iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Journal FactCheck

@factcheck.thejournal.ie

3.7K followers 8 following 278 posts

A project by @thejournal.ie to tackle misinformation in Ireland. Heard something dodgy? Email factcheck@thejournal.ie or WhatsApp us on +353 83 876 0971.

Posts Replies Media

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 30/09/2026

Ongoing tensions over a proposed Orange Order march in Portadown, Co Armagh, have led to misinformation online. This includes claims by fringe commentators that the march was a purposeful tactic to stop people talking about immigration. jrnl.ie/7178008

AI images and misinformation shared widely online during Garvaghy Road stand-off

The deputy leader of the TUV admitted a photo he posted was AI-generated.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 29/09/2026

Michelle O’Neill’s presence at the Garvaghy Road protest has prompted the leader of the DUP to condemn her for allegedly breaking the law — an accusation that could threaten their shaky Stormont power-sharing arrangement. jrnl.ie/7177106t

Explainer: Did Michelle O’Neill break the law by going to Portadown?

Parades, and protests against them, are legally governed by the same law in Northern Ireland.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 23/09/2026

Multiple social media posts are congratulating a Danish "anti-Islamic migration" political party on gains made during the 21 September election. The only problem? Denmark hasn’t had an election since March. jrnl.ie/7170457

Debunked: Posts celebrating Danish party's result in 'tonight's election' are six months late

Denmark has not had a general election since March, and is not due another one until 2030.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 21/09/2026

Claims that a group of foreign men were arrested at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin City for “waving a gun around” are false. jrnl.ie/7168866

Debunked: Gardaí discovered an Airsoft gun, but didn't arrest ‘migrant men’ with firearms in Dublin

An Airsoft gun was found, but no arrests were made.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 18/09/2026

Posts falsely claim that billionaire philanthropist George Soros was a Nazi and that he “owns” Antifa. jrnl.ie/7164108

Social media posts repeat debunked and baseless accusations against George Soros

The billionaire philanthropist is a regular target of right-wing and antisemitic disinformation.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 17/09/2026

False claims that the public is being “left in the dark” about rapes and sexual assaults due to the government creating new laws that enforce “media blackouts” have spread online. jrnl.ie/7164610

Debunked: The media publishes news about sexual assaults, reporting is not banned by ‘new laws’

Since 1981, media have been legally forbidden from identifying rape suspects before a conviction.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 14/09/2026

Donald Trump made a series of claims during his Ireland visit - about Irish pharma firms, investment in the US, diesel shortages and $5,000 payments to Americans. We examined the evidence behind each jrnl.ie/7162249t

http://jrnl.ie/7162249t

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 14/09/2026

Videos that purportedly show Mark Zuckerberg saying that water will run out in the following year, killing humanity, are AI-generated fakes. jrnl.ie/7162606

Debunked: Videos of Zuckerberg saying humanity's water is almost depleted are deepfake scams

Footage from a meeting with Trump last year was manipulated to promote a cryptocurrency.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 04/09/2026

Pictures that appear to show the deceased child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein speaking to the President of the European Commission are AI-generated. jrnl.ie/7152731

Debunked: Pictures of Ursula von der Leyen with Jeffrey Epstein are AI-generated

The fake photo has been seen hundreds of thousands of times.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 03/09/2026

While the internet is filled with arguments denying the effects of farming on climate change, it is worth delving into one argument that methane from cow herds is harmless, as featured in a video whose popularity has endured online.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 02/09/2026

A video of an airsoft rifle taken outside a takeaway in a Tallaght industrial estate became the basis for false claims about foreigners “coming over here to kill us”. jrnl.ie/7149897

Debunked: Video said to show a firearms sale by a Dublin mosque doesn’t show firearms or a mosque

The footage shows airsoft guns being inspected at an industrial estate.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 01/09/2026

AI-generated footage been posted online where it has been captioned with false claims that it shows the recent floods in Nepal and Tibet. jrnl.ie/7148762

Debunked: Fake videos of the Nepal floods viewed on social media tens of millions of times

Computer generated footage shows village flooded after a jet drops bombs on a dam.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 27/08/2026

