AFP Fact Check
Fact-checking by AFP News Agency.
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- Mark Carney's name appears multiple times in the latest release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, but most appearances are references to news articles mentioning Carney and none contain correspondence between the prime minister and Epstein. Read more: u.afp.com/S228
- Indian university students protested what they said were unfair new rules to prevent discrimination of marginalised groups, but posts online falsely linked old clips to the demonstrations. The videos in fact show fans mourning a popular singer and political protests u.afp.com/NotUGCProtests
- Protests against immigration enforcement by ICE have faced resistance across US cities, but an image shared in Ethiopia exaggerates the scale of the crowd in Minneapolis. The photo was digitally altered. Read more: u.afp.com/Minneapolis
- These fabricated images of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his mother circulated widely online after the US Justice Department released a new batch of documents from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. They were made with AI and originally published on a parody account u.afp.com/S28g
- American politician Hillary Clinton spoke at the Liberal Party of Canada convention in 2023 but claims that she would be returning to the event in 2026 are false. The author of the post originating the claim said it was intended as satire. Read more: u.afp.com/S27h
- 🗳️Bangladeshis will head to the polls on February 12 in the first general election since the 2024 uprising ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina. Are you a journalist covering the election? Learn how to tackle election disinformation in our courses➡️ u.afp.com/ElectionsPro
- Detractors of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are circulating a video claimed to show its agents beating an unarmed migrant teenager. But the arrest was made by the Anaheim Police Department following a jewelry store heist. Read more: u.afp.com/S2mV
- During his African tour, American YouTuber IShowSpeed stopped in Nigeria, where he celebrated his 21st birthday in January. Images posted online appear to show him with an injured face, but these are altered screenshots linked to false claims that he was attacked by a local gang. u.afp.com/S2MY
- A video circulating on social media claiming to show insurgents passing a military checkpoint in Nigeria without intervention from the army is misleading. The footage is from a movie set, not real life. Read more: u.afp.com/Boko
- 👾 AI-generated misinformation has circulated ahead of the February elections in Thailand and Bangladesh. How do journalists detect and verify it? Join AFP's online course to tackle AI deepfakes ➡️ u.afp.com/AIdetection
- Two Nipah virus cases in India's West Bengal state last month sparked posts claiming a lockdown had been imposed. But they share an AI-generated image, and authorities have said the situation is contained with no additional infections u.afp.com/S2ci
- 🇯🇵 ️Japan will hold a snap election on Sunday that will test Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's leadership as the country’s first female premier. How to tackle disinformation around the election? Learn tips in AFP's online courses ➡️️ u.afp.com/ElectionsPro
- Social media claims by clinics promoting testosterone treatment for men to improve their physique and mood are driving large numbers to pay for unnecessary medication that can have serious side effects, doctors say. Read more: u.afp.com/Testosterone...
- Hundreds of thousands of people have watched a video said to show Alex Pretti's colleagues honoring his body at the hospital where he worked. But Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz told AFP: "This video was not taken at the Minneapolis VA." Read more: u.afp.com/S25Q
- This image purportedly showing supporters of South African opposition leader Julius Malema during his recent court hearing in East London, actually shows a 2025 Gaza protest in Amsterdam. Read more: u.afp.com/Malema
- After Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki said the US has been in decline as a global power for 30 years, a clip circulated online claiming Trump responded with a warning about Afwerki being deposed like Venezuela’s Maduro. But the clip is an edited 2022 speech. Read more: u.afp.com/Afwerki
- Misidentification sparks anti-LGBTQ rhetoric around shooting of Minnesota nurse. Read more: u.afp.com/S2JX
- Both Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Philippine news anchor Mel Tiangco have denied making comments insulting tennis player Alexandra Eala ahead of her first appearance at the Australian Open earlier this month, contrary to posts citing AI-generated articles u.afp.com/SBvt
- 🇹🇭 Thailand is set to hold a general election on February 8, which could lead to its fourth prime minister in less than three years. AFP has an open-access online course to help journalists combat election disinformation. Start now ➡️️u.afp.com/ElectionsPro
- Tributes to Alex Pretti, the nurse who was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, abounded, but social media posts claiming his picture was projected onto a large billboard in Times Square are false, an image captured by AFP show. Read more: u.afp.com/SBVX
- As the world marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, experts warn that AI-generated content -- whether produced as clickbait for commercial gain, or for political motives -- threatens efforts to preserve the memory of Nazi crimes. Read more: u.afp.com/SBrH
- AI-enhanced image depicting shooting of Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti includes hallucinations. Read more: u.afp.com/SBDH
