All posts tagged: fake news

Did Qatar’s prime minister ‘snub’ JD Vance? Doha, Washington deny claim – Truth or Fake

Did Qatar’s prime minister ‘snub’ JD Vance? Doha, Washington deny claim – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

A viral clip from the first round of US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland fuelled online speculation that US Vice President JD Vance was snubbed by Qatar’s Prime Minister, after users claimed the video shows him “ignore” Vance in favour of greeting Pakistan’s Prime Minister. The Qatari PM though, dismissed the claims as “unfounded,” saying he and Vance had already spent hours together during the talks. The White House also rejected the narrative, pointing the finger at Iran for the rumours. In posts racking up millions of views and reports, social media users claimed the viral video from the Lake Lucerne Summit is proof of a diplomatic slight, and that the Qatari leader had deliberately “ignored” Vance and chosen to greet Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif first. Users called the moment “so embarassing” and that it showed America “is a laughing stock.” Others cited the interaction as evidence of strained relations surrounding the US-Iran peace process, with some claiming it shows the “level of relations that the Trump administration has created.” The Qatari PM though, rejected the claims directly. …

Did Macron ‘snub’ Trump at the G7 summit? Viral video lacks context – Truth or Fake

Did Macron ‘snub’ Trump at the G7 summit? Viral video lacks context – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

With the G7 summit underway in France, some social media users are claiming that French leader Emmanuel Macron deliberately “humiliated” US President Donald Trump by not being there to greet him upon his arrival at the airport. Many posts shared a video showing Trump disembarking an aircraft and later appearing unsmiling during a handshake with Macron, suggesting the two events were linked. However, the viral footage omits important context. Social media users claimed that Macron “sent a protocol official to welcome Trump” and that the US president was “humiliated”. The context missing from these claims is that Donald Trump did not fly directly to France. He first arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was greeted by the president of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, in line with standard diplomatic protocol. Macron therefore would not have been expected to meet him at the airport, and the official shown receiving Trump at the tarmac was not “sent” by the French president. Trump was transported to Évian-les-Bains, the spa resort town hosting the G7, via helicopter and armoured car, where …

Peace talks descend into chaos after Trump accuses Tehran of leaking ‘fake’ deal terms

Peace talks descend into chaos after Trump accuses Tehran of leaking ‘fake’ deal terms

Published by Sam Flores

Talks to end the war between Iran and the US were thrown into chaos again on Friday after Donald Trump accused Tehran of leaking “fake” details of an agreement. In a post on Truth Social, the US president said that the terms of the deal published in both Iranian state media and global news agencies was “fake news” amid growing confusion over the state of negotiations. Under the terms, the agreement would open the Strait of Hormuz, lift a US naval blockade and end the Israeli war in Lebanon. The most contentious issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, would be decided in a further 60 days of talks. Trump accused Iran of spreading ‘fake news’ about a deal (Reuters) In a post on social media, Trump did not say what was inaccurate in reports on the proposed deal, but said: “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing.” “Very dishonorable people to deal with,” he said of ⁠the …

AI chatbot responses polluted by pro-Russian disinformation

AI chatbot responses polluted by pro-Russian disinformation

Published by Sam Flores

Claims have been circulating on pro-Russian websites that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan tried to sell gold from the Amulsar mine to Turkish firms at a discount. It is completely false. Yet, when various artificial intelligence chatbots are asked in different languages whether the story is true, they assure users that it is. This is just one of the findings published in January by the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard, which regularly audits these tools. The US company revealed that false narratives pushed by pro-Russian actors can slip into the responses of conversational AI agents. NewsGuard focused its investigation particularly on misinformation spread by Pravda, a sprawling network of pro-Russian websites. “In March 2025, we found that in 33% of cases, major commercial chatbots – including Mistral’s chat and OpenAI’s ChatGPT – repeated these narratives as verified facts, even though they are known to be false stories that serve the Kremlin’s geopolitical interests,” said Chine Labbé, managing editor and senior vice president of partnerships for Europe and Canada at Newsguard. In January 2026, the organisation conducted a new round …

UK far-right rally: AI images, old footage exaggerate ‘Unite the Kingdom’ turnout – Truth or Fake

UK far-right rally: AI images, old footage exaggerate ‘Unite the Kingdom’ turnout – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

Waving Union Jacks, tens of thousands of supporters of far-right activist Tommy Robinson descended on London’s streets last Saturday for a rally known as “Unite the Kingdom”. Addressing the crowd, Robinson said “we are here in our millions”, and his supporters followed suit online, sharing images of enormous rallies. In reality, London’s Metropolitan Police believe 60,000 demonstrators attended, and several of the viral images online are either AI-generated or using old footage.  Read moreTens of thousands march in London for far-right, pro-Palestine protests Multiple viral images of crowds carrying UK flags and signs were generated by artificial intelligence, showing either distorted faces, inconsistencies or possessing a digital watermark which confirmed its source. Users claimed they showed “British patriotism” and “millions” taking to the streets, believing that the images were real. Aerial footage of crowds from the previous “Unite the Kingdom” rally last September was also often shared online as if recent, falsely exaggerating the turnout. This included a post by Polish right-wing politician Dominik Tarczynski, who shared a video on his X account that was actually from …

