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☆ Fact Check-Ocean pulled to Earth by force of gravity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ocean is pulled down to Earth due to gravity, despite a viral post shared online falsely claiming that the planet’s oceans are held inside a “container,” with Antarctica forming the external ridge. The posts allude to flat earth conspiracies. OUR CONTAINER.”The ocean is pulled down to the irregular ellipsoid-shaped Earth due to gravity (here), however, and is not held together by containers on a flat surface. On Earth, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “gravity pulls all objects ‘downward’ toward the center of the planet” (bit.ly/41XcxYq). The ocean is pulled to Earth due to gravity.

☆ Fact Check-Claim Budweiser beverages were banned from Oktoberfest stems from satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The claim that beverages by Budweiser, a brand owned by brewing company Anheuser-Busch, have been banned from the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany stems from a satirical website, but some have mistaken it as authentic online. Budweiser has never been served at the beer festival, a spokesperson for the event told Reuters. “Budweiser Brands Won’t Be Welcome at Oktoberfest For The 1st Time in 75 Years,” reads one post (here) and (here). A spokesperson for Oktoberfest told Reuters that Budweiser brands have never been served at the beer festival. A spokesperson for the festival told Reuters that Budweiser, a lager brand, has never been served at the beer festival.

☆ Fact Check- Video of two uniformed men fighting with people was filmed in Missouri in 2022, not in Chicago
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

“Policing Chicago in 2023: Potentially fatal attack, immediately followed by street ‘performance,’” reads a tweet where the clip has been viewed at least 289,000 times (archive.ph/6HI7s)The video, however, was not filmed in 2023 or in Chicago. Fox 4 News reported the scene took place in Kansas City’s Westport district on the night of Nov. 20, after a Kansas City Chief’s game (here). Images on Google Street View corroborate the video was filmed in the proximity of a World Market store in Kansas City (bit.ly/40vkfrv). Reuters debunked other old or miscaptioned videos circulating in April 2023 claiming to show scenes in Chicago (here). This clip was filmed in Kansas City and dates to at least November 2022.

Nasyrova brought a slice of cheesecake laced with a highly potent sedative, the release said, adding that after Tsvyk ate the offered dessert, she felt sick and passed out. Her “last memory was of seeing Nasyrova walking around her room,” according to the DA’s office. Nasyrova was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Wednesday. “(Nasyrova) laced a slice of cheesecake with a deadly drug so she could steal her unsuspecting victim’s most valuable possession, her identity. Nasyrova was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Wednesday.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows protests in Israel in 2019, not migrants in Calais
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A years-old video showing a group of people, some shirtless and with their faces covered, throwing rocks onto a highway in Israel has been miscaptioned online as showing migrants disrupting traffic in Calais, France. They are throwing rocks to stop trucks so that they can jump on board and sneak into Britain” (here) and (here). The Israeli outlet said the video was captured at Gedera interchange (here). The Gedera interchange is a crossroad where Highways 40 and 7 intersect in the town of Gedera, central Israel. The video shows a 2019 protest in Israel over the death of a teenager at the hands of an off-duty police officer.

☆ Fact Check-TIME magazine cover featuring Bola Tinubu is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A fabricated TIME magazine cover featuring Nigerian President-elect Bola Tinubu has misled people online. A tweet sharing the purported cover has been viewed 132,000 times at the time of writing (here). Reuters found no cover featuring Tinubu since he was declared president-elect of Nigeria on Feb. 28. The typography of the purported cover does not match TIME’s usual style. A spokesperson for TIME magazine told Reuters the cover featuring Tinubu is not authentic.

☆ Fact Check-Biden spoke to people on a balcony behind him during Northern Ireland university event
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. President Joe Biden turned to speak to people standing on a balcony above and behind where he was giving a speech at a university in Belfast during his recent visit to Northern Ireland, in April 2023. Users on social media, however, said a video of the moment shows him talking to an “invisible” or imaginary audience. The day after, he spoke at Belfast's Ulster University. The attendees are also visible in the broadcasts published by the White House and Ulster University ( here ), ( here ). Biden looked backwards at people standing behind him during an event in Northern Ireland.

