIDS, but the 1982 study was challenged by researchers, and Torch himself admitted it was difficult to draw definite conclusions from his work. Screenshot of part of a Facebook post, taken on July 2, 2021A significant decline in US cases in the 1990s is attributed to the implementation of the “Back-to-Sleep” program, which instructs parents on how to safely put their babies to bed.Placing infants on their back on a firm surface with no other items, such as toys or blankets, in a room shared with a parent are all ways to reduce risk of SIDS.SIDS in JapanOther posts laud Japan for halting vaccinations for children under two in 1994, claiming that the country then experienced a 96 percent drop in infant mortality rate. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on July 1, 2021 While it is true that children in Japan are particularly healthy by international standards, they are also one of the most vaccinated populations in the world.The Japanese schedule for vaccines is similar to that of the US, with multiple shots recommended for babies between two and four months.Japanese law was indeed amended in 1994 to make vaccination more of a civic duty than a strict legal obligation, but in practice, schools ask for children’s vaccination history as they apply.The law on vaccines stipulates that all citizens “must endeavour to undergo a routine vaccination” against “category A diseases,” such as measles, mumps, rubeola, and tetanus. Although there are no fines for not vaccinating children, inoculation rates are very high and frequently reach 100 percent of the population for certain diseases, according to the Japanese Health Ministry.Data showed that SIDS rates in Japan actually took an upturn around 1995 following the law change, but declined in subsequent years.",,Vaccination does not cause babies to die in their sleep,,,,,, +31,1,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-06-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/misleading-claims-about-magnetism-spread-meat-poultry,Meat has been injected with material that makes it magnetic,2021-06-14,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts claim chicken and beef have been injected with prion proteins, nanoparticles or other material that make them stick to fridge magnets. But the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says its surveillance measures guard against metallic contamination, while experts add that prions could not be responsible, and nanoparticles are not being added to meat.“Don’t go to the store without your magnet,” says a June 14, 2021 Facebook post. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 16, 2021In the video, a man sticks a small round magnet onto the outside of a package of chicken. He says: “They’re just putting little prions in here,” suggesting that the prions -- an infectious protein -- are causing magnetic effects.Multiple posts making similar claims about a variety of packaged and unpackaged poultry and meat products can also be found on Instagram, where the most popular iteration has topped 40,000 views. Videos on YouTube and Tik Tok, as well as compilation videos, have further spread the claim.It comes after a series of false and misleading claims that linked Covid-19 vaccinations to magnetism spread around the world. These included a hoax, supposedly shown in videos, that people’s arms exhibit magnetic properties after they receive the shots.Other posts claim a variety of reasons as to why magnets may stick to the meat. One says, “they are putting magnetic nano partials (sic) in our meat,” while another claims “they put heavy toxic metals in our food supply.” Mick West, a British-American science writer, published a video on Metabunk.org, a website dedicated to debunking pseudoscience, demonstrating that magnets, coins, or other smooth objects will stick to various body parts, if one’s skin is slightly oily. “Remove the oil and the object will not stick,” he explains.For similar reasons, magnets might stick to meat and poultry “due to the texture, angle or moisture of the product,” the USDA told AFP.“However, this does not mean that there is metal in the meat or poultry. All meat and poultry products bearing the USDA mark of inspection have been inspected for safety, wholesomeness, and accurate labeling,” a USDA spokesperson said on June 21, 2021.The spokesperson added that all establishments inspected by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are required to have a system in place “designed to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels any biological, chemical, or physical hazard that is reasonably likely to occur in the product.”As a result, it is unlikely that an undetected piece of metal could contaminate meat products, the spokesperson said, with many establishments going so far as to “install metal detectors and/or X-ray devices for screening their final products to ensure no accidental/unexpected metal (shaving or a broken piece) is present”.FSIS personnel also conduct regular inspections.As for the social media claim that prions may be a magnetic component found in meat, “this suggested hypothesis has no foundation in science,” the USDA spokesperson said, adding: “They are organic matter. More specifically, they are misfolded proteins. Therefore, they would lack any sort of magnetic quality.”Prions have an association with meat through the most well-known prion disease, BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) -- also called mad cow disease -- which affects cattle and is believed to be related to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans. Dr James Mastrianni, a professor of neurology at University of Chicago Medicine, told AFP on June 17, 2021: “There is some association of prions in meat, but these came from diseased cows being inadvertently used in the preparation of bovine-derived food. They were never purposely injected into meat, although how could anyone disprove such a crazy hypothesis?“Even if they were injected into meat, they are not magnetic and could certainly not perform the magic act of making a magnet stick to it.”Some of the claims suggest that the phenomenon is caused by nanoparticles -- tiny materials invisible to the eye which can be of various types. Iron is a natural component of beef and other meats but Jaydee Hanson, policy director at the Center for Food Safety, an activist group, told AFP on June 21, 2021: “While there is a remote chance that a powerful magnet could pick up on the magnetism of the iron in meat, it is really unlikely that most refrigerator magnets are that sensitive.“As far as I know, no nano ingredients are being added to meats in the US.”",,"Misleading claims about magnetism spread to meat, poultry",,,,,, +32,1,1,2.5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-06-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/posts-misleadingly-claim-muslim-woman-appointed-director-indias-space-agency,Muslim woman Khushboo Mirza appointed director of Indian Space Research Organisation,2021-06-02,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared in multiple Facebook and Instagram posts alongside a claim that it shows a Muslim woman, Khushboo Mirza, who was purportedly appointed “director” of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The claim is misleading: there is no such post within the ISRO. Mirza has worked as a scientist for the organisation since 2006, according to her LinkedIn profile and says she has never held the post of “director”. The photo was published here on Facebook on June 2, 2021.The post’s Hindi-language caption translates to English as: “Young Khushboo Mirza becomes the director of ISRO due to her talent.” The text superimposed on the image translates as: “35-year old scientist Miss Khushboo Mirza has been promoted as the director in ISRO. She is an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University and the only 2nd Muslim scientist after APJ Abdul Kalam to hold this rank at ISRO.”ISRO is the Indian Space Research Organisation.Aligarh Muslim University is located in the north Indian city of Aligarh.APJ Abdul Kalam was a former space scientist and President of India.The photo was shared with a similar claim on Facebook here and here; and here on Instagram.The claim is misleading.There is no position with the title “director” within the ISRO, according to this page on the agency’s website.The agency’s most senior position is the chairman. K. Sivan is listed as the chairman as of June 22, 2021.Khushboo Mirza has been working as a scientist with ISRO since 2006, according to her official LinkedIn profile.Mirza was part of the research team of India’s space missions to moon in 2008 and 2019, as reported by Indian news outlets Indian Express; TwoCircles.net; News18; and Patrika.Several Indian news websites, for example here and here, misleadingly claimed Mirza was promoted to director within the ISRO in June 2020.Mirza denied rumours of her promotion here in a Facebook post on June 27, 2020.Below is a screenshot of her Facebook post: She told Indian news site The Quint in June 2021: “The claim that I have been promoted to the Director rank in ISRO is absolutely false. Such claims have been made in the past as well. I have brought this to the notice of my organisation as well.”Former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam has also never held a top position in the ISRO as claimed in the misleading posts. His name does not feature in this list of former chairmen within the organisation.",,Posts misleadingly claim Muslim woman appointed ‘director’ of India’s space agency,,,,,, +33,3,1,5,Missing context,Multiple sources,2021-06-17,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/defend-billionaires-sign-picturing-musk-not-real-ad,"Billboard of Elon Musk that reads ""Defend Billionaires"" spotted ""in the wild""",2021-06-09,factcheck_afp,,"A tweet claims a billboard with Elon Musk’s photo that reads “Defend billionaires” can be seen outdoors. But the sign is not real. It is the digital artwork of designer Martin Sprouse, and the image was published on Sprouse’s Instagram account the month before it spread on Twitter.“Spotted in the wild. I hate this mf place,” the June 9, 2021 tweet reads. As of June 17, the post had gathered more than 40,000 likes and nearly 7,000 retweets. A screenshot of the tweet taken on June 17, 2021The same visual was also shared on Facebook, here and here, and on Instagram.The image started to be widely shared on social media after the release of an investigative report by New York-based journalism nonprofit ProPublica, which revealed several of the richest Americans have paid zero income tax in some years, including Tesla chief Musk and Amazon’s chairman Jeff Bezos. The report comes as Washington weighs new proposals to address tax avoidance among wealthy individuals and companies.Some social media users, however, were not fooled by the visual imagery and recognized it as a creation of California designer Sprouse. AFP Fact Check found that the original artwork was posted on his official Instagram account “3chordpolitics” on May 18, 2021, about three weeks before the image started to get shared on social media by other users, a search on social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle shows. A similar creation using Bezos’s photo was published by Sprouse on June 11, 2021. In a 2020 interview on YouTube, the artist explained how he does these pieces mainly to express himself, “and maybe, I think people figure it out on their own, they see the graphic and it confirms what they’re feeling, or pisses them off... or they feel comfort and solidarity, which I think is a huge part of the graphics.” “You make a ‘Fuck the police’ graphic, not just to piss off the police, it’s to make comfort for people that have that same feeling,” he said during the interview. At the time of writing this article Sprouse had not responded to an AFP request for comment.",,‘Defend billionaires’ sign picturing Musk is not real ad,,,,,, +34,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-06-15,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/us-teen-space-enthusiast-has-not-been-chosen-one-way-mission-mars,Aspiring astronaut Alyssa Carson is selected for a one way mission to Mars,2021-05-31,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook posts shared thousands of times claim a 20-year-old American space enthusiast, Alyssa Carson, has been selected for a one-way voyage to become ""the first living being to land on Mars"". The claim is false: as of June 15, 2021, Carson was not a qualified astronaut, and the technology to facilitate a human mission to Mars is still in development. As of June 15, 2021, there were no credible reports of Carson joining a mission to Mars.The claim was shared in this Facebook post published on May 31, 2021. It has been shared more than 500 times.“Beautiful girl Alyssa Carson will voyage to Mars, never to return, on behalf of Earth,” reads the Sinhala-language text.“Usually, as a girl grows up, she has various hopes and dreams. But wouldn't you be surprised if you were told that a 20-year-old girl was ready to risk her life, not knowing what will happen to her and embark on a journey from which she will never return? That is Alyssa Carson, the first living being to land on Mars.” Carson has made headlines for her dream of being among the first humans on Mars. The undergraduate student has taken part in various space camps and academies, and earned her pilot’s license aged 18, according to her website and LinkedIn profile.  Similar posts claiming Carson has been selected for a one-way voyage to Mars have been shared here, here and here.However, the claim is false.As of June 15, 2021, Carson was not a qualified astronaut.""To be able to actually apply as an astronaut, I need a master's degree and then some work experience. It's pretty tough competition,” she told ABC Australia in an interview published on April 1, 2021.Carson and her team did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment. But as of June 15, 2021 there were no reports of her being selected for a mission to Mars either on her official website, verified social media pages, or in any media reports.NASA said it has not selected any crew members for a mission to Mars.It said it had also not selected a crew for its Artemis programme, which will send astronauts to the Moon to test new technologies ahead of a mission to Mars.“At this time, we have not yet made any crew assignments for Artemis or Mars missions,” NASA Public Affairs Officer Kathryn Hambleton told AFP.The agency says it hopes to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s. ""Technology development has already begun to enable a crewed Mars mission as early as the 2030s. Many of the capabilities will be demonstrated at the Moon first, during the Artemis missions, while other systems are more uniquely suited for deeper space,"" says the agency.Hambleton said that NASA “does not have any formal relationship” with Alyssa Carson.“NASA has lots of ways we engage with students to promote NASA's core missions and space exploration in general, and we love to see students get interested and excited. However, we do not have any formal relationship with Ms. Carson,” she said.Responding to the claim about a one-way mission to Mars, NASA’s Hambleton said: “We will always bring our crew members home”.",,US teen space enthusiast has not been chosen for one-way mission to Mars,,,,,, +35,1,1,5,False,multiple sources,2021-06-14,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/false-magnetic-claims-circulate-online-about-astrazeneca-vaccine,AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines make human bodies pair with a Bluetooth device,2021-05-28,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple social media posts have shared claims that electronic devices “recognise” people who have received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The posts go on to claim that anyone who receives the vaccine will become “magnetic”; will have their DNA altered and will die from blood clots. The claims are false, according to health experts.The claims were shared here on Naver Blog on May 28, 2021.The post's Korean-language caption translates to English as: “Electronic devices recognise a person who got vaccinated against Covid-19 as another device with a Bluetooth function. They pair you and you show up as ‘AstraZeneca’.“Now it all makes sense that people who get a Covid-19 jab dies due to a rare blood clot and becomes magnetic. It has become clear that the vaccines alter your DNA.” Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on June 10, 2021.The claim was shared alongside several screenshots of a video overlaid with English-language text that reads: “AstraZeneca Bluetooth Side Effect” and “Connect to the Bluetooth see what happens part 2!”The video was originally posted on TikTok here on June 4, 2021. It has since been removed.The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is among the three coronavirus vaccines being administered in South Korea.As of June 14, 2021, the country had administered more than 7.9 million first doses and more than 711,000 second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.Similar claims have also been shared on Facebook here and here; as well as on the South Korean social media site Daum Cafe here. The claims are false, according to health experts.Not magnetic“There are no ingredients in the AstraZeneca vaccines or any other Covid-19 vaccines that could turn people into Bluetooth or make a human body react to Bluetooth,” a spokesperson at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) told AFP on June 9, 2021.“Scientifically, the claim does not make sense.”AFP has previously debunked false posts that claim people exhibit magnetic properties after being vaccinated for Covid-19.People can easily change their Bluetooth name using their mobile devices or Windows operating system, as explained here in Korean and here in English.'Extremely rare'No one in South Korea has died from rare blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine as of June 14, 2021.To date, authorities have reported one patient developed blood clots after receiving the jab.“The patient has been treated and recovered,” a KDCA official told AFP on June 14, 2021.“A possibility of having a blood clot as a result of the vaccination against Covid-19 is extremely rare,” the agency said here on its website on June 10, 2021.“It can be treated and recovered if it’s diagnosed at an early stage.”The European Medicines Agency has said unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, although it has stressed that its overall benefits in preventing Covid-19 outweigh the risks. AFP reported on the developments here.False DNA claimCovid-19 vaccines cannot alter DNA, health experts say. “Whilst [Covid-19 vaccine] technologies both use genetic codes to produce the spike protein inside the body, this code cannot be incorporated into the body’s DNA,” the Oxford University-run Vaccine Knowledge Project said here on March 17, 2021.“Vaccines do not contain the ‘specialised tools’ needed to ‘copy’ or ‘edit’ DNA.”AFP has previously debunked false claims that Covid-19 vaccines alter DNA.",,False ‘magnetic’ claims circulate online about AstraZeneca vaccine,,,,,, +36,2.5,1,5,Missing context,Multiple sources,2021-06-11,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/vessel-image-was-actually-built-2019,Image shows recently made vessel by Sri Lankan engineers,2021-06-06,factcheck_afp,,"In June 2021, Sri Lankan Facebook users shared an image of a ship they claimed was built ""a few days ago"". But the claim is misleading: the ship in the photograph was actually built and delivered to a Japanese company in 2019.The image of the ship was shared in this post published on June 6, 2021.The Sinhala text superimposed on the image reads: “How’s the biggest ship made in Sri Lanka that impressed even the Japanese? How does it look -- the biggest ship made a few days ago in Sri Lanka with 100 percent knowledge from local engineers? Within a matter of about 21 months, this ship was produced under the request of a Japanese company.” Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on June 7,2021 The same image and claim were shared on Facebook such as here, here and here.However, the claim is misleading.The ship was not built recently -- manufacturing began in Sri Lanka in 2017 and was completed in 2019.A Google keyword search found this article published by Sri Lanka’s leading shipbuilding company, Colombo Dockyard PLC, on June 25, 2019.The article, titled “Colombo Dockyard delivers 'KDDI Cable Infinity' built for Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd. Japan”, says in part: “Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) delivered the first ever modern Cable Laying Vessel built for Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd. (KCS) Japan, on 21st June 2019 attended by a host of dignitaries. This is the biggest ever vessel, price-wise as well as length-wise, built by Colombo Dockyard in its illustrious journey of shipbuilding excellence and the first ever ship built ‘in its class’ from Sri Lanka to Japan.”The prototype of the ship that was unveiled at the event matches the image of the ship in the misleading Facebook posts. Below is a comparison between the photo of the model ship from the 2019 article (L) and the image of the ship in the misleading posts (R) with identical markings highlighted by AFP in yellow:  Comparison between the photo of the model ship from the 2019 article (L) and the image of the ship in the misleading posts (R) with identical markings highlighted by AFP in yellow:A keyword further search found this clip published on Colombo Dockyard’s official YouTube channel on August 16, 2019 that features the ship titled: ‘KDDI Cable Infinity Vessel’.Below is a screenshot comparison of the vessel in the YouTube video (L) and the image in the misleading Facebook posts (R): Multiple local media reports were published in 2019 regarding the production of the cable ship including here by Sri Lankan online newspaper ColomboPage and here by local news service EconomyNext.",,The vessel in the image was actually built in 2019,,,,,, +37,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-06-10,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/fabricated-tweet-falsely-claims-facebook-founder-had-dig-nigerian-leaders-health,Zuckerberg says Buhari needs medical check up,2021-06-01,factcheck_afp,,"A screenshot shared hundreds of times on Facebook claims to show a tweet from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg making derogatory comments about the health of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. In reality, the tweet was fabricated and Zuckerberg does not have a verified or active Twitter account.“The Nigerian president needs medical checkup he maybe suffering from the inability to think properly (sic),” reads the screenshot of the purported tweet, which was shared on Facebook here, here and here. A screenshot showing the fabricated tweet, taken on June 7, 2021Twitter ban in NigeriaThe tweet appeared after Nigeria’s government announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter on June 4, 2021. The move came in response to the platform deleting one of the president’s tweets for violating Twitter policy, as AFP reported here.The ban sparked international criticism. Joint statement on the Government of Nigeria’s announcement to suspend Twitter ⬇️ #TwitterBan We continue to advocate for the fundamental #HumanRights to freedom of speech and access to information, protected by #Nigeria’s constitution. https://t.co/T57glGUwin pic.twitter.com/sfXKV7Z3HZ — Canada in Nigeria (@CanHCNigeria) June 5, 2021Facebook has since also removed the same comments by Buhari but the Nigerian government has yet to take action against the social media network.Zuckerberg and TwitterThe tweet was fabricated and Zuckerberg has no verified Twitter account. Zuckerberg joined the platform in 2009 under the handle @finkd, not “@Markzuckerberg” as seen in the hoax screenshot. Since creating his account, the Facebook founder has tweeted only 19 times, with his last tweet dating back to January 2012. A screenshot taken on June 9, 2021, showing Zuckerberg's Twitter account and last tweetThough unverified, the account is followed by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, YouTube, Microsoft and Zuckerberg’s Facebook. @finkd is followed by Google CEO, YouTube, Microsoft and Facebook itselfIn 2009, Zuckerberg was reported to have maintained a private account with the handle @zuck which sent no public tweet until it was deactivated. He rejoined Twitter in March 2009 with his current handle, although the account is dormant today. Business Insider reported that Zuckerberg followed only one person in 2019. Zuckerberg used these accounts around the time he was looking to buy Twitter but the deal failed.None of Zuckerberg’s 19 tweets mention Nigeria or Buhari, who was elected in 2015, three years after Zuckerberg last tweeted. There is also no evidence that Zuckerberg has tweeted at all in 2021.According to the fabricated screenshot, the tweet has been retweeted 2.6 million times and liked 3.7 million times. If this was the case, it would be one of the most shared tweets in Twitter history. Wikipedia keeps a list of the most retweeted tweets in history and according to the list, the tweet does not exist.Tweets are easily fabricatedIt is difficult to prove a tweet once existed after it has been deleted unless it was archived on websites like Wayback Machine. The New York Times created a database of all tweets posted by former US president Donald Trump, while Factbase saved all his deleted tweets here. Tweets can also easily be doctored. For example, TweetGen is a website that can be used to generate tweets of choice with pictures and timestamps to make them look real, as shown in the example below: An image of a fabricated tweet made by AFP Fact CheckFacebook is yet to reply to AFP Fact Check’s request for comment.",,Fabricated tweet falsely claims Facebook founder had dig at Nigerian leader’s health,,,,,, +38,1,1,5,False,multiple sources,2021-06-10,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/false-reasons-refuse-covid-19-vaccines-circulate-online,Eight reasons not to get vaccinated against Covid-19,2021-05-29,factcheck_afp,,"As South Korea races to speed up its Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, posts emerged on social media sharing a list of “reasons” not to get the jab. The claims are false: AFP has previously debunked all purported reasons cited in the misleading posts, including claims that coronavirus vaccines have not been tested on animals or that their ingredients have not been published by pharmaceutical companies.The claim was shared here on South Korean blogging platform Naver Blog on May 29, 2021.The Korean-language post reads: “I met with a prominent professor of biotechnology. He’s currently working at a university in Boston, USA. We talked about the current Covid-19 situation.“Since he is afraid of being called a conspiracy theorist, he didn’t want to identify himself. But I’m sharing what I heard because it might be helpful to you.” Screenshot of the misleading Naver Blog post, taken on June 4, 2021.The post lists “eight reasons not to get vaccinated”:1) mRNA technology lacks a track record of studies;2) There is no scientific evidence that Covid-19 vaccines can protect people;3) The virus’s spike protein sheds and reproduces itself;4) The body will become a factory to produce spike protein;5) Covid-19 vaccines were not tested on animals;6) Vaccine makers did not reveal the ingredients of their products;7) Doctors are afraid of reporting adverse events in case of retaliation from drug companies; and8) PCR tests are not scientifically reliable.The same list has been shared on Facebook here and here; on Naver Blog here and here; and on Daum Blog here.The claim surfaced as South Korea raced to beef up its coronavirus vaccine roll-out, with authorities pledging to inoculate 13 million people with their first dose by the end of June.While South Korea was held up as a model in handling the pandemic, the government has faced criticism for an initially sluggish vaccination campaign compared with other developed countries.However, the claims are false. AFP has previously debunked all purported reasons cited in the misleading posts.mRNA technologyMessenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, like the ones developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, deliver genetic instructions to produce the viral proteins needed to provoke a safe but robust offensive against the coronavirus.While no mRNA vaccine had ever been approved for humans before the pandemic, the technology has been in the making for years.“mRNA vaccines have been studied before for flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV),” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website on March 4, 2021.“As soon as the necessary information about the virus that causes COVID-19 was available, scientists began designing the mRNA instructions for cells to build the unique spike protein into an mRNA vaccine.”The CDC said mRNA vaccines have been held to the same standards as all other types of vaccines in the United States.Covid-19 vaccine efficacyInternational health experts recommend taking the vaccine to build immunity against SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. “Studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine will also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said on October 28, 2020.Scientists are still learning how well vaccines prevent the transmission of the virus, although “early data show that vaccines help keep people with no symptoms from spreading COVID-19,” the CDC said.Spike proteinsHealth experts said there is no shedding of the virus’s spike protein -- which the vaccine makes inside the body to elicit an immune response -- when people receive a Covid-19 jab.Dasantila Golemi-Kotra, a microbiologist at Canada’s York University said that “no spike protein gets shed when we get vaccinated.”“Even if the spike protein was shedding, although impossible, this protein cannot infect someone else,” she told AFP in April 2021. Barry Pakes, assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, also explained in April 2021 that “there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of shedding of spike protein in vaccinated individuals, nor is it even theoretically possible.”Scientists said that mRNA from vaccines was quickly degraded in the body.“There is no doubt that after a very short period of time, after it has created antigens [proteins] which in turn lead to antibodies, the RNA from the vaccine is destroyed,” French geneticist Axel Kahn told AFP in December 2020.Animal testsIn the US, three Covid-19 vaccines have been authorised for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): one from Pfizer-BioNtech, another from Moderna and a third from Johnson & Johnson.All three companies disclosed the results of trials on non-human subjects. The vaccines caused an immune response that protected animals against a SARS-CoV-2 infection that causes Covid-19.Vaccine ingredientsIngredients of four major Covid-19 vaccines are available to check on the websites of either manufacturers or health authorities: Oxford–AstraZeneca, Pfizer–BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.Reporting adverse eventsVaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a tool to report adverse events from vaccination. It is a passive reporting system, meaning it relies on individuals to send in reports of their experiences, according to the system’s official website.“Anyone can submit a report to VAERS, including parents and patients,” it reads. In particular, healthcare providers are required by law to report adverse events; regardless of whether the vaccine is thought to have caused the adverse event.PCR testsA PCR test diagnoses people who are currently infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19.The test, which involves collecting a swab sample from a person’s nose or throat, is considered the most accurate and reliable test for Covid-19, according to Cleveland Clinic,  a nonprofit American academic medical centre based in Cleveland, Ohio.AFP has debunked hundreds of false claims about vaccines and the pandemic, which are available here.",,False ‘reasons’ to refuse Covid-19 vaccines circulate online,,,,,, +39,1,1,5,False,,2021-06-09,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/digital-effects-image-misrepresented-online-actual-photo-himalayas-space,Actual photo of the Himalayas taken from the International Space Station,2021-06-03,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook and Twitter posts have shared an image that they claim shows an actual photograph of the Himalayas shot from the International Space Station. But the claim is false: the image is not an actual photograph and was in fact created using digital effects software.The image was posted June 3, 2021 by an India-based user here in a public Facebook group called ‘Mysterious Facts’. The misleading post’s caption says: “The Himalayas from the International Space Station”. Screenshot of the misleading post taken on June 4, 2021.The same image and claim have been widely shared online, for example on Facebook here, here and here; on Twitter here and here in English, and here in Spanish; and on 9GAG here since 2020.But the claim is false.The image is actually computer-generated and was created by graphic designer Christoph Hormann using digital effects technology. A Google reverse image search found the same image on Hormann’s website where prints of his work are available for purchase.Hormann’s website states he produces “illustrations of geographic contexts in the best possible quality”.The misleading posts have rotated the original image created by Hormann 90 degrees clockwise and cropped out the credits.  