Claim: A social media video apparently shows a cat being rescued after a powerful earthquake hit Turkey and Syria earlier this month. Fact: The claim about the video is misleading. The video is from 2018, when a cat was rescued from a fire in Volgograd, Russia. A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and […]
Claim: A social media video claims that it shows Turkish actor Burak Ozcivit helping victims in the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Turkey. Fact: The claim is false as the clip is from the Turkish TV drama “Kara Sevda,” which aired from 2015 to 2017 and starred Ozcivit. On 10 February 2023, a video […]
Claim: News outlets reported that Twitter fired a man 24 hours after hiring him. Fact: The reports were based on tweets by @SaeedDiCaprio, who posted them as an elaborate joke. On 10 February 2023, four Nigerian news outlets published a news story titled, “Elon Musk allegedly fires man from Twitter 24 hours after hiring him.” […]
Claim: Numerous pictures of dogs have surfaced on the Internet with the claim they were part of rescue operations following the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquakes in February 2023. Fact: Many of these photos are not recent or related to the Turkey-Syria earthquakes in February 2023. On 6 February 2023, Turkey and Syria were hit by two […]
Claim: A video shows a man burning what is claimed to be the Quran in a street in Sweden in January 2023 before another man punches and kicks him. Fact: The clip is not from Sweden, nor is it recent. It shows a man blowtorching the Quran in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2021. On 23 January […]
Claim: Pakistani website MM News says claims about the prediction of an earthquake in Pakistan, India or Afghanistan were “falsely attributed” to Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets. It further states that none of the three aforementioned countries’ names or those of any other South Asian nation appeared on his Twitter account or the website of his […]
Claim: Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets tweeted a list of “safety rules [for] when an earthquake occurs”, including asking God for help. Fact: Hoogerbeets did not tweet such a list. On 8 February 2023, Twitter account @Frank_Hoogerbee (archive) posted a tweet stating “safety rules [for] when an earthquake occurs”. According to @Frank_Hoogerbee, these rules are as […]
Claim: A video shows a building in Syria collapsing after the massive earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on 6 February 2023. Fact: The clip is, in fact, from 2022 and shows the demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria […]
Claim: A video shows a building collapsing following the Turkey earthquake. Fact: The video is, in fact, from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and surfaced on the Internet at least a few days before the Turkey earthquake. On 7 February 2023, Twitter account @Richtasy posted a video showing a building crashing inwards as multiple vehicles are […]
Claim: Author Salman Rushdie recently said, “The large majority of peaceful Muslims don’t matter because I was attacked by just one Muslim who followed Quran. All religions are not same because they have not codified death to whoever doesn’t believe in their religion. On my life I want to warn the world that Islam will […]
Claim: ARY News on 9 February 2023 published a news report with the headline, “Student, 16, stabbed to death by schoolmates,” making it appear as if the incident occurred in Pakistan. Fact: The stabbing, in fact, took place in Haryana’s Faridabad district in India. ARY News’ report and relevant links on Facebook and Twitter are […]
Claim: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an Indian political party, is considered the party with the largest propaganda and misinformation network in the world, followed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Fact: The index being alluded to by viral posts was shared by a parody account, South Youthia Index, on Twitter. Fact or Fiction? On 7 February […]