☆ Fact Check-London Ramadan lights organised privately, not by London Mayor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Tousi says: “Somehow, the Mayor of London and local authorities decided to focus on Ramadan… and nothing about Easter. What happened to Easter?”The Ramadan display was organised by a group called Ramadan Lights, not the London mayor, according to group founder Aisha Desai, who spoke to Reuters (ramadanlights.co.uk/). No taxpayers’ or local authorities’ money was used to fund Ramadan Lights, she said. The Ramadan Lights were also erected by Piccadilly Circus Underground station, not on Oxford Street or Regent Street, according to the initiative (ramadanlights.co.uk/ and here). The Mayor of London was not involved in organising Ramadan Lights, a privately funded, community-led initiative.

☆ Fact Check-Unedited video shows Biden greeting Sunak on UK visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Unclipped footage of U.S. President Joe Biden landing in Belfast shows him interacting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. A condensed version of the video showing Biden exiting a plane and moving past Sunak is circulating online alongside claims Biden misidentified or dismissed Sunak (here and here). Biden arrived in Northern Ireland to mark the Good Friday Agreement peace deal’s 25th anniversary (here). The full video also shows Sunak and Biden talking and greeting each other. Full footage of U.S. President Joe Biden arriving in Northern Ireland shows him interacting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

☆ Kaylin Gillis: A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed in upstate New York after her friend turned into the wrong driveway, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Laura Ly Brynn Gingras | Laura Ly | Brynn Gingras | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed Saturday after she and three others accidentally turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend’s house in rural upstate New York, authorities said. A bail hearing is pending for Tuesday or Wednesday, the district attorney and defense attorney both said. He said witness accounts from inside the cars and forensics prove the shots were fired as the group exited the driveway. Murphy, the sheriff, said he was a friend of the victim’s family and lamented the killing. Over $50,000 has been raised for Gillis’ family in a GoFundMe raising money for the “Gillis family for use toward Kaylin’s funeral expenses and any immediate financial needs,” according to the page.

CNN —A parking garage collapsed in lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, the New York Fire Department’s operations chief said. The parking garage was a four-story building that “pancaked…all the way to the cellar floor,” NYC Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said. After he left his dorm, Powers said, he saw two people laying on the ground across the street from where the collapse occurred. Video taken by Powers from his dorm, which is located on the 7th floor, shows the collapsed garage with multiple damaged vehicles. At least one worker in the building was trapped on one of the upper floors of the parking garage and while he was conscious and alert, he couldn’t evacuate to a lower floor.

☆ Fact Check-Images purporting to show ancient alien artifacts unearthed during World War Two are AI-generated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Images created through AI of ancient alien artifacts alongside Nazi soldiers have been shared online, with some claiming they show secret discoveries in Antarctica or Egypt. Similar posts were shared on Facebook (here) and (here). The images, however, can be traced back to the Instagram page of Infinite Odyssey, an online magazine that claims to be “the first fully A.I. The post sharing the images carries a disclaimer that reads “WRITTEN BY A.I. Images purporting to show ancient alien artifacts were generated through AI.

☆ Fact Check-Flag on Joe Biden’s limousine en route to Dublin Castle was Irish, not Italian
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In livestream footage uploaded by RTE News via Twitter, the orange of the Irish flag can be seen as the motorcade entered the Dublin Castle complex (timestamp: 30.51s) (here). A spokesperson for the White House also told Reuters that the flag on Biden’s limousine was Irish. A Reuters livestream shows an Irish flag attached to Biden’s vehicle earlier that day when the U.S. President visited Leinster House to address Irish politicians (timestamp: 15.21s and 15.36s) (bit.ly/3UDuSYf). Other photos captured throughout the visit taken in Ireland and showing an Irish flag attached to Biden’s vehicle can be seen on Reuters Pictures (here), (here). An Irish flag was attached to Biden’s vehicle in Dublin on April 13, not an Italian flag.

