AFP’s fact-checking service debunks misinformation spread online. Here are some of our recent articles:
1. Myanmar or Korea?
A photo has been shared repeatedly on social media platforms alongside a claim that it shows Myanmar security forces cracking down on anti-coup protesters in the city of Mandalay in February 2021. The claim is false: it in fact shows a South Korean film released in 2007.
2. Faked Covid-19 vaccine?
Social media posts claim that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa received a Covid-19 shot with a syringe that still had the needle covered by a cap. This is false; images and videos taken from different angles show Ramaphosa was vaccinated with an exposed needle.
3. Lockdown blues
An image was shared repeatedly in multiple posts on Facebook alongside a claim it shows protesters in Romania rallying against Covid-19 restrictions. This claim is false. The photo shows an anti-government protest in the Romanian capital Bucharest in 2017.
4. UFO hoax
A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple social media posts and news reports that claim it shows a Singapore Airlines flight almost colliding with a UFO moments before landing at Zurich Airport in 2021. The claim is false. The video has been doctored. The original footage has circulated online since 2015.
5. Texas winter storm
Facebook posts shared thousands of times claim the US Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing free hotel rooms to Texans without water or heat in their homes after a severe winter storm hit the southern state. The claim is false: the agency said it is not currently offering hotel rooms to residents.
http://u.afp.com/NotMandalay
http://u.afp.com/Uc6b
http://u.afp.com/BucharestProtest
http://u.afp.com/NotUFO
http://u.afp.com/FEMATexas
Afp.
