Canada

Did a caption accompanying a viral image correctly claim it showed FIFA President Gianni Infantino making a phone call after Egypt took a 2-0 lead over Argentina? No, that's not true: Infantino did not attend this World Cup game in Atlanta on July 7, 2026. Instead, he was at the Switzerland-Colombia match, held in Vancouver a few hours later on…

Does a viral video show FIFA President Gianni Infantino reacting to Egypt's goal during a July 2026 World Cup game? No, that's not true: The video clip was miscaptioned. The video had been online days earlier, before that match, and showed footage from a different 2026 World Cup match. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on…

Did New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani only put Iran's flag on New York subway trains? No, that's not true: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which serves New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut, decorated trains to represent each of the 48 countries competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Each train features the colors of a competing…

Is a viral video that shows Shakira's 2026 World Cup opening song performance real? No, that's not true: An online detection tool identified elements of the video as AI-generated. Shakira does not appear in the 10-minute video posted on social media. The real footage of Shakira performing the opening song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with singer Burna Boy…

Does a viral post on social media offer any verifiable information confirming that a four-year waiting list for superyacht purchases is entirely made up of Ukrainian officials? No, that's not true: No posts making such a claim included any specific, verifiable data. The man who was the first to spread the rumor refused to disclose the name of the shipbuilder…

Does a viral image show a real Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news report about a poll showing "89% of Canadians believe Donald Trump is to blame for Canada's struggling economy"? No, that's not true: The picture was first published by a satire account. Two online AI detectors suggested that the viral image was generated by AI. The claim originated from a…

Are Facebook posts claiming to show "a simple stone marker" where three U.S. states converge real? No, that's not true: These images and text, which do not reflect real geography, are clickbait posts made with artificial intelligence tools. The Facebook pages used to distribute them impersonate local interest groups in each state, but are managed from Bangladesh. Among the false…

Did the White House display the Australian flag for King Charles' April 2026 visit? No, that's not true: The photo of the American flag and the Australian flag on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) is from 2019. The flag was displayed then for the Australian prime minister's state visit, according to publicly available images from photo agencies. Washington, D.C.…

Does a viral image of world leaders showing their middle fingers as an act of apparent disagreement with U.S. President Donald Trump show a real 2026 TIME Magazine cover? No, that's not true: The magazine's website did not contain such a cover. The image displayed shows signs strongly pointing to generative AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Were the pilots of the Air Canada plane that crashed into a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport both females? No, that's not true: The pilot and co-pilot killed in the ground collision have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. The FAA administrator described the two as "young men at the start of their careers" during a March 23,…