Screenshots comparing the original image and the image in the misleading post. Taken June 4, 2021.Further keyword searches found the image was also shared here with the correct caption by Science Photo Library, a stock photography website.Its caption reads in part: “This image was created by Christoph Hormann using data obtained from satellites such as Landsat and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission).“The data was processed into computer models using three-dimensional rendering software and then coloured and distorted to mimic the natural curvature of the Earth.”Actual photographs taken from the ISS of the Himalayas and other places on Earth, can be found on NASA’s official website.",,Digital effects image misrepresented online as actual photo of the Himalayas from space,,,,,, +40,5,1,5,False,Multiple persons,2021-07-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GJ4QH-3,Passengers protest as ruling PTI ministers cause flight delay in Pakistan,2021-07-23,factcheck_afp,,"A video of angry passengers at an airport has been shared in social media posts that claim they were arguing with ministers from Pakistan's ruling PTI party after their flight was ""delayed for four hours"" to wait for them. The claim is false; the video has circulated online in reports about passengers blaming civil aviation officials for a delayed flight in July 2018, shortly before the PTI came to power.""The PIA flight from Islamabad to Skardu was delayed for four hours while waiting for a few ministers of PTI and their families. Watch and listen to what an American-settled family told the minister when he arrived at the airport,"" reads an Urdu-language Facebook post from July 23.PIA refers to Pakistan International Airlines, while PTI refers to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the country's ruling party.The video, viewed more than 190,000 times, shows a woman arguing with a group of men in suits at an airport lounge.""You walk over the people who have given you the rank and status, this is shameful,"" she says. ""We have missed our flights due to this delay"". Other passengers chant ""shame, shame"". A screenshot taken on July 26, 2021 of the misleading Facebook post ( AFP)Similar posts were shared here, here and here on Facebook and here, here and here on Twitter.The posts sparked criticism from social media users.""Very disappointed by PTI's governance,"" one person commented.However, the claim is false. This video does not show an altercation between passengers and PTI ministers, but between passengers and the civil aviation officials in 2018.A reverse image search on Google found the same video published on July 19, 2018 here on YouTube, titled: ""PIA Flight delayed from Islamabad to skardu"".Below is a screenshots comparison of the video posted in July 2018 (L) and the video in the recent misleading posts (R): A screenshots comparison of the video posted in July 2018 (L) and the video in the recent misleading posts (R): ( AFP)Pakistani newspaper The Nation also included a similar image in this report on passengers protesting a delayed flight on July 17, 2018 at Skardu airport, alleging that the airline management had sacrificed customers’ rights to favour top Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials with a ""joyride"".Below is a screenshot comparison of the video posted in the misleading posts (L) and the image published on The Nation (R): Screenshot comparison of the video posted in the misleading posts (L) and the image published on The Nation (R):Dawn newspaper reported the same incident here on July 18, 2018.At that time, Pakistan was under a caretaker government awaiting elections on July 25, 2018. PTI came to power in August 2018 and had no federal or provincial ministers when the video in the misleading posts started to circulate in July.The swearing-in of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the founder and the Chairman of PTI, was reported by AFP here on August 18, 2018.",,Old video of passengers protesting delayed flight in Pakistan misleads on social media,,,,,, +41,2,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GM4T3-1,Pakistan opposition party supporters in police van during recent elections,2021-07-25,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook and Twitter posts in Pakistan purport to show a photo of supporters of an opposition party travelling in a police vehicle during recent provincial elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The claim is misleading: the image is from 2018 and shows party supporters in the capital Islamabad during national elections that year.The image was posted here on Facebook on July 25, 2021. “It’s Raja Farooq’s government and the police are fully supporting the N-League. The Election Commission in the Kashmir elections is sleeping with its eyes closed,” reads the post’s Urdu-language caption.Raja Farooq Haider Khan is a member of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party and the Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, known locally as Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) province. The image shows people travelling in a police van while waving a PML-N flag. Screenshot of the image with the misleading caption. Taken on July 27, 2021. ( AFP / ) The province -- which follows a separate electoral process from the rest of Pakistan -- held its polls on July 25, which were won by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party.Several users appeared to believe the photo was from the recent AJK elections. One wrote in Urdu: “The League supporters will achieve nothing, we’ve visited all of Kashmir. Allah willing, PTI will win” while another wrote in an Urdu transliteration: “In Pakistan, the police supports PTI against the TLP. They supported the N-League here, so what?”The photo was shared with similar claims on Facebook here and here; and on Twitter here, here and here.However, the posts are misleading. The image shows PML-N supporters in the nation’s capital Islamabad during the national elections in 2018.A reverse image search found the same photo posted here in a report by local media outlet Dawn News in 2018. The first paragraph of the report reads: “ISLAMABAD: Taking advantage of police leniency, workers from the PML-N used official police vans to escort former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during a campaign rally on Thursday.”Below is a screenshot comparing the image in the misleading posts (L) with the one from Dawn News (R). The word ‘Islamabad’ can also be seen on the license plates in both images and has been circled in red by AFP: Screenshot comparing the photo in the misleading post (L) with the one from Dawn News (R). Taken on July 27, 2021. ( AFP / )",,"This is an old image showing Pakistan's national elections in 2018, not the recent poll in Kashmir",,,,,, +42,1,1,5,False,එක රටක්,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GE8QL-1,Union leader slams Sri Lankan government for buying Covid-19 vaccines,2021-07-22,factcheck_afp,,"A photo collage has been shared in multiple Facebook posts that claim it shows a news report where a union leader purportedly criticised the government for procuring Covid-19 vaccines instead of paying teachers' salaries. But the claim is false: the photos in the collage have been doctored to add fabricated remarks into an original report that aired before the wide availability of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.The photo collage was shared more than 300 times here on Facebook on July 22, 2021.It shows screenshots of a purported television news interview with Sri Lankan teachers union leader Joseph Stalin.The image at the top features a Sinhala-language news ticker that states: ""There is money to bring the vaccine"".The image at the bottom states: ""but no money to increase salaries of teachers"".Both images feature the logo of local media organisation Hiru TV.The post's caption translates as: ""Typical petty JVP-er"". Screenshot of the misleading post captured on July 23, 2021 ( Lakna PARANAMANNA)""JVP"" is an acronym for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna political opposition party in Sri Lanka.The post circulated online the same day teachers staged a protest in the capital Colombo demanding higher wages.An identical photo collage was also shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here and here. The claim however is false: the photos in the collage had been doctored.Keyword searches found the photos were taken from this video uploaded on Facebook on June 16, 2020.The video's caption states: ""A silent protest was staged with the participation of trade unions, community organizations today (16) at the Colombo Lipton Circus, expressing objection to the inhumane attack by the government on the protest staged by the Front Line Socialist party.""The protestors called upon the government to halt attempts to curtail freedom of speech, assembly and to protest. A large crowd attended this protest.""The purported remarks made by Stalin about Covid-19 vaccines had been digitally inserted onto the screenshots, along with the Hiru TV logo.Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photos (L) and the original news report (R):   The video circulated online months before Sri Lanka began its Covid-19 vaccination program on January 29, 2021 as reported here by the state-run Rupavahini Sinhala News.News telecasts aired noon, evening and late night by Hiru TV on July 22 -- the day the misleading posts started being shared online -- also do not show Stalin criticising the government for procuring Covid-19 vaccines.In response to the misleading posts, Stalin told AFP on July 26: ""I have not said such a thing... I have been lobbying for the teachers and other professionals in the education sector to be vaccinated before local school terms start.""",,Doctored collage falsely claims union leader slammed Sri Lanka's government for buying Covid-19 vaccines,,,,,, +43,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GF67H-1,Construction of sea link bridge in Mumbai took place under Modi government,2021-07-16,factcheck_afp,,"Politicians from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the country's first ""sea bridge"", the 5.6-kilometre (3.5-mile) Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, was built under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The claim is false: work on the landmark bridge began a decade before Modi took office, and it was inaugurated in 2009, when the Indian National Congress was in power. ""This is not a US-France London bridge, this is Mumbai's Bandra bridge. Under Modi's leadership, my India is moving forward and defining new ways of development through its actions and resolutions,"" reads a Hindi-language Facebook post published on July 16 by BJP worker Pankaj Awasthi.""Today, my India is setting new records of development under the leadership of respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There are thousands of such projects and far-reaching policies, there are thousands of such achievements with Bharatiya Janata Party, which have been attained under the leadership of Modi. We will bring these works and achievements to more and more people and so form the BJP government again!""The Bandra-Worli Sea Link is located in India's financial capital Mumbai, a city controlled by opposition parties. Screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 26, 2021  BJP district ministers Munnaram Suthar and Ghanshyam Kumar also shared the claim, which was picked up by Facebook users, including here and here. However, the claim is false.AFP ran a Google keyword search and found various news reports on the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an eight-lane freeway designed to cut the journey time between the eponymous Mumbai suburbs and ease congestion in the Indian financial capital's notoriously choked roads.The landmark bridge was inaugurated on June 30, 2009 by Sonia Gandhi, party chief of the then-ruling Indian National Congress, the Times of India and Hindustan Times reported. The bridge, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, was named after her late husband, who was noted for promoting technology during his time as prime minister. The freeway was first commissioned in 2000 but work was held up until 2004 because of litigation and protests from the local fishing community.In 2000, the BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prime minister. When work commenced in October 2004, Manmohan Singh from the Indian National Congress (INC) was in power, and still held office when the bridge was officially opened in June 2009.Narendra Modi became prime minister in May 2014.AFP has previously debunked misinformation shared by BJP politicians, including a photo of a garbage-filled river in the Philippines which party members falsely claimed was taken in Mumbai, and misleading posts attributing a string of crises in Delhi to the chief minister.",,BJP politicians falsely claim PM Modi built landmark Mumbai bridge,,,,,, +44,1,1,5,False,Multiple persons,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GF7PU-1,This photo shows a political rally for Asaduddin Owaisi in India,2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared hundreds of times in multiple social media posts that claim it shows a large rally for an Indian Muslim politician during the pandemic. The claim is false: the photo shows an Islamic procession in Bangladesh in 2019.The image was shared in a Hindi-language tweet posted on July 19.The caption translates to English as: ""Huge crowd of a specific community gathered in UP’s Moradabad in Asaduddin Owaisi’s rally and here we are, entangled over BJP, BSP and SP. You people too should stop being in any delusion and think about your future"".""UP"" refers to India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.Asaduddin Owaisi is leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party and member of parliament for Hyderabad in India's southern Telangana state. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 25, 2021The post emerged online after speculation about the AIMIM teaming up with other parties in a bid to defeat the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh's upcoming assembly elections in February 2022. The post also misleadingly suggests India's Muslims are permitted to gather for certain political events, while Hindus have been banned from gathering for religious festivals.The photo was posted with a similar claim here, here, and here on Facebook. However, the claim is false.A reverse image search on Google found the photo was published in this Facebook post on November 26, 2019. It was uploaded by photographer Faisal bin Latif in a post about a religious procession in the Bangladeshi city of Chattogram. A photo of the event shared by Faisal bin Latif on 26 November, 2019He also uploaded an album of photos showing the same event on photo-sharing website Flickr.The album's title reads: ""Jashney Julus, Miladunnabi, November 2019.”AFP found a similar video here on a Bengali-language YouTube channel showing a scene that corresponds with the image in the misleading posts.The video's title states that it shows the Miladun Nabi procession in Chattogram in November 2019.Miladun Nabi is an Islamic festival observed by Muslims as Prophet Mohammed’s birthday according to the Islamic calendar.In 2019, the festival was celebrated on November 10 in Bangladesh. Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube video's one-minute 17-second mark (R): Comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube videoThe same procession was also reported by Bengali news website Banglanews24.com on November 10, 2019.AFP found a similar structure pictured in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R): Similarity between the image in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R) snapshotAFP previously debunked posts sharing the same photo alongside a claim they showed the funeral procession of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed while covering fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban.",,Bangladesh religious procession image shared in false posts about Indian political rally,,,,,, +45,5,1,5,Altered image,Multiple,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9G82NF-1,Photo shows Aung San Suu Kyi in a prison cell,2021-07-22,factcheck_afp,,"An image purporting to show detained Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a prison cell has been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook. The claim is false; the image, originally published on online library Wikimedia Commons in 2013, has been doctored to add Suu Kyi’s face.The image was shared here on Facebook on July 22, 2021 which has been shared more than 17,000 times. The post’s caption in Bengali reads: ""No one's power lasts forever.""The image appears to show Myanmar's detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi dressed in orange overalls and looking out from a prison cell.Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party which claimed an overwhelming victory in the second parliamentary election in November 2020, only to be ousted by the Myanmar junta in a coup on February 1, 2021.Suu Kyi, along with senior party leaders, was detained instantly by the military. She is now facing a series of charges against her including corruption and violating the State Secrets Act, AFP reported here.The image was also shared here and here on Facebook.However, the image has been doctored from a photo created in 2013 which does not feature Suu Kyi.A reverse image search found the original photo was published here on Wikimedia Commons, dated back to July 12, 2013 with photo credit to Officer Bimblebury.The photo caption reads: ""A female prisoner living inside her tiny prison cell. The cell provides the inmate with a toilet and a bed, as well as bars to protect her from the outside elements. The cell is designed for the comfort and benefit of the prisoner as well as the public."" Wikimedia Commons is a project of Wikimedia Foundation which provides free-use images, sounds and other media.Below is a screenshot of the image in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the original photo on Wikimedia Commons (R): ( Qadaruddin SHISHIR)Metadata information of the original photo on digital verification tool InVID-WeVerify also shows the image was last modified on July 12, 2013. A screenshot of the metadata information of the original photo on InVID-WeVerify, taken on July 26, 2021.",,Doctored photo does not show Aung San Suu Kyi in a prison cell,,,,,, +46,1,1,5,False,Multiple resources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GB8VH-5,"Video of demonstration in Cuba, 2021",2021-07-19,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts from around the world have shared footage of what they claim shows anti-government protests in Cuba. The claim is false: the video actually shows an anti-government protest in Haiti in 2019.""Cuba today,"" reads a traditional Chinese-language tweet posted on July 17. The video has been viewed more than 60,000 times. Screenshot taken on July 26, 2021, of the misleading Twitter post ( AFP)Thousands of Cubans joined rare anti-government protests on July 11, as the country faced its toughest phase yet of the coronavirus epidemic.The footage has been shared in various languages alongside similar claims, including Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian.The claim is false.A reverse image search of keyframes from the footage, using the InVid-WeVerify tool, found the same video posted in this tweet from Russian media outlet Redfish.It states the footage shows protesters in Haiti on October 13, 2019. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Haiti against the government and the IMF. pic.twitter.com/X7hPiJ6QYc — redfish (@redfishstream) October 14, 2019 An advanced Twitter search found the same video posted on the same day here, here and here in tweets about protests in Haiti.The video was also tweeted by journalist Sandra Lemaire from Voice of America (VOA) on October 13, 2019.She credited the footage to VOA Haiti correspondent Alexandre Joram, VOA correspondent.A search of VOA's Instagram page in Haiti, VOA Kreyòl, found the same sequence published on October 13, 2019.The post says the video shows a ""Haitian artists"" march and credits the footage to Alexandre Joran.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by VOA Creole (@voakreyol) Thousands of Haitians marched on October 13, 2019 to demand the resignation of demonstration then-president Jovenel Moise.Anti-government demonstrations paralysed daily life across much of Haiti from September to December 2019, with anger at Moise -- whose victory in the November 2016 election was rejected by the opposition -- boiling over due to a national fuel shortage.Moise's assassination on July 7, 2021 plunged the impoverished Caribbean nation in crisis. AFP debunked various false reports about the incident here and here.",,This video shows demonstrators in Haiti in 2019 -- not Cuba in 2021,,,,,, +47,1,1,5,False,Hal Turner Radio Show,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GJ3LG-1,French president's entire security force resigned,2021-07-24,factcheck_afp,,"A French member of parliament and an American radio host claimed that Emmanuel Macron's entire security detail resigned to protest the French president's initiative imposing health passes to participate in many aspects of public life. This is false; the Republican Guard did not resign, and it is tasked with presidential palace security, not his direct physical safety.""Protective Detail of France President ALL Resign over COVID Restrictions; will no longer protect President Macron,"" reads the headline of a July 24, 2021 article on the website of the Hal Turner Radio Show, a conspiracy-oriented program AFP has fact-checked before. Below the headline, a photo shows members of the Garde Républicaine, or Republican Guard, an elite French army corps tasked with special missions. Screenshot of an online article taken on July 26, 2021""The Republican Guard, a security detail established to protect the President of France, have ALL resigned, and will no longer protect President Macron!"" the article says of the 2,800-strong force.The Covid-19 restrictions mentioned in the headline refer to a decree by Macron that required proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test to be able to attend events or enter places with more than 50 people. The ""health pass"" will be extended to restaurants, cafes and shopping centers in August. This was formalized into law by the country's parliament on July 25, 2021, despite widespread protests against it.However, the Republican Guard did not resign in relation to this law, and is not tasked with the French president's immediate physical safety.The unit responsible for direct personal protection of the French head of state is the Groupe de sécurité de la présidence de la République, whose members hail from both the police and the Gendarmerie.The Republican Guard is a French army unit tasked with ""public safety missions and protocol representation,"" according to its official webpage. Its members are not in charge of the direct safety of the French president like the US Secret Service, but they indirectly play this role by ensuring the security of the Elysee Palace, where the president lives. A spokesperson for the Gendarmerie told AFP on July 26, 2021 that the Republican Guard ""is still"" performing its palace duties. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French army tasked with law enforcement roles, to which the Republican Guard answers. On social media, neither the Garde Républicaine nor the Gendarmerie, nor any French media, mentioned a mass resignation of the force's members.The false claims regarding the Republican Guard began when Martine Wonner, an independent member of parliament in France, claimed in a video that the force no longer wished to protect Macron.Wonner is a Covid-skeptic who was part of the government's party before she was ousted due to her controversial stances.She also faced calls from her opposition party to quit that group after she urged people to lay siege to MPs who approved the health pass.Before the vaccine passport law can be applied, it must be approved by France's highest administrative authority, the Constitutional Council, which will vote on it on August 5.",,French president's security detail did not resign over Covid-19 bill,,,,,, +48,1,1,5,False,Various sources,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FP6FY-3,Chinese President Xi Jinping asks for Indonesian's Kalimantan island as 'debt collateral',2021-07-15,factcheck_afp,,"A video of Chinese President Xi Jinping giving a speech has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, with a claim that it shows Xi is demanding Indonesia's Kalimantan region as a ""debt collateral"". The claim is false: the Indonesian subtitles in the video do not match Xi’s actual speech. The video in fact shows Xi speaking at the Indonesian parliament in 2013; the Chinese leader did not mention about Kalimantan nor any debt collateral in his speech. The video was posted on TikTok here on July 15, 2021, and has been viewed more than 8,000 times.The video shows Chinese President Xi Jinping giving a speech in Mandarin, with Indonesian-language subtitles that read: ""In this visit, I want to ask President Jokowi Dodo to pay his country's debt to China"",  referring to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi.The subtitles then read: ""In an agreed timeline in the memorandum of agreement that we have made together in the investment contract ""China to Indonesia in Jokowi Dodo's victory in the last election and infrastructure building capital. If not, then we in the name of the Chinese government's authority will seize Kalimantan island as the debt collateral to the Chinese government. We will not hesitate to use force in this matter!!!""The post's caption and the superimposed text on the clip read: ""Hoax or fact??? China wants to take over Kalimantan island as Indonesia's debt collateral.""  Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 19, 2021Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian-controlled parts of Borneo island; the rest of the island belong to Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. China is the second biggest foreign investor in Indonesia. Indonesia's debt to China stands at around $21.47 billion, according to the latest data published by Bank Indonesia, the Indonesian central bank, and the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, making China the fourth largest holder of Indonesia's foreign debts. The clip has been viewed more than 208,000 times after it appeared with a similar claim on YouTube here, here and here; and on Facebook here, here and here.However, the claim is false.A keyword search on Google found the original video of Xi's speech was posted here on the YouTube channel of China's state broadcaster CGTN on October 3, 2013, titled ""President Xi Jinping delivers speech at Indonesia parliament."" The news anchor in the video said in the first few seconds of the broadcast: ""This, of course, is a historic moment for diplomacy between Jakarta and Beijing because Xi Jinping becomes the first-ever foreign leader — not just the first Chinese leader, but the first-ever foreign leader to address politicians inside the Indonesian parliament"".The misleading video corresponds to the CGTN video from the 21:44 mark, where Xi says: ""President Susilo and I have jointly announced our decision to upgrade our bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with a view to building on past achievements and bringing about all-round and in-depth growth of our relationship.""President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in office from 2004 to 2014. He was succeeded by Jokowi, who was sworn in on October 20, 2014. The subtitles in the misleading video do not match Xi's actual speech.The full transcript of Xi's speech, published by China Daily, the state-owned English newspaper, here, shows he did not mention any debt collateral nor Kalimantan.Below are screenshot comparisons between the misleading clip (L) and the CGTN video (R): Screenshot comparisons of the clip in the misleading post (L) and the CGTN video (R)Xi's speech to the Indonesian's parliament in 2013 was also reported by Indonesian media outlets, such as Kompas and Detik.com.",,This video does not show Chinese president demanding Indonesia's island as 'debt collateral',,,,,, +49,1,1,5,False,juanli324,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FH4XQ-1,"Cuban President announced his resignation on July 17, 2021.",2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"After thousands of Cubans marched in anti-government protests, Chinese-language social media posts claimed that President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced he would resign in a televised broadcast on July 17. The claim is false: Diaz-Canel criticised what he said was a ""false narrative"" of the unrest, but did not say he would step down. As of July 26, 2021, he was still serving as Cuba's president. ""This morning (July 17) Havana Time, the Community Party of Cuban's president and first secretary Miguel Diaz-Canel announced in a televised broadcast: Resigned from public office and party leadership,"" reads a traditional Chinese-language tweet posted on July 18.""Full launch of political deepening and economic reforms, new foreign relations policy, free elections in the country, and participation of the Cuban Communist Party in the election of congressmen as a political party. This means Cuba has been released from its one-party dictatorship."" A screenshot, taken on July 21, 2021, of the misleading post. ( AFP)In mid-July 2021, thousands of Cubans joined anti-government protests in 40 cities. AFP reported on the unrest here.A similar claim was shared on Facebook here and here and on Twitter here and here.The claim is, however, false. A keyword search on Google found a transcript of Diaz-Canel's speech on July 17.It was published here on the president's official site.  