False: Olympics medal table with China on top is neither official nor authentic
Misleading medal tables that show China with the most number of golds are doctored images.
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False
The claim is demonstrably false. The photo/video has been doctored. Main debunking is about the claim and/or the authenticity of photo/video.
Investigation: A group of doctors spreading misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines
Annie Lab looks into an anti-vaccine group that has frequently disseminated misinformation about COVID-19 since February.
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False: German scientist did not say vaccination caused the delta variant in a recent conference
Karl Lauterbach, a German epidemiologist and also a politician, did not make any statement that links inoculation to the origins of the delta variant in a COVID-19 conference on June 21.
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False: A whale and crocodiles in floodwaters digitally added; images not taken in China, either
The photos and videos of flooded cities were taken in Mexico and Russia. The animals added in post-production are old images.
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False: COVID-19 vaccines do not make you magnetic
Various social media posts suggest human bodies became magnetic following COVID-19 vaccination. Experts say that is simply impossible.
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False: No office property damaged or street blocked during the eviction of Hong Kong University Students’ Union
The false claim also featured two old photos taken in 2019 at the height of the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement.
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False: The Hong Kong University Students’ Union Building has not been demolished
The building is still standing on campus and can be freely entered. No plan was announced to knock it down after the Union moves out of the building.
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False: Video of Chinese astronauts standing straight in space does not imply it is fake
Multiple news reports and videos show their legs are attached to foot restraints to keep them in upright position.
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False: These CT images of lungs do not link vaping disease to COVID-19
Ground-glass opacity is a common manifestation of lung injury. It does not imply any link between COVID-19 and vaping disease.
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False: India’s ‘Health Ministry spokesperson’ did not die of COVID-19 vaccination
Subramanian Swaminathan is the director of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control at Gleneagles Global Hospitals, not a ministry spokesperson. He appeared in multiple interviews after he was vaccinated. The claim appears to originate from a deliberate mistranslation.
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False: Japanese prime minister did not say India will get medals for not coming to the Olympics
The Chinese translation of Suga’s speech was fabricated. It has nothing to do with the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
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False: This photo is altered. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen did not kneel before US senators
The image was manipulated to add Tsai Ing-wen’s lower legs. A video from the same scene shows her talking to the US senators while standing.
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Analysis: None of the eight claims about Fauci’s emails revealing COVID-19 ‘secrets’ is accurate
A social media post claims Fauci’s emails show he had known lockdowns were unnecessary and that asymptomatic people could not spread COVID-19, but a review of the emails tells otherwise.
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False: This simulation video does not show Japan’s treated water from Fukushima ‘polluting half of the Pacific ocean in 57 days’
The video is nine years old and has nothing to do with Japan’s plan. The clip has also been cropped to make the covered area in the ocean appear bigger than in the original video. The speed of spreading is accelerated.
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False: This 2018 photo of China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi used in media reports is manipulated
The image showing Chinese senior diplomat Yang Jiechi bowing to then U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo in a meeting in Beijing on Oct. 8, 2018 has been doctored. The original picture shows both diplomats facing the camera, standing up straight.
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False: Images of Greta Thunberg’s ‘weight gain’ are digitally manipulated
Multiple social media posts imply Swedish climate activist Thunberg has gained weight. However, they are digitally manipulated. Her face appears much smaller in the original photos.
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False: These images do not show Myanmar soldiers setting Chinese-owned factories ablaze
The photo showing a Myanmar soldier holding a Molotov cocktail is manipulated. The original image is about an anti-coup demonstration in the northwestern town of Kalay, Myanmar on March 2, which has nothing to do with the burning of Chinese-owned factories on March 14.
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False: These photos are manipulated to show Hong Kong stars holding banners in support of Xinjiang cotton
All images in the collage were taken in 2016 after a fire killed two firefighters in Ngau Tau Kok in Hong Kong as part of a social media campaign to show support for local firefighters.
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False: This picture does not show Chinese soldiers helping Myanmar’s military ‘destroy’ the internet
The photo shows PLA Navy soldiers. It was taken in Dec. 2017 during combat drills in the East China Sea. It has nothing to do with the current status of the internet shutdown in Myanmar.
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False: This photo of alleged Myanmar ‘tank woman’ is digitally manipulated
The image is a composite of two unrelated photos taken at different times and locations.
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