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AFP Fact Check

@factcheck.afp.com

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Fact-checking by AFP News Agency. Official account of the world's biggest news fact-checking network. Also on Instagram: @AFPFactCheck Help us fight misinformation factcheck.afp.com/contact

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AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 50m

Facebook posts have shared a video claiming it shows the Somali coast drying up amid Ethiopia's push for Red Sea port access. But the footage was filmed at the Alang shipbreaking yard in Gujarat, India. Read more: u.afp.com/SomaliaCoast

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 1h

🇺🇬 False claims have spread online since the death of King Oyo of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom. A fabricated statement was presented as his last message, while old videos were recycled to falsely depict his final hours and the return of his body from the US. Read more: u.afp.com/KingOyo

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 6h

As severe flooding inundated parts of Bangkok in late September, a video purportedly showing a long-tail boat cruising down a submerged city street circulated on social media. Although rescuers had to resort to inflatables and small boats, AFP found the footage was generated using AI. u.afp.com/S9sU

Video of boat cruising down waterlogged road in Thai capital is AI-generated

Bangkok residents and rescuers turned to inflatables and small boats to navigate the Thai capital after days of heavy rain in late September 2026, but video circulating on social media showing a…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 29/09/2026

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian showed photos of children killed in the early stages of the Iran war during his defiant speech at the UN General Assembly. But this image circulating online is AI-generated, and replaced the children's photo with synthetic visuals u.afp.com/AIPezeshkian...

AI image of Iran president's UN speech passed off as authentic

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's defiant speech at the UN General Assembly, where he held up photos of schoolchildren killed during the early days of the Iran war, has triggered the spread of an…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 29/09/2026

An image shared by supporters of Australia Senator Pauline Hanson supposedly shows her working in her fish-and-chips shop in the late 1980s. But the “vintage” photo is in fact AI-generated. u.afp.com/S9q8

Fishy AI image of Australian senator in fry shop misleads supporters

Australian far-right senator Pauline Hanson was a fish-and-chip shop owner before she entered politics, but an image circulating on social media purportedly showing her in the late 1980s busy…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 27/09/2026

There is no evidence vaccination ingredients are triggering allergies to peanuts. Research shows peanut allergies develop less often when the nut is introduced early to a child's diet.

No evidence vaccines cause peanut allergies

Vaccines approved for use in the United States do not include peanut oil, contrary to claims on social media asserting pharmaceutical companies are intentionally including the ingredient to increase…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 26/09/2026

Vaccines are sterilized to eliminate risk of parasites. Read more: u.afp.com/S947

A laboratory technician handles capped vials as part of filling and packaging tests for the large-scale production and supply of Covid-19 vaccines in Anagni, Italy

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 25/09/2026

Donald Trump shared an image of Xi Jinping's red-carpet arrival to Washington that appears to have been altered using artificial intelligence, with an unflattering expression captured in live footage of the moment edited out. Read more: u.afp.com/S9Gp

Screenshot of Donald Trump's Truth Social post with an AI label added by AFP

US President Donald Trump reacts as a B1 bomber flies past during the playing of the national anthem while he welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 25/09/2026

🇺🇸📨 🗳️ Misleading warnings over mail-in ballots circulate ahead of US midterms. Read more: u.afp.com/S9SQ

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 25/09/2026

Since July, nine women have been found dead in an area east of Johannesburg. A screenshot of a televised police briefing depicting 10 victims circulated online. However, the image was altered. At the time, eight bodies had been found u.afp.com/S9pX

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 25/09/2026

Online posts are sharing clipped footage of Hillary Clinton, falsely claiming the former US secretary of state told Taiwan to "abandon resistance". We reviewed the full interview and found she made no such remarks u.afp.com/S9ci

Posts share clipped footage twisting Hillary Clinton remarks on Taiwan

Taipei relies heavily on Washington's support to counter growing pressure from China, but online posts claiming Hillary Clinton told Taiwan to "abandon resistance" share a misleadingly edited clip of…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 25/09/2026

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan sprinter Fathima Shafiya Yamick's Asian Games exclusion has sparked rumours blaming religious reasons. But the posts share a fabricated graphic, and the country's athletics body said she was excluded over her previous performance record u.afp.com/S9qY

Sri Lankan sprinter's Asian Games exclusion sparks online misinformation

Sri Lankan star sprinter Fathima Shafiya Yamick's absence from the Asian Games has triggered online falsehoods alleging a top sports official from the Buddhist-majority island nation said she was…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 25/09/2026

Online posts are falsely claiming the World Bank is stopping its supply of vaccines to cash-strapped Sri Lanka. But the global lender is not involved in providing jabs, while the false claim came from a newspaper headline that has since been corrected.