A screenshot, taken on July 26, 2021, of the Cuba President's speech transcript. ( AFP)At the rally, he decried what he said was the dissemination of ""false images"" on social networks that ""glorify the outrage and destruction of property."" ""What the world is seeing of Cuba is a lie,"" he saidDiaz-Canel did not announce he would resign from office. As of July 26, he remained in power. AFP found no credible news reports about his purported resignation.",,Cuban president did not 'announce resignation' immediately after anti-government protests,,,,,, +50,1,1,5,Altered Image,Multiple sources,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FP4T6-1,Aam Admi Party billboard says,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"An image of a billboard advert from an Indian opposition party that purports to include a pro-Muslim message has been shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook posts. The image, however, has been doctored from a photo of a billboard that displayed a different message. The misleading image was shared here in a Facebook group with more than 250,000 followers.It purports to show a billboard advertisement from India's opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).The advert appears to read: ""Gujarat will read Namaz. Quit useless traditions like Bhagwat Gita week and Satyanarayan Katha."" Screenshot of post with morphed image taken on July 23, 2021.Namaz is a form of prayer performed by the Muslim community.The Bhagavad Gita and the Satyanarayan Katha are Hindu religious texts. The post's Hindi-language caption translates to English as: ""Watch the disgusting election campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat... The board reads in Gujarati, - 'Gujarat will read Namaz. Quit unnecessary tendencies like Bhagavad Gita Week and Satyanarayan Katha.' ""The post circulated online as the AAP prepared for the 2022 state legislative assembly elections in Gujarat. The build-up to the elections was reported by Indian newspaper The Hindu here.India's ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained a stronghold over the state since 1995.The post was also shared on Facebook by several other accounts, for example here, here, here and here. However, the image of the billboard has been manipulated.The original image was published here and here on the official Twitter accounts of the AAP in Gujarat. Below is a comparison of the manipulated image in the Facebook posts (L) and the image of the billboard posted by the AAP (R):  On the original billboard, the text reads: ""Now Gujarat will change"".In the manipulated image, this was replaced with: ""Gujarat will read Namaz.""Text was added to the manipulated billboard's middle section.In the original image, Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia appears on the left. He does not have a beard and can be seen wearing a different cap to the man pictured in the doctored image.The AAP debunked the manipulated billboard image in a Facebook post here. Screenshot of the post made by AAP on July 12, 2021. The post's caption reads: ""Another Fake News BustedRise of AAP in Gujarat is giving sleepless nights to BJP.""",,Image of Indian political party's billboard doctored to include pro-Muslim message,,,,,, +51,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple sources,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL9QQ-1,Boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao took only three months to finish his bachelor’s degree,2021-06-24,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts in the Philippines claim boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao earned his university diploma in only three months, suggesting his degree was fraudulently conferred. The posts are misleading: an official from the University of Makati, where Pacquiao obtained a political science degree, said he finished the diploma in 16 months and that his government experience counted as academic credit. The misleading posts also misrepresent images related to Pacquiao's university attendance.""If only it was like this for everyone,"" reads a Tagalog-language tweet posted on June 24, 2021.The tweet features an illustration which claims Pacquiao enrolled at the University of Makati in September 2019 and then graduated three months later in December 2019.  Screenshot of misleading post taken on July 21, 2021Similar posts were shared on Facebook here, here and here.The posts prompted accusations from social media users that Pacquiao's degree was fraudulently conferred.""Bachelor of Science in most courses is 4 to 5 years schooling. . . . seems Pacquiao earned his degree by magic or in a diploma mill,"" one person commented.The post emerged following a public skirmish between Pacquiao and President Rodrigo Duterte over the latter's handling of the South China Sea dispute with Beijing.Until recently, Pacquiao was a high-profile backer of Duterte and his controversial drug war, which International Criminal Court prosecutors want to investigate for the alleged unlawful killing of possibly tens of thousands of people.However, the posts claiming Pacquiao earned his degree in three months are misleading.University degreeA spokesman for the University of Makati said that Pacquiao took a 16-month degree in political studies.""Per the certificate of registration from our registrar's office, [he enrolled in] July 2018,"" Elyxzur Ramos, vice president for academic affairs at the University of Makati, told AFP.""He took the modular program for 16 months, until November 2019. He graduated from this university in December [2019], which was our mid-year graduation.""The senator enrolled in the university’s College of Continuing, Advanced and Professional Studies, where degrees count certain professional experience as academic credit, Ramos said.The political science degree that Pacquiao earned was designed for qualified Philippine government officials and can be completed in between six and 22 months, he added.The degree programme's launch in 2011 was reported by local media here and here; and announced on this local government website.Misrepresented imagesFurthermore, the images shared in the social media posts have been taken out of context.Reverse image searches and keyword searches found the first image was posted on Pacquiao’s official Facebook account on September 6, 2019.However, it does not indicate that the senator had only just enrolled, as the posts claim.""Never stop learning because life never stops teaching,"" the Facebook post reads. The second image, which shows Pacquiao's graduation, was taken from this report by broadcaster ABS-CBN on December 11, 2019.""Senator Manny Pacquiao with his family during his graduation from the course Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Makati this Wednesday,” the image's Tagalog-language caption reads.",,Social media posts mislead on boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao's university degree,,,,,, +52,1,1,5,False,Joe Biden,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR7KY-1,Vaccinated people won't get Covid-19,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"US President Joe Biden claimed during a CNN town hall that vaccinated people will not get Covid-19. This is false; despite the high efficacy of the shots, infections still occur among the fully vaccinated population, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.""You're not gonna get Covid if you have these vaccinations,"" Biden said during the July 21, 2021 event, which came as the Covid-19 pandemic is again surging in the United States, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. US President Joe Biden (L) participates in a CNN Town Hall meeting hosted by Don Lemon (R) at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 21, 2021 ( AFP / Saul Loeb)But Biden's claim is inaccurate: the vaccines are very effective, but cases among vaccinated people are possible.The CDC said that as of July 12, it had received reports of 5,492 patients with Covid-19 ""breakthrough"" infections being hospitalized or dying, out of a total of more than 159 million fully vaccinated people in the United States.""Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing infection and even more effective in preventing the serious illness that results in hospitalization and death,"" but no vaccine is 100 percent effective, Tom Skinner, senior public affairs officer at the CDC, told AFP on July 23. During a briefing at the White House on July 22, Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed a reporter's question regarding the president's remarks on vaccination, saying that vaccinated people were ""largely protected.""""That was the point he was trying to make last night,"" she said.During the town hall, Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated. ""It's really kind of basic,"" he said, at a time when the US vaccination rate has significantly slowed.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous other inaccurate claims related to Covid-19 and vaccines.July 26, 2021 This story was updated to correct the spelling of exaggerated in the headline.",,Joe Biden exaggerated Covid-19 vaccine efficacy,,,,,, +53,1,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR69F-1,Publix supermarket chain will stop carrying Ben & Jerry's,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook posts feature an image of an announcement from US supermarket chain Publix saying it will no longer carry Ben & Jerry's because of the ice cream company's decision to stop sales in occupied Palestinian territories. This is false; Publix says it has not dropped Ben & Jerry's products, and made no such statement on its website or social media accounts. ""Due to the recent statement by Ben & Jerry's We will no longer be carrying their products, effective immediately! We stand with Israel!"" reads the text of an image in a July 20, 2021 Facebook post that appears to show a Publix announcement. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on July 23, 2021The post, which was apparently first published on a private account, was shared as a screenshot in several Facebook groups, and by a UK page supporting Israel's Likud party. Others shared the image on Twitter.The purported announcement circulated on social media following Ben & Jerry's July 19 statement saying it would stop selling its products in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, namely the West Bank and East Jerusalem, because doing so is ""inconsistent with our values."" The move prompted a backlash in Israel and parts of the US.However, Publix -- which did not respond to AFP's requests for comment by the time of publication -- says it does not plan to remove Ben & Jerry's products.""While we currently don't plan to remove Ben & Jerry's from our stores, we'll continue evaluating products based on sales,""  the company's customer service Twitter account @PublixHelps wrote in response to questions over the authenticity of the claim. Screenshot of a tweet taken on July 23, 2021Publix has also not announced on Twitter or on Facebook that it is ceasing sales of the company's ice cream, and its webpage dedicated to news releases makes no mention of Ben & Jerry's.Various Ben & Jerry's products are also still available on Publix's website.Public pressureThe fake announcement was shared as the company faces public pressure on Publix to ban Ben & Jerry's products from its stores. A petition on change.org asking Publix and Winn Dixie, another supermarket chain, to stop selling the ice cream, was signed by more than 450 people at the time of publication.A search for the words ""Publix Israel"" on social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle also shows that a Facebook account shared a message encouraging people to email Publix CEO Todd Jones about Ben & Jerry's in at least 10 different groups related to Florida, where the supermarket chain is headquartered. Screenshot of a CrowdTangle search for ""Publix Israel"" taken on July 23, 2021On July 20, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned consumer goods giant Unilever, of which Ben & Jerry's is a subsidiary, that the decision would have ""severe consequences."" The Israeli government has for years been fighting a BDS movement, which calls for boycott, divestment and sanction of the Jewish state over its policies toward Palestinians.",,Fake announcement says US supermarket chain dropping Ben & Jerry's products,,,,,, diff --git a/output_sample_afpfactcheck.csv b/output_sample_afpfactcheck.csv new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9b3aa1d --- /dev/null +++ b/output_sample_afpfactcheck.csv @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +,rating_ratingValue,rating_worstRating,rating_bestRating,rating_alternateName,creativeWork_author_name,creativeWork_datePublished,creativeWork_author_sameAs,claimReview_author_name,claimReview_author_url,claimReview_url,claimReview_claimReviewed,claimReview_datePublished,claimReview_source,claimReview_author,extra_body,extra_refered_links,extra_title,extra_tags,extra_entities_claimReview_claimReviewed,extra_entities_body,extra_entities_keywords,extra_entities_author,related_links +0,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FP3CE-1,Propolis throat spray treats coronavirus in the throat,2021-07-16,factcheck_afp,,"As Thailand's healthcare system struggled to cope with surging Covid-19 cases in July, multiple Facebook posts claimed a brand of throat spray could ""contain the infection"". The posts are misleading: health experts say the throat spray has not been proven to treat or cure Covid-19. The posts also shared false claims about other home remedies that experts say do not treat or cure the virus.The claim was shared here on Facebook on July 20, 2021.The post has been shared more than 15,000 times.The post's Thai-language caption translates in part as: ""The coronavirus stays in the throat for four days, before it enters the lungs. During this time, we will have symptoms such as itchy throat, dry throat, coughing or sore throat, increased temperature, weakened respiratory system, and the loss of taste.""During this time, you should use lime, vinegar, salt, strong alcohol, and mix them with warm water to rinse your throat. Drink warm water or use propolis extract throat spray to help reduce and contain the infection."" ""Propolis"" refers to a substance obtained from beehives that appears to work against bacteria, viruses, and fungi.A throat spray containing the extract is commercially available in Thailand under the name Propoliz -- approved by the kingdom's Food and Drug Administration as a sore throat remedy.The misleading post circulated online as the kingdom endured its worst Covid-19 wave, with hospitals buckling under the pressure of record daily infections, AFP reported. Similar claims were also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here, and here. These posts are misleading, according to multiple experts.Throat spray""There is not yet enough scientific evidence to use [propolis throat spray] for Covid-19 symptoms,"" Dr. Thira Woratanarat, an associate professor at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP on July 27.""The research requires more clinical trials.""While several studies have been conducted on the efficacy of propolis against Covid-19, they were done with small sample sizes, Dr. Thira said.""You have to be careful if they claim it has properties against Covid-19,"" he said.Jessada Denduangboripant, a professor at Chulalongkorn University's Department of Biology, told AFP that the claim propolis throat spray works against Covid-19 is ""an exaggeration"". ""Propolis is a natural substance which existed in beehives. It does not have enough power to treat Covid-19.""Home remediesAFP has previously debunked here, here and here claims that gargling various substances, drinking warm water or consuming alcohol can prevent or cure Covid-19 .The World Health Organization (WHO) states: ""If you have any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, call your health care provider or COVID-19 hotline for instructions and find out when and where to get a test, stay at home for 14 days away from others and monitor your health.""If you have shortness of breath or pain or pressure in the chest, seek medical attention at a health facility immediately.""No evidenceThe claim that the coronavirus stays in the throat for four days is not supported by ""any evidence"", according to Dr. Thiravat Hemachudha, head of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Health Science Center at Chulalongkorn University.""Each person's response to the infection is different that's why the severity of symptoms between us [is] not the same"", he told AFP.",,Thai social media users share misleading claim about 'Covid-19 throat spray',,,,,, +1,1,1,5,False,Multiple persons,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GF7PU-1,This photo shows a political rally for Asaduddin Owaisi in India,2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared hundreds of times in multiple social media posts that claim it shows a large rally for an Indian Muslim politician during the pandemic. The claim is false: the photo shows an Islamic procession in Bangladesh in 2019.The image was shared in a Hindi-language tweet posted on July 19.The caption translates to English as: ""Huge crowd of a specific community gathered in UP’s Moradabad in Asaduddin Owaisi’s rally and here we are, entangled over BJP, BSP and SP. You people too should stop being in any delusion and think about your future"".""UP"" refers to India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.Asaduddin Owaisi is leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party and member of parliament for Hyderabad in India's southern Telangana state. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 25, 2021The post emerged online after speculation about the AIMIM teaming up with other parties in a bid to defeat the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh's upcoming assembly elections in February 2022. The post also misleadingly suggests India's Muslims are permitted to gather for certain political events, while Hindus have been banned from gathering for religious festivals.The photo was posted with a similar claim here, here, and here on Facebook. However, the claim is false.A reverse image search on Google found the photo was published in this Facebook post on November 26, 2019. It was uploaded by photographer Faisal bin Latif in a post about a religious procession in the Bangladeshi city of Chattogram. A photo of the event shared by Faisal bin Latif on 26 November, 2019He also uploaded an album of photos showing the same event on photo-sharing website Flickr.The album's title reads: ""Jashney Julus, Miladunnabi, November 2019.”AFP found a similar video here on a Bengali-language YouTube channel showing a scene that corresponds with the image in the misleading posts.The video's title states that it shows the Miladun Nabi procession in Chattogram in November 2019.Miladun Nabi is an Islamic festival observed by Muslims as Prophet Mohammed’s birthday according to the Islamic calendar.In 2019, the festival was celebrated on November 10 in Bangladesh. Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube video's one-minute 17-second mark (R): Comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube videoThe same procession was also reported by Bengali news website Banglanews24.com on November 10, 2019.AFP found a similar structure pictured in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R): Similarity between the image in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R) snapshotAFP previously debunked posts sharing the same photo alongside a claim they showed the funeral procession of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed while covering fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban.",,Bangladesh religious procession image shared in false posts about Indian political rally,,,,,, +2,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9F66BR-1,Consuming durian before or after Covid-19 vaccination can cause death,2021-06-22,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook users in Malaysia are sharing posts that warn against eating durian before or after receiving a Covid-19 jab because it can be ""fatal"". Some of the posts share a photo of a man who purportedly died a day after he was vaccinated because he ate the fruit. The claim is false. The Malaysian deputy health minister said the warning has no medical basis, while police told AFP a post-mortem examination found the man died from heart disease. The claim was shared on June 22, 2021, on Facebook here.The Chinese-language post reads: ""Tell family and friends not to eat durian before or after vaccination. The friend of a person in my garden was vaccinated, and died the next day after eating durian. It is necessary to know and better to be cautious. Life is precious, and it's a pity to lose life due to a moment of ignorance."" Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on July 13, 2021The claim was also shared on Facebook in Chinese here and in Malaysian here.Some posts, including here, here and here, share a photo of a man wearing a pink T-shirt, claiming it shows the man who was vaccinated and purportedly died after consuming durian.However, the claims are false.""Medically speaking, no one has said that. Even in the medical books, it has never been raised that people should not eat durian after getting their vaccine. This is wrong,"" said Malaysian Deputy Health Minister Noor Azmi Ghazali, reported by local media here and here.Malaysia’s Ministry of Health (KKM) posted on June 23, 2021, rejecting the claim as ""false news"". Berita palsu. Jangan sebar atau berkongsi. pic.twitter.com/onVjuvhvy2 — KKMalaysia (@KKMPutrajaya) June 23, 2021 The statement was also shared on its official Facebook page here.The man in the photo was identified as Cheah Kum Seng , 49, who lost consciousness while buying food at a restaurant and was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on June 21, 2021, according to local news reports here and here.In a media statement sent to AFP on July 26, 2021, Sentul district police chief, Assistant Commisioner Beh Eng Lai, said: ""A post-mortem examination was conducted on June 22, 2021, and the cause of death was 'ischemic heart disease'. The case is classified as sudden death.""",,Malaysian authorities rubbish posts linking 'Covid-19 vaccine death' to eating durian,,,,,, +3,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple sources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FM2DM-1,Make-A-Wish denies certain wishes to unvaccinated children,2021-06-28,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple social media posts shared in June 2021 claim a US charity that grants ""wishes"" to critically ill children will no longer reward them if they are unvaccinated against Covid-19. The claim is misleading: the posts shared an edited video from the charity's CEO in which he outlined vaccination requirements for rewards that involve air travel and large gatherings. The charity told AFP that its Covid-19 vaccine policy will not apply to children who have received an end-of-life prognosis.The misleading Facebook post about US charity Make-A-Wish was published here on June 28, 2021.""WE’VE [REACHED] A NEW LOW. I always wondered what level of madness was required before ordinary citizens would engage in ACTS OF PURE EVIL,"" the text below the image reads.""When Make-a-Wish forces terminally ill kids & their families to be injected with an experimental genetic agent otherwise they’ll discriminate against and refuse a dying child their last wish, even though the W.H.O recommends not injecting children - we have reached that point."" The post's caption reads: ""How low can humanity go?! Really low!! I recon (sic) there is lower tho (sic)...prove me wrong humans"". A screenshot of the post as of July 27, 2021.A YouTube video has been shared in the Facebook post.It is titled: ""Make-A-Wish will only grant certain wishes to fully vaccinated wish kids"". However, the video is no longer available on YouTube as the user's account has been terminated.Other instances of the claim appear on Facebook here and here, as well as on Twitter here and Telegram here.However, the claim is misleading.Edited videoA reverse image search of the archived version of the YouTube video in the misleading posts found this original video dated June 10, 2021.It features Make-A-Wish America CEO Richard Davis speaking about updates to the charity's Covid-19 policies.In March 2020, the charity postponed all ""wishes"" that involved major travel due to the pandemic.In the two-minute, 22-second video, Davis says all participants for ""wishes"" involving air travel within the US and large gatherings must be fully vaccinated from September 15, 2021.Davis' announcement can be seen below: “We respect everyone’s freedom of choice,” Davis says in the full video, in which he also acknowledges that some children may be too young or too ill to be vaccinated.“We can’t wait until Sept. 15, when we can expand the types of life-changing wishes we can grant.”Charity statementIn a June 28 statement on its website, the charity said it ""has not, does not and will not deny wishes to children who are not vaccinated.""""Since the beginning of the pandemic, Make-A-Wish has safely granted over 6,500 wishes to children and families – regardless of vaccination status. Make-A-Wish will continue to grant wishes to children who are not vaccinated,"" the statement reads.The vaccine policy does not apply to children who have received an end-of-life prognosis, according to the statement.The charity said it would not require anyone to get vaccinated in order to receive a wish.",,This video has been edited -- US charity says it will continue to grant 'wishes' to unvaccinated children,,,,,, +4,5,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GE6MH-1,"All Covid-19 hospital patients were vaccinated, except for one",2021-07-25,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple social media posts shared in July 2021 claim that all Covid-19 patients being treated in hospitals in the Australian state of New South Wales had been vaccinated. The claim is misleading: as of July 26, all of the hospitalised Covid-19 patients were unvaccinated except for one, the state's health authority told AFP.The misleading claim was published in this Instagram post on July 25, 2021.It reads: ""Vaccinated getting Covid??! Out of these Covid cases ALL ARE FULLY VACCINATED (two doses) EXCEPT ONE WHO ONLY HAD ONE DOSE. Why are the vaccinated getting Covid and the unvaccinated are not?! WAKE UP"". A screenshot of the misleading post as of July 26, 2021.The post circulated online following an announcement on July 25 that there were 141 patients being treated for Covid-19 in hospitals in New South Wales, including 43 people in intensive care.The video in the post features a portion of a press conference with Dr Jeremy McAnulty, an official at NSW Health, giving details on new Covid-19 cases.Other instances of the claim appear on Instagram here, here and here. A similar claim appeared here on Facebook. The claim is misleading.A spokesperson for NSW Health told AFP on July 26 that the claims were ""incorrect.""""All [patients in hospital] were unvaccinated save for one,"" the spokesperson said.The misleading claim circulated online after McAnulty misspoke in a press conference broadcast here live by ABC on July 25. At around the six-minute mark, he said: ""141 people are in hospital with Covid at present, and 43 are in intensive care, 18 of whom require ventilation ... all but one person are vaccinated, one person has received one dose of vaccine."" When asked to clarify his remark, McAnulty acknowledged that he had misspoken.At around the 34-minute mark, he clarified: ""Of the 43 patients in intensive care units, 42 have not been vaccinated. One person had a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.""",,Posts mislead on proportion of vaccinated Covid-19 victims in Australian state's hospitals,,,,,, +5,1,1,5,False,Hal Turner Radio Show,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GJ3LG-1,French president's entire security force resigned,2021-07-24,factcheck_afp,,"A French member of parliament and an American radio host claimed that Emmanuel Macron's entire security detail resigned to protest the French president's initiative imposing health passes to participate in many aspects of public life. This is false; the Republican Guard did not resign, and it is tasked with presidential palace security, not his direct physical safety.""Protective Detail of France President ALL Resign over COVID Restrictions; will no longer protect President Macron,"" reads the headline of a July 24, 2021 article on the website of the Hal Turner Radio Show, a conspiracy-oriented program AFP has fact-checked before. Below the headline, a photo shows members of the Garde Républicaine, or Republican Guard, an elite French army corps tasked with special missions. Screenshot of an online article taken on July 26, 2021""The Republican Guard, a security detail established to protect the President of France, have ALL resigned, and will no longer protect President Macron!"" the article says of the 2,800-strong force.The Covid-19 restrictions mentioned in the headline refer to a decree by Macron that required proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test to be able to attend events or enter places with more than 50 people. The ""health pass"" will be extended to restaurants, cafes and shopping centers in August. This was formalized into law by the country's parliament on July 25, 2021, despite widespread protests against it.However, the Republican Guard did not resign in relation to this law, and is not tasked with the French president's immediate physical safety.The unit responsible for direct personal protection of the French head of state is the Groupe de sécurité de la présidence de la République, whose members hail from both the police and the Gendarmerie.The Republican Guard is a French army unit tasked with ""public safety missions and protocol representation,"" according to its official webpage. Its members are not in charge of the direct safety of the French president like the US Secret Service, but they indirectly play this role by ensuring the security of the Elysee Palace, where the president lives. A spokesperson for the Gendarmerie told AFP on July 26, 2021 that the Republican Guard ""is still"" performing its palace duties. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French army tasked with law enforcement roles, to which the Republican Guard answers. On social media, neither the Garde Républicaine nor the Gendarmerie, nor any French media, mentioned a mass resignation of the force's members.The false claims regarding the Republican Guard began when Martine Wonner, an independent member of parliament in France, claimed in a video that the force no longer wished to protect Macron.Wonner is a Covid-skeptic who was part of the government's party before she was ousted due to her controversial stances.She also faced calls from her opposition party to quit that group after she urged people to lay siege to MPs who approved the health pass.Before the vaccine passport law can be applied, it must be approved by France's highest administrative authority, the Constitutional Council, which will vote on it on August 5.",,French president's security detail did not resign over Covid-19 bill,,,,,, +6,1,1,5,False,Multiple authors,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR6XQ-1,Aborted foetus cells in Covid-19 mRNA vaccines,2021-07-15,factcheck_afp,,"A video shared hundreds of times on Facebook in South Africa and Zambia claims that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines contain cells taken from aborted human foetuses. The claim is false: the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa told AFP Fact Check that Covid-19 vaccines do not contain cells from aborted foetuses or other human tissue.The three-minute clip has been shared more than 330 times since it was posted on Facebook on July 17, 2021.Besides including the claim that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines contain aborted human foetal matter, the video makes two other unsubstantiated claims: that the vaccines can alter a person’s DNA and that they can render people sterile. Screenshot of the false post, taken on July 20, 2021The clip, which was extracted from a longer video originally posted here on YouTube on February 5, 2021, features preacher Joshua Maponga interviewing guest Mike Southwood in a show dubbed “why Africans should not take vaccine (sic)”.The Zimbabwe-born Maponga lives in South Africa and is an author of several books and has a large following on social media. He also runs Galaxy Universal Network, a media production company in South Africa.Southwood — who makes the false and unsubstantiated claims during his interview — is the founder of the Unity Group in South Africa, which styles itself as a governance reform movement. According to media, Southwood is also the administrator of the #EndTheLockdownMzanzi group, which has been urging South Africans to defy Covid-19 lockdown laws. A shorter version of the clip was published here on Facebook in South Africa on July 15, 2021, and shared more than 600 times.How mRNA vaccines workPfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines are made from messenger RNA. The two vaccines work by giving a “blueprint” of a part of the virus that the body can then recognise and fight when confronted by it later.The vaccines use tiny fat bubbles called lipid nanoparticles to encapsulate fragile mRNA molecules and the information they contain to protect them until they can be safely delivered into cells without being degraded by the body’s enzymes. However, the claim made in the clip that the vaccines include aborted foetus cells is false. No material from aborted foetusesProfessor Penny Moore, from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), told AFP Fact Check that Covid-19 vaccines do not contain cells from aborted foetuses or any other human material.