‘Plandemic, Covid 2.0’: Fact-checking viral conspiracy theories about hantavirus – Truth or Fake

‘Plandemic, Covid 2.0’: Fact-checking viral conspiracy theories about hantavirus – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

As the world saw with Covid-19, the only thing that spreads faster than a virus is misinformation, and hantavirus is no exception. Despite only a few confirmed cases, conspiracy theories have swirled on social media falsely claiming hantavirus is a planned pandemic, or a ploy to disrupt the US midterm elections. Others alleged it’s a “bioweapon” created by big pharma to “poison” people or even that it’s a side effect of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.  Many Covid-era conspiracy theories have been revived since the outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, likely amplified due to the anti-vaxx movement and fears about a new global pandemic. As with the coronavirus, theorists allege hantavirus is a planned pandemic – or “plandemic” – created by Big Pharma and vaccine manufacturers, a “biological weapon” created in a laboratory to push vaccines onto the masses. Known conspiracy theorists Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Greene (who was notorious for sharing false narratives during the Covid-19 pandemic) amplified these claims on their platforms, with Greene also sharing fake news that anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin could be …

Trump, Iran both share false information about eight women facing execution – Truth or Fake

Trump, Iran both share false information about eight women facing execution – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

On Wednesday, Donald Trump claimed that out of respect for him, Iran had agreed to spare the lives of eight young Iranian women facing execution. But he was quickly struck with accusations that the images of the women were AI-generated. Iran itself gave conflicting information, both mocking the AI claims but also declaring that none of the women faced confirmed death sentences. The reality – as confirmed by two NGOs – is that all parties shared incorrect information.  The US president claimed that the Iranian government agreed to release eight young women facing the death penalty, after being arrested during protests that swept Iran in December and January. His announcement came a day after he’d reposted a photomontage of the women – alongside a claim they faced hanging – as he urged Tehran to release them as a gesture of goodwill ahead of potential peace negotiations. Almost immediately, internet users claimed that the women in the photo did not exist, and that the images were AI-generated. Official Iranian embassy accounts on social media were quick to jump on board with these claims, with many …

‘Typosquatting’: How to spot fake news sites created by AI – The Observers

‘Typosquatting’: How to spot fake news sites created by AI – The Observers

Published by Sam Flores

Courrier France 24, Sud Ouest Direct, 20minutes.com… they sound like real news outlets, but they are not. Learn how to spot sites created by AI. Since 2023, fake media sites, often created by AI, have been appearing online. The sites publish articles aimed at misleading users or getting views for ad revenue. Here are four tips for spotting fake media sites. Tip #1: Check the URL In 2023, an article appeared online that looked like it was published by the French newspaper Le Parisien. Using the same logo and graphic style as the real newspaper, the article reported that wheat from Ukraine, meant for children in Africa, was instead being used as pig feed in Europe. But the URL – “leparisien.ltd” – showed that the article was fake. The newspaper’s real address is “leparisien.fr”. Imitating a site by using a URL that is close to the real one is called “typosquatting”. Tip #2: Check the real news site. See whether the article appears on the real news site. If you search for the pig feed article on …

Epstein files: AI photos circulate of Zohran Mamdani’s mother at party – Truth or Fake

Epstein files: AI photos circulate of Zohran Mamdani’s mother at party – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Try again © France 24 Issued on: 02/02/2026 – 21:26Modified: 02/02/2026 – 21:43 06:07 min From the show Reading time 1 min The fallout continues after the US Department of Justice released over 3 million documents pertaining to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mother, film director Mira Nair was named in an email, in reference of attending a film party. But AI-generated images by a parody account triggered viral false claims Mamdani has devious political connections or is Epstein’s illegitimate son. Vedika Bahl debunks them in Truth or Fake. Source link

Disinformation Floods Social Media After Nicolás Maduro’s Capture

Disinformation Floods Social Media After Nicolás Maduro’s Capture

Published by skeptic

Within minutes of Donald Trump announcing in the early hours of Saturday morning that US troops had captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, disinformation about the operation flooded social media. Some people shared old videos across social platforms, falsely claiming that they showed the attacks on the Venezuelan capital Caracas. On TikTok, Instagram, and X, people shared AI-generated images and videos that claimed to show US Drug Enforcement Administration agents and various law enforcement personnel arresting Maduro. In recent years, major global incidents have triggered huge amounts of disinformation on social media as tech companies have pulled back efforts to moderate their platforms. Many accounts have sought to take advantage of these lax rules to boost engagement and gain followers. “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in the early hours of Saturday morning. Hours later, …