Posts falsely link World Bank to Sri Lanka's vaccine supply

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka's continuing woes since emerging from its worst economic meltdown have sparked online posts falsely asserting its latest challenge is the World Bank halting its supply of free…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 24/09/2026

Videos including altered footage of interviews by Bill Gates and a fake article from the United Nations website are pushing a volatile cryptocurrency asset that experts caution can quickly lose value.

Bill Gates did not promote water reserve cryptocoin ahead of UNGA

As top officials gather for the annual United Nations General Assembly, social media influencers are offering their followers access to an investment opportunity they claim is related to a…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 24/09/2026

Protests flared in Austin in September 2026 after a US immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan national making a DoorDash delivery. But one video claimed online to show tensions peaking in the Texas capital is misrepresented. The footage shows an August demonstration in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Footage from Indonesia misrepresented as Texas protest against ICE shooting

Protests flared in Austin in September 2026 after a US immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan national making a DoorDash delivery. But one video claimed online to show tensions peaking in…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 24/09/2026

Social media posts claim this clip depicts a collision between Indian and Pakistani warships in the northern Arabian Sea in September 2026. But it actually shows a 2011 crash. u.afp.com/SjvB

Footage of India-Pakistan naval collision in 2011 falsely shared as recent

India and Pakistan traded blame after two of their warships collided in the northern Arabian Sea in September 2026, but a video circulating online does not show the crash. While it shows a similar…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 24/09/2026

This video circulating online as another CCTV recording of the deadly floods that struck Nepal-Tibet is a fabrication. It is based on an older, unrelated video and contains signs of visual manipulation. u.afp.com/AlteredNepal...

Manipulated clip of Nepal-Tibet border misleads online weeks after deadly floods

A terrifying CCTV clip captured the moment a wall of water engulfed a land port along the Nepal-Tibet border in late August 2026, but footage that surfaced online weeks later, apparently showing the…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 23/09/2026

An infographic circulated online following a police scandal involving mishandled missing person cases on South Korea's Jeju island, describing it as a criminal hotspot. But details on the map did not match official records. u.afp.com/Sjvx

Posts use fabricated graphic to paint false picture of S. Korea's Jeju as hotbed of crime

A scandal involving mishandled missing person cases on South Korea's Jeju island has fuelled false social media claims about the number of such cases in the popular tourist destination and it…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 23/09/2026

South Korean lawmakers are moving to increase protections for undocumented migrant children, but an AFP investigation found no proposed bill directly grants residency status or citizenship to foreigners. u.afp.com/Sjvq

South Korean bills will not grant residency status to foreigners who give birth

As lawmakers pushed to increase protections for foreign children in South Korea, several social media posts falsely claimed those efforts would directly grant residency status to refugees and…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 22/09/2026

Image of FBI director with trainees altered to shrink height. Read more: u.afp.com/S94h

Authentic photo of Kash Patel? ALTERED

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 22/09/2026

A quote circulating online claims a lawmaker from the ruling coalition told Pakistan's government not to "play with Imran Khan's life". But we found he never made the remark during parliamentary speeches featured in the circulating posts. u.afp.com/FakeBhuttoQu...

Fabricated quote attributed to Pakistani lawmaker on ex-PM mislead online

Pakistan's incarcerated ex-prime minister Imran Khan was brought to a medical facility for health checks in late August following a top court order, but claims circulating online that a lawmaker from…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 22/09/2026

An old newsclip of a deadly explosion has resurfaced in false posts claiming a blast near the 2026 BRICS summit was concealed by Indian authorities. We traced the clip to a BBC report on the New Delhi blast in November 2025. u.afp.com/NotDelhiBlast

Old footage of deadly blast in New Delhi falsely linked to BRICS summit

After leaders of the BRICS member states gathered for a summit in New Delhi in September, social media posts falsely circulated an altered video claiming that a bomb blast near the venue had been…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 20/09/2026

Authentic photos of Iowa Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand wearing a facial covering exist, but this is not one of them. The image was altered from a photo published by the Iowa Capital Dispatch where Sand is wearing neither a mask nor a face shield. Read more: u.afp.com/IowaMask

Image of Iowa gubernatorial candidate in face shield is altered

An image circulating across social media -- and amplified by Iowa's Republican nominee for governor, Zach Lahn -- purports to show Democratic candidate Rob Sand wearing a large mask and face shield…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 19/09/2026

RFK Jr rehashes vaccine misinformation in address to Children's Health Defense. Read more: u.afp.com/SjKV