“They are produced through high-tech molecular biology approaches and in cultures in rigorously controlled laboratories,” said Moore.The World Health Organization (WHO) told AFP Fact Check that “the new mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer and Moderna, are synthetic vaccines and do not use foetal cell lines in their production.”What are cell lines?According to the WHO, vaccines are made by growing cultures of the target virus or bacterium: “Viruses need to grow in cells and so vaccine viruses are often grown in eggs (such as the influenza vaccine) or in cell lines derived from mammals, including humans.”The cell lines that are used to grow the viruses originate from a primary culture of cells from an organ of a single animal that has been propagated repeatedly in a laboratory, often over many decades.AFP Fact Check has previously debunked social media posts claiming that Covid-19 vaccines contain MRC-5, which the posts claim are “aborted foetal cells and other DNA”.The best known human cell line is MRC-5, or Medical Research Council cell strain 5, which are cells used to grow viruses for vaccines against rubella, chickenpox and hepatitis A in laboratories. MRC-5 was originally derived from the lung tissue of an aborted foetus in the 1960s but has since been grown without recourse to foetal tissue.The History of Vaccines, an educational tool developed by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, states that “in total, only two foetuses, both obtained from abortions done by maternal choice, have given rise to the human cell strains used in vaccine development”.The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine — which is not an mRNA but a viral vector vaccine — used a human cell line developed from the retinal cells of a foetus aborted in 1985 in its early production stage. But, the WHO said, “no foetal material is present” in the final J&J Covid-19 vaccine product or any other vaccine that uses human cell lines in early production stages.A spokesperson for the Oxford Vaccine Group, an organisation that was involved in producing the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, told AFP Fact Check that during its development, they used HEK-293 cells.The HEK-293 cell line was originally cultivated from a foetus aborted in the Netherlands in the early 1970s. The NICD’s Moore added that human cell lines were used only in the early stages of the production of some vaccines. “For all vaccines that use cell lines during early production stages, all cells are removed during the purification process and the final vaccine product does not contain this material.”The WHO told AFP Fact Check that it is not aware of any vaccines currently being developed for Covid-19 that contain cell lines obtained from foetal tissue. mRNA Covid-19 vaccines do not alter people’s DNA The unsubstantiated claim that mRNA vaccines can modify human DNA has been widely rejected by scientists. AFP Fact Check has previously debunked the claim here and here.Matthew Miller, an associate professor with the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Science at McMaster University in Canada, was quoted in a previous AFP Fact Check from March 2021 as saying that “mRNA is the code for proteins. It does not alter the DNA of your cells. Indeed, your cells naturally make mRNA from DNA.”Barry Pakes, an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, told AFP Fact Check in April 2021 that “the mRNA cannot be integrated into the human genome. We (humans) lack the enzymes to reverse transcribe mRNA to DNA”.The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also refutes the claim that Covid-19 vaccines can alter people’s DNA.“Covid-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. Both mRNA and viral vector CovidD-19 vaccines deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes Covid-19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept,” the organisation states on its website.Vaccines do not cause infertilityIn the video, Southwood claims that Covid-19 vaccines can cause infertility. “We believe that there are a lot of things in this vaccine that will render people sterile…”The CDC states on its website that “there is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including Covid-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant)”.Kate White, an obstetrics and gynaecology professor at Boston School of Medicine, told AFP Fact Check in March 2021 that “there’s no vaccine in the world that can cause infertility”.Dasantila Golemi-Kotra, a microbiologist at York University, told AFP that “vaccine-induced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are unlikely to cross-react with the syncytin-1 or -2 in the body and lead to infertility”.Golemi-Kotra explained that the misinformation could be stemming from the fact that the anti-spike protein antibodies and the syncytin-1 protein of the placenta share a “very short amino acid region”.But this doesn’t mean that the immune system would attack the syncytin protein. The immune system can “recognise a surface in their target protein, which rarely is confined to a single short amino acid sequence,” she said.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous claims about Covid-19 vaccines, available here.",,mRNA Covid-19 vaccines do not contain cells from aborted human foetuses,,,,,, +7,1,1,5,False,Jane Ruby and Stew Peters,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FM82U-1,Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine contains dangerous graphene oxide,2021-07-07,factcheck_afp,,"A video featuring a US pundit who claims the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is dangerous because it contains the nanoparticle graphene oxide has been watched more than a million times on social media. But the claims are based on a study whose methodology experts have questioned, Pfizer said the substance is not used in the manufacturing of its shot, and researchers told AFP there is no evidence graphene oxide is used in any vaccines currently on the market.""BREAKING DISCOVERY! The ACTUAL CONTENTS Inside Pfizer Vials EXPOSED!"" says text promoting a segment from the ""Stew Peters Show"" on Canadian video sharing platform Rumble.Peters discusses the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with Jane Ruby -- a self-described ""health economist and New Right political pundit"" whom AFP has fact-checked before. Screenshot taken on July 22, 2021 of a video from the Stew Peters Show shared on RumbleRuby claims that she read an English translation of the Spanish research that shows the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine is dangerous because it contains graphene oxide.Graphene oxide is a derivative of graphene, which has been reported to have antibacterial and antiviral properties. Graphene is super strong, ultra thin and has potential applications in a range of industries.""It's virtually 99.99 percent graphene oxide,"" Ruby says of the shot, while also claiming the substance is a ""poison"" and that it ""destroys literally everything in the cell.""Clips from the segment can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, and the video-sharing platform BitChute.It is part of a torrent of inaccurate claims about vaccines that have proliferated across the internet as countries around the world seek to immunize their populations against Covid-19.The same claim was amplified by GlobalResearch.ca, a Canadian website that the US State Department has described as ""deeply enmeshed in Russia's broader disinformation and propaganda ecosystem."" But the ingredients of all the Covid-19 vaccines authorized for use in the US and Canada (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca) are publicly listed and do not include graphene oxide.Pfizer spokeswomanDervila Keane confirmed to AFP on July 8, 2021 that ""graphene oxide is not used in the manufacture of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.""Spanish studyIn the video, Ruby is referencing a Spanish study published by Dr Pablo Campra at the end of June. The study was not published in a scientific journal, and has not been subjected to peer review.In it, Campra says that Ricardo Delgado requested the study. Delgado is the founder of La Quinta Columna (Fifth Column), a group that has spread misleading information about masks and PCR tests. Their claims about graphene in Covid-19 shots -- including that it generates electromagnetic properties in humans -- were debunked by AFP Factual in early June.To conduct the study, Campra examined a single sample of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine using optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). He then compared the images with those in other scientific literature.He said he found ""solid evidence of the probable presence of graphene derivatives"". Ester Vazquez, an expert in graphene health and safety who works with the European Commission's Graphene Flagship research group, told AFP on July 13 that she had read the study and found it ""rather inconclusive.""She said that microscopy is not an adequate method to study the presence of graphene or graphene oxide.""The tests carried out are insufficient to characterize graphene. It only shows some microscopy images that resemble pictures of graphene and graphene oxide in the literature. However, this is far from scientific proof -- graphene identification would require further analysis using other techniques,"" Vazquez said.Contacted by AFP about the study, Campra said on July 14: ""Our finding is that 99 percent of UV absorbance does not come from RNA, and its signal is compatible with graphene. But, many other substances show the same signal. We found microscopic evidence of graphene sheets, but further spectroscopic evidence is needed to confirm this structure.""Campra, who teaches at the University of Almeria, said that the results and conclusions of his report ""do not imply any institutional position"" of the school.The university issued a statement on July 2 on Twitter distancing itself from the study -- which it called ""unofficial"" -- saying it used methodology that lacked transparency.The methodology of the study was also questioned in a fact check by Health Feedback, a network of scientists, which concluded that Campra did not adhere to ""traceability"" protocols. This leaves the origin of his sample unclear, and makes it impossible to know if it was contaminated during the investigation process.Graphene in vaccinesProfessor Hong Byung-hee, an expert in nanomaterials at Seoul National University, told AFP for another fact-check on July 19 that ""graphene is being tested for biomedical purposes, including for vaccines, but these applications are still in an experimental phase and a long wait is expected before they become commercially available following clinical trials.""Graphene oxide is being studied in vaccines as a possible adjuvant, or ingredient to help the shot trigger stronger immune response. It was recently used as an adjuvant in the investigation of an intranasal vaccine against influenza, developed by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, in the United States. This vaccine has only been tested in mice and cell culture.Dr Park Jong-bo, a researcher at Biographene, a company that develops graphene-based medicine, also confirmed on July 20 that ""no vaccines on the market (are) based on graphene oxide.""Vaccines currently in use are ""comprised of phospholipid layers, peptides or nucleic acids, and graphene oxide is not part of these categories,"" Park said.AFP Fact Check has debunked a series of inaccurate claims about vaccines, available in English here.",,Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine does not contain dangerous ingredient,,,,,, +8,1,1,5,False,Joe Biden,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR7KY-1,Vaccinated people won't get Covid-19,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"US President Joe Biden claimed during a CNN town hall that vaccinated people will not get Covid-19. This is false; despite the high efficacy of the shots, infections still occur among the fully vaccinated population, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.""You're not gonna get Covid if you have these vaccinations,"" Biden said during the July 21, 2021 event, which came as the Covid-19 pandemic is again surging in the United States, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. US President Joe Biden (L) participates in a CNN Town Hall meeting hosted by Don Lemon (R) at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 21, 2021 ( AFP / Saul Loeb)But Biden's claim is inaccurate: the vaccines are very effective, but cases among vaccinated people are possible.The CDC said that as of July 12, it had received reports of 5,492 patients with Covid-19 ""breakthrough"" infections being hospitalized or dying, out of a total of more than 159 million fully vaccinated people in the United States.""Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing infection and even more effective in preventing the serious illness that results in hospitalization and death,"" but no vaccine is 100 percent effective, Tom Skinner, senior public affairs officer at the CDC, told AFP on July 23. During a briefing at the White House on July 22, Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed a reporter's question regarding the president's remarks on vaccination, saying that vaccinated people were ""largely protected.""""That was the point he was trying to make last night,"" she said.During the town hall, Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated. ""It's really kind of basic,"" he said, at a time when the US vaccination rate has significantly slowed.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous other inaccurate claims related to Covid-19 and vaccines.July 26, 2021 This story was updated to correct the spelling of exaggerated in the headline.",,Joe Biden exaggerated Covid-19 vaccine efficacy,,,,,, +9,5,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL9LJ-3,Aerial footage of an anti-lockdown protest in Greece in 2021,2021-07-16,factcheck_afp,,"As thousands took to the streets in Greece to protest new coronavirus measures, social media posts shared what they claimed to be footage of the demonstration. However, the claim is false; the video shows a protest in Athens in January 2019 against a controversial agreement to rename Macedonia.""Greece Anti Youth [vaccination] Rally. An aerial view, I'd say from these images, the People have had a gutful,"" reads a Facebook post published on July 16, 2021.The video shared alongside the post shows a large demonstration, with many people displaying Greek flags. A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post as of July 22, 2021.The same video was widely shared on social media alongside similar claims, including here and here on Facebook, as well as on Instagram and Twitter.Thousands of people gathered on July 14 in central Athens to protest against new virus measures, after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for all health workers and people entering closed venues such as bars, cinemas and theatres. However, the claim is false. The video in fact shows a different protest in the Greek capital in January 2019, many months before the first Covid-19 cases were reported.A Google reverse image search of keyframes from the video led to this YouTube video from January 21, 2019 about Greeks protesting an agreement to rename Macedonia, now known as North Macedonia.The title of the video reads in Greek: ""Video III - Demonstration for Macedonia. Syntagma Square, 20/01/2019"". Thousands demonstrated in Athen's central Syntagma Square in Athens on January 20, 2019 against Greece's deal with Macedonia that saw it renamed to the Republic of North Macedonia.Macedonia is a former Yugoslav republic, but for most Greeks, Macedonia is the name of their history-rich northern province made famous by Alexander the Great's conquests.Below is a comparison between the video in the misleading post (L) and the YouTube video at 0:19 (R): Similar aerial footage has also been published here in a report about the same demonstration by Greek newspaper Proto Thema on January 20, 2019.The Greek article's headline reads: ""The big rally for Macedonia in 20 photos"".The article translates to English in part: ""A gathering of different ages took place in Syntagma [the square in front of the Greek parliament] in the big march for Macedonia. From all over Greece, citizens were present responding to the invitation of macedonian unions and associations against the Prespa agreement.""Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the misleading post (L) and a photo published in the Proto Thema report(R):",,This video shows protesters rallying against a deal to rename Macedonia in 2019,,,,,, +10,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL92E-4,Video shows Covid-19 victims' bodies wrapped in plastic bags in Indonesia,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts that claim it shows Covid-19 victims wrapped in plastic bags in Indonesia. The claim is false: the clip actually shows an anti-government protest in Colombia in May 2021. ""In Indonesia, Covid-19 victims were wrapped in a plastic bag. Some people were not even dead. What a sad image! Wish Thailand never has to experience this. Protect yourselves and do not go out,"" reads the Thai-language caption of this video posted on Facebook on July 21, 2021.The video has been viewed more than 4,100 times. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 22, 2021The post circulated online in Thailand after the kingdom's Covid-19 infection and death rates increased, as AFP has reported here. The country has recorded 426, 475 Covid-19 infections and 3,502 deaths as of July 21.The same video was shared here, here, and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.The claim is false: the video actually shows an anti-government protest in Colombia in 2021.A reverse Google image search with video keyframes extracted with InVID-WeVerify, a digital verification tool, found this longer version footage uploaded on YouTube on May 27, 2021.The video's Spanish-language caption translates to English as: ""Performance [packed] in Medellin during a national strike on May 26, 2021. Medellin is Colombia's second-largest city. At the video's nine-minute 13-second mark, a woman can be heard saying: ""Today is Wednesday, May 26 we are in Poblado Park in Medellin.""This is a performance called ""Empaquetados"" [Packed] in homage to the people who have been found dead or to the people who have not appeared. It is a cry for help to know what is happening with the people who until today nobody knows where they are, people who were captured by the police or by civilians accompanied by the police"". Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (L) and the YouTube video (R): Screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (L) and video uploaded on YouTube (R)Colombia has been rocked by protests which broke out late April in opposition to a proposed tax hike under the right-wing administration of President Ivan Duque, AFP reported. The international community has condemned a security response that left more than 60 people dead. A subsequent keyword search found photos of the same event published here on May 28, 2021, by Le Cuento, Colombia-based digital media. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Le cuento (@lecuento_) The photos were credited to Jhonatan Rodriguez, a Colombian photographer. He told AFP he took the photos at an anti-government protest in Medellin on May 26.He said: ""It is an artistic performance that took place on May 26 of this year in Medellin, Colombia. The act of the performance was carried out as a way to protest against the government of Colombia .""Google Street View imagery of Poblado Park also corresponds to the footage shared in the misleading posts. Screenshot of the Google Street View image of Poblado ParkThe event was also reported here on page six of the Colombian newspaper, ADN Medellin, on May 27, 2021.",,This video shows an anti-government protest in Colombia -- not virus victims in Indonesia,,,,,, +11,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FH42Z-1,No Covid-19 patients die outside of hospitals,2021-07-15,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook posts circulating in Indonesia claim that nobody has died from Covid-19 outside of the Southeast Asian nation's hospitals. The posts misleadingly question whether the disease is deadly whilst implying Indonesian hospitals are responsible for its virus deaths. The claims are false: thousands of Covid-19 victims in Indonesia have died outside hospitals, according to data recorded by a volunteer group. AFP and other media have reported people died of Covid-19 while self-isolating at home and elsewhere after hospitals became overwhelmed with patients.The claim was shared in this July 15, 2021, Facebook post.It has received more than 120 likes. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 21, 2021The post's Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: ""THEY SAY IT'S FEROCIOUS AND DEADLY. If Covid-19 is dangerous, why don't people die on the streets, at home, the farms, plantations, markets and shopping malls? They always die of Covid-19 at hospitals. WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH HOSPITALS?????""A similar claim was also posted here, here, here and here. The claim is false.As of July 23, 2021, Indonesian volunteer group Lapor Covid-19 has recorded at least 2,491 people who died of Covid-19 while they were self-isolating at home or in places other than hospitals. AFP has reported that Covid-19 patients have died at home after an explosion of Covid-19 cases overwhelmed hospitals in the Southeast Asian archipelago.AFP photos published here and here show health workers removing the body of a Covid-19 patient who died while isolating at home in Bandung, West Java province. Health workers removed the body of a Covid-19 victim who died while isolating at home in Bandung, West Java province, on July 18, 2021, as skyrocketing Covid-19 cases are overwhelming hospitals in the country. ( AFP / Timur Matahari)Indonesian media sites have also reported Covid-19 patients who died on the street; in a market; in a car park; in a streetside stall and on a pedicab.Indonesia has recorded more than three million Covid-19 cases and more than 79,000 deaths, according to the Indonesian Health Ministry's data on July 22, 2021.",,False claim circulates in Indonesia that 'no Covid-19 victims died outside hospitals',,,,,, +12,1,1,5,False,TLC4SuperTeams,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL2T7-5,Vaccinated people are at greatest risk from coronavirus Delta variant,2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"A Facebook video cites Harvard research to claim that people vaccinated against Covid-19 are at greatest risk from the coronavirus Delta variant that causes the disease. However, a Harvard professor confirmed that the video misrepresents his analysis, and health authorities and studies suggest the best protection from the virus is through vaccination.""Delta Variant Targets Vaxxers,"" says text accompanying a July 18, 2021 Facebook video featuring Jen DePice, a chiropractor and exercise physiologist who goes by ""Dr Jen"" on social media. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken July 21, 2021The highly infectious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has contributed to a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in the United States.Delta is one of four notable variants circulating in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website.In her video, DePice discusses the Delta variant, citing research ""from Harvard"" as evidence to support her claims, and the post links to a Q&A with William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology and a faculty member in the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.However, Hanage says that his remarks do not support DePice's claims in the video.""Not only are all the claims false, but I did not make them,"" he told AFP on July 20.DePice says ""that the people at greatest risk for the Delta variant are the people that are vaccinated, not the people that are unvaccinated that have already had natural exposure,"" attributing this theory to the Harvard analysis, despite the fact that Hanage makes no mention in the Q&A of people who may have a natural immunity to the Covid-19 virus.Hanage told AFP on July 22, 2021 that ""there is pretty good evidence that the quality of immunity following infection is more variable than following immunization with vaccines available in the US.""""So some people who have prior immunity through infection may be well protected, but others won't be,"" he said. He added that immunity can wane over time, and pointed to research that found: ""If you have recovered from infection and get an mRNA vaccine regardless,... you can expect really quite amazing protection against variants.""The CDC recommends getting the Covid-19 vaccine ""regardless of whether you already had Covid-19.""It says: ""Studies have shown that vaccination provides a strong boost in protection in people who have recovered from Covid-19.""Hanage addressed another of DePice's claims in which she states: ""We are not seeing increasing numbers of people hospitalized or deaths around the world even with an increase of Delta variants."" ""This is not true. Hospitalizations and deaths are increasing wherever Delta has emerged,"" Hanage said. Vaccination is key to preventing severe illness and hospitalization.US surgeon general, Dr Vivek Murthy, told CNN's ""State of the Union"" on July 18: ""We are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while if you are vaccinated you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated.""Additional studies suggest that those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 retain protection against the Delta variant.This is indicated in a peer-reviewed article in the scientific journal Nature. A similar conclusion was reached by medical researchers, whose letter on the topic was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.Top US infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci said at a July 16 briefing that vaccines work against Delta.""The message loud and clear that we need to reiterate is that these vaccines continue to (offer) strong protection against SARS-CoV-2, including the Delta variant,"" meaning ""it's so important for yourself, your family, and your community to get vaccinated,"" said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous other inaccurate claims related to Covid-19 and vaccines.",,Vaccinated people do not face greatest risk from coronavirus Delta variant,,,,,, +13,2,1,5,Misleading,Multiple source,2021-07-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FH3YV-2,Turkey never closes mosques during the Covid-19 pandemic,2021-07-14,factcheck_afp,,"An image of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been shared in multiple posts on Facebook alongside a claim that he announced no mosque in Turkey would be closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The claim circulated online in Indonesia after the country imposed social restrictions in early July 2021. The claim is misleading: Turkey previously ordered all mosques to close in March 2020 in a bid to reduce the spread of Covid-19. As of July 22, 2021, AFP found no evidence that Erdogan announced he would not close Turkey's mosques in 2020 or 2021.One post was shared here on Facebook on July 14, 2021. Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 21, 2021The post's Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: ""I hope the Indonesian leader has thoughts like this Turkish leader.""The text superimposed on the picture reads in part: ""'No mosques will be closed in Turkey from the threat of the coronavirus. Closing mosques is more dangerous than the coronavirus.""'Whoever leaves the mosque today, tomorrow he will lose faith because of the False Messiah. Trust in Allah and only Allah will give help'. Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey)"".Indonesia imposed tougher social restrictions on July 3, 2021, after Covid-19 cases grew significantly in the country. Shopping malls and places of worship were shuttered in the hand hard-hit islands of Java and Bali, AFP reported here. On July 9, 2021, however, the restrictions were revised to allow places of worship to open but without communal prayers. A similar claim, along with the photo, has been shared more than 80 times on Facebook here, here, here and here. The claim, however, is misleading. Mosque closuresTurkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs announced on its website here on March 19, 2020, that mosques would be closed.The closures were implemented for Friday, March 20, as well as Saturday, March 21 — when Muslims celebrate the Night of Prophet Mohammed's Ascension.Turkey's English newspaper Hurriyet Daily News also published this report about the mosques closure on March 19, 2020.The headline reads: ""Turkey shutters mosques for Friday prayers and holy night"". Turkey also banned communal prayers in mosques during the pandemic from March 2020 until May 2020. As of July 22, 2021, AFP found no credible report about Erdogan insisting that mosques should remain open throughout the pandemic.Erdogan speechA reverse image search on Yandex followed by subsequent keyword searches found the picture shared in the misleading posts was originally published here on the Associated Press (AP) website on December 3, 2019.It shows Erdogan delivering a speech before travelling to a NATO leaders summit in December 2019.The caption reads: ""Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks before departing to attend a NATO leader's summit in London, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Erdogan says there is no change in Turkey's position that is holding up a NATO defense proposal for Poland and Baltic nations until the alliance supports Ankara's concerns related to Syrian Kurdish fighters.""Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the AP photo (R): Screenshot comparison between the picture in the misleading post (L) and the AP photo (R)",,Indonesian Facebook users share misleading claim about Turkey's mosque closures during pandemic,,,,,, +14,3,1,5,Misleading,multiple sources,2021-07-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FE6UH-1,Vaccines on the market contain carcinogenic graphene oxide,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook posts have repeatedly shared a claim that all commercially available vaccines purportedly contain a cancer-causing substance called graphene oxide. But these posts are misleading: experts separately told AFP that graphene oxide is not used in commercially available vaccines. The most commonly used vaccines go through rigorous testing and have been safely used for decades, according to the World Health Organization.""After investigating the contents of vaccines, 99% was found to be graphene oxide. Like asbestos this causes cancer,"" reads this Korean-language Facebook post on July 12, 2021.""Graphene oxide was found in all vaccines commercially available,"" the post adds. Screenshot of the misleading post. Captured July 20, 2021.Graphene oxide is a derivative of graphene which is reportedly the world's thinnest material first isolated in 2004.A similar claim was also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here and here.But these posts are misleading, according to multiple experts.Graphene oxide ""No vaccines on the market [is] based on graphene oxide,"" Dr Park Jong-bo, a researcher at Biographene, a company that develops graphene-based medicine, told AFP on July 20, 2021.Vaccines currently in use are ""comprised of phospholipid layers, peptides or nucleic acids, and graphene oxide is not part of these categories,"" Park said. The claim that all commercially available vaccines were 99% made up of graphene oxide was ""ungrounded in fact,"" Professor Hong Byung-hee, an expert in nanomaterials at Seoul National University, told AFP on July 19, 2021.""Graphene is being tested for biomedical purposes, including for vaccines, but these applications are still in an experimental phase and a long wait is expected before they become commercially available following clinical trials,"" Hong said.Hong added that the claim that graphene oxide is purportedly like asbestos and causes cancer is misleading.""Graphene has a planar structure, and is very different from asbestos, which has a needle structure,"" he explained.""In the case of graphene oxide... there is some toxicity but relatively little, so the material is being widely researched for use in drug delivery systems and in vivo diagnostic sensors.""Published lists of ingredients in widely used Covid-19 vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen -- do not include graphene oxide. Vaccine safetyVaccines are available for some two dozen diseases including Covid-19, according to this list from the World Health Organization (WHO).""The most commonly used vaccines have been around for decades, with millions of people receiving them safely every year,"" the WHO states here.""Following the introduction of a vaccine, close monitoring continues to detect any unexpected adverse side effects.""",,"Available vaccines do not contain graphene oxide, experts say",,,,,, +15,1,1,5,False,የኢትዮጵያ ብልፅግና ፓርቲ,2021-07-20,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/no-evidence-putin-congratulated-ethiopian-pm-second-filling-controversial-mega-dam,Putin congratulates Ethiopian PM over GERD filling,2021-07-06,factcheck_afp,,"A Facebook post shared hundreds of times on Facebook claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently congratulated Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, on the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia's construction of the mega-dam has been a source of diplomatic tension with its downstream neighbours. However, this is false; the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa told AFP Fact Check that Putin never made any such comments. Furthermore, there is no official evidence of the Russian head of state issuing a statement regarding the GERD filling. The post, archived here, has been shared more than 350 times since it was published on Facebook on July 6, 2021. It was shared from an account called “Ethiopian Prosperity Party”, the political party led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. However, the page is not an official account and was created by a party supporter.  Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 16, 2021The post features an image of Putin and Abiy shaking hands. “Congratulations Ethiopians! The second phase of the Abay dam filling is legitimate and demonstrates the right to use its own natural resources (sic),” reads a quote attributed to the Russian leader translated to English. “A country that has many thousand years of history, an example of freedom that doesn’t bend to oppression, the mother of many proud heroes, congratulations Ethiopia,” it concludes.The post surfaced after the onset of this year’s rainy season, which helped speed up the process of filling the mega-dam. An official told AFP  on July 19, 2021, that Ethiopia had attained its second-year target for filling the mega-dam on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia hit its first target of 4.9 billion cubic metres in July 2020.Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been locked in a tug of war over the use of the Nile ever since Ethiopia started building and filling the GERD using water from the river. Both the governments of Egypt and Sudan have expressed concern that diverting Nile water into the GERD will restrict water supplies in the two countries, affecting millions of people’s livelihoods.Russian embassy denies remarksHowever, the remarks attributed to Putin are fabricated.Valentina Kim, a spokeswoman for the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa, said the leader had not congratulated Abiy. When asked about the false claims, Kim said: “We have not seen them”.“We cannot comment on an event [whose] existence is not proved,” she added. According to the Kremlin’s website, the most recent conversation between both leaders was a phone conversation on April 7, 2020.AFP Fact Check previously debunked a claim that Putin was backing Ethiopia in the dispute over the GERD. Similarly, AFP Fact Check debunked remarks falsely attributed to Putin where he allegedly ridiculed Ethiopia’s prime minister about cloud seeding technology.",,No evidence that Putin congratulated Ethiopian PM on the second filling of controversial mega-dam,,,,,, +16,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-19,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9F63C6-1,Photos show water shortage and COVID-19 crisis in Kejriwal ruled Delhi,2021-07-13,factcheck_afp,,"Politicians from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have shared photos they claim show various crises under the rule of Delhi's chief minister and opposition politician Arvind Kejriwal. The claim is misleading: most of the images were taken before Arvind was elected as Delhi's chief minister, or do not show events in Delhi.""Kejriwal's development model!"" reads a tweet from July 13 by Adesh Gupta, a BJP politician and head of the party's Delhi unit.He has more than 100,000 Twitter followers.The illustration shows Kejriwal, the leader of India's Aam Aadmi Party, alongside photos purportedly depicting water, oxygen, ventilator, and pollution problems in Delhi. Screenshot of misleading post taken on July 16, 2021. ( AFP)Kejriwal was elected Delhi's chief minister in February 2015. Fellow BJP politicians Dheeraj Pradhan and Rachna Garg also shared the photo in posts here, here and here.However, the posts are misleading. Water crisisThe first photo of a crowd of people scrambling for water was taken before Kejriwal took office.A reverse image search on TinEye shows the picture was taken in 2009 in New Delhi.It was captured by photographer Adnan Abidi for Reuters news agency. It can be found on the agency's website here. The photo's caption reads, ""Residents of Sanjay Colony, a residential neighbourhood, crowd around a water tanker provided by the state-run Delhi Jal (water) Board to fill their containers in New Delhi June 30, 2009. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has given directives to tackle the burgeoning water crisis caused by uneven distribution of water in the city according to local media. The board is responsible for supplying water in the capital.""Below is a comparison of the photo used in the misleading post (L) and the photo on Reuters' website (R): Screenshot comparing the misleading post and the original image ( AFP)Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party was formed in October 2012, years after the photo was taken. This photo has previously been shared in a misleading context. AFP debunked posts claiming the photo shows Delhi's water crisis in July 2021.Oxygen crisisThe second photo of oxygen tanks was taken in the city of Prayagraj in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh.A reverse image search on TinEye found the photo was taken by Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).It can be found here on the agency's website. The photo was also used in this article by The Indian Express about the shortage of oxygen in India during the second Covid-19 wave in spring 2021.The photo's caption reads: ""Several states are facing acute oxygen shortage owing to the rising Covid-19 cases. In pic, workers unload oxygen cylinders from a truck at a hospital in Prayagraj. (PTI Photo).""Below is a comparison between the photo used in the misleading post (L) and the photo used in The Indian Express article (R): Screenshot comparing the misleading post and the original image ( AFP)Ventilator crisisThe third photo, which shows a hospital, was taken in Iran, not India.A reverse image search on TinEye shows that the photo was taken in Tehran, Iran.It was captured by photographer Ali Shirband on March 1, 2020 for news agency Associated Press.It can be found on AP's website here. The photo's caption reads: ""In this Sunday, March 1, 2020 photo, a medic treats a patient infected with coronavirus, at a hospital in Tehran, Iran. A member of a council that advises Iran's supreme leader died Monday after falling sick from the new coronavirus, becoming the first top official to succumb to the illness striking both citizens and leaders of the Islamic Republic.""Below is a comparison between the photo shared in the misleading post (L) and the photo on AP's website (R): Screenshot comparing the misleading post and the original image ( AFP)The photo was also used in a news article about Iran's Covid-19 crisis here. Pollution problemThe final photo showing pollution was genuinely taken in Delhi when Kejriwal was in power.A reverse image search on TinEye shows that the photo was taken in October, 2018 by AFP photographer Dominique Faget.It can be found on AFP's website here. The photo caption reads: ""Indian pedestrians walk near the India Gate monument amid heavy smog conditions in New Delhi on October 30, 2018. Smog levels spike during winter in Delhi, when air quality often eclipses the World Health Organization's safe levels. Cooler air traps pollutants -- such as from vehicles, building sites and farmers burning crops in regions outside the Indian capital.""The photo was also used in this news report by AFP about Delhi's air pollution.",,BJP politicians share misleading posts critical of Delhi chief minister,,,,,, +17,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-19,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9F92G2-1,This photo shows a Chinese vessel dumping sewage and human waste in the West Philippine Sea,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared in multiple Twitter and Facebook posts that claim it shows a Chinese shipping vessel dumping human waste in Philippine waters. The claim is false: the photo has in fact circulated in reports about dredging off the coast of Australia.""Chinese vessels dumping human waste part of west philippine sea,"" reads the caption to this photo shared on Twitter on July 12, 2021. Screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 17, 2021""West Philippine Sea"" is the term used in the Philippines for the maritime area in the western part of the Philippine archipelago.The misleading post circulated online after Philippine news organisation GMA News erroneously published a report showing the same photo and claim.The organisation has since apologised for the oversight. In a tweet on July 12, it said: ""We took down the original tweet containing an inaccurate image. We want to thank our followers for tweeting us this feedback. We apologize for the oversight.""The same photo was also shared hundreds of times alongside a similar claim here, here and here on Facebook.The claim is false.A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the photo was originally published in this press release on October 3, 2014.It was circulated by the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC), an environmental group based in Australia.In the press release, it states that the photo shows: ""Maintenance dredging in Cairns show the impact of dredging and dumping in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area"".The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system.It is located in northeastern Australia, more than 4,800 kilometers away from the West Philippine Sea as shown here on Google Maps.  Screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the CAFNEC photo (R)According to the photo’s caption, it was taken by photographer Xanthe Rivett for CAFNEC and World Wildlife Fund Australia.The WWF also posted the image on its official Instagram account on the same day.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by WWF-Australia (@wwf_australia) In response to the misleading posts, a World Wildlife Fund Australia representative told AFP on July 16: ""I can confirm the photos were taken in the Cairns Port in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area on 19 September 2014.""They show a ship dumping dredged material.""Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files also debunked this misleading claim here.",,"This photo has circulated in reports about dredging off the coast of Australia, not the Philippines",,,,,, +18,5,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-13,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EE4BW-1,An image of an electric car cemetery in France,2021-07-07,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared thousands of times in posts claiming it shows an ""electric car cemetery"" in France, where electric cars are purportedly dumped when their batteries wear out. The claim is false; the image in fact shows a Chinese rideshare company's cars parked on the outskirts of Hangzhou. The company's former manager said most of the cars were first-generation electric vehicles set to be replaced with newer models.""Here is an electric car cemetery in France. Nobody wants to buy a used electric car when the battery wears out,"" reads this Facebook post published on July 7. It has since been shared more than 1,000 times. A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post as of July 9, 2021.The same photo was shared alongside similar claims appear on Facebook here and here, and in this tweet shared more than 4,000 times.""Green madness. Electric cars belonging to the city of Paris. No one will buy them because of the cost of the replacement battery. Who will dispose of this junk, especially the batteries?"" the tweet reads.However, the claim is false. A reverse image search and keyword searches found similar photos published by Chinese state-owned newspaper People's Daily here on April 25, 2019. The article refers to the photos, credited to Chinese state news agency Chinanews, as ""a car cemetery in Hangzhou"". A screenshot of an article on the Chinese website (taken 8 July 2021)According to the article, the vehicles are ""new energy-shared cars abandoned in a car park near Hangzhou city along the Qiantang River"".The cars appear to be electric cars manufactured by China's Kandi Technologies Group. In 2015, China's state-owned newspaper Global Times identified similar vehicles with the same logos and white-green paint in Hangzhou as having been produced by Kandi. Identical visual clues can be seen in the photo circulating in misleading posts (L) and Chinanews's image (R), including buildings in the background, an electicity pylon and logos on the cars. On the left, a picture of the Facebook update and on the right, a picture taken by the Chinanews website. AFP has circled the similarities in red.The exact location of the image can also be confirmed through the satellite images of the Shuangpuzhen area on Zoom Earth, where the parking lot and its cars can be seen.The satellite images show pools of water and the buildings in the background. A satellite image of the parking lot, with the buildings visible in the Facebook photo circled in red (Zoom.earth)The electricity pylons visible in the Facebook post also can be found on the highway, south of the parking lot: A satellite image of the parking lot, with the location of the electricity pylons circled in red by AFP (Zoom.earth)The vehicles belong to a Hangzhou-based electric car rideshare company called Microcity, subsidiarity of an electric car rental company named Zhejiang Zuozhongyou Electric Car Service Limited, according to the company's former brand manager.""The cars in the photo belonged to Hangzhou Microcity,""Lou Gaofeng told AFP.Launched in Hangzhou in 2013, Microcity's electric car rideshare service aimed to tackle emissions, congestion and limited parking space, according to the local government's website.Car sharing services in Chinese have struggled to keep their business model profitable. In 2019, Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that many firms had gone bankrupt after an initial boom in ride sharing apps the 2010s, aided by the low price of electric cars.Chinese media reported that thousands of Microcity electric cars have ended up in parking lots on the outskirts of Hangzhou from 2019 (here, here and here).Lou told local newspaper Hangzhou.com.cn in April 2019 that around 3,000 Microcity cars are parked in three different parking lots along the Qiantang River. However, according to the former manager of the company, not all the cars were defective.""I had clearly explained at that time that not all of them had problems. Some of them had problems, some could still be used, others were old enough to be sold to another company and disassembled,"" he told AFP.""Second, it had nothing to do with the spontaneous combustion of the battery, most of them were the first generation electric vehicles which had been produced in 2013 and even earlier and should be replaced due to technologcial progress.""Microcity's current management did not respond to AFP's enquiries on what the company plans to do with the cars in the future.CORRECTION 15/7/21: This article was amended to clarify Lou Gaofeng's quote that the cars in the photograph were first-generation electric cars set to be replaced with newer models.",,This photo does not show an 'electric car cemetery' in France,,,,,, +19,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-09,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EG3DM-1,Photo shows helicopter operated by the Royal Thai Army,2021-07-05,factcheck_afp,,"After a fire at a plastics factory in Thailand injured dozens, a photo surfaced in Facebook posts purporting to show a Royal Thai Army helicopter and questioning why the chopper was not deployed to quell the blaze. The claim is misleading; the photo actually shows a helitanker during an exercise in the United States in 2020. Meanwhile, a second photo in the posts genuinely shows a Thai helicopter.The photos were published here on Facebook on July 5, 2021. ""The Royal Thai Army has chinook, the forest department has a helicopter with a water bucket, why didn't anybody collaborate with them?"" the Thai-language post's caption reads. Chinook refers to a type of military, heavy-lift helicopter. ( Montira RUNGJIRAJITTRANON)The images circulated online after an explosion at a plastics factory near the Thai capital Bangkok sent plumes of smoke across the skyline, killing one firefighter and injuring at least 33 people, AFP reported.The photos were also shared on Facebook here and here alongside a similar claim. The images, however, have been shared in a misleading context.First photoA reverse image search on Google found the first photo was published in this article by the US-based blog site Fire Aviation on November 19, 2020.Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and on the Fire Aviation website (R):  ""A CH-47 Chinook Very Large Helitanker (VLHT) with night-flying capability operated by Coulson Aviation is working under an 83-day contract in collaboration with Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA),"" the article reads.""The Chinook is based at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base in Orange County"".The photo was screenshotted from this  footage tweeted by Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA) on November 19, 2020.The clip shows the helitanker exercise, which was coordinated by  L.A. County Fire Department  and the Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA). Yesterday we had a successful exercise with @LACoFDPIO to showcase the new joint agency Helitanker. This is a regional asset that can be used in multiple counties to fight fires. The helitanker:•Takes 1 min to fill 3,000 gallons•Has a water drop cover of approx 10 acres pic.twitter.com/mzMC2j3pZr — OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) November 19, 2020 Second photoThe second photo genuinely shows a Thai helicopter.Reverse image searches for the second photo found it was previously published in this 2016 report by Thai news site Manager Online.The Thai government staged a demonstration to show how the helicopter was used to extinguish fires in Phitsanulok province, the report says.""Helicopter owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was used to extinguish wildfire in Nan, using the water from Nan River, in the middle of a campaign to stop burning the forest,"" the Thai-language article reads.Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and on the Manager Online website (R):  Thailand's Forest Department operates under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.The photo was also published in another report about the event by a Thai-language website here. CORRECTION: This article was updated on July 12, 2021 to clarify that the Facebook posts claimed the photos showed Thai helicopters, but not necessarily Thai helicopters at the scene of the plastics factory fire.",,Wrong helicopter photo shared in posts about Thai factory fire,,,,,, +20,5,1,5,False,Multiples sources,2021-07-07,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9DZ6YU-3,Photo of polluted river is from India,2021-06-27,factcheck_afp,,"A photo of a river clogged with rubbish has been shared in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts which claim that the river is in the Indian city of Mumbai. However, the claim is false; the photo actually shows a river in Philippines' capital Manila. The photo was shared on Facebook here on June 27, 2021, by a page with some 75,000 followers.The Facebook post, sharing two photos, appears to compare two rivers with one looking clean and the other filled with garbage.The caption to the post reads:""Pic 1 - Sabaramati Riverfront, Ahmedabad, Gujarat (Fund spent by Gujarat State: ₹1400 crores)Pic 2 - Mithi River, Mumbai, Maharashtra (Funds spent by BMC & MMRDA: ₹1000+ crores)#TaleOfTwoCities #ModiHaiToMumkinHai"" (#If Modi IsThere It's Possible)   ""Sabaramati Riverfront"" refers to Sabarmati Riverfront in Indian state Gujarat, which is controlled by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The Mithi River is located in the city of Mumbai in Maharashtra, a state which is controlled by a coalition of opposition parties. The Mithi River was Maharashtra's most polluted river in 2018, according to this report released by the state's Pollution Control Board. The report found that the level of coliform content, which indicates the presence of human and animal excreta, was at least 15 times above the safe limit, as reported by local news outlet Hindustan Times.Since November 2019, a coalition of three parties -- Shiv Sena, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) -- have formed the government in Maharashtra. However, before that Maharashtra was governed by BJP, which had formed an alliance with Shiv Sena in the state after the 2014 state legislative assembly elections. The identical photos were published by several other accounts on Facebook, for example here and here alongside a similar claim. They were also shared by BJP party members on Twitter as seen here and here. However, the claim is false. While the first image does show the Sabarmati Riverfront as seen on Google Maps, the second photo of the river clogged with garbage is not of the Mithi River in India, but actually shows the Philippines' capital city Manila. A reverse image search on TinEye shows that the original photo was taken in January 2008 in Manila, Philippines by photographer Antonio V. Oquias, as can be seen on the Shutterstock Images website. The caption to the photo reads: ""MANILA, PHILIPPINES - JANUARY 6: A river of garbage prevents the flow of water on January 6, 2008 in Manila, Philippines. Poverty and garbage disposal are major issues in the Philippines.""The photo was also used in this news report on plastic pollution by UK broadcaster BBC. Below is a comparison of the photo used in the Facebook post and the one found on Shutterstock.",,"This photo shows a river in the Philippines, not India",,,,,, +21,1,1,5,False,Gech Ethiopia,2021-07-06,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/image-elephant-shaped-mountain-composite-created-polish-artist-mirekis,This image of an elephant-shaped mountain is a composite created by Polish artist Mirekis,2021-07-01,factcheck_afp,,"An image has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook in Ethiopia alongside a claim that it shows a real mountain cliff shaped like an elephant. But this is false: AFP Fact Check found that the image was digitally created by Polish artist Mirekis.The claim has been shared more than 100 times and had over 500 reactions since it was published on July 1, 2021. “Beautiful Elephant mountain!” the post’s caption reads.  Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 5, 2021The image shows a mountain cliff in the shape of an elephant overlooking a snowy valley.However, the image does not show a real landscape. It was digitally created by Mirekis, a Polish artist who combined three images to create the artwork. AFP Fact Check ran a reverse image search and traced the picture to several websites showing Mirekis’s work. The composite comes from a series of images called ""Over the precipice"", initially posted on Mirekis’s Facebook page on January 18, 2018. “The series is still missing spring and fall,” the post’s Polish caption reads. Mirekis shared the image a few days later on Instagram as well as on his 500px page, a photo-sharing platform.    View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Is Mirek (@mirekis7) Original picturesThe composite was created by layering three different images. The original image that can be seen in the foreground of Mirekis’s work was uploaded on Wikimedia Commons by a user called “Giacomozanni” in April 2010. The image shows a mountain in the north-east of Italy where the Malatesta Fortress of Verucchio sits.Noticeable details stand out in the foreground of both images such as the trees and bushes. Image highlighting similarities between the original picture (right) and the compositeThe other two images are composed of a picture of an elephant superimposed on an image of the Creux du Van, a natural rocky cirque located in east Switzerland near the French border. Image highlighting similarities between the original pictures (top) and the compositeMirekis confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the photo in the misleading Facebook showed his artwork. The claim had already been debunked by Snopes in January 2018. While Mirekis’s work was digitally altered and created as a form of art, there is an actual “Elephant Rock” in the cliffs of the island Heimaey in Iceland.  Image from Wiki Commons of “Elephant Rock” in Iceland",,This image of an elephant-shaped mountain is a composite created by Polish artist Mirekis,,,,,, +22,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple sources,2021-07-02,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9DP93D-1,Posts compare Manila Bay images before and during Rodrigo Duterte presidency,2021-07-26,factcheck_afp,,"A photo collage has been shared thousands of times in Facebook posts that claim it shows a trash-filled beach in the Philippine capital Manila purportedly before Rodrigo Duterte was elected president -- and the same beach after he ordered a cleanup during his term. But these posts are misleading: the trash-filled beach photo is miscaptioned as taken during the presidency of former leader Benigno Aquino III; both images in the photo collage have circulated in news reports since 2020 during Duterte’s term as president.The photo collage was posted here on Facebook on June 26, 2021. It has been shared over 3,000 times since.The photo collage juxtaposes two images of Manila Bay, a natural harbour located west of the Philippine capital Manila.The first image shows a trash-filled beach overlaid with text that reads: “NOYNOY BEFORE”. The second shows a clean beach superimposed with the text: “DUTERTE NOW”.The post’s Tagalog-language caption translates in part as: “They say President BS Aquino III is the protector against environmental waste.”  Screenshot of misleading post taken on July 1, 2021The misleading post circulated days after the death of former Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on June 24, 2021, AFP reported.Aquino III was the president from 2010 to 2016. He was succeeded by Rodrigo Duterte whose term is until 2022.In 2019, Duterte announced a “major” Manila Bay cleanup. The following year his government began construction of an artificial white sand beach along a portion of the bay.The controversial project has spurred a slew of misinformation, for example here, here and here debunked by AFP.An identical photo collage was also shared alongside a similar claim in Facebook posts here, here and here.But these posts are misleading: both images in the photo collage have circulated in reports published during Duterte’s term.First image A reverse search on Google found the image of the trash-filled beach was published here by Philippine broadcaster GMA News on September 8, 2020 when the Duterte government’s white sand beach project was underway, not during former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino's term.The image’s caption states in part: “A lot of trash drifted to Manila Bay, near the Manila Yacht Club. [This side] is more polluted compared to the other end where the [environment agency] is dumping white sand.”The image corresponds to the 19-second mark of this television report aired by GMA News the same day. Below is a screenshot comparison of the first image in the misleading posts (L) and the original photo from GMA News (R):   The image was taken in this location as seen on Google Maps. Second imageFurther reverse image searches found the second image had also appeared in a news report during the Duterte administration. It was shared here on May 24, 2021 by local media organisation SMNI News.The image’s caption reads in part: “#ManilaBayRehab… #DuterteAdministration”.Below is a screenshot comparison of the second image in the misleading posts (L) and photo shared by SMNI News (R):   The rainbow-colored crosswalk seen in the image corresponds to these photos posted on the Facebook page of Manila City’s mayor in December 2020, when the newly-painted lanes were opened to the public.The image corresponds to this location on Google Street View.The misleading posts were also debunked by Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files here.",,Misleading posts circulate anew about beach cleanup in Philippine capital,,,,,, +23,1,1,5,False,Multiple,2021-06-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9DC9V8-1,Photos show malnourished lions at Bangladesh zoo,2021-06-19,factcheck_afp,,"Three photos of malnourished lions are circulating in Facebook posts that claim they were taken at a zoo in Bangladesh. The claim is false: the images were originally shared in reports about a zoo in Sudan in January 2020.  The photos of the lions were posted here on Facebook on June 19, 2021. The post has been shared more than 700 times.The post’s Bengali-language caption reads: ''We request the authority of Mirpur Zoo to set these wild animals free. If you can't fulfil your duty, then there is no right to trade with these wild animals. If anyone comes across this post who has the ability to do something about it, then please take some action.''  Mirpur Zoo is Bangladesh’s National Zoo in the capital Dhaka. It is home to more than 2,500 creatures, including eight endangered Bengal tigers, as reported here by AFP.The same images were shared with a similar claim here, here and here on Facebook.However, the claim is false. A reverse image search found two of the three photos were posted here on Facebook in January 2020.They were uploaded on the verified page of Osman Salih, who describes himself as CEO at Sudan Animal Rescue.His post reads in part: ""I was shaken when I saw these lions at the park... their bones are protruding from the skin”.""I urge interested people and institutions to help them,"" he wrote. Below is a screenshot comparison of the images in the misleading post (L) and the images shared by Salih (R) : The campaign to save the five lions caged in Khartoum's Al-Qureshi Park was reported here by AFP on January 20, 2020.The final photo in the misleading post was taken by AFP photographer Ashraf Shazly at al-Qureshi Park in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on January 20, 2020. Below is a screenshot comparison of the final photo in the misleading post (L) and Shazly’s photo (R): Shazly posted the images on Facebook here.",,Facebook users share old photos of lions in Sudan in posts about Bangladesh zoo,,,,,, +24,5,1,5,False,Multiple Sources,2021-06-25,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/these-images-have-circulated-online-reports-about-meteor-sightings-october-2015,Images of meteor visible in northern Thailand in June 2021,2021-06-22,factcheck_afp,,"Images that show a meteor have been shared widely in Twitter and Facebook posts that claim these were shot in Thailand in June 2021. But this claim is false: the images are unrelated to recent meteor sightings in Thailand and have in fact circulated online since October 2015.The images were posted on Twitter here on June 22, 2021. They have been shared more than 1,800 times since.The Thai-language post translates as: “Who is in Chiangmai, they said a loud noise was heard along with green light during around 18:35 it is [an] #asteroid!!! #Chiangrai #meteor”. Screenshot of the misleading Twitter post taken on June 23, 2021The misleading post circulated the same night social media users in Chiang Mai and other areas in northern Thailand reported seeing flashes of light in the sky followed by loud noises.The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) confirmed the event was due to a meteor that had broken off from an asteroid and entered the Earth’s atmosphere.Identical images were also shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here, here and here; and on Twitter here and here.The claim is false: the images have circulated online since at least 2015.First imageA reverse search on Google found the first image was posted here on Instagram by weather photographer Marko Korosec on October 31, 2015.Its caption reads in part: “This spectacular and very bright bolide (fireball) from Southern Taurids meteor shower was observed this evening at 18:12 UTC, Oct 30th, 2015. Looking towards south from Brkini, SW Slovenia.”    