☆ Fact Check-Bronze statue of naked person in The Hague falsely located in Oxford, UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A bronze statue of a naked person with both male and female body parts, which has stood in The Hague since 2017, is being misnamed and falsely linked to the British city of Oxford online. One Facebook user (here) uploaded a photo of the artwork with the caption: “This statue was recently unveiled in Oxford. But the statue, which was created by artist Femmy Otten (bit.ly/3MBClFb and here), has been located in The Hague since 2017 (here), according to Stroom Den Haag, a contemporary art centre based in the Dutch city. Reuters found no credible or local news reports about the artwork being moved to Oxford when searching for numerous combinations of relevant keywords online (bit.ly/43s5JDN, bit.ly/3A1NzLn and bit.ly/3mww5Us). The “And Life Is Over There” statue has been situated in The Hague, the Netherlands, since 2017.

☆ Fact Check-Obama’s father’s passport circulates online and reignites ‘birther’ conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A British passport listing a Kenyan province as the holder’s place of birth belongs to Barack Hussein Obama, father of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Images of the document, however, have been misrepresented online with social media users falsely claiming it shows the former president’s passport. The passport document garnered traction online after Malik Obama, Barack Obama’s half-brother and a vocal critic of his, tweeted four photographs of the passport on April 13 (here). The captions identify the document as: “Barack Obama-Barack Obama Sr. -British Passport.”Reuters has previously debunked similar claims about Obama (here here)VERDICTFalse. Photos depict the passport of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s father.

☆ Fact Check-Claims Michael Jordan turned down a Disney ad campaign stem from a satirical website
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A story with the headline “Michael Jordan Turns Down $120 Million Ad Campaign With Disney: ‘I like My Reputation’” emerged from a satirical website, but has misled several users online into thinking it is authentic. Reuters did not find any credible news reports that former basketball star Michael Jordan has turned down a deal with Disney, however. Reuters has previously addressed similar claims based on satirical articles from America’s Last Line of Defense and its subsidiaries (here), (here). Further indicating the inauthenticity of the story, the article lists “Joe Barron” as Jordan’s spokesperson and “lifelong friend,” but a search for “’Joe Barron’ AND ‘Michael Jordan’” does not yield any reports that support this. Article claiming Michael Jordan turned down a $120 Million ad campaign with Disney stems from a satirical website.

☆ Fact Check-Claims Anheuser-Busch CEO apologized for company’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney stem from satire article
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A spokesperson for brewing company Anheuser-Busch told Reuters that online claims its CEO apologized for its collaboration with social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney are false. “I can confirm that these statements are inaccurate and there is no truth to them,” a spokesperson for Anheuser Busch told Reuters in an email. Reuters also could not find any credible news outlet reporting that the CEO of the company had apologized for the partnership. The claim that the company apologized appears to have originated from a satirical website called Dunning-Kruger-Times (here). The claim that Anheuser-Busch’s CEO apologized for company’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney was originally published by a satirical website.

☆ Fact Check-Claim about Anheuser Busch CEO resigning stems from satirical website
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

“I can confirm that these statements are inaccurate and there is no truth to them,” a spokesperson for Anheuser Busch told Reuters in an email. Anheuser Busch did once have a high-ranking executive named August Anheuser Busch III (here), (here) , who stepped down in 2011 (here). “I can confirm that these statements are inaccurate and there is no truth to them,” a spokesperson for Anheuser Busch told Reuters in an email. Anheuser Busch did once have a high-ranking executive named August Anheuser Busch III (here), (here) , who stepped down in 2011 (here). The article claiming that Anheuser Busch’s CEO has resigned was satirical.

