Misleading: Apple and Google Maps have been calling Taiwan a “province” for years, not just after Pelosi’s visit
The controversy surrounding Taiwan’s status on the two maps goes back for more than a decade.
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Misleading
The claim is accompanied by non-altered evidence but it is used out of context or in a demonstrably misleading way. The key evidence may be fact-based, but the claim and information associated with the evidence are not true.
Misleading: These videos have nothing to do with recent wildfires or climate change
Annie Lab looked into two video clips claiming wildfires are manmade, which also implied climate change is not real.
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Misleading: Video does not show celebrations after Italian PM’s resignation
The first half of the video shows a 2021 mass protest in Rome against a vaccine pass mandate. The second half features a taxi drivers’ demonstration against a bill related to ride-hailing services.
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Misleading: Video does not show fire in Vatican City
The fire took place more than 10 kilometers away from the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It reportedly started in an archaeological park in an area called Centocelle in eastern Rome.
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Misleading: Image sequence reversed to make watermelons appear stolen from Abe’s memorial
Annie Lab reached out to a journalist who also took photos of the roadside memorial around the same time. The two slices of watermelon were placed later than the flowers on the ground.
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Analysis: Viral social media posts about Dutch farmers’ protests
Annie Lab investigated two images used in misleading social media posts about the ongoing farmers’ protests in the Netherlands.
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Misleading: Video shows a rescue robot in Japan, not Communist Party’s ‘corpse picker’
The Japanese rescue robot is called Robocue. The Tokyo Fire Department introduced it in 2009.
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Misleading: Although CO2 facilitates plant growth, excessive amount could be harmful as well
Experts say increased carbon dioxide impacts the natural ecosystem as a whole. The science of climate change has advanced since the 1920 experiment mentioned in the misleading tweet.
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Misleading: Photo of litter-filled street does not show the aftermath of climate protest in Netherlands
The photo has nothing to do with the protest. It shows a trashed area outside the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam before the concert of singer Billie Eilish.
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Misleading: ATMs in Shanghai were never suspended over fears of virus-carrying banknotes
Banking services in Shanghai were suspended during the lockdown from mid-March to the end of May 2022. In June, they were fully in operation.
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Misleading: Boris Johnson took off his shoes out of respect, not because they are broken
The image shows the British premier following Indian custom before entering the Gandhi Ashram during his visit to India on April 21, 2022.
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Analysis: Misleading claims about Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine safety for pregnancy
Annie Lab looks into the supposed ‘evidence’ mentioned in a tweet that claims that the safety of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was determined based on lab tests on pregnant rats, not humans.
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Misleading: Video shows violent dispute in Guangdong, not recent assault in Tangshan
The video was taken in the city of Lianjiang in Guangdong on Feb. 20, 2021. It has nothing to do with the violent attack on four women in a restaurant in Tangshan on June 10, 2022.
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Investigation: Misleading claims about masks and vaccines in Hong Kong’s 5th wave
Annie Lab looks into an article about Hong Kong’s COVID-19 fifth wave published by a known anti-vaccine website in the United States.
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Misleading: Pope Francis was not holding a Ukrainian flag with Nazi symbol
The flag shows the symbol of the uprising in Kyiv in 2014 known as the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine.
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Misleading: Photo in Malaysia was used to illustrate Swatch craze in Hong Kong
Hundreds of people indeed waited outside the stores across the city, but the photo shows a long queue at a shopping mall in Malaysia.
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Misleading: ‘Shirtless Putin on a panda’ image was not used by the Economist
The image is one of the mock-up designs explored by the magazine. The published cover features only Putin’s face overlapping the face of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Misleading: WHO asked Ukraine to destroy pathogens in public health labs, not bioweapons
WHO routinely collaborates with member states on the safety and security of labs. Bioweapon allegations have been debunked by scientists.
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Misleading: This video shows a climate protest, not corpses in Ukraine
The video shows a demonstration held by climate activists against Vienna’s climate policy on Feb. 4, not casualties in the recent conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
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Misleading: Video shows naval forces exercise in Brazil, not volunteer-soldiers in Ukraine
The video shows participants in Operation UNITAS LX, a multinational maritime exercise hosted by Brazil in 2019.
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Misleading: Photo of dog disposal not related to Beijing Olympics
The photo shows a dog cull in Yunnan Province in April 2006.
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Misleading: Video shows missile drill in China; not Russian attack on Ukraine
The GIF is a clip from a 2017 CCTV video about China’s People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force.
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Misleading: People handcuffed outside hospital are suspected illegal immigrants
The police told Annie Lab that seven men and 15 women were taken to the Pok Oi Hospital for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing recently.
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Misleading: Marcos Jr. was not the only contender wearing an earpiece
All members of the panel were using earpieces to hear the audio.
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Misleading: This discussion on ‘China’s plot to weaken US troops with vaccines’ is not organized by the Communist Party but by US website
The video is from a live broadcast of GTV, an online platform known for its anti-Communist Party stance and push for misinformation and conspiracy theories.
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Misleading: White House was not illuminated in red for China’s National Day or QAnon’s ‘Red October’
The official residence of the President of the United States was lit up in pink to celebrate the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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Analysis: Social media posts about Afghanistan — From False to Verified
In this article, Annie Lab delves into three unverified social media content about Afghanistan in turmoil
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Misleading: This photo does not show Afghans waiting for a plane in Kabul
The image showing people standing on passenger boarding steps was not taken in Afghanistan. It’s from a 14-year-old video shot in California.
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Misleading: Photos of HKU bulletin board with slogans of dissent were shot in 2016 and 2018, not after student body’s recent apology over controversial motion
The misleading Facebook and Weibo posts featured a collage of two old news photos taken from local news media outlets.
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Misleading: This video of Hong Kong kindergarteners conducting Chinese flag-raising ceremony was filmed years ago
Online posts claimed the Chinese Communist Party started “brainwashing” kids in Hong Kong recently, backed with a video of kindergarten pupils in a flag-raising ceremony. However, it was produced in 2015, according to a media interview with the kindergarten principal.
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