by AFP | 31.Jan 2023 | Fact check
A video viewed nearly 200,000 times on Instagram appears to show a crowd interrupting US President Joe Biden with an expletive-laden chant during a speech on gun reform. But the clip has been manipulated; the original footage of the address shows Biden reacting as the father of a school shooting victim stood up to call for a greater response to gun violence.
by AFP | 24.Jan 2023 | Fact check
Social media posts claim Covid-19 vaccines have caused a surge in aggressive forms of cancer. This is unproven; experts say available data do not show an increased risk — and health authorities recommend the shots for cancer patients, whose treatments can leave them immunocompromised and more vulnerable to the coronavirus.
by AFP | 17.Jan 2023 | Fact check
Multiple social media posts falsely claim German researchers have confirmed gargling with salt water kills the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. But AFP found no such study. A scientist who led a similar study in 2020 — which found certain commercial mouthwashes could reduce the risk of virus transmission — said mouthwashes are ineffective in treating Covid-19. There is no scientific evidence that salt water gargling can prevent or treat Covid-19, according to health experts.
by AFP | 10.Jan 2023 | Fact check
A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple posts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that falsely claim it shows praying Muslims being forcibly removed from a road in France. In fact, the clip shows climate activists from French protest group Dernière Rénovation being removed during a sit-in demonstration in Paris.
by AFP | 03.Jan 2023 | Fact check
A video viewed millions of times on social media claims airports “across the world” will end the 3.4-ounce (100 ml) limit for liquids in carry-on items by 2024. This is misleading; the United Kingdom announced such a measure, but this has not been adopted globally.