AFP Fact Check 🔎

Fact-checking by @AFP. Official account of the world's biggest network of fact checkers. Also on Instagram: @AFPFactCheck

[AFP Fact Check 🔎 @AFPFactCheck]

Pap smear testing has been safely used for decades to screen for cervical cancer. But social media influencers are falsely claiming the test exposes individuals to dangerous amounts of a chemical routinely used to sterilize medical equipment https://t.co/0PDFoVDtgp

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🍌🫐 Online posts warn against blending bananas in berry-smoothies based on one small study that investigated a singular heart-healthy compound. Nevertheless, nutrition experts reccommend smoothies as a way for Americans to increase fruit intake https://t.co/30G6i3TH9Y

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AFP identified a series of artificially generated videos featuring people with Down syndrome selling purportedly handmade products across social media. The clips are part of a larger trend of scammers using AI to score sales via sympathy
https://t.co/dAavoL7PpI

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This video is circulating online with a false claim it showed members of a protest movement banned in Pakistan-administered Kashmir faking injuries -- those in the footage were in fact taking part in an unrelated fire drill https://t.co/CqUH922Dzz

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🇮🇩 The Middle East war and investor sentiment towards Indonesia's economy are among the factors that are causing the rupiah's depreciation, experts told us, refuting conspiratorial claims that the country is being punished for rejecting an IMF loan offer https://t.co/QGdgkbTQ4X

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🇰🇷 South Korean police officers have been targeted in online posts that falsely claim they were part of a Chinese infiltration operation during protests over ballot shortages in local elections earlier this month https://t.co/xzA2fNeKkn

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🇮🇷⚽️ The Iranian men's national football team brought children's backpacks onto the pitch before a March 2026 friendly as a tribute to the victims of a strike that hit a school at the start of the Middle East war, but this image is inauthentic https://t.co/NB58Weh1yG

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🇰🇷 🇵🇸 ⚽️ A video is labeled as showing South Korean football fans unfurling a giant Palestinian flag at the 2026 World Cup, but the footage was actually captured in September 2024 during a World Cup qualifier played against team Palestine in Seoul https://t.co/ap9lj85pB1

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🇧🇦⚽️ This video showing Bosnian football fans shouting a pro-Palestinian chant was recorded in Sarajevo weeks ago and, contrary to claims on social media, is unrelated to fans at the World Cup https://t.co/52kLtEmHyK

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Misinformation about health is rampant online, including in answers provided by AI chatbots. Learn to verify health claims with our open-access course ⬇ https://t.co/1WqHRMIH1b

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🇰🇷 South Korean election authorities and experts told us this video is not proof of fraud in recent local elections, as posts online claim. In fact, it depicts a longstanding security practice for handling early votes https://t.co/hUihwEnqSK

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🇩🇪⚽️ Fake picture of German football fan dressed as Hitler originated with satire https://t.co/LS6VZ5HJPT

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🇺🇸 🗳️ The Los Angeles mayoral race triggered a flood of misinformation from online influencers sponsored by betting companies -- exposing a new threat analysts warn could undermine the integrity of future elections.

Read more: https://t.co/fWPXNv3Lha

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🇪🇸 While Spain has introduced an amnesty programme for undocumented migrants, there is no evidence of a new visa scheme for foreigners who marry Spanish citizens -- contrary to posts sharing a fabricated news report in Pakistan https://t.co/b8HEzbtkPs

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Protests have broken out in India calling for the education minister to resign over alleged irregularities in major examinations, but this clip circulating online doesn't show the rallies -- it was in fact filmed in the US during an anti-ICE demonstration https://t.co/meIAbAlxVJ

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Videos circulating online claim to show recent retaliation against South African-owned businesses in Nigeria amid the latest xenophobic unrest in South Africa. But the footage dates to 2019.

Read more: https://t.co/MqQbZsnaCK

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🇫🇷⚽️ An article alleged Kylian Mbappé revealed his transfer to Real Madrid was catalyzed by harassment from French President Emmanuel Macron. But it was published on a fake website imitating Eurosport https://t.co/EH1S6UGxox

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🇺🇸🗳️ This image does not show ballots for California's June 2, 2026 primary elections discarded in a Sonoma Valley dumpster. The photo shows empty ballot return envelopes from a 2018 election -- not marked ballots -- that were being recycled https://t.co/UbFdbPWBou

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Amid anti-migrant tensions, a video claims that Nigerian students ordered South Africans out of Nigeria. But the clip contains unrelated footage, among them a 2019 video of a former student leader speaking out against xenophobia.

Read more: https://t.co/ZwiNnfsTm2

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With the school year coming to a close, Facebook pages are claiming a variety of public figures stepped in to pay off student lunch debt in Canada. But this is false and the articles shared as proof appear to be mass-produced with artificial intelligence https://t.co/tyZmB8cl3R