☆ Fact Check-Image saying Sony will publish PlayStation group chats by May 2023 is from satire account
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A meme which says Japanese technology company Sony will release all PlayStation party chats to the public by May 2023 stems from a satirical Instagram account. However, the Instagram account adds in the caption: “This is satire. No credible new reports suggest that Sony will release private chats among PlayStation users to the public (bit.ly/3mfDd7C). An Oct. 14, 2020, tweet from the account states that it does not record group chats (here). The post comes from an Instagram account which routinely posts satirical content.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence a 50-foot snake exists
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

According to experts, the longest snakes recorded have reached lengths of around 20 feet. “I have never heard of an extant (currently living) species of snake that can grow this long. Smithsonian Magazine reported that boas can be up to 14-feet-long and anacondas could exceed 20 feet ( bit.ly/3U5K9kf ). The Natural History Museum of London says on its website that the reticulated python reaches sizes over 20 feet. The biggest snakes recorded are up to 20 feet long, according to experts.

☆ Fact Check-Estonia’s ex-president not related to person at award ceremony
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A photo of former Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid standing on a stage with writer and social activist Mikk Pärnits is being falsely claimed online to show Kaljulaid with her son. The picture was captured at an award ceremony in Tallinn on Aug. 18, 2020, where Pärnits - who is wearing a pink dress and hooped earrings – received an award from then president Kaljulaid (here). Mattias Tammet, an advisor for the former president, told Reuters via email that Pärnits has no relation to anyone on stage in the picture. We are not related in any way.”According to Estonian reports, Kaljulaid has three sons (here, here and here). The photo shows former Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid standing next to writer and social activist Mikk Pärnits.

☆ Fact Check-Donald Trump Jr. did not tweet asking protesters to wear clean clothes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A fabricated tweet shared by a parody account has some users online believing that Donald Trump Jr. asked supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump to shower and show up in clean clothes to protest his father’s indictment. The screenshot of the fake tweet reads: “MAGA: If you are going to protest outside of the Manhattan DA's office you MUST be wearing clean clothes and have taken a shower. The tweet could not be found on Donald Trump Jr.’s official Twitter account @DonaldJTrumpJr (twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr), (bit.ly/3Ui06nm) , nor is there a record of such a tweet in Twitter archives (here). Liz Harrington, a spokesperson for former president Trump, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters has addressed previous fabricated tweets created by this account that fooled social media users (here), (here).

☆ How TikTok became a 'gold mine' for dancers looking to get discovered and changed the way they make money
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"This app is a gold mine for artists like me who are still looking for their big break," Dharmapuram said. As TikTok has ascended, popular artists from Dua Lipa to Lizzo have integrated TikTok dances into their promotional strategies and seen their songs go viral. TikTok creators, professional dancers, choreographers, and dance companies who spoke with Insider said the app had changed the way they choreographed, helped them earn more money, and given them access to career opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have had. TikTok has also given dance companies and agents access to talent they otherwise wouldn't have known about. Even dance companies like American Ballet Theatre have gotten on the bandwagon.

☆ How TikTok has changed the dance industry, becoming a 'goldmine' for performers looking for their big breaks and driving choreography that fits the frame
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"This app is a goldmine for artists like me who are still looking for their big break," Dharmapuraum said. As TikTok has ascended, popular artists from Dua Lipa to Lizzo have integrated TikTok dances into their promotional strategies and seen their songs go viral. TikTok has also given dance companies and agents access to talent they otherwise wouldn't have known about. Even dance companies like American Ballet Theatre have gotten on the bandwagon. As more people have hopped on TikTok dance trends, creators, especially those of color, have called for proper crediting for choreography, which the app has tried to address with more tools.

☆ Fact Check-Photo shows 2015 demolition of Istanbul’s rainbow stairs due to construction work, not to erase political message
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A photograph showing Istanbul’s iconic rainbow stairs being demolished in 2015 due to construction has been miscaptioned by users online. A post with more than 3.3 million views at the time of publishing can be seen (here) with the caption, “Yes. There is no reference in the article to the stairs being destroyed in 2015 because of a visual reference to the LGBTQ community. Several other reports have also quoted Cetinel saying that painting the stairs did not stem from a political message, (here), and (here). This photo shows the demolition of Istanbul’s rainbow stairs due to construction work in 2015, and the painter of the stairs has said he was not inspired by activism and they do not have a political message.

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