Pakistan police confirmed a man in an online video with a female Muslim face covering was arrested in 2023 after he wore the garment to a college, contrary to Facebook posts that falsely claimed he masqueraded as a woman to commit voter fraud in India’s ongoing national elections. A police officer in Lahore was suspended […]
Tag: falsely
Old video of Indonesia police training falsely shared as farmers’ clash ahead of India elections
As India geared up for national elections, a video of a police training exercise in Indonesia surfaced in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed clashes between security forces and farmers vying to march to Delhi in a dispute over crop prices. The video was in fact filmed months before the protests began and […]
‘Easter egg’ plastic skeleton props in US lake falsely shared as genuine discoveries in the ocean
Underwater footage of an assortment of props — including plastic skeletons and a lawnmower — in a flooded old mining pit in the US state of Minnesota were in fact placed by divers over the years, contrary to Korean-language posts on YouTube and TikTok that suggested the scenes were filmed deep under the sea. Though […]
Image of eastern China bridge falsely shared as ‘Mumbai highway’ in pro-BJP posts
Social media users have repeatedly shared a photo of a bridge in China’s eastern Shandong province, falsely claiming it showed a highway in the Indian megacity Mumbai built by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The posts surfaced as India held its marathon general election that the BJP is widely projected to win. “This is […]
Fake fingers for Japanese gangsters falsely linked to India election fraud claim
India’s election commission said it had not recorded any cases of voter fraud involving prosthetic fingers, contrary to social media posts that baselessly accused Muslims in West Bengal state of wearing fake fingers to cast multiple votes. The posts, which surfaced as Indians voted in national elections, in fact show photos of prosthetic fingers for […]
How a post falsely claiming migrants are registering to vote spread to millions in four weeks
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The rumor started as a post on X. The post published in early April misrepresented federal data from the Social Security Administration to falsely suggest that hundreds of thousands of migrants may have registered to vote in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Texas. One hour later, the tweet got the rocket fuel it needed […]
Old video falsely shared as North American solar eclipse in 2024
As a rare total solar eclipse swept across North America in April 2024, social media was awash with old footage falsely shared as the celestial phenomenon. In one case, a Facebook video with hundreds of thousands of views in fact showed an eclipse seven years earlier in Madras, Oregon. That city did not experience the […]
Fort Worth woman who falsely believed her mom was abusing child pleads guilty to murder
A woman who, according to her defense attorneys, was suffering from a severe mental illness when in November 2020 she shot her mother to death in south Fort Worth on Monday pleaded guilty to murder. When she killed her mother, Izehi Enabulele was under the misguided belief that her mother had been abusing a grandchild, […]
Old photo of Indian cricketer falsely shared as proof of his support for opposition party
An old photo of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been shared hundreds of times with a false claim it showed him gesturing in support of the opposition Congress party in the general election currently underway in India. The picture was in fact published in 2020 by his cricket team to celebrate they have reached six […]
Old video of fish flopping in Georgia supermarket falsely linked to Dubai floods
As heavy floods drenched Dubai in April 2024, a video of fish squirming about on a supermarket floor surfaced in Facebook posts that falsely claimed it showed an incident in the Middle East financial centre. The footage was in fact filmed years earlier in Georgia. It circulated in news reports from February 2018 about fish […]
Videos edited to falsely suggest Bollywood actors ‘promoted India’s Congress party in 2024 election’
Videos of Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh have been manipulated to falsely claim that they endorsed India’s main opposition Congress party in the 2024 elections. AFP found the videos — which the actors have reported to the police — were edited from old interviews to insert fake audio that imitated their voices. Neither […]
Disaster videos from Lebanon, Chile, Japan falsely shared as Iran attack
A dramatic video compilation of explosions and panicked crowds fleeing the streets swirled in social media posts about Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on April 13, 2024. However, the clips were in fact all filmed before Tehran’s assault. The footage shows a blast in Lebanon, cars blackened by forest fires in Chile and people reacting […]