AFP Fact Check 🔎

🇵🇭 The Philippine government has lodged complaints against several Facebook accounts and warned Meta it could face legal action should it fail to curb a torrent of online disinformation about the health of President Ferdinand Marcos u.afp.com/SRf3

AI-generated videos are becoming increasingly realistic. Learn to spot them with our open-access online course 👉 u.afp.com/AIdetection

⚠️ These videos circulated after Italy suspended a defence agreement with Israel. But the clips purportedly showing Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni ripping up papers and snubbing Benjamin Netanyahu are AI-generated u.afp.com/AIMeloniClips

🇧🇩 This scripted video of a forced marriage has triggered outrage among online users in Bangladesh. The content creator behind it told us it features actors, who can be seen performing in similar online clips. Read more: u.afp.com/SRkX

Ivermectin is not a proven treatment for hantavirus u.afp.com/SRou

An outbreak of the deadly hantavirus on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship is reviving conspiracy theories about vaccines, alleged depopulation campaigns and miracle cures that flourished during the Covid pandemic u.afp.com/SR4j

🇲🇲 Myanmar's junta last week announced it would move Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest and released an undated picture of the deposed leader. But AFP has not fact-checked the photo as old, contrary to posts that shared an inaccurate Google AI Overview u.afp.com/SRk9

This video circulating online does not show a girl marrying a man in India. The girl's mother has told AFP that the man in the clip is the child's uncle. She has also uploaded a video showing him playing a common Indian wedding game with the actual bride u.afp.com/NotChildMarria…

Iran's Tasnim News Agency claimed this video shows an American hanging a black flag to protest Israel's relationship with the US. But the clip is from 2021, with the poster saying the action was taken to express opposition to Joe Biden's administration u.afp.com/SavD

🦫 This video of a beaver attacking a child was filmed in New Jersey. False posts claim it shows an attack on immigrants in Canada, inspiring a flood of comments about how the newcomers were supposedly rejected by the animal, a national symbol u.afp.com/Savh

Tech billionaire Elon Musk blames South Africa's post-apartheid redress laws for his failure to secure a licence for his satellite internet service Starlink. However, claims that a video shows him refusing to shake hands with SA's president are false u.afp.com/SatZ

🇰🇷 In South Korea, government disinformation monitors are cracking down on AI-generated content ahead of local polls next month. The surge of online fakery is testing the country's toughened election laws, which ban AI material that involves candidates u.afp.com/Sayq

Accusation US Senator Elizabeth Warren dumped Spirit Airlines stock stems from satire post u.afp.com/Sa9R

Australia's Communications Minister Anika Wells has been in hot water following reports that a work trip to New York had cost tens of thousands of dollars, but this image that purports to show her wearing luxury clothing in parliament is actually altered u.afp.com/AlteredAnikaWe…

A video is spreading online with claims it shows missiles blasting a US warship near the Strait of Hormuz. But the footage is actually from a 2016 military exercise, in which the decommissioned USS Thach was sunk in the Pacific Ocean u.afp.com/Saz2

US infant mortality uptick falsely linked to Covid-19 vaccination u.afp.com/Saz8

A false claim has circulated on social media that Australian PM Anthony Albanese is among the political leaders chosen for Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people for 2026. A check on the actual list shows he is not there u.afp.com/FakeAlbaneseCo…

🇨🇦 Muslim advocates' photo misrepresented as Toronto councilors, fueling online hate u.afp.com/SasK

Public concern over Australia's energy reserves has sparked a wave of misleading posts claiming to show the country's dwindling fuel in "real time". Experts told us the figures are estimates -- and are not an accurate measure of the current petrol reserves u.afp.com/SaPK

Claims of 'staged' US press gala shooting misrepresent Fox News coverage. Read more: u.afp.com/Sadz