View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Marko Korosec (@markokorosecnet)Below is a screenshot comparison of the first image in the misleading post (L) and Korosec’s photo (R): Screenshot comparison of the first image in the misleading post (L) and Korosec’s photo (R)The image was also shared here on the website Spaceweather.com on October 31, 2015 -- and credited to Korosec.Second imageA further reverse search found the second image corresponds to the 59-second mark of this YouTube video posted on November 2, 2015.The video’s caption reads: “Collection of the November 2, 2015 meteorite clips in Thailand”.Below is a screenshot comparison of the second image in the misleading post (L) and its corresponding frame in the YouTube video (R): Screenshot comparison of the second image in the misleading post (L) and its corresponding frame in the YouTube video (R)Video clips showing the same meteor were also shown in this news report aired on November 4, 2015 by Thai broadcaster Ch.3.",,These images have circulated online in reports about meteor sightings since October 2015,,,,,, +25,1,1,5,FALSE,Multiple Sources,2021-06-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/californians-can-charge-electric-vehicles-despite-heat-waves,California told everyone to not charge their electric cars,2021-06-18,factcheck_afp,,"Posts shared thousands of times on social media say California told its residents not to charge their electric cars because of a power shortage. This is false; the state has released voluntary energy saving tips that include charging vehicles before an electricity conservation alert is issued, and a spokeswoman for the grid operator denied people were forbidden from charging.“CALIFORNIA literally just told everyone to not charge their electric cars Due to power shortage,” a June 18, 2021 Facebook post read during a heat wave which sent temperatures soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit on some days, posing threats of energy shortages.  A screenshot of a Facebook post taken on June 22, 2021“So much for those green energy vehicles. California is asking us to conserve energy and strain on our power grid. No charging electric cars,” a social media user commented in a June 18 tweet. Other examples of the post can also be found on Twitter here, as well as Instagram and Facebook, here and here. “There is no truth in that statement,” Lindsay Buckley, director of communications and external affairs at the California Energy Commission, the state’s energy policy agency, said of the claim.Much of the western United States suffered a record heat wave in June, with approximately 50 million Americans placed on alert on June 15 for ""excessive"" temperatures, approaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.As a result, the state’s non-profit power grid manager, California Independent System Operator (ISO), issued  several “Flex Alerts” to help keep the power grid stable. These called on residents to voluntarily conserve energy at selected times including during peak hours of consumption. Alerts were sent state-wide on June 17 and June 18, coinciding with when the social media claims about the electric vehicles started spreading. Anne Gonzales, senior public information officer at ISO, told AFP that they “have encouraged consumers to charge EVs (electric vehicles) before a Flex Alert begins. We do not say anything about ‘not charging’ in our messaging.”On June 17, California ISO also posted advice on what to do before and during a Flex Alert. The organization recommended charging battery powered cars prior to its start.  A screenshot of the Flex Alert website’s tips to help conserve energy in California The website dedicated to these energy saving tips recommends that people avoid charging electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles during an alert, and to charge them overnight instead. Buckley, of the Energy Commission, confirmed to AFP that Flex Alerts “are fully voluntary, and the program's messaging emphasizes shifting energy consumption -- not sacrificing.”Gil Tal, director of the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, told AFP that “Flex Alerts ask the public not to charge electric vehicles during the alert, which is usually 6:00 pm-9:00 pm or 5:00 pm-10:00 pm at the most.”Most drivers don’t replenish their vehicle batteries during those times anyway, Tal said.Electric vehicle drivers “usually charge at home and can use a timer to start charging after midnight or at work during the day. Very few actually charge during those (peak) hours and even fewer need to charge at that time,” he explained.He added that electric cars’ improved battery life generally only requires a charge every few days. As Californians rely heavily on motor vehicles, the transport sector accounts for about half of the state's greenhouse gas emissions.In September 2020, the office of Governor Gavin Newsom ordered that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state by 2035 should be zero-emission under a new rule aimed at fighting climate change and smog-fouled air.",,Californians can charge electric vehicles despite heat waves,,,,,, +26,3,1,5,Misleading,multiple sources,2021-07-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FE6UH-1,Vaccines on the market contain carcinogenic graphene oxide,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook posts have repeatedly shared a claim that all commercially available vaccines purportedly contain a cancer-causing substance called graphene oxide. But these posts are misleading: experts separately told AFP that graphene oxide is not used in commercially available vaccines. The most commonly used vaccines go through rigorous testing and have been safely used for decades, according to the World Health Organization.""After investigating the contents of vaccines, 99% was found to be graphene oxide. Like asbestos this causes cancer,"" reads this Korean-language Facebook post on July 12, 2021.""Graphene oxide was found in all vaccines commercially available,"" the post adds. Screenshot of the misleading post. Captured July 20, 2021.Graphene oxide is a derivative of graphene which is reportedly the world's thinnest material first isolated in 2004.A similar claim was also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here and here.But these posts are misleading, according to multiple experts.Graphene oxide ""No vaccines on the market [is] based on graphene oxide,"" Dr Park Jong-bo, a researcher at Biographene, a company that develops graphene-based medicine, told AFP on July 20, 2021.Vaccines currently in use are ""comprised of phospholipid layers, peptides or nucleic acids, and graphene oxide is not part of these categories,"" Park said. The claim that all commercially available vaccines were 99% made up of graphene oxide was ""ungrounded in fact,"" Professor Hong Byung-hee, an expert in nanomaterials at Seoul National University, told AFP on July 19, 2021.""Graphene is being tested for biomedical purposes, including for vaccines, but these applications are still in an experimental phase and a long wait is expected before they become commercially available following clinical trials,"" Hong said.Hong added that the claim that graphene oxide is purportedly like asbestos and causes cancer is misleading.""Graphene has a planar structure, and is very different from asbestos, which has a needle structure,"" he explained.""In the case of graphene oxide... there is some toxicity but relatively little, so the material is being widely researched for use in drug delivery systems and in vivo diagnostic sensors.""Published lists of ingredients in widely used Covid-19 vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen -- do not include graphene oxide. Vaccine safetyVaccines are available for some two dozen diseases including Covid-19, according to this list from the World Health Organization (WHO).""The most commonly used vaccines have been around for decades, with millions of people receiving them safely every year,"" the WHO states here.""Following the introduction of a vaccine, close monitoring continues to detect any unexpected adverse side effects.""",,"Available vaccines do not contain graphene oxide, experts say",,,,,, +27,1,1,5,False,የኢትዮጵያ ብልፅግና ፓርቲ,2021-07-20,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/no-evidence-putin-congratulated-ethiopian-pm-second-filling-controversial-mega-dam,Putin congratulates Ethiopian PM over GERD filling,2021-07-06,factcheck_afp,,"A Facebook post shared hundreds of times on Facebook claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently congratulated Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, on the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia's construction of the mega-dam has been a source of diplomatic tension with its downstream neighbours. However, this is false; the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa told AFP Fact Check that Putin never made any such comments. Furthermore, there is no official evidence of the Russian head of state issuing a statement regarding the GERD filling. The post, archived here, has been shared more than 350 times since it was published on Facebook on July 6, 2021. It was shared from an account called “Ethiopian Prosperity Party”, the political party led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. However, the page is not an official account and was created by a party supporter.  Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 16, 2021The post features an image of Putin and Abiy shaking hands. “Congratulations Ethiopians! The second phase of the Abay dam filling is legitimate and demonstrates the right to use its own natural resources (sic),” reads a quote attributed to the Russian leader translated to English. “A country that has many thousand years of history, an example of freedom that doesn’t bend to oppression, the mother of many proud heroes, congratulations Ethiopia,” it concludes.The post surfaced after the onset of this year’s rainy season, which helped speed up the process of filling the mega-dam. An official told AFP  on July 19, 2021, that Ethiopia had attained its second-year target for filling the mega-dam on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia hit its first target of 4.9 billion cubic metres in July 2020.Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been locked in a tug of war over the use of the Nile ever since Ethiopia started building and filling the GERD using water from the river. Both the governments of Egypt and Sudan have expressed concern that diverting Nile water into the GERD will restrict water supplies in the two countries, affecting millions of people’s livelihoods.Russian embassy denies remarksHowever, the remarks attributed to Putin are fabricated.Valentina Kim, a spokeswoman for the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa, said the leader had not congratulated Abiy. When asked about the false claims, Kim said: “We have not seen them”.“We cannot comment on an event [whose] existence is not proved,” she added. According to the Kremlin’s website, the most recent conversation between both leaders was a phone conversation on April 7, 2020.AFP Fact Check previously debunked a claim that Putin was backing Ethiopia in the dispute over the GERD. Similarly, AFP Fact Check debunked remarks falsely attributed to Putin where he allegedly ridiculed Ethiopia’s prime minister about cloud seeding technology.",,No evidence that Putin congratulated Ethiopian PM on the second filling of controversial mega-dam,,,,,, +28,2,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-14,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EV3G3-1,"Covid-19 vaccines contain ""nanotechnology"" that can change people's DNA",2021-07-05,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts claim that Covid-19 vaccines contain robotic ""nanotechnology"" that can change people's DNA. While they do include tiny fat bubbles to protect mRNA molecules -- an essential component of the shots -- they do not feature miniature robots, and experts say Covid-19 jabs cannot alter a person's genetic makeup.""NANOTECHNOLOGY IS IN THIS JAB THAT WILL ALTER DNA - STAY AWAY!"" warns a July 5, 2021 Facebook post that features images of miniature robots flooding out of a syringe and interacting with DNA and cells. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on July 13, 2021But the word ""nanotechnology"" refers to anything that has been engineered at the nanoscale, and it does not necessarily relate to mechanical or mineral elements, as the photo suggests. Nanotechnology is used in the food and cosmetics industries, for example.The mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna differ from previously administered inoculations. Instead of confronting the immune system with part of a virus in a weakened or deactivated form to build antibodies, they give it a ""blueprint"" of a part of the virus that the body can then recognize and fight when confronted by it later.They use tiny fat bubbles called lipid nanoparticles to encapsulate fragile mRNA molecules and the information they contain to protect them until they can be safely delivered into cells without being degraded by the body's enzymes. This video explains how the shots work.Most of the 334 million doses of Covid-19 administered in the United States were mRNA shots. More than 43 million doses in total have been put into arms in Canada.'Nanotechnology' misinterpretedCatherine Klapperich, professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, told AFP on July 12 that ""there are no robots"" in the Covid-19 vaccines.She lamented that the word ""nanotechnology,"" coined decades ago, has been misinterpreted over time to suggest that ""there's some sort of active, living component that's going to go into your body and be like a little robot, march around and do stuff, and that that must be nefarious.""""But in actuality, the word 'nanotechnology' just simply means that these are technologies or materials that are the scale of a nanometer, and that's it. This is actually a very passive material, it's a lipid,"" she explained.""There's nothing mechanical, there's nothing electrical, there's nothing magnetic,"" she said, adding that without the lipids, very little of the mRNA would get into cells ""and the immune response would not be very strong.""A deluge of inaccurate claims about vaccines has spread across the internet as countries around the world seek to immunize their populations against Covid-19, which has killed more than four million people around the world.Covid-19 vaccines cannot alter people's DNAScientists have widely rejected the unsubstantiated claim that mRNA vaccines can modify human DNA, which AFP earlier debunked here and here.Matthew Miller, associate professor with the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Science at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said for a previous fact-check that ""mRNA is the code for proteins. It does not alter the DNA of your cells. Indeed, your cells naturally make mRNA from DNA.” Boston University's Klapperich explained that ""in your body, messenger RNA is made from DNA, and not the other way around... DNA is never edited, never copied, never changed"" -- and she said it cannot be because that is not something mRNA can do.Barry Pakes, assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto , told AFP on April 28 that ""the mRNA cannot be integrated into the human genome. We (humans) lack the enzymes to reverse transcribe mRNA to DNA.""The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also refuted the claim that Covid-19 vaccines can alter people's DNA here.""Covid-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. Both mRNA and viral vector Covid-19 vaccines deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes Covid-19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept,"" the federal health agency states on its website.",,Covid-19 vaccines do not contain DNA-altering robots,,,,,, +29,1,1,5,False,Multiple Sources,2021-07-14,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9EY2LT-1,Image shows sunset at North Pole,2021-06-07,factcheck_afp,,"A picture that purports to show the Moon above the Sun has been shared thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts that claim it shows a real sunset at the North Pole. The claim is false: the image has been digitally created by an artist. It has circulated online in misleading posts since at least 2006. The image was shared here on June 7, 2021 by a Facebook page based in New Zealand. A screenshot of the image shared to Facebook, taken July 14, 2021.The post's caption reads: “This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point last week. A scene most of us will probably never get to see in person. An amazing photo. Enjoy!”The image has been shared thousands of times alongside a similar claim on Facebook pages around the world, including Britain, Italy and the United States.The claim is false.The image, titled ""Hideaway"", was created by Germany-based artist Inga Nielsen.She creates artworks under her online pseudonym Gate to Nowhere and uploads them here on the art-sharing website Deviant Art.  A screenshot of the original artwork. ( AFP)The original image was created using Photoshop and digital landscape rendering software Terragen, according to Nielsen's caption on the original Deviant Art image. “After someone spread it on the web as [sic] photograph of a ‘Sunset at the north pole’, this image became quite popular. It is of course not a photo and it does not show a place anywhere near the terrestrial North Pole,” the caption reads. NASA explanationNASA featured 'Hideaway' as its Astronomy Photo of the Day.It debunked the claim the image showed a sunset at the North Pole, after it initally circulated online in misleading posts in 2006. “The scene could not exist anywhere on the Earth because from the Earth, the Moon and the Sun always have nearly the same angular size,” the NASA website reads. In 2011, astronomer Phil Plait also published this story in Discovery Magazine debunking claims that the image shows a sunset at the North Pole. In this Facebook post sharing the Discovery Magazine article, Nielsen confirmed the image was never intended to be a sunset on Earth. ""This is an alien world thousands if not millions of light years away,"" she wrote.",,This image of the Moon above the Sun was created digitally by an artist,,,,,, +30,1,1,5,False,multiple sources,2021-07-02,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/vaccination-does-not-cause-babies-die-their-sleep,Childhood vaccination causes Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS),2021-06-14,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts make a series of inaccurate claims linking childhood vaccination and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). But medical experts say vaccines do not cause babies to suddenly die, and that evidence indicates there are lower rates of SIDS in children who receive the recommended shots.Medical understanding of SIDS -- a sudden death of a seemingly healthy infant, generally during sleep -- remains incomplete. But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia say studies show that vaccines do not cause the rare syndrome.Below, AFP Fact Check examines various claims about SIDS and vaccines.‘VIDS’“SIDS has always been VIDS,” says a June 14, 2021 Facebook post with a screenshot of a tweet, abbreviating “Vaccine Infant Death Syndrome.” “Everyone knows a family who lost a perfectly healthy baby to SIDS- a mysterious infant death for no medical reason. Now look around you. How many perfectly healthy adults are dying shortly after their vaccine shot. 2+2=?” says the June 13 tweet, in an implied comparison between SIDS deaths and purported fatalities linked to Covid-19 shots.AFP has debunked numerous false or misleading claims linking the Covid-19 inoculations to deaths. Screenshot of a tweet taken on June 30, 2021But childhood vaccines and Covid-19 shots are not comparable. In the US, the vaccine schedule between the ages of two and four months -- when an infant is most at risk for SIDS -- prevents diseases including hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio.By contrast, Covid-19 shots protect against the illness caused by the novel coronavirus and are not currently recommended for children under 12 years old. Mayo Clinic, Children's National and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) say that immunizing babies may be associated with lower risk of SIDS.Dr Rachel Moon, who chairs the AAP Task Force on SIDS, said that while there is overlap in the period of high risk for SIDS and frequent vaccinations for babies, “multiple studies have looked at this relationship and found that there is no causal relationship, meaning that it’s a coincidence in timing.”“There is no increased risk of SIDS when you get the vaccines. And actually, the studies suggest that babies who are vaccinated are at lower risk of SIDS. That may be because if you’ve been recently ill, you’re more likely to die from SIDS. Vaccinated babies are less likely to get ill, for multiple reasons,” she added.Dr Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic, agreed. “If anything, we see lower rates of Sudden Infant Death among infants vaccinated than in infants who have foregone the vaccinations,” he said.While this reduction may not be directly due to vaccination, ""there’s no data that has shown any one of the vaccines actually increases your risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,” he said.Link to coronavirus restrictions?Social media posts that circulated in 2020 claimed that the decline in immunizations brought on by measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 led to a decrease in SIDS cases. ""One of the many lessons from the pandemic: fewer pediatrician vaccine visits… and a massive decline in children inexplicably dying in their sleep. (SIDS/SUIDS). Related? Yes. Stop pretending otherwise,” said a screenshot of a tweet in a July 20, 2020 Facebook post. Screenshot of part of a Facebook post, taken on July 2, 2021A Twitter spokesperson said that the account that shared the message is now suspended from Twitter for “coordinated harmful activity,” which can include spreading medical misinformation.The head of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Robert Anderson, said that data does not show evidence of a “massive” decline in SIDS or infant mortality in general for the first half of 2020.In fact, the yearly number of infant deaths attributed to SIDS ending in the second half of 2019 is equal to the amount during the first half of 2020 -- less than 34 per 100,000 live births.   Screenshot of SIDS death data on the National Center for Health Statistics website, taken on July 1, 2021 Anderson noted that the 2020 data may be “slightly underestimated” because “deaths ultimately attributed to SIDS (or similar terminology) tend to be delayed as they typically require a lengthy investigation.”Faulty ‘evidence’False claims of a link between childhood vaccines and SIDS long predate Covid-19. Some social media posts cite a study by Dr William Torch to back the claim that vaccines cause SIDS, but the 1982 study was challenged by researchers, and Torch himself admitted it was difficult to draw definite conclusions from his work. Screenshot of part of a Facebook post, taken on July 2, 2021A significant decline in US cases in the 1990s is attributed to the implementation of the “Back-to-Sleep” program, which instructs parents on how to safely put their babies to bed.Placing infants on their back on a firm surface with no other items, such as toys or blankets, in a room shared with a parent are all ways to reduce risk of SIDS.SIDS in JapanOther posts laud Japan for halting vaccinations for children under two in 1994, claiming that the country then experienced a 96 percent drop in infant mortality rate. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on July 1, 2021 While it is true that children in Japan are particularly healthy by international standards, they are also one of the most vaccinated populations in the world.The Japanese schedule for vaccines is similar to that of the US, with multiple shots recommended for babies between two and four months.Japanese law was indeed amended in 1994 to make vaccination more of a civic duty than a strict legal obligation, but in practice, schools ask for children’s vaccination history as they apply.The law on vaccines stipulates that all citizens “must endeavour to undergo a routine vaccination” against “category A diseases,” such as measles, mumps, rubeola, and tetanus. Although there are no fines for not vaccinating children, inoculation rates are very high and frequently reach 100 percent of the population for certain diseases, according to the Japanese Health Ministry.Data showed that SIDS rates in Japan actually took an upturn around 1995 following the law change, but declined in subsequent years.",,Vaccination does not cause babies to die in their sleep,,,,,, +31,1,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-06-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/misleading-claims-about-magnetism-spread-meat-poultry,Meat has been injected with material that makes it magnetic,2021-06-14,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts claim chicken and beef have been injected with prion proteins, nanoparticles or other material that make them stick to fridge magnets. But the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says its surveillance measures guard against metallic contamination, while experts add that prions could not be responsible, and nanoparticles are not being added to meat.“Don’t go to the store without your magnet,” says a June 14, 2021 Facebook post. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 16, 2021In the video, a man sticks a small round magnet onto the outside of a package of chicken. He says: “They’re just putting little prions in here,” suggesting that the prions -- an infectious protein -- are causing magnetic effects.Multiple posts making similar claims about a variety of packaged and unpackaged poultry and meat products can also be found on Instagram, where the most popular iteration has topped 40,000 views. Videos on YouTube and Tik Tok, as well as compilation videos, have further spread the claim.It comes after a series of false and misleading claims that linked Covid-19 vaccinations to magnetism spread around the world. These included a hoax, supposedly shown in videos, that people’s arms exhibit magnetic properties after they receive the shots.Other posts claim a variety of reasons as to why magnets may stick to the meat. One says, “they are putting magnetic nano partials (sic) in our meat,” while another claims “they put heavy toxic metals in our food supply.” Mick West, a British-American science writer, published a video on Metabunk.org, a website dedicated to debunking pseudoscience, demonstrating that magnets, coins, or other smooth objects will stick to various body parts, if one’s skin is slightly oily. “Remove the oil and the object will not stick,” he explains.For similar reasons, magnets might stick to meat and poultry “due to the texture, angle or moisture of the product,” the USDA told AFP.“However, this does not mean that there is metal in the meat or poultry. All meat and poultry products bearing the USDA mark of inspection have been inspected for safety, wholesomeness, and accurate labeling,” a USDA spokesperson said on June 21, 2021.The spokesperson added that all establishments inspected by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are required to have a system in place “designed to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels any biological, chemical, or physical hazard that is reasonably likely to occur in the product.”As a result, it is unlikely that an undetected piece of metal could contaminate meat products, the spokesperson said, with many establishments going so far as to “install metal detectors and/or X-ray devices for screening their final products to ensure no accidental/unexpected metal (shaving or a broken piece) is present”.FSIS personnel also conduct regular inspections.As for the social media claim that prions may be a magnetic component found in meat, “this suggested hypothesis has no foundation in science,” the USDA spokesperson said, adding: “They are organic matter. More specifically, they are misfolded proteins. Therefore, they would lack any sort of magnetic quality.”Prions have an association with meat through the most well-known prion disease, BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) -- also called mad cow disease -- which affects cattle and is believed to be related to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans. Dr James Mastrianni, a professor of neurology at University of Chicago Medicine, told AFP on June 17, 2021: “There is some association of prions in meat, but these came from diseased cows being inadvertently used in the preparation of bovine-derived food. They were never purposely injected into meat, although how could anyone disprove such a crazy hypothesis?“Even if they were injected into meat, they are not magnetic and could certainly not perform the magic act of making a magnet stick to it.”Some of the claims suggest that the phenomenon is caused by nanoparticles -- tiny materials invisible to the eye which can be of various types. Iron is a natural component of beef and other meats but Jaydee Hanson, policy director at the Center for Food Safety, an activist group, told AFP on June 21, 2021: “While there is a remote chance that a powerful magnet could pick up on the magnetism of the iron in meat, it is really unlikely that most refrigerator magnets are that sensitive.“As far as I know, no nano ingredients are being added to meats in the US.”",,"Misleading claims about magnetism spread to meat, poultry",,,,,, +32,1,1,2.5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-06-22,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/posts-misleadingly-claim-muslim-woman-appointed-director-indias-space-agency,Muslim woman Khushboo Mirza appointed director of Indian Space Research Organisation,2021-06-02,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared in multiple Facebook and Instagram posts alongside a claim that it shows a Muslim woman, Khushboo Mirza, who was purportedly appointed “director” of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The claim is misleading: there is no such post within the ISRO. Mirza has worked as a scientist for the organisation since 2006, according to her LinkedIn profile and says she has never held the post of “director”. The photo was published here on Facebook on June 2, 2021.The post’s Hindi-language caption translates to English as: “Young Khushboo Mirza becomes the director of ISRO due to her talent.” The text superimposed on the image translates as: “35-year old scientist Miss Khushboo Mirza has been promoted as the director in ISRO. She is an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University and the only 2nd Muslim scientist after APJ Abdul Kalam to hold this rank at ISRO.”ISRO is the Indian Space Research Organisation.Aligarh Muslim University is located in the north Indian city of Aligarh.APJ Abdul Kalam was a former space scientist and President of India.The photo was shared with a similar claim on Facebook here and here; and here on Instagram.The claim is misleading.There is no position with the title “director” within the ISRO, according to this page on the agency’s website.The agency’s most senior position is the chairman. K. Sivan is listed as the chairman as of June 22, 2021.Khushboo Mirza has been working as a scientist with ISRO since 2006, according to her official LinkedIn profile.Mirza was part of the research team of India’s space missions to moon in 2008 and 2019, as reported by Indian news outlets Indian Express; TwoCircles.net; News18; and Patrika.Several Indian news websites, for example here and here, misleadingly claimed Mirza was promoted to director within the ISRO in June 2020.Mirza denied rumours of her promotion here in a Facebook post on June 27, 2020.Below is a screenshot of her Facebook post: She told Indian news site The Quint in June 2021: “The claim that I have been promoted to the Director rank in ISRO is absolutely false. Such claims have been made in the past as well. I have brought this to the notice of my organisation as well.”Former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam has also never held a top position in the ISRO as claimed in the misleading posts. His name does not feature in this list of former chairmen within the organisation.",,Posts misleadingly claim Muslim woman appointed ‘director’ of India’s space agency,,,,,, +33,3,1,5,Missing context,Multiple sources,2021-06-17,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/defend-billionaires-sign-picturing-musk-not-real-ad,"Billboard of Elon Musk that reads ""Defend Billionaires"" spotted ""in the wild""",2021-06-09,factcheck_afp,,"A tweet claims a billboard with Elon Musk’s photo that reads “Defend billionaires” can be seen outdoors. But the sign is not real. It is the digital artwork of designer Martin Sprouse, and the image was published on Sprouse’s Instagram account the month before it spread on Twitter.