Posts spread online falsely claim that the United Kingdom will be accommodating thousands of migrants who stormed the borders of a Spanish enclave in North Africa last month. jrnl.ie/7143854

Debunked: The UK has not agreed to accommodate '4,000 Moroccans' who illegally entered Ceuta

A screenshot also falsely claims that migrants had murdered Spaniards in Ceuta.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 26/08/2026

“During meetings, platform representatives often appeared unfamiliar with the context of the unfolding election,” the report on misinformation in Ireland reads. “Many were unable to articulate the rationale for content-moderation decisions.” jrnl.ie/7139970

Meta, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn didn't act on 77% of misinformation reported during Áras race

No action was taken on about 87% of non-AI election-related disinformation.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 26/08/2026

A story shared on social media that a Cork woman who was invited to smell a woman’s perfume and later woke up to find she had been robbed is a copy of an internet rumour. jrnl.ie/7142689

Debunked: Story of a Cork woman being knocked out after smelling perfume is an urban legend

Versions of the story have appeared going back to the turn of the millenium.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 26/08/2026

Social media companies failed to act on the vast majority of electoral disinformation reported by researchers ahead of last year’s presidential election, a new report shows. jrnl.ie/7139970

http://jrnl.ie/7139970t

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 21/08/2026

Old videos have been reused, falsely purporting to show thousands of migrants again overrunning the borders of Ceuta. This footage was actually taken in July. jrnl.ie/7137206

Debunked: Weeks-old videos falsely said to show ‘second wave’ of migrants entering Ceuta

Tommy Robinson and a Portuguese politician were among those who misleadingly shared the footage.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 20/08/2026

Dublin Bus did hire nearly 100 drivers from South Africa, but not as part of an equality drive. They hired qualified, professional drivers from a country that drives on the left to tackle a driver shortage. jrnl.ie/7135564

Debunked: Dublin Bus hired from overseas due to a driver shortage, not DEI programmes

The European Commission warns there is “a severe and escalating shortage” of bus drivers.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 18/08/2026

The methane from ruminant animals is widely considered to be a significant source of greenhouse gases, though there are real controversies over how exactly this should be measured. jrnl.ie/7133647

Debunked: Cows contribute significantly towards climate change, despite claims in viral video

Methane has a short but dramatic effect on the earth’s atmosphere.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 14/08/2026

A misquoted conversation from a live-streamed podcast has been used to falsely claim that an academic that advises the government on racism argued that the Irish language should be abandoned. jrnl.ie/7131102

Debunked: Government adviser Ebun Joseph is being widely misquoted in comments about Irish language

The adviser on racism did not argue that the Irish language should be abandoned.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 14/08/2026

While the thrust of the government's documents focus on battling institutional sexism, the strategy does include one cautionary description of tradwives. jrnl.ie/7128792

Debunked: The government’s strategy for women is not a campaign to discourage homemakers

A strategy document that mentions “tradwives” has been the subject of criticism.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 10/08/2026

The international economics group, the OECD, has agreed to remove a misleading statistic they published which stated that tourist numbers to Ireland fell by 32% between 2019 and 2025. jrnl.ie/7124318

FactCheck: OECD to remove bogus statistic that tourism in Ireland fell by 32%

Claims tourist numbers to Ireland fell by 32% between 2019 and 2025 have been widely shared online.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 07/08/2026

After the doctor who led the responses against the Covid pandemic in America was brought before a Senate hearing, false claims were shared by an Irish commentator that he had said that Covid was just the common flu. jrnl.ie/7124640

Debunked: Anthony Fauci did not say that Covid was nothing more than the common flu

The doctor who led the US response to Covid was held in contempt after refusing to answer questions at a Senate hearing.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 06/08/2026

Images of tens of thousands of people crossing from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta prompted plenty of reactions on line, but not all of them were based in fact. For the full story, visit The Journal's FactCheck section.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 31/07/2026

Conflicting false statements, largely pushed by far-right activists, have exaggerated narratives about the Spanish government’s response to the migrant crisis in Ceuta. jrnl.ie/7118858

Be careful of fake news about Ceuta as Spanish enclave faces migrant crisis

Some of the claims misunderstood that Ceuta, while Spanish-run, is located in Africa.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 31/07/2026

