South Africa

Are there no pictures of President Joe Biden in the Oval Office in 2022, and does this prove he is not really president? No, that's not true: Numerous pictures and videos of Biden in the Oval Office during 2022, shot by professional photographers, exist online. For instance, on October 26, 2022, the date of this fact check, the news agency…

Does a photo show a man beaten up for "child trafficking" in 2022? No, that is misleading: The image is of a man who was arrested in South Africa in 2019 under suspicion of attempted kidnapping. There was no evidence that his plan was to traffick a victim. The post was shared without reference to where or when the incident…

Did France's ambassador to Ukraine, Etienne de Poncins, resign his post from fear of Russian bombardments on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv? No, that's not true: "This is fake news," Ambassador de Poncins posted on his official Twitter account on October 19, 2022.A Facebook account called RT Afrique, which describes itself as a personal blog, posted the French-language claim on October…

Are drug dealers selling schoolkids a new type of methamphetamine called "Strawberry Breeze," that looks like strawberry-flavored candy? No, that's not true: Warnings about "Strawberry Breeze," "Strawberry Quick" and "Strawberry Quick Meth," allegedly highly addictive stimulants, have circulated online since 2007 and are not supported by evidence that traffickers are manufacturing a flavored and colored methamphetamine to sell to schoolchildren.…

Are Russia and China creating a "new global reserve currency" based on "rare earth minerals" as videos on social media claim? No, that's not true: The original source of the story, Russian President Vladimir Putin, brought up the idea of a reserve currency based on a basket of currencies of BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa…

Does a video on social media in August 2022 show an act of aggression against a French priest? No, that's not true: The clip shows a 2020 incident in Guyana. Some of this claim's variations had such hashtags as "diversity," "multiculturalism" and "openborders," implying that the attacker could be an immigrant. According to previous media reports, it is not the…

Is getting a virus and acquiring natural immunity the "best thing you can do for your body," rather than getting a vaccine? No, that's not true: The only way vaccines get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval is if they provide protection against illness and death associated with natural infection while presenting a proportionally very low risk of adverse events.…

Is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being investigated for genocide by Interpol? No, that's not true: As of July 26, 2022, the International Criminal Police Organization made no announcement regarding Trudeau being a suspect. The article that made the claim was published on a satirical website and did not provide any evidence. The claim appeared in an article titled "Interpol:…

Was a large gray disc spotted hovering over Tempe, Arizona, an unknown object? No, that's not true: The unusual sight, which appeared in a TikTok video on July 15, 2022, was not a UFO from outer space or anything else unknown. Meteorologists agree the smooth disc shape in the viral video is a lenticular cloud -- a cloud form that…

Did a U.S. Air Force A-10 drop a "500-Pound BDU-50 bomb," destroying a 40-mile Russian tank convoy? No, that's not true: This is a clickbait headline with an eye-catching image, but this did not happen. The article paired with the false headline does not even repeat what the headline claims. The article is copied from a June 10, 2022, article…