“Spotted in the wild. I hate this mf place,” the June 9, 2021 tweet reads. As of June 17, the post had gathered more than 40,000 likes and nearly 7,000 retweets. A screenshot of the tweet taken on June 17, 2021The same visual was also shared on Facebook, here and here, and on Instagram.The image started to be widely shared on social media after the release of an investigative report by New York-based journalism nonprofit ProPublica, which revealed several of the richest Americans have paid zero income tax in some years, including Tesla chief Musk and Amazon’s chairman Jeff Bezos. The report comes as Washington weighs new proposals to address tax avoidance among wealthy individuals and companies.Some social media users, however, were not fooled by the visual imagery and recognized it as a creation of California designer Sprouse. AFP Fact Check found that the original artwork was posted on his official Instagram account “3chordpolitics” on May 18, 2021, about three weeks before the image started to get shared on social media by other users, a search on social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle shows. A similar creation using Bezos’s photo was published by Sprouse on June 11, 2021. In a 2020 interview on YouTube, the artist explained how he does these pieces mainly to express himself, “and maybe, I think people figure it out on their own, they see the graphic and it confirms what they’re feeling, or pisses them off... or they feel comfort and solidarity, which I think is a huge part of the graphics.” “You make a ‘Fuck the police’ graphic, not just to piss off the police, it’s to make comfort for people that have that same feeling,” he said during the interview. At the time of writing this article Sprouse had not responded to an AFP request for comment.",,‘Defend billionaires’ sign picturing Musk is not real ad,,,,,, +34,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-06-15,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/us-teen-space-enthusiast-has-not-been-chosen-one-way-mission-mars,Aspiring astronaut Alyssa Carson is selected for a one way mission to Mars,2021-05-31,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook posts shared thousands of times claim a 20-year-old American space enthusiast, Alyssa Carson, has been selected for a one-way voyage to become ""the first living being to land on Mars"". The claim is false: as of June 15, 2021, Carson was not a qualified astronaut, and the technology to facilitate a human mission to Mars is still in development. As of June 15, 2021, there were no credible reports of Carson joining a mission to Mars.The claim was shared in this Facebook post published on May 31, 2021. It has been shared more than 500 times.“Beautiful girl Alyssa Carson will voyage to Mars, never to return, on behalf of Earth,” reads the Sinhala-language text.“Usually, as a girl grows up, she has various hopes and dreams. But wouldn't you be surprised if you were told that a 20-year-old girl was ready to risk her life, not knowing what will happen to her and embark on a journey from which she will never return? That is Alyssa Carson, the first living being to land on Mars.” Carson has made headlines for her dream of being among the first humans on Mars. The undergraduate student has taken part in various space camps and academies, and earned her pilot’s license aged 18, according to her website and LinkedIn profile.  Similar posts claiming Carson has been selected for a one-way voyage to Mars have been shared here, here and here.However, the claim is false.As of June 15, 2021, Carson was not a qualified astronaut.""To be able to actually apply as an astronaut, I need a master's degree and then some work experience. It's pretty tough competition,” she told ABC Australia in an interview published on April 1, 2021.Carson and her team did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment. But as of June 15, 2021 there were no reports of her being selected for a mission to Mars either on her official website, verified social media pages, or in any media reports.NASA said it has not selected any crew members for a mission to Mars.It said it had also not selected a crew for its Artemis programme, which will send astronauts to the Moon to test new technologies ahead of a mission to Mars.“At this time, we have not yet made any crew assignments for Artemis or Mars missions,” NASA Public Affairs Officer Kathryn Hambleton told AFP.The agency says it hopes to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s. ""Technology development has already begun to enable a crewed Mars mission as early as the 2030s. Many of the capabilities will be demonstrated at the Moon first, during the Artemis missions, while other systems are more uniquely suited for deeper space,"" says the agency.Hambleton said that NASA “does not have any formal relationship” with Alyssa Carson.“NASA has lots of ways we engage with students to promote NASA's core missions and space exploration in general, and we love to see students get interested and excited. However, we do not have any formal relationship with Ms. Carson,” she said.Responding to the claim about a one-way mission to Mars, NASA’s Hambleton said: “We will always bring our crew members home”.",,US teen space enthusiast has not been chosen for one-way mission to Mars,,,,,, +35,1,1,5,False,multiple sources,2021-06-14,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/false-magnetic-claims-circulate-online-about-astrazeneca-vaccine,AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines make human bodies pair with a Bluetooth device,2021-05-28,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple social media posts have shared claims that electronic devices “recognise” people who have received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The posts go on to claim that anyone who receives the vaccine will become “magnetic”; will have their DNA altered and will die from blood clots. The claims are false, according to health experts.The claims were shared here on Naver Blog on May 28, 2021.The post's Korean-language caption translates to English as: “Electronic devices recognise a person who got vaccinated against Covid-19 as another device with a Bluetooth function. They pair you and you show up as ‘AstraZeneca’.“Now it all makes sense that people who get a Covid-19 jab dies due to a rare blood clot and becomes magnetic. It has become clear that the vaccines alter your DNA.” Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on June 10, 2021.The claim was shared alongside several screenshots of a video overlaid with English-language text that reads: “AstraZeneca Bluetooth Side Effect” and “Connect to the Bluetooth see what happens part 2!”The video was originally posted on TikTok here on June 4, 2021. It has since been removed.The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is among the three coronavirus vaccines being administered in South Korea.As of June 14, 2021, the country had administered more than 7.9 million first doses and more than 711,000 second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.Similar claims have also been shared on Facebook here and here; as well as on the South Korean social media site Daum Cafe here. The claims are false, according to health experts.Not magnetic“There are no ingredients in the AstraZeneca vaccines or any other Covid-19 vaccines that could turn people into Bluetooth or make a human body react to Bluetooth,” a spokesperson at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) told AFP on June 9, 2021.“Scientifically, the claim does not make sense.”AFP has previously debunked false posts that claim people exhibit magnetic properties after being vaccinated for Covid-19.People can easily change their Bluetooth name using their mobile devices or Windows operating system, as explained here in Korean and here in English.'Extremely rare'No one in South Korea has died from rare blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine as of June 14, 2021.To date, authorities have reported one patient developed blood clots after receiving the jab.“The patient has been treated and recovered,” a KDCA official told AFP on June 14, 2021.“A possibility of having a blood clot as a result of the vaccination against Covid-19 is extremely rare,” the agency said here on its website on June 10, 2021.“It can be treated and recovered if it’s diagnosed at an early stage.”The European Medicines Agency has said unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, although it has stressed that its overall benefits in preventing Covid-19 outweigh the risks. AFP reported on the developments here.False DNA claimCovid-19 vaccines cannot alter DNA, health experts say. “Whilst [Covid-19 vaccine] technologies both use genetic codes to produce the spike protein inside the body, this code cannot be incorporated into the body’s DNA,” the Oxford University-run Vaccine Knowledge Project said here on March 17, 2021.“Vaccines do not contain the ‘specialised tools’ needed to ‘copy’ or ‘edit’ DNA.”AFP has previously debunked false claims that Covid-19 vaccines alter DNA.",,False ‘magnetic’ claims circulate online about AstraZeneca vaccine,,,,,, +36,2.5,1,5,Missing context,Multiple sources,2021-06-11,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/vessel-image-was-actually-built-2019,Image shows recently made vessel by Sri Lankan engineers,2021-06-06,factcheck_afp,,"In June 2021, Sri Lankan Facebook users shared an image of a ship they claimed was built ""a few days ago"". But the claim is misleading: the ship in the photograph was actually built and delivered to a Japanese company in 2019.The image of the ship was shared in this post published on June 6, 2021.The Sinhala text superimposed on the image reads: “How’s the biggest ship made in Sri Lanka that impressed even the Japanese? How does it look -- the biggest ship made a few days ago in Sri Lanka with 100 percent knowledge from local engineers? Within a matter of about 21 months, this ship was produced under the request of a Japanese company.” Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on June 7,2021 The same image and claim were shared on Facebook such as here, here and here.However, the claim is misleading.The ship was not built recently -- manufacturing began in Sri Lanka in 2017 and was completed in 2019.A Google keyword search found this article published by Sri Lanka’s leading shipbuilding company, Colombo Dockyard PLC, on June 25, 2019.The article, titled “Colombo Dockyard delivers 'KDDI Cable Infinity' built for Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd. Japan”, says in part: “Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) delivered the first ever modern Cable Laying Vessel built for Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd. (KCS) Japan, on 21st June 2019 attended by a host of dignitaries. This is the biggest ever vessel, price-wise as well as length-wise, built by Colombo Dockyard in its illustrious journey of shipbuilding excellence and the first ever ship built ‘in its class’ from Sri Lanka to Japan.”The prototype of the ship that was unveiled at the event matches the image of the ship in the misleading Facebook posts. Below is a comparison between the photo of the model ship from the 2019 article (L) and the image of the ship in the misleading posts (R) with identical markings highlighted by AFP in yellow:  Comparison between the photo of the model ship from the 2019 article (L) and the image of the ship in the misleading posts (R) with identical markings highlighted by AFP in yellow:A keyword further search found this clip published on Colombo Dockyard’s official YouTube channel on August 16, 2019 that features the ship titled: ‘KDDI Cable Infinity Vessel’.Below is a screenshot comparison of the vessel in the YouTube video (L) and the image in the misleading Facebook posts (R): Multiple local media reports were published in 2019 regarding the production of the cable ship including here by Sri Lankan online newspaper ColomboPage and here by local news service EconomyNext.",,The vessel in the image was actually built in 2019,,,,,, +37,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-06-10,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/fabricated-tweet-falsely-claims-facebook-founder-had-dig-nigerian-leaders-health,Zuckerberg says Buhari needs medical check up,2021-06-01,factcheck_afp,,"A screenshot shared hundreds of times on Facebook claims to show a tweet from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg making derogatory comments about the health of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. In reality, the tweet was fabricated and Zuckerberg does not have a verified or active Twitter account.“The Nigerian president needs medical checkup he maybe suffering from the inability to think properly (sic),” reads the screenshot of the purported tweet, which was shared on Facebook here, here and here. A screenshot showing the fabricated tweet, taken on June 7, 2021Twitter ban in NigeriaThe tweet appeared after Nigeria’s government announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter on June 4, 2021. The move came in response to the platform deleting one of the president’s tweets for violating Twitter policy, as AFP reported here.The ban sparked international criticism. Joint statement on the Government of Nigeria’s announcement to suspend Twitter ⬇️ #TwitterBan We continue to advocate for the fundamental #HumanRights to freedom of speech and access to information, protected by #Nigeria’s constitution. https://t.co/T57glGUwin pic.twitter.com/sfXKV7Z3HZ — Canada in Nigeria (@CanHCNigeria) June 5, 2021Facebook has since also removed the same comments by Buhari but the Nigerian government has yet to take action against the social media network.Zuckerberg and TwitterThe tweet was fabricated and Zuckerberg has no verified Twitter account. Zuckerberg joined the platform in 2009 under the handle @finkd, not “@Markzuckerberg” as seen in the hoax screenshot. Since creating his account, the Facebook founder has tweeted only 19 times, with his last tweet dating back to January 2012. A screenshot taken on June 9, 2021, showing Zuckerberg's Twitter account and last tweetThough unverified, the account is followed by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, YouTube, Microsoft and Zuckerberg’s Facebook. @finkd is followed by Google CEO, YouTube, Microsoft and Facebook itselfIn 2009, Zuckerberg was reported to have maintained a private account with the handle @zuck which sent no public tweet until it was deactivated. He rejoined Twitter in March 2009 with his current handle, although the account is dormant today. Business Insider reported that Zuckerberg followed only one person in 2019. Zuckerberg used these accounts around the time he was looking to buy Twitter but the deal failed.None of Zuckerberg’s 19 tweets mention Nigeria or Buhari, who was elected in 2015, three years after Zuckerberg last tweeted. There is also no evidence that Zuckerberg has tweeted at all in 2021.According to the fabricated screenshot, the tweet has been retweeted 2.6 million times and liked 3.7 million times. If this was the case, it would be one of the most shared tweets in Twitter history. Wikipedia keeps a list of the most retweeted tweets in history and according to the list, the tweet does not exist.Tweets are easily fabricatedIt is difficult to prove a tweet once existed after it has been deleted unless it was archived on websites like Wayback Machine. The New York Times created a database of all tweets posted by former US president Donald Trump, while Factbase saved all his deleted tweets here. Tweets can also easily be doctored. For example, TweetGen is a website that can be used to generate tweets of choice with pictures and timestamps to make them look real, as shown in the example below: An image of a fabricated tweet made by AFP Fact CheckFacebook is yet to reply to AFP Fact Check’s request for comment.",,Fabricated tweet falsely claims Facebook founder had dig at Nigerian leader’s health,,,,,, +38,1,1,5,False,multiple sources,2021-06-10,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/false-reasons-refuse-covid-19-vaccines-circulate-online,Eight reasons not to get vaccinated against Covid-19,2021-05-29,factcheck_afp,,"As South Korea races to speed up its Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, posts emerged on social media sharing a list of “reasons” not to get the jab. The claims are false: AFP has previously debunked all purported reasons cited in the misleading posts, including claims that coronavirus vaccines have not been tested on animals or that their ingredients have not been published by pharmaceutical companies.The claim was shared here on South Korean blogging platform Naver Blog on May 29, 2021.The Korean-language post reads: “I met with a prominent professor of biotechnology. He’s currently working at a university in Boston, USA. We talked about the current Covid-19 situation.“Since he is afraid of being called a conspiracy theorist, he didn’t want to identify himself. But I’m sharing what I heard because it might be helpful to you.” Screenshot of the misleading Naver Blog post, taken on June 4, 2021.The post lists “eight reasons not to get vaccinated”:1) mRNA technology lacks a track record of studies;2) There is no scientific evidence that Covid-19 vaccines can protect people;3) The virus’s spike protein sheds and reproduces itself;4) The body will become a factory to produce spike protein;5) Covid-19 vaccines were not tested on animals;6) Vaccine makers did not reveal the ingredients of their products;7) Doctors are afraid of reporting adverse events in case of retaliation from drug companies; and8) PCR tests are not scientifically reliable.The same list has been shared on Facebook here and here; on Naver Blog here and here; and on Daum Blog here.The claim surfaced as South Korea raced to beef up its coronavirus vaccine roll-out, with authorities pledging to inoculate 13 million people with their first dose by the end of June.While South Korea was held up as a model in handling the pandemic, the government has faced criticism for an initially sluggish vaccination campaign compared with other developed countries.However, the claims are false. AFP has previously debunked all purported reasons cited in the misleading posts.mRNA technologyMessenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, like the ones developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, deliver genetic instructions to produce the viral proteins needed to provoke a safe but robust offensive against the coronavirus.While no mRNA vaccine had ever been approved for humans before the pandemic, the technology has been in the making for years.“mRNA vaccines have been studied before for flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV),” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website on March 4, 2021.“As soon as the necessary information about the virus that causes COVID-19 was available, scientists began designing the mRNA instructions for cells to build the unique spike protein into an mRNA vaccine.”The CDC said mRNA vaccines have been held to the same standards as all other types of vaccines in the United States.Covid-19 vaccine efficacyInternational health experts recommend taking the vaccine to build immunity against SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. “Studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine will also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said on October 28, 2020.Scientists are still learning how well vaccines prevent the transmission of the virus, although “early data show that vaccines help keep people with no symptoms from spreading COVID-19,” the CDC said.Spike proteinsHealth experts said there is no shedding of the virus’s spike protein -- which the vaccine makes inside the body to elicit an immune response -- when people receive a Covid-19 jab.Dasantila Golemi-Kotra, a microbiologist at Canada’s York University said that “no spike protein gets shed when we get vaccinated.”“Even if the spike protein was shedding, although impossible, this protein cannot infect someone else,” she told AFP in April 2021. Barry Pakes, assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, also explained in April 2021 that “there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of shedding of spike protein in vaccinated individuals, nor is it even theoretically possible.”Scientists said that mRNA from vaccines was quickly degraded in the body.“There is no doubt that after a very short period of time, after it has created antigens [proteins] which in turn lead to antibodies, the RNA from the vaccine is destroyed,” French geneticist Axel Kahn told AFP in December 2020.Animal testsIn the US, three Covid-19 vaccines have been authorised for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): one from Pfizer-BioNtech, another from Moderna and a third from Johnson & Johnson.All three companies disclosed the results of trials on non-human subjects. The vaccines caused an immune response that protected animals against a SARS-CoV-2 infection that causes Covid-19.Vaccine ingredientsIngredients of four major Covid-19 vaccines are available to check on the websites of either manufacturers or health authorities: Oxford–AstraZeneca, Pfizer–BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.Reporting adverse eventsVaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a tool to report adverse events from vaccination. It is a passive reporting system, meaning it relies on individuals to send in reports of their experiences, according to the system’s official website.“Anyone can submit a report to VAERS, including parents and patients,” it reads. In particular, healthcare providers are required by law to report adverse events; regardless of whether the vaccine is thought to have caused the adverse event.PCR testsA PCR test diagnoses people who are currently infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19.The test, which involves collecting a swab sample from a person’s nose or throat, is considered the most accurate and reliable test for Covid-19, according to Cleveland Clinic,  a nonprofit American academic medical centre based in Cleveland, Ohio.AFP has debunked hundreds of false claims about vaccines and the pandemic, which are available here.",,False ‘reasons’ to refuse Covid-19 vaccines circulate online,,,,,, +39,1,1,5,False,,2021-06-09,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/digital-effects-image-misrepresented-online-actual-photo-himalayas-space,Actual photo of the Himalayas taken from the International Space Station,2021-06-03,factcheck_afp,,"Multiple Facebook and Twitter posts have shared an image that they claim shows an actual photograph of the Himalayas shot from the International Space Station. But the claim is false: the image is not an actual photograph and was in fact created using digital effects software.The image was posted June 3, 2021 by an India-based user here in a public Facebook group called ‘Mysterious Facts’. The misleading post’s caption says: “The Himalayas from the International Space Station”. Screenshot of the misleading post taken on June 4, 2021.The same image and claim have been widely shared online, for example on Facebook here, here and here; on Twitter here and here in English, and here in Spanish; and on 9GAG here since 2020.But the claim is false.The image is actually computer-generated and was created by graphic designer Christoph Hormann using digital effects technology. A Google reverse image search found the same image on Hormann’s website where prints of his work are available for purchase.Hormann’s website states he produces “illustrations of geographic contexts in the best possible quality”.The misleading posts have rotated the original image created by Hormann 90 degrees clockwise and cropped out the credits.  Screenshots comparing the original image and the image in the misleading post. Taken June 4, 2021.Further keyword searches found the image was also shared here with the correct caption by Science Photo Library, a stock photography website.Its caption reads in part: “This image was created by Christoph Hormann using data obtained from satellites such as Landsat and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission).“The data was processed into computer models using three-dimensional rendering software and then coloured and distorted to mimic the natural curvature of the Earth.”Actual photographs taken from the ISS of the Himalayas and other places on Earth, can be found on NASA’s official website.",,Digital effects image misrepresented online as actual photo of the Himalayas from space,,,,,, +40,5,1,5,False,Multiple persons,2021-07-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GJ4QH-3,Passengers protest as ruling PTI ministers cause flight delay in Pakistan,2021-07-23,factcheck_afp,,"A video of angry passengers at an airport has been shared in social media posts that claim they were arguing with ministers from Pakistan's ruling PTI party after their flight was ""delayed for four hours"" to wait for them. The claim is false; the video has circulated online in reports about passengers blaming civil aviation officials for a delayed flight in July 2018, shortly before the PTI came to power.""The PIA flight from Islamabad to Skardu was delayed for four hours while waiting for a few ministers of PTI and their families. Watch and listen to what an American-settled family told the minister when he arrived at the airport,"" reads an Urdu-language Facebook post from July 23.PIA refers to Pakistan International Airlines, while PTI refers to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the country's ruling party.The video, viewed more than 190,000 times, shows a woman arguing with a group of men in suits at an airport lounge.""You walk over the people who have given you the rank and status, this is shameful,"" she says. ""We have missed our flights due to this delay"". Other passengers chant ""shame, shame"". A screenshot taken on July 26, 2021 of the misleading Facebook post ( AFP)Similar posts were shared here, here and here on Facebook and here, here and here on Twitter.The posts sparked criticism from social media users.""Very disappointed by PTI's governance,"" one person commented.However, the claim is false. This video does not show an altercation between passengers and PTI ministers, but between passengers and the civil aviation officials in 2018.A reverse image search on Google found the same video published on July 19, 2018 here on YouTube, titled: ""PIA Flight delayed from Islamabad to skardu"".Below is a screenshots comparison of the video posted in July 2018 (L) and the video in the recent misleading posts (R): A screenshots comparison of the video posted in July 2018 (L) and the video in the recent misleading posts (R): ( AFP)Pakistani newspaper The Nation also included a similar image in this report on passengers protesting a delayed flight on July 17, 2018 at Skardu airport, alleging that the airline management had sacrificed customers’ rights to favour top Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials with a ""joyride"".Below is a screenshot comparison of the video posted in the misleading posts (L) and the image published on The Nation (R): Screenshot comparison of the video posted in the misleading posts (L) and the image published on The Nation (R):Dawn newspaper reported the same incident here on July 18, 2018.At that time, Pakistan was under a caretaker government awaiting elections on July 25, 2018. PTI came to power in August 2018 and had no federal or provincial ministers when the video in the misleading posts started to circulate in July.The swearing-in of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the founder and the Chairman of PTI, was reported by AFP here on August 18, 2018.",,Old video of passengers protesting delayed flight in Pakistan misleads on social media,,,,,, +41,2,1,5,Misleading,Multiple Sources,2021-07-28,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GM4T3-1,Pakistan opposition party supporters in police van during recent elections,2021-07-25,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook and Twitter posts in Pakistan purport to show a photo of supporters of an opposition party travelling in a police vehicle during recent provincial elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The claim is misleading: the image is from 2018 and shows party supporters in the capital Islamabad during national elections that year.The image was posted here on Facebook on July 25, 2021. “It’s Raja Farooq’s government and the police are fully supporting the N-League. The Election Commission in the Kashmir elections is sleeping with its eyes closed,” reads the post’s Urdu-language caption.Raja Farooq Haider Khan is a member of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party and the Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, known locally as Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) province. The image shows people travelling in a police van while waving a PML-N flag. Screenshot of the image with the misleading caption. Taken on July 27, 2021. ( AFP / ) The province -- which follows a separate electoral process from the rest of Pakistan -- held its polls on July 25, which were won by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party.Several users appeared to believe the photo was from the recent AJK elections. One wrote in Urdu: “The League supporters will achieve nothing, we’ve visited all of Kashmir. Allah willing, PTI will win” while another wrote in an Urdu transliteration: “In Pakistan, the police supports PTI against the TLP. They supported the N-League here, so what?”The photo was shared with similar claims on Facebook here and here; and on Twitter here, here and here.However, the posts are misleading. The image shows PML-N supporters in the nation’s capital Islamabad during the national elections in 2018.A reverse image search found the same photo posted here in a report by local media outlet Dawn News in 2018. The first paragraph of the report reads: “ISLAMABAD: Taking advantage of police leniency, workers from the PML-N used official police vans to escort former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during a campaign rally on Thursday.”Below is a screenshot comparing the image in the misleading posts (L) with the one from Dawn News (R). The word ‘Islamabad’ can also be seen on the license plates in both images and has been circled in red by AFP: Screenshot comparing the photo in the misleading post (L) with the one from Dawn News (R). Taken on July 27, 2021. ( AFP / )",,"This is an old image showing Pakistan's national elections in 2018, not the recent poll in Kashmir",,,,,, +42,1,1,5,False,එක රටක්,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GE8QL-1,Union leader slams Sri Lankan government for buying Covid-19 vaccines,2021-07-22,factcheck_afp,,"A photo collage has been shared in multiple Facebook posts that claim it shows a news report where a union leader purportedly criticised the government for procuring Covid-19 vaccines instead of paying teachers' salaries. But the claim is false: the photos in the collage have been doctored to add fabricated remarks into an original report that aired before the wide availability of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.The photo collage was shared more than 300 times here on Facebook on July 22, 2021.It shows screenshots of a purported television news interview with Sri Lankan teachers union leader Joseph Stalin.The image at the top features a Sinhala-language news ticker that states: ""There is money to bring the vaccine"".The image at the bottom states: ""but no money to increase salaries of teachers"".Both images feature the logo of local media organisation Hiru TV.The post's caption translates as: ""Typical petty JVP-er"". Screenshot of the misleading post captured on July 23, 2021 ( Lakna PARANAMANNA)""JVP"" is an acronym for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna political opposition party in Sri Lanka.The post circulated online the same day teachers staged a protest in the capital Colombo demanding higher wages.An identical photo collage was also shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here and here. The claim however is false: the photos in the collage had been doctored.Keyword searches found the photos were taken from this video uploaded on Facebook on June 16, 2020.The video's caption states: ""A silent protest was staged with the participation of trade unions, community organizations today (16) at the Colombo Lipton Circus, expressing objection to the inhumane attack by the government on the protest staged by the Front Line Socialist party.""The protestors called upon the government to halt attempts to curtail freedom of speech, assembly and to protest. A large crowd attended this protest.""The purported remarks made by Stalin about Covid-19 vaccines had been digitally inserted onto the screenshots, along with the Hiru TV logo.Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photos (L) and the original news report (R):   The video circulated online months before Sri Lanka began its Covid-19 vaccination program on January 29, 2021 as reported here by the state-run Rupavahini Sinhala News.News telecasts aired noon, evening and late night by Hiru TV on July 22 -- the day the misleading posts started being shared online -- also do not show Stalin criticising the government for procuring Covid-19 vaccines.In response to the misleading posts, Stalin told AFP on July 26: ""I have not said such a thing... I have been lobbying for the teachers and other professionals in the education sector to be vaccinated before local school terms start.""",,Doctored collage falsely claims union leader slammed Sri Lanka's government for buying Covid-19 vaccines,,,,,, +43,1,1,5,False,Multiple sources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GF67H-1,Construction of sea link bridge in Mumbai took place under Modi government,2021-07-16,factcheck_afp,,"Politicians from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the country's first ""sea bridge"", the 5.6-kilometre (3.5-mile) Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, was built under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The claim is false: work on the landmark bridge began a decade before Modi took office, and it was inaugurated in 2009, when the Indian National Congress was in power. ""This is not a US-France London bridge, this is Mumbai's Bandra bridge. Under Modi's leadership, my India is moving forward and defining new ways of development through its actions and resolutions,"" reads a Hindi-language Facebook post published on July 16 by BJP worker Pankaj Awasthi.""Today, my India is setting new records of development under the leadership of respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There are thousands of such projects and far-reaching policies, there are thousands of such achievements with Bharatiya Janata Party, which have been attained under the leadership of Modi. We will bring these works and achievements to more and more people and so form the BJP government again!""The Bandra-Worli Sea Link is located in India's financial capital Mumbai, a city controlled by opposition parties. Screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 26, 2021  BJP district ministers Munnaram Suthar and Ghanshyam Kumar also shared the claim, which was picked up by Facebook users, including here and here. However, the claim is false.AFP ran a Google keyword search and found various news reports on the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an eight-lane freeway designed to cut the journey time between the eponymous Mumbai suburbs and ease congestion in the Indian financial capital's notoriously choked roads.The landmark bridge was inaugurated on June 30, 2009 by Sonia Gandhi, party chief of the then-ruling Indian National Congress, the Times of India and Hindustan Times reported. The bridge, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, was named after her late husband, who was noted for promoting technology during his time as prime minister. The freeway was first commissioned in 2000 but work was held up until 2004 because of litigation and protests from the local fishing community.In 2000, the BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prime minister. When work commenced in October 2004, Manmohan Singh from the Indian National Congress (INC) was in power, and still held office when the bridge was officially opened in June 2009.Narendra Modi became prime minister in May 2014.AFP has previously debunked misinformation shared by BJP politicians, including a photo of a garbage-filled river in the Philippines which party members falsely claimed was taken in Mumbai, and misleading posts attributing a string of crises in Delhi to the chief minister.",,BJP politicians falsely claim PM Modi built landmark Mumbai bridge,,,,,, +44,1,1,5,False,Multiple persons,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GF7PU-1,This photo shows a political rally for Asaduddin Owaisi in India,2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"A photo has been shared hundreds of times in multiple social media posts that claim it shows a large rally for an Indian Muslim politician during the pandemic. The claim is false: the photo shows an Islamic procession in Bangladesh in 2019.The image was shared in a Hindi-language tweet posted on July 19.The caption translates to English as: ""Huge crowd of a specific community gathered in UP’s Moradabad in Asaduddin Owaisi’s rally and here we are, entangled over BJP, BSP and SP. You people too should stop being in any delusion and think about your future"".""UP"" refers to India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.Asaduddin Owaisi is leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party and member of parliament for Hyderabad in India's southern Telangana state. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 25, 2021The post emerged online after speculation about the AIMIM teaming up with other parties in a bid to defeat the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh's upcoming assembly elections in February 2022. The post also misleadingly suggests India's Muslims are permitted to gather for certain political events, while Hindus have been banned from gathering for religious festivals.The photo was posted with a similar claim here, here, and here on Facebook. However, the claim is false.A reverse image search on Google found the photo was published in this Facebook post on November 26, 2019. It was uploaded by photographer Faisal bin Latif in a post about a religious procession in the Bangladeshi city of Chattogram. A photo of the event shared by Faisal bin Latif on 26 November, 2019He also uploaded an album of photos showing the same event on photo-sharing website Flickr.The album's title reads: ""Jashney Julus, Miladunnabi, November 2019.”AFP found a similar video here on a Bengali-language YouTube channel showing a scene that corresponds with the image in the misleading posts.The video's title states that it shows the Miladun Nabi procession in Chattogram in November 2019.Miladun Nabi is an Islamic festival observed by Muslims as Prophet Mohammed’s birthday according to the Islamic calendar.In 2019, the festival was celebrated on November 10 in Bangladesh. Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube video's one-minute 17-second mark (R): Comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and YouTube videoThe same procession was also reported by Bengali news website Banglanews24.com on November 10, 2019.AFP found a similar structure pictured in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R): Similarity between the image in the news story (L) with the YouTube video (R) snapshotAFP previously debunked posts sharing the same photo alongside a claim they showed the funeral procession of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed while covering fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban.",,Bangladesh religious procession image shared in false posts about Indian political rally,,,,,, +45,5,1,5,Altered image,Multiple,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9G82NF-1,Photo shows Aung San Suu Kyi in a prison cell,2021-07-22,factcheck_afp,,"An image purporting to show detained Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a prison cell has been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook. The claim is false; the image, originally published on online library Wikimedia Commons in 2013, has been doctored to add Suu Kyi’s face.The image was shared here on Facebook on July 22, 2021 which has been shared more than 17,000 times. The post’s caption in Bengali reads: ""No one's power lasts forever.""The image appears to show Myanmar's detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi dressed in orange overalls and looking out from a prison cell.Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party which claimed an overwhelming victory in the second parliamentary election in November 2020, only to be ousted by the Myanmar junta in a coup on February 1, 2021.Suu Kyi, along with senior party leaders, was detained instantly by the military. She is now facing a series of charges against her including corruption and violating the State Secrets Act, AFP reported here.The image was also shared here and here on Facebook.However, the image has been doctored from a photo created in 2013 which does not feature Suu Kyi.A reverse image search found the original photo was published here on Wikimedia Commons, dated back to July 12, 2013 with photo credit to Officer Bimblebury.The photo caption reads: ""A female prisoner living inside her tiny prison cell. The cell provides the inmate with a toilet and a bed, as well as bars to protect her from the outside elements. The cell is designed for the comfort and benefit of the prisoner as well as the public."" Wikimedia Commons is a project of Wikimedia Foundation which provides free-use images, sounds and other media.Below is a screenshot of the image in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the original photo on Wikimedia Commons (R): ( Qadaruddin SHISHIR)Metadata information of the original photo on digital verification tool InVID-WeVerify also shows the image was last modified on July 12, 2013. A screenshot of the metadata information of the original photo on InVID-WeVerify, taken on July 26, 2021.",,Doctored photo does not show Aung San Suu Kyi in a prison cell,,,,,, +46,1,1,5,False,Multiple resources,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GB8VH-5,"Video of demonstration in Cuba, 2021",2021-07-19,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts from around the world have shared footage of what they claim shows anti-government protests in Cuba. The claim is false: the video actually shows an anti-government protest in Haiti in 2019.""Cuba today,"" reads a traditional Chinese-language tweet posted on July 17. The video has been viewed more than 60,000 times. Screenshot taken on July 26, 2021, of the misleading Twitter post ( AFP)Thousands of Cubans joined rare anti-government protests on July 11, as the country faced its toughest phase yet of the coronavirus epidemic.The footage has been shared in various languages alongside similar claims, including Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian.The claim is false.A reverse image search of keyframes from the footage, using the InVid-WeVerify tool, found the same video posted in this tweet from Russian media outlet Redfish.It states the footage shows protesters in Haiti on October 13, 2019. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Haiti against the government and the IMF. pic.twitter.com/X7hPiJ6QYc — redfish (@redfishstream) October 14, 2019 An advanced Twitter search found the same video posted on the same day here, here and here in tweets about protests in Haiti.The video was also tweeted by journalist Sandra Lemaire from Voice of America (VOA) on October 13, 2019.She credited the footage to VOA Haiti correspondent Alexandre Joram, VOA correspondent.A search of VOA's Instagram page in Haiti, VOA Kreyòl, found the same sequence published on October 13, 2019.The post says the video shows a ""Haitian artists"" march and credits the footage to Alexandre Joran.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by VOA Creole (@voakreyol) Thousands of Haitians marched on October 13, 2019 to demand the resignation of demonstration then-president Jovenel Moise.Anti-government demonstrations paralysed daily life across much of Haiti from September to December 2019, with anger at Moise -- whose victory in the November 2016 election was rejected by the opposition -- boiling over due to a national fuel shortage.Moise's assassination on July 7, 2021 plunged the impoverished Caribbean nation in crisis. AFP debunked various false reports about the incident here and here.",,This video shows demonstrators in Haiti in 2019 -- not Cuba in 2021,,,,,, +47,1,1,5,False,Hal Turner Radio Show,2021-07-27,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9GJ3LG-1,French president's entire security force resigned,2021-07-24,factcheck_afp,,"A French member of parliament and an American radio host claimed that Emmanuel Macron's entire security detail resigned to protest the French president's initiative imposing health passes to participate in many aspects of public life. This is false; the Republican Guard did not resign, and it is tasked with presidential palace security, not his direct physical safety.""Protective Detail of France President ALL Resign over COVID Restrictions; will no longer protect President Macron,"" reads the headline of a July 24, 2021 article on the website of the Hal Turner Radio Show, a conspiracy-oriented program AFP has fact-checked before. Below the headline, a photo shows members of the Garde Républicaine, or Republican Guard, an elite French army corps tasked with special missions. Screenshot of an online article taken on July 26, 2021""The Republican Guard, a security detail established to protect the President of France, have ALL resigned, and will no longer protect President Macron!"" the article says of the 2,800-strong force.The Covid-19 restrictions mentioned in the headline refer to a decree by Macron that required proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test to be able to attend events or enter places with more than 50 people. The ""health pass"" will be extended to restaurants, cafes and shopping centers in August. This was formalized into law by the country's parliament on July 25, 2021, despite widespread protests against it.However, the Republican Guard did not resign in relation to this law, and is not tasked with the French president's immediate physical safety.The unit responsible for direct personal protection of the French head of state is the Groupe de sécurité de la présidence de la République, whose members hail from both the police and the Gendarmerie.The Republican Guard is a French army unit tasked with ""public safety missions and protocol representation,"" according to its official webpage. Its members are not in charge of the direct safety of the French president like the US Secret Service, but they indirectly play this role by ensuring the security of the Elysee Palace, where the president lives. A spokesperson for the Gendarmerie told AFP on July 26, 2021 that the Republican Guard ""is still"" performing its palace duties. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French army tasked with law enforcement roles, to which the Republican Guard answers. On social media, neither the Garde Républicaine nor the Gendarmerie, nor any French media, mentioned a mass resignation of the force's members.The false claims regarding the Republican Guard began when Martine Wonner, an independent member of parliament in France, claimed in a video that the force no longer wished to protect Macron.Wonner is a Covid-skeptic who was part of the government's party before she was ousted due to her controversial stances.She also faced calls from her opposition party to quit that group after she urged people to lay siege to MPs who approved the health pass.Before the vaccine passport law can be applied, it must be approved by France's highest administrative authority, the Constitutional Council, which will vote on it on August 5.",,French president's security detail did not resign over Covid-19 bill,,,,,, +48,1,1,5,False,Various sources,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FP6FY-3,Chinese President Xi Jinping asks for Indonesian's Kalimantan island as 'debt collateral',2021-07-15,factcheck_afp,,"A video of Chinese President Xi Jinping giving a speech has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, with a claim that it shows Xi is demanding Indonesia's Kalimantan region as a ""debt collateral"". The claim is false: the Indonesian subtitles in the video do not match Xi’s actual speech. The video in fact shows Xi speaking at the Indonesian parliament in 2013; the Chinese leader did not mention about Kalimantan nor any debt collateral in his speech. The video was posted on TikTok here on July 15, 2021, and has been viewed more than 8,000 times.The video shows Chinese President Xi Jinping giving a speech in Mandarin, with Indonesian-language subtitles that read: ""In this visit, I want to ask President Jokowi Dodo to pay his country's debt to China"",  referring to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi.The subtitles then read: ""In an agreed timeline in the memorandum of agreement that we have made together in the investment contract ""China to Indonesia in Jokowi Dodo's victory in the last election and infrastructure building capital. If not, then we in the name of the Chinese government's authority will seize Kalimantan island as the debt collateral to the Chinese government. We will not hesitate to use force in this matter!!!""The post's caption and the superimposed text on the clip read: ""Hoax or fact??? China wants to take over Kalimantan island as Indonesia's debt collateral.""  Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 19, 2021Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian-controlled parts of Borneo island; the rest of the island belong to Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. China is the second biggest foreign investor in Indonesia. Indonesia's debt to China stands at around $21.47 billion, according to the latest data published by Bank Indonesia, the Indonesian central bank, and the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, making China the fourth largest holder of Indonesia's foreign debts. The clip has been viewed more than 208,000 times after it appeared with a similar claim on YouTube here, here and here; and on Facebook here, here and here.However, the claim is false.A keyword search on Google found the original video of Xi's speech was posted here on the YouTube channel of China's state broadcaster CGTN on October 3, 2013, titled ""President Xi Jinping delivers speech at Indonesia parliament."" The news anchor in the video said in the first few seconds of the broadcast: ""This, of course, is a historic moment for diplomacy between Jakarta and Beijing because Xi Jinping becomes the first-ever foreign leader — not just the first Chinese leader, but the first-ever foreign leader to address politicians inside the Indonesian parliament"".The misleading video corresponds to the CGTN video from the 21:44 mark, where Xi says: ""President Susilo and I have jointly announced our decision to upgrade our bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with a view to building on past achievements and bringing about all-round and in-depth growth of our relationship.""President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in office from 2004 to 2014. He was succeeded by Jokowi, who was sworn in on October 20, 2014. The subtitles in the misleading video do not match Xi's actual speech.The full transcript of Xi's speech, published by China Daily, the state-owned English newspaper, here, shows he did not mention any debt collateral nor Kalimantan.Below are screenshot comparisons between the misleading clip (L) and the CGTN video (R): Screenshot comparisons of the clip in the misleading post (L) and the CGTN video (R)Xi's speech to the Indonesian's parliament in 2013 was also reported by Indonesian media outlets, such as Kompas and Detik.com.",,This video does not show Chinese president demanding Indonesia's island as 'debt collateral',,,,,, +49,1,1,5,False,juanli324,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FH4XQ-1,"Cuban President announced his resignation on July 17, 2021.",2021-07-18,factcheck_afp,,"After thousands of Cubans marched in anti-government protests, Chinese-language social media posts claimed that President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced he would resign in a televised broadcast on July 17. The claim is false: Diaz-Canel criticised what he said was a ""false narrative"" of the unrest, but did not say he would step down. As of July 26, 2021, he was still serving as Cuba's president. ""This morning (July 17) Havana Time, the Community Party of Cuban's president and first secretary Miguel Diaz-Canel announced in a televised broadcast: Resigned from public office and party leadership,"" reads a traditional Chinese-language tweet posted on July 18.""Full launch of political deepening and economic reforms, new foreign relations policy, free elections in the country, and participation of the Cuban Communist Party in the election of congressmen as a political party. This means Cuba has been released from its one-party dictatorship."" A screenshot, taken on July 21, 2021, of the misleading post. ( AFP)In mid-July 2021, thousands of Cubans joined anti-government protests in 40 cities. AFP reported on the unrest here.A similar claim was shared on Facebook here and here and on Twitter here and here.The claim is, however, false. A keyword search on Google found a transcript of Diaz-Canel's speech on July 17.It was published here on the president's official site.  A screenshot, taken on July 26, 2021, of the Cuba President's speech transcript. ( AFP)At the rally, he decried what he said was the dissemination of ""false images"" on social networks that ""glorify the outrage and destruction of property."" ""What the world is seeing of Cuba is a lie,"" he saidDiaz-Canel did not announce he would resign from office. As of July 26, he remained in power. AFP found no credible news reports about his purported resignation.",,Cuban president did not 'announce resignation' immediately after anti-government protests,,,,,, +50,1,1,5,Altered Image,Multiple sources,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FP4T6-1,Aam Admi Party billboard says,2021-07-12,factcheck_afp,,"An image of a billboard advert from an Indian opposition party that purports to include a pro-Muslim message has been shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook posts. The image, however, has been doctored from a photo of a billboard that displayed a different message. The misleading image was shared here in a Facebook group with more than 250,000 followers.It purports to show a billboard advertisement from India's opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).The advert appears to read: ""Gujarat will read Namaz. Quit useless traditions like Bhagwat Gita week and Satyanarayan Katha."" Screenshot of post with morphed image taken on July 23, 2021.Namaz is a form of prayer performed by the Muslim community.The Bhagavad Gita and the Satyanarayan Katha are Hindu religious texts. The post's Hindi-language caption translates to English as: ""Watch the disgusting election campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat... The board reads in Gujarati, - 'Gujarat will read Namaz. Quit unnecessary tendencies like Bhagavad Gita Week and Satyanarayan Katha.' ""The post circulated online as the AAP prepared for the 2022 state legislative assembly elections in Gujarat. The build-up to the elections was reported by Indian newspaper The Hindu here.India's ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained a stronghold over the state since 1995.The post was also shared on Facebook by several other accounts, for example here, here, here and here. However, the image of the billboard has been manipulated.The original image was published here and here on the official Twitter accounts of the AAP in Gujarat. Below is a comparison of the manipulated image in the Facebook posts (L) and the image of the billboard posted by the AAP (R):  On the original billboard, the text reads: ""Now Gujarat will change"".In the manipulated image, this was replaced with: ""Gujarat will read Namaz.""Text was added to the manipulated billboard's middle section.In the original image, Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia appears on the left. He does not have a beard and can be seen wearing a different cap to the man pictured in the doctored image.The AAP debunked the manipulated billboard image in a Facebook post here. Screenshot of the post made by AAP on July 12, 2021. The post's caption reads: ""Another Fake News BustedRise of AAP in Gujarat is giving sleepless nights to BJP.""",,Image of Indian political party's billboard doctored to include pro-Muslim message,,,,,, +51,3,1,5,Misleading,Multiple sources,2021-07-26,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FL9QQ-1,Boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao took only three months to finish his bachelor’s degree,2021-06-24,factcheck_afp,,"Social media posts in the Philippines claim boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao earned his university diploma in only three months, suggesting his degree was fraudulently conferred. The posts are misleading: an official from the University of Makati, where Pacquiao obtained a political science degree, said he finished the diploma in 16 months and that his government experience counted as academic credit. The misleading posts also misrepresent images related to Pacquiao's university attendance.""If only it was like this for everyone,"" reads a Tagalog-language tweet posted on June 24, 2021.The tweet features an illustration which claims Pacquiao enrolled at the University of Makati in September 2019 and then graduated three months later in December 2019.  Screenshot of misleading post taken on July 21, 2021Similar posts were shared on Facebook here, here and here.The posts prompted accusations from social media users that Pacquiao's degree was fraudulently conferred.""Bachelor of Science in most courses is 4 to 5 years schooling. . . . seems Pacquiao earned his degree by magic or in a diploma mill,"" one person commented.The post emerged following a public skirmish between Pacquiao and President Rodrigo Duterte over the latter's handling of the South China Sea dispute with Beijing.Until recently, Pacquiao was a high-profile backer of Duterte and his controversial drug war, which International Criminal Court prosecutors want to investigate for the alleged unlawful killing of possibly tens of thousands of people.However, the posts claiming Pacquiao earned his degree in three months are misleading.University degreeA spokesman for the University of Makati said that Pacquiao took a 16-month degree in political studies.""Per the certificate of registration from our registrar's office, [he enrolled in] July 2018,"" Elyxzur Ramos, vice president for academic affairs at the University of Makati, told AFP.""He took the modular program for 16 months, until November 2019. He graduated from this university in December [2019], which was our mid-year graduation.""The senator enrolled in the university’s College of Continuing, Advanced and Professional Studies, where degrees count certain professional experience as academic credit, Ramos said.The political science degree that Pacquiao earned was designed for qualified Philippine government officials and can be completed in between six and 22 months, he added.The degree programme's launch in 2011 was reported by local media here and here; and announced on this local government website.Misrepresented imagesFurthermore, the images shared in the social media posts have been taken out of context.Reverse image searches and keyword searches found the first image was posted on Pacquiao’s official Facebook account on September 6, 2019.However, it does not indicate that the senator had only just enrolled, as the posts claim.""Never stop learning because life never stops teaching,"" the Facebook post reads. The second image, which shows Pacquiao's graduation, was taken from this report by broadcaster ABS-CBN on December 11, 2019.""Senator Manny Pacquiao with his family during his graduation from the course Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Makati this Wednesday,” the image's Tagalog-language caption reads.",,Social media posts mislead on boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao's university degree,,,,,, +52,1,1,5,False,Joe Biden,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR7KY-1,Vaccinated people won't get Covid-19,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"US President Joe Biden claimed during a CNN town hall that vaccinated people will not get Covid-19. This is false; despite the high efficacy of the shots, infections still occur among the fully vaccinated population, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.""You're not gonna get Covid if you have these vaccinations,"" Biden said during the July 21, 2021 event, which came as the Covid-19 pandemic is again surging in the United States, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. US President Joe Biden (L) participates in a CNN Town Hall meeting hosted by Don Lemon (R) at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 21, 2021 ( AFP / Saul Loeb)But Biden's claim is inaccurate: the vaccines are very effective, but cases among vaccinated people are possible.The CDC said that as of July 12, it had received reports of 5,492 patients with Covid-19 ""breakthrough"" infections being hospitalized or dying, out of a total of more than 159 million fully vaccinated people in the United States.""Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing infection and even more effective in preventing the serious illness that results in hospitalization and death,"" but no vaccine is 100 percent effective, Tom Skinner, senior public affairs officer at the CDC, told AFP on July 23. During a briefing at the White House on July 22, Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed a reporter's question regarding the president's remarks on vaccination, saying that vaccinated people were ""largely protected.""""That was the point he was trying to make last night,"" she said.During the town hall, Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated. ""It's really kind of basic,"" he said, at a time when the US vaccination rate has significantly slowed.AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous other inaccurate claims related to Covid-19 and vaccines.July 26, 2021 This story was updated to correct the spelling of exaggerated in the headline.",,Joe Biden exaggerated Covid-19 vaccine efficacy,,,,,, +53,1,1,5,False,Multiple people,2021-07-23,,factcheck_afp,,https://factcheck.afp.com/http%253A%252F%252Fdoc.afp.com%252F9FR69F-1,Publix supermarket chain will stop carrying Ben & Jerry's,2021-07-21,factcheck_afp,,"Facebook posts feature an image of an announcement from US supermarket chain Publix saying it will no longer carry Ben & Jerry's because of the ice cream company's decision to stop sales in occupied Palestinian territories. This is false; Publix says it has not dropped Ben & Jerry's products, and made no such statement on its website or social media accounts. ""Due to the recent statement by Ben & Jerry's We will no longer be carrying their products, effective immediately! We stand with Israel!"" reads the text of an image in a July 20, 2021 Facebook post that appears to show a Publix announcement. Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on July 23, 2021The post, which was apparently first published on a private account, was shared as a screenshot in several Facebook groups, and by a UK page supporting Israel's Likud party. Others shared the image on Twitter.The purported announcement circulated on social media following Ben & Jerry's July 19 statement saying it would stop selling its products in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, namely the West Bank and East Jerusalem, because doing so is ""inconsistent with our values."" The move prompted a backlash in Israel and parts of the US.However, Publix -- which did not respond to AFP's requests for comment by the time of publication -- says it does not plan to remove Ben & Jerry's products.""While we currently don't plan to remove Ben & Jerry's from our stores, we'll continue evaluating products based on sales,""  the company's customer service Twitter account @PublixHelps wrote in response to questions over the authenticity of the claim. Screenshot of a tweet taken on July 23, 2021Publix has also not announced on Twitter or on Facebook that it is ceasing sales of the company's ice cream, and its webpage dedicated to news releases makes no mention of Ben & Jerry's.Various Ben & Jerry's products are also still available on Publix's website.Public pressureThe fake announcement was shared as the company faces public pressure on Publix to ban Ben & Jerry's products from its stores. A petition on change.org asking Publix and Winn Dixie, another supermarket chain, to stop selling the ice cream, was signed by more than 450 people at the time of publication.A search for the words ""Publix Israel"" on social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle also shows that a Facebook account shared a message encouraging people to email Publix CEO Todd Jones about Ben & Jerry's in at least 10 different groups related to Florida, where the supermarket chain is headquartered. Screenshot of a CrowdTangle search for ""Publix Israel"" taken on July 23, 2021On July 20, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned consumer goods giant Unilever, of which Ben & Jerry's is a subsidiary, that the decision would have ""severe consequences."" The Israeli government has for years been fighting a BDS movement, which calls for boycott, divestment and sanction of the Jewish state over its policies toward Palestinians.",,Fake announcement says US supermarket chain dropping Ben & Jerry's products,,,,,,