A series of misleading claims about recent natural disasters in China
Annie Lab found inaccurate news reports, irrelevant images, and a manipulated video about flooding and landslides in China
Read
annie lab
@HKU School of Future Media
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: This Beijing air pollution image is old and digitally manipulated
A manipulated version of a 2008 sandstorm photo was falsely linked to a bad air day in Beijing on March 10
Read
Misleading: Idea of discouraging rural children from attending university was raised 12 years ago
The old remarks by a delegate of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference were falsely associated with this year’s parliamentary sessions.
Read
Misleading: This image is six years old; Zhu Rongji did clap for Xi Jinping at the 2017 party congress
A misleading tweet implied Zhu did not applaud Xi at the annual assembly in March, although Zhu has not been seen at any major party functions for more than five years. Also, the image was taken after Zhu stopped clapping in 2017.
Read
Misleading: These Weibo GIFs do not show Russia dropping a ‘small nuclear bomb’
A Chinese blogger posted images that have nothing to do with the Russian attack on Bakhmut, Ukraine. Annie Lab found no evidence of FAB-3000 dropped on the city.
Read
Misleading: Video of prominent factories closure in China includes plants that are still in business
Two of the four factories are still operating, while the other two were reportedly shut down for losses incurred before the pandemic.
Read
Misleading: This trash mountain is located in Indonesia, not China
The viral video shows one of the world’s largest landfills in Bantar Gebang in Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta in Indonesia.
Read
Misleading: This video uses green screen; it does not show ‘Chinese military suits’
A five-year-old “invisibility cloak” video was falsely linked to some “new technologies” developed in China or Japan, but it actually shows a simple chroma key post-production effect.
Read
An array of misinformation about earthquakes in Turkey
Annie Lab examined some popular social media content posted after the devastating quakes in Turkey and Syria.
Read
Misleading: Photo does not show unidentified flying object reportedly spotted in China
The picture was taken in the U.K. in 2008. It has nothing to do with the news report on the UFO spotted in Shandong in February.
Read