- Fake Trump Truth on guns spreads after protester shot dead in Minnesota. Read more: u.afp.com/SBDz
- Academic Daisy Dixon told AFP she felt "violated" after the Grok chatbot on Elon Musk's X social media platform allowed users to generate sexualised images of her in a bikini or lingerie. Read more: u.afp.com/SBD7
- The White House's X account posted a doctored photo of a protester arrested in Minnesota, showing her face contorted with tears without disclosing that the photorealistic image had been altered. Read more: u.afp.com/SBek
- Inflammatory posts circulating on Facebook claimed popular music stars had attacked Somali immigrants and called out Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. But the claims are false and part of a wider trend of AI-generated clickbait posts shared to generate ad revenue. Read more: u.afp.com/SBQR
- Image of pro-Bears, anti-ICE message on Chicago building is altered. Read more: u.afp.com/SBQG
- Video of Iranian protesters raising phone lights is AI creation Read more: u.afp.com/SBp4
- "Having my face everywhere is not the problem," said Ottawa-based activist Deana Sherif. "The problem is that it is being used as a weapon against anybody." Read more on how a Canadian was misidentified as Renee Good, the woman killed by an ICE agent in the United States: u.afp.com/SBpZ
- 🇺🇬 This video does not show electoral fraud in Uganda’s 2026 election. It shows ballots from 2016. Read more: u.afp.com/M7
- Meet Nikolay Gentchev, the Bulgarian mechanic Kremlin propaganda keeps killing: u.afp.com/SXCc
- An AI video is spreading in posts accusing Renee Nicole Good of mocking the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk months earlier. It was created from a photo in which she and her wife are simply smiling at the camera. Read more: u.afp.com/SXyE
- AI-generated videos purportedly depicting protests in Iran have flooded the web, researchers said, as social media users push hyper-realistic deepfakes to fill an information void amid the country's internet restrictions. Read more: u.afp.com/SXCT
- This video of individuals hurling Molotov cocktails traces to violent clashes that erupted after a November 2025 rap concert in Greece. It is unrelated to protests in the United States following the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an immigration enforcement agent. Read more: u.afp.com/SXHA
- 🇺🇸 Does this clip shared on Ethiopian social media show Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro being escorted by US security officers following his capture? No, the clip bears clear signs of AI-generated content. Read more: u.afp.com/Nico
- ⚠️ Beware of AI-generated content linked to anti-ICE protests! This video appears to show a Minneapolis man admitting in a television interview to taking an hourly payment to demonstrate, but the Sora watermark is visible throughout the clip. Read more: u.afp.com/SXaP
- This is an AI-generated image and does not show the actual positioning of the car or the officers as Renee Nicole Good attempted to drive away from federal immigration agents in the US city of Minneapolis. Read more: u.afp.com/SXaA
- 🗳️ Ugandans are getting ready to head to the polls on January 15. To help fight disinformation before, during, and after elections, AFP offers an open-access online course. Sign up now 👉 u.afp.com/ElectionsPro
- An image of a US Delta Force operator posing next to a person with a bag over their head resurfaced in January 2026 after the ousting of Nicolás Maduro. But while the same unit captured the Venezuelan leader, the picture was taken in 2003 and shows Iraq's Saddam Hussein u.afp.com/SXWi
- After the victim in a fatal shooting by a US immigration agent in Minnesota was identified as 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good, X users raced to surface photos of the woman. But among the images spreading online are photos of two unrelated women. Read more: u.afp.com/SXPF
- 🇨🇦🇺🇸 YouTube AI slop channels falsely claim Ottawa expelled US ambassador. Read more: u.afp.com/SXP2
- Did this video capture the exact moment US bombs hit Caracas? No, this video of Argentine YouTube influencer Momo during a blackout in Italy in 2021 has been repeatedly misrepresented online. Read more: u.afp.com/SXqj
- The man who created an AI-generated image of Nicolas Maduro in US custody that went viral has told AFP: “If an account with only 78 followers can have this kind of impact, imagine what an influencer with millions of followers is capable of.” Read more: u.afp.com/AIMaduro
- 🗳️ Disinformation is circulating ahead of Uganda’s elections on January 15, in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule but is opposed by Bobi Wine, a singer turned politician. Learn to tackle election disinformation with AFP’s online course. 👉 u.afp.com/ElectionsPro
- This video shows US military aircraft during a drill in October 2025, contrary to posts falsely claiming it shows Russia evacuating its diplomats’ families from Venezuela u.afp.com/NotRussiaEvacuation
- Many Venezuelan expat communities celebrated Maduro's capture by the United States, but one video said to show similar triumphant demonstrations within the country includes clear signs it was created with artificial intelligence. Read more: u.afp.com/SXkr
- Ouster of Venezuela's Maduro unleashes waves of misinformation online Read more: u.afp.com/SXkE
- Heartwarming stories are spreading on Facebook about celebrities allegedly building a multi-million dollar church as an act of charity for a "struggling" community. But the stories are false. Read more: u.afp.com/S8rv
- An image of a Christmas tree at a Chinese mall in flames after a short circuit has circulated online in posts falsely claiming it was deliberately torched by Muslims in Britain u.afp.com/XmasTreeFire
