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.
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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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Misleading: South Korean rocket mistaken for UFO in Poland
Misleading social media posts claiming a UFO was spotted and shot down by Polish Air Force came with a video that showed a South Korean rocket test in December 2022.
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Misleading: Fireworks spectators’ video falsely linked to Wuhan protest and Turkey earthquake
Annie Lab sourced the original video to a WeChat user and geolocated it at Yanshi district, of Henan province’s Luoyang city. The crowds that spilled into traffic were actually gathering for a Lantern Festival public fireworks show, according to the WeChat user.
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Misleading: Japanese study on mask hygiene does not support dropping mask mandate
The 2022 study by researchers at an Osaka-based university actually recommends the hygienic use of masks and cautions people, especially those with immune issues, against repeated use of the same masks to avoid potentially pathogenic microbes that can grow on the surface.
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Misleading: These images of street sign and police are not related to China’s COVID-19 protests
Wulumuqi Zhong Road (乌鲁木齐中路) in Shanghai was not renamed to Wu Zhong Road (乌中路). The image of a police officer holding a “white paper” comes from a two-year-old public services announcement video.
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Misleading: Group singing of ‘The Internationale’ was performed in 2021 as celebration, not protest
The video was produced last July to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. It has nothing to do with recent COVID-19 protests in the country.
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