Canada

Will the earth experience "colder weather than ever before" during the "aphelion phenomenon" in August, 2025, as its elliptical orbit takes it to its most distant-from-the-Sun position of the year, as multiple social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Earth's distance from the Sun changes daily and at aphelion, the Earth's distance from the Sun is only about 3%…

Was Silas Kruger identified as the gunman in the shooting near the Emory University campus? No, that's not true: The gunman, who was killed at the scene, was officially identified as Patrick Joseph White by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the next day. Before the shooter's identity was made public, internet trolls used the breaking news event to post a…

Does a "Breaking News" video of a church fire document an arson-caused fire at a church in Quebec, Canada? No, that's not true: The fire happened 10 months before the video was posted. Official reports at the time noted a private developer was developing housing on the site and the origin of the fire appeared to be a container next…

Do Canadian researchers propose to mass-vaccinate people with crop duster-style spraying of the populace, as a social media post implies? No, that's not true: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have paid researchers to develop a needle-free inhaler to inoculate people one at a time against the virus that causes COVID-19. The post that pushes the crop duster idea…

Did Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announce they are bringing The Beatles back to the U.S. with a reunion tour? No, that's not true: No announcement can be found anywhere in the news media, on the artists' websites, or with online ticketing websites. The post making the claim used an AI-generated image, which would not be expected in an official…

Did Robert Francis Prevost moonlight as "Bobby Prev", a "celebrated jazz trombonist" in Chicago who "headlined several jazz festivals in the '70s and '80s"? No, that's not true: The archives of the Chicago Tribune, which has long provided detailed coverage of jazz, contain no celebrations or even mentions of such a musician. Similarly, a search of the GoogleNews index of…

Does a viral clip show Canada's PM Mark Carney announcing phasing out "all vehicles manufactured before 2000 due to safety and emission standards"? No, that's not true: The video reused the footage of his tariff-related speech while replacing the authentic sound. The audio track was likely to have been generated by AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did a real TIME magazine cover depict Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney giving the finger, alongside the words "Hey, Donald"? No, that's not true: That design did not appear on a list of magazine covers from 2025. A Canadian-flag ring could be seen on Carney's raised middle finger in the fake artwork. The magazine cover was presented as real in…

Did Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney write "Western society is morally rotten ... corrupted by capitalism" in "Values", his 2021 book? No, that's not true: a book reviewer characterized Carney's views that way in an opinion article published by The National Post. Then, a social media post incorrectly attributed to Carney phrases that were actually the reviewer's. The quotes have…

Does a draft paper by scientists at The Cleveland Clinic "reveal" that the 2024/2025 flu shot increased the risk of flu, as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: This study's finding that vaccination was "associated with" a higher risk isn't the same as showing the vaccine is what caused increased risk. The authors of the study found that…

Did a photograph shared in April 2025 authentically show Diana Fox Carney standing alongside her husband, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney? No, that's not true: the image was digitally edited. The original was taken by the Reuters news agency in March, when Carney won the race to replace outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal Party leader. The fake picture…

Did viral posts spread an authentic warning about two suspects at large in connection with "the death of 10-month-old baby girl Diana Tyler" in March 2025? No, that's not true: Those posts were an example of the bait-and-switch scam. Their contents were later replaced with unrelated text trying to trick people into following a link and sharing their personal information.…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump write "I am ending all the tariffs today against China, Canada and Mexico" in an April 1, 2025, post on Truth Social? No, that's not true: A screenshot shared by users on other social media platforms was fake. Trump has marked April 2 as a day on which his administration will roll out new tariffs.…

Did Laila Ali lose her life while giving birth in a Canadian hospital in March 2025? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the 47-year-old former world boxing champ and daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali was pregnant in March 2025 or that she died while birthing a child. Ali posted a video on March 30, 2025, to…

Did President Donald Trump order the Keystone pipeline system "to transport ONLY American Oil"? No, that's not true: The claim came from a site with a satire label that explicitly says "nothing on this page is real". Originating in Canada, the Keystone Pipeline System moves unrefined Canadian petroleum, and some from the U.S. to refineries in the United States. The…

Does a viral image authentically show European leaders taking off their suit coats in support of Ukraine during a group picture? No, that's not true: The image is likely a screenshot from a video that was digitally edited, possibly using AI. Actual footage of the moment the group picture was taken did not show anyone taking off their suit and…

Did President Trump post on Truth Social that he was going to "annexe Alaska" after Greenland, in order to make it the "53rd State" and did he say "the people of Alaska don't want to be part of a backward nation in Canada?" No, that's not true: Viral screenshots of such a post are fake. Trump's actual Truth Social account…

Does Canada bar American banks from operating in the country? No, that's not true: As of this writing, 16 U.S.-based bank subsidiaries and branches were operating in Canada, according to the Canadian Bank Association. These banks hold around 113 billion Canadian dollars in assets and "make up half of all foreign bank assets in Canada," the association added. Canada's Department…

Does calling 112 on a cell phone directly link the caller to a state trooper in the United States? No, that's not true: 112 is the emergency number used across the European Union -- it is not a dedicated state police line in the U.S. The emergency number 911 is used in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Although some cell…

Does Canada get 95 percent of its imports from the United States? No, that's not true: According to Statistics Canada, the national statistical office, the U.S. was the source of 62.2 percent of Canada's total imports in 2024, not 95 percent. Additionally, about 76 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S. The claim appeared in a video published on…