Robert F. Kennedy Jr speaks at a podium wearing a navy suit

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 18/09/2026

A strong El Niño has led to a quiet start to the Atlantic hurricane season. Social media posts are crediting bills that ban weather modification for the lack of storms, but technology capable of creating or steering hurricanes does not exist. Read more: u.afp.com/SjKe

Graphic explaining the El Nino phenomenon

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 18/09/2026

This video of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping making pancakes together is not from the 2026 BRICS summit. The footage was filmed in Vladivostok in September 2018. u.afp.com/SjRR

Years-old video misrepresented as Chinese, Russian leaders cooking during India summit

Video of Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping making pancakes together was filmed eight years ago, contrary to posts claiming it shows the leaders at the BRICS summit in India in September…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 18/09/2026

Old footage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping has recirculated in posts falsely linking it to the 2026 BRICS summit. This clip was from a 2019 meeting where both leaders exchanged gifts featuring each other's likeness. u.afp.com/SjD6

Old Modi-Xi gift exchange clip falsely linked to BRICS Summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi, but online claims that a clip shows Modi gifting a self-portrait to Xi…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 18/09/2026

After a military jet was targeted in a drone attack in central Myanmar, an image falsely claiming to show a drone camera feed spread online. We found it was AI-manipulated and did not match satellite imagery of the airport. u.afp.com/AIAttachScre...

AI-manipulated image falsely linked to drone attack at Myanmar airport

After a Myanmar rebel group claimed responsibility for an attack on junta fighter jets stationed at an international airport in Mandalay in September 2026, an AI-manipulated image circulated online…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 17/09/2026

A government crackdown in Kenya against foreign-owned small businesses drew condemnation from rights groups and neighbours. However, a video of Kenyans protesting was falsely linked to the regulatory blitz u.afp.com/SjaZ

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 16/09/2026

No evidence 449,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California. Read more: u.afp.com/Sjuk

A cardboard privacy screen with the American flag and the word vote on it are pictured at a polling station in an American Legion Post in Hawthorne, California

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 16/09/2026

This image of world leaders taking a selfie during the recent BRICS summit in India is AI-generated. It includes a former Iranian president who died years earlier and officials who were not at the event. u.afp.com/SjBH

AI-generated image misrepresented as leaders' selfie at BRICS Summit

World leaders travelled to India for the BRICS annual summit in September 2026, but a picture circulating online that appears to show them gathering for a selfie during the conference is…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 16/09/2026

As scientists investigate the deadly floods that swept through Nepal and Tibet, online posts baselessly claim the disaster was caused by a Chinese dam collapse. We reviewed forensic evidence and spoke to five experts to break down the sequence of events behind the devastation 🧵

Infographic showing the route that the China-Nepal floods took through the Himalayas

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 16/09/2026

A purported Truth Social post showed Donald Trump insulting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after new social media laws were proposed. AFP found no trace of the post on Trump's account or archived records. u.afp.com/SjmB

Fabricated Trump post insulting Australia's leader spreads online

The United States issued a warning to Australia after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced new legislation in September allowing people to "opt out" of powerful algorithms fuelling their social…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 16/09/2026

Indonesia's Mount Semeru erupted early this month, but this video is not from the recent volcanic activity. AFP found the footage is a manipulated version of an old clip showing the volcano's eruption in November 2025.

Manipulated old clip of Indonesia volcano falsely shared as recent

Indonesia's Mount Semeru saw a surge in volcanic activity in September 2026, but footage circulating online supposedly depicting a recent blast is a manipulated version of a nearly year-old clip. The…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 15/09/2026

🗳️ Nigeria's election season is in full swing, and as voters prepare for polls in 2027, images are circulating of purported newspapers with headlines containing exaggerated campaign promises by presidential candidates. Beware: the front pages are AI hoaxes u.afp.com/Sj7w

Fabricated newspaper front pages peddle fake presidential campaign promises in Nigeria

As Nigeria enters another election cycle spearheaded by a familiar trio of presidential candidates, fake newspaper front pages circulating on social media are muddying the waters with false claims of…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 15/09/2026

🇵🇭 Political strife between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte has sparked online falsehoods that Duterte stronghold Davao City has "received no funds" from the national government since Marcos took power u.afp.com/Sjhm

Philippine president, VP feud sparks falsehoods on government funding

The political strife between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte has sparked false assertions online that Duterte stronghold Davao City has "received no funds" from…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 14/09/2026

Researchers have linked a series of deepfake videos that depict celebrities attacking Democrats to a Russian disinformation campaign. Experts said they signal which US races Russia intends to target in the elections that could flip the balance of power in the US Congress.