Gardaí said they were investigating an assault in an lane where small mosque has been the target of intimidation. jrnl.ie/7117910

Debunked: Video of Gardaí near a Dublin mosque cut to imply they came to arrest a man in a mobility scooter

Police investigated an assault in Dublin City reported on 24 July.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 29/07/2026

A real-life incident in which a man was nearly sucked out the window of a Ryanair flight when it “detached” mid-air appears to have been the basis of a fake story featuring AI-generated images. jrnl.ie/7116350

Debunked: AI pic used to mis-tell story of a man almost sucked out a Ryanair plane window

The fake story about a Liverpool to Dublin flight mirrored a real-life event over Greece.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 25/07/2026

Misleading maps and false stats are spread by the far-right to manufacture a crisis. They are intended to scare people into feeling that Ireland is changing so fast that they can’t keep up. jrnl.ie/7108860

How statistics can be twisted to push the Great Replacement conspiracy theory

Misleading maps manufacture a crisis that the data does not support.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 24/07/2026

Post about a Medical Council hearing for Patrick Morrissey, a doctor who said that he prescribed unproven treatments for Covid patients during the pandemic, are filled with misinformation. jrnl.ie/7112282

Debunked: Doctor who promoted unproven Covid drugs isn't on trial for ‘questioning’ authorities

Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine have been studied extensively as treatments for Covid.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 16/07/2026

False claims been shared online that Covid deaths were actually caused by drugs and mechanical ventilation. Although the claim has been spread by Irish people, these claims cite a "whistleblower" nurse who is American and did not work in Ireland jrnl.ie/7103685

Debunked: False ‘whistleblower’ claim says remdesivir and ventilators killed Covid patients

In one study, half the Covid patients who asked not to be intubated died.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 14/07/2026

Claims that Russia had taken large swaths of ground in Ukraine are based on a mapping group’s analysis that actually came to the opposite conclusion. jrnl.ie/7101083

Debunked: Claims of Russian battlefield gains misuse report that finds greater Ukrainian advances

Ukraine’s advances have prompted some analysts to say the “tide has turned” in their favour

000

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 11/07/2026

The rhetoric around a European parliament vote to allow tech companies to monitor online chats in an effort to clamp down on child abuse has been so extreme that it’s not always clear that opposing sides are discussing the same thing. jrnl.ie/7097705

What is ‘chat control’, the EU's contentious plan to fight online child abuse?

Rhetoric around a recent EU vote has been so extreme that it’s not always clear the opposing sides are discussing the same thing.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 09/07/2026

A video that appears to show former taoiseach Leo Varadkar complaining about immigrants uses real footage, but swaps out the audio and subtitles to deceive viewers into thinking he is saying something else. jrnl.ie/7096180

Debunked: 'Cheapfake' video shared online makes Leo Varadkar appear to complain about immigrants

The actual footage was taken from an interview looking back at Brexit.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 08/07/2026

False claims that Irish political leaders had visited the island of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have circulated online in a faked document that purports to be official government correspondence. jrnl.ie/7095052

Debunked: A fake government memo claims Irish leaders visited Epstein's private island

Fake correspondence names 14 Irish leaders, though gets basic facts wrong.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 08/07/2026

With Europe sweltering in a heatwave this summer, climate sceptics are trying to push the idea that the recent high temperatures are normal.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 03/07/2026

An anti-immigration activist has falsely suggested that Muslims are entitled to exclusive financial offers, and do not have to pay taxes on mortgages. buff.ly/2ampaCk

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 02/07/2026

One of the study's author's told The Journal that their research had been misinterpreted, and reiterated that sunscreen reduces the risk of cancer. jrnl.ie/7087633

Debunked: A scientific study does not show that sunscreen increases the risk of skin cancer

Observational studies found the use of sunscreen was associated with skin cancer — but not for the reasons some people think.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 30/06/2026

Starting this week, anyone ordering goods, including clothes, electronics and makeup, will be liable to charges of up to €3 per item, unless they come from another European Union country. jrnl.ie/7085312t

Explainer: How do the new charges on imports from non-EU countries work?

