by AFP | 29.Aug 2023 | Fact check
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that cost millions of lives, the World Health Organisation pledged to come up with a plan to ensure a better response to future outbreaks of disease. It is due to be submitted to the World Health Assembly in 2024. As the plan is being drafted, it has been misrepresented on social media. For example, a Croatian MEP claimed in July 2023 that the plan would force countries to surrender their authority on vaccination to the WHO. As a result, he alleged, their citizens would be required to have many more vaccines. But such allegations are false and misleading. Countries are still in charge of their pandemic response and the plan only aims to improve international cooperation, experts told AFP.
by AFP | 22.Aug 2023 | Fact check
Germany has welcomed more than a million refugees from Ukraine since the start of the war, according to European Union figures. The newcomers have had to register and apply for temporary protection status, which replaces the need to apply for asylum, as agreed by the EU Council following Russia’s invasion. An old claim, which has recently resurfaced on social media, alleges that Germany has also imposed another requirement: that Ukrainian refugees must report all of their assets and sell their car if its value exceeds 7,500 euros. This is false.
by AFP | 14.Aug 2023 | Fact check
The European Union’s climate observatory, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, has reported that July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. While much of Europe was hit by historic heat, Ireland experienced another kind of extreme weather event being exacerbated by climate change: heavy rains. Within this context, an image circulating on social media appears to show a story about “asymptomatic global warming” published online by the Irish Independent, but the purported screenshot is fabricated.
by AFP | 08.Aug 2023 | Fact check
Social media users shared videos in June 2023 claiming that a convoy of thousands of migrants were on their way to Italy from Libya. Some of the posts, shared hundreds of times in Polish, claimed the Libyan armed forces assisted their crossing in an organised operation to “invade Europe”. But an AFP investigation found the footage was filmed during an expulsion of migrants from Libya into neighbouring Egypt.
by AFP | 01.Aug 2023 | Fact check
Since mid-June 2023, thousands of social media users have shared an article in Bulgarian spreading the false claim that the EU has “banned domestic cattle”, as well as other kinds of livestock. The article also claims the EU has prohibited the domestic production of dairy products and eggs. Both a European Commission spokesperson and the Bulgarian agriculture ministry said the claims are false. AFP did not find any information to suggest that such a ban is currently being considered at a European or a national level in Bulgaria.
by AFP | 25.Jul 2023 | Fact check
A German blog post shared on social media in June 2023 claimed that Sweden had withdrawn from the European Green Deal. While it is true that Sweden’s new conservative government — known for its pro-nuclear stance — recently changed the national electricity mix target, it has not however announced that it was quitting the Green Deal, the Swedish finance ministry and the European Commission told AFP.