Russian disinformation campaign sets sights on US midterms

A Russian disinformation operation has turned its attention to the US midterm elections, unleashing a series of deepfake videos that depict celebrities attacking Democrats, researchers said, with…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 14/09/2026

Posts touting mebendazole as cancer treatment go beyond the science. Read more: u.afp.com/Sjn8

Patent proves anti-parasitic drug is 'cure' for cancer? FALSE

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 14/09/2026

🇺🇸🗳️ Six newsrooms, one weekly roundup of misinformation that matters. We're partnering with @leadstories.com, @politifact.bsky.social, @factcheck.org, @apnews.com & Factchequeado to produce a pop-up newsletter for the 2026 midterm elections. Subscribe today: u.afp.com/USMidtermsNe...

A red and blue banner reads: "Vote here today"

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 14/09/2026

Both China and Nepal have gone after misinformation about last month's devastating floods, but their different approaches have played a key role in shaping what the public saw of a disaster that killed more than 1,400 people u.afp.com/Sjms

Aerial view of destroyed buildings sitting in mud with a green forest background

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 14/09/2026

This post claims Houthi fighters paraded an armoured vehicle captured from Pakistani troops deployed in Yemen. AFP found the clip had circulated online since April 2020 and found no evidence linking the footage to Pakistan. Read more: u.afp.com/Sjs4

Video of captured military vehicle posted six years before latest Yemen clashes

As Iran-backed Houthi rebels pressed an offensive to take control of Yemen's Red Sea coast in early September, an old video resurfaced in posts falsely claiming it showed the group parading an…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 13/09/2026

Climate change, not data centers, behind Colorado River drought. Read more: u.afp.com/SjAG

The "bathtub ring," a wall of white mineral buildup from the reservoir's historical high level, is seen in Lake Mead, Nevada, on August 21, 2026

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 12/09/2026

Social media posts claimed this video showed floodwaters being released from India's Gandak barrage near the Nepali border following the catastrophic floods. But the footage was in fact filmed months earlier at a dam in Western India, around 1,550 km from Nepal's border. Read more: u.afp.com/SjYr

Video of dam in western India falsely shared as Nepal flood footage

Catastrophic floods triggered by a glacial collapse in Nepal in late August 2026 swelled the Gandak river system flowing towards neighbouring India, prompting authorities in eastern Bihar to open all…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 11/09/2026

An image shared by Texas Governor Greg Abbott's campaign purports to show his opponent, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, speaking with a child at a table adorned with a transgender pride flag. But it has been altered; the state lawmaker's original footage showed a US flag. Read more: u.afp.com/SjAT

Screenshot of an X post from @GovHotWheels_TX with an orange x across the image it to indicate it is altered

Screenshot of the original image as shared on X by @GinaHinojosaTX

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 11/09/2026

A viral clip linked to violence in Nigeria, DRC and Sudan does not show a toddler trying to wake his dead mother. The woman, from the Hadzabe hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania, was sleeping. AFP traced a follow-up video of her waking up. Read more: factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 11/09/2026

cn China amended its defence mobilisation law last month, triggering a barrage of alarmist rumours online. Provisions on military service and conscription have been in place since 2010, contrary to the circulating claims 🔎 Read more: u.afp.com/SjpE

China's revisions to defence mobilisation law spark online misinformation

China amended its defence mobilisation law in late August 2026, triggering a barrage of alarmist rumours online, with many posts misrepresenting the measure as a sweeping new piece of legislation.…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 09/09/2026

You may have seen a cartoon US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social to taunt Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney amid the escalating trade war. But he did not post the video version that portrays him violently beating his Canadian counterpart with a hockey stick.

Trump did not post animated hockey video of him attacking Carney

Donald Trump shared a taunting cartoon amid his escalating trade war with Canada that depicted him towering over Prime Minister Mark Carney on an ice rink and saying, "Get up, governor." But the US…

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 08/09/2026

🇮🇩 Disinformation about recent anti-government protests in Indonesia has inundated social media in what researchers say is a coordinated attempt to spread propaganda about the one-year-old movement u.afp.com/Sjwy

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 06/09/2026

Arizona processed hundreds of thousands of duplicate voter registrations, but those records do not equate to misconduct, experts told AFP. Mulitple safeguards are in place to keep people from casting more than one ballot. Read more: u.afp.com/SVtP

An "I voted" sticker is worn by a person wearing a black shirt with white stars

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 05/09/2026

Data center backlash sparks misinformation on animal deaths. Read more: u.afp.com/SVF3