Unique items will be charged €3, but no extra charge applies to multiples of the same product.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 25/06/2026

Images that appear to show the Israeli prime minister wearing an Argentina jersey at the World Cup in the United States are AI-generated. jrnl.ie/7081458

Debunked: Picture of Netanyahu supporting Argentina at the World Cup is AI-generated

The Israeli prime minister was in Jerusalem on the day of the match in Texas.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 20/06/2026

A US government release about the existence of secret biological laboratories — or, at least, something that initially looks like that — was announced by the Director of National Intelligence. But the declassified information is likely to underwhelm anyone who reads it. jrnl.ie/7076056

The head of US intelligence has been pushing misinformation about Ukrainian 'biolabs'. What are they?

The Trump administration has a history of disappointing releases of confidential material: on aliens, Covid-19 and Jefferey Epstein.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 17/06/2026

False claims that Georgians are the largest group of asylum seekers in Ireland have been shared online, along with claims that the EU Migration Pact is a “con-job”. jrnl.ie/7072283

Debunked: The government didn't engineer a crisis by bringing Georgian asylum seekers to Ireland

International protection applicants from Georgia dropped from 2,459 in 2022, to 638 by 2024.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 12/06/2026

Two photos have been shared widely online, including by far-right influencers, falsely claiming to show Stephen Ogilvie, the victim of a knife attack in Belfast on Monday night. jrnl.ie/7069108

Debunked: Images of a heavily wounded man in hospital do not show the Belfast knife attack victim

The victim’s family have asked for privacy.

000

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 12/06/2026

A misleading visualisation of Ireland’s weather, posted by MMA coach John Kavanagh, was shared to suggest that Ireland’s climate is steady. It instead shows that four of the five hottest spring seasons on record here have occurred since 2023. jrnl.ie/7064300

Debunked: A misleading graph of the warmest springs on record actually reveals Ireland is getting hotter

A graph of temperatures looks almost flat… if you exclude the data that would make it jagged.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 10/06/2026

Police in Northern Ireland have denied rumours that they were looking for a second suspect who took part in a knife attack on Monday night that left a man without an eye. jrnl.ie/7066832

Debunked: There is no ‘second suspect’ for the Belfast knife attack

The claim was shared ona livestream by an anti-immigratoin activist.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 06/06/2026

A spirited radio debate last week left listeners befuddled as a doctor and the chair of the Sunbed Association contradicted each other on medical research. jrnl.ie/7059129

FactCheck: What the scientific studies say about the harms of sunbed use

Is all the data against sunbeds old and outdated?

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 05/06/2026

Footage showing party at a back garden in a Dublin suburb have been shared online along with misleading captions indicating that the government is building housing estates specifically for African migrants. jrnl.ie/7061859

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 04/06/2026

A viral voice note claiming a woman in Co Derry had been drugged by touching a business card given to her by “foreign nationals” has been spread widely online. There is no evidence that the story is real, or even scientifically possible. jrnl.ie/7060367

Debunked: No evidence a woman was drugged with a doused business card in Co Derry

Urban legends about drugs that quickly knock people unconscious by skin contact are common, but implausible.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 28/05/2026

A confrontation between security personnel hired by Bord na Móna and a man who was living and cutting turf on their land has been widely publicised online, with false claims that it shows foreigners taking over that man’s property. jrnl.ie/7053553

Debunked: Far-right figures spread untrue claim foreigners were taking over a farmer's land

The man claiming squatter’s rights had told the High Court that it did not exist.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 25/05/2026

Genetically modified have been the subject of much debate, with some people portraying them as a Frankenstein-esque violation of the natural order. Are there stricter safety standards for food given to organic livestock than for human beings? jrnl.ie/7051051

FactCheck: Are there stricter limits on genetically modified foods for animals than for humans?

So-called “Frankenfoods” aren’t grown in Ireland, but they can be sold here.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 24/05/2026

By the end of the year, many of your personal identity documents, such as your passport and driving licence, may live in a government-provided app on your phone. These plans have been met with claims of a totalitarian takeover in some conspiracy theory groups. jrnl.ie/7045802

The EU is bringing in Digital IDs for citizens – but what are they, and how will it affect you?

The app should allow users to verify their age without giving their date of birth.