AP Fact Check

CLAIM: A photo of a man with a bloody face shows Lagos State House of Assembly candidate Olumide Oworu after his team was attacked while campaigning in March 2023.

CLAIM: Australia is seeing its sharpest rise in deaths in 80 years because of the coronavirus vaccine.

CLAIM: Greta Thunberg recently deleted a tweet she posted in 2018 in which she said that the world will end in 2023.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context.

CLAIM: The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that transgender women get screened for cervical cancer.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context.

CLAIM: An image that shows California state Sen. Scott Wiener holding a book proves he grooms children for abuse.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Altered photo.

CLAIM: Climate, weather or meteorological events that we would classify as “extreme” have declined in severity over the last 20 or 30 years.

CLAIM: Dental products containing fluoride are unsafe because the substance has been directly linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Experts say there is no research showing that topical products containing fluoride — such as toothpaste and mouthwash — cause dementia or Alzheimer's.

CLAIM: 100 million humans in the same place would emit enough radiation to be deadly. 

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Radiation experts confirm the human body contains trace amounts of radiation, but the levels aren’t nearly enough to be lethal, even if 100 million people were somehow packed into a single place. 

CLAIM: A court in the Philippines has issued an international arrest warrant for Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates over crimes related to COVID-19 vaccines.

Cancer patients have long turned to alternative and supplementary treatments – but along with them comes the risk of ineffective, and potentially dangerous, bunk cures.

CLAIM: Video of an interview between an Australian journalist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shows the two sparred over what he has contributed to the world, and whether he has a behavioral pattern of stealing complex technology and profiting from it.

CLAIM: U.S. hospitals are earning a $48,000 government subsidy for every patient that dies from COVID-19 in their care. 

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Hospital industry officials and public health experts confirm the federal government provides hospitals with enhanced payments for treating COVID-19 patients, but the payments are only currently applicable to those on Medicare.

CLAIM: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants bloggers to register with the state or face fines.

CLAIM: A public bus called “Not the 48” in Brussels takes riders to a mystery location for free.

CLAIM: The U.S. military has recorded a 500% increase in new HIV infections since COVID-19 vaccines were introduced. 

CLAIM: Footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol shows that Jacob Chansley, who participated in the riot sporting face paint, no shirt and a fur hat with horns, was “led through the Capitol by police the entire time he was in the building.”

CLAIM: New Zealand is seeing its biggest increase in deaths in a century because of the coronavirus vaccine. 

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Government officials and experts in New Zealand say the rise in deaths last year is the result of the country’s first true wave of COVID-19 infections, which follow the lifting of the strict lockdown policy maintained during the first two years of the pandemic.

CLAIM: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case to remove President Joe Biden from office and reinstate former President Donald Trump in his place.

CLAIM: A train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, was carrying a chemical that was banned in 1974.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context.

CLAIM: The U.S. is not providing cash to Ukraine; it only supports the country through donated military equipment.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. While the U.S. is indeed providing weapons and equipment to Ukraine, it has also provided billions in financial assistance to the country following Russia’s invasion.

CLAIM: Merck is on trial for fraud regarding its human papillomavirus vaccine, which has been banned in other countries and has been found to cause cancer. 

CLAIM: Using tampons can cause endometriosis by pushing endometrial cells back up into “your belly cavity.”

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Tampons pose no such risk, gynecologists told The Associated Press.

CLAIM: Astrologists and geologists predict that a massive earthquake similar to the quake that hit Turkey on Monday will strike India and Pakistan in 15 days.

CLAIM: Hydrogen peroxide, a common disinfectant, can be absorbed through the skin to kill tumor tissue or cure cancer.

CLAIM: There are no laws requiring people to pay their taxes. 

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The Internal Revenue Service and several tax experts confirmed to The Associated Press that Title 26 of the U.S.

CLAIM: A video clip shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that Americans will have to send their “sons and daughters” to the war in Ukraine.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context.

CLAIM: Officials in East Palestine, Ohio, gave digital IDs to residents to track their long-term health problems as part of an emergency response pilot program ahead of the Feb.

CLAIM: A video of air defense systems and other military equipment slowly turning at an intersection in Romania shows them being transported toward the Moldova border as tensions rise in the region.

CLAIM: Five environmental scientists who died in a plane crash were heading to East Palestine, Ohio.

CLAIM: Up to 49% of the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines can be changed without the approval of the Federal Drug Administration because they are still manufactured under emergency use authorization.

CLAIM: A Florida doctor was removed from a Sarasota hospital board meeting for testifying that ivermectin was effective against COVID-19.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Dr.

CLAIM: A legally-binding World Health Organization “pandemic treaty” will give the organization the authority to control U.S. policies during a pandemic, including those on vaccines, lockdowns, school closures and more.

CLAIM: A photo shows that the bottled water that former President Donald Trump gifted to East Palestine, Ohio, residents was dark yellow in color.

CLAIM: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed information from its toxicological profile for vinyl chloride about how dangerous the gas is in regards to children, drinking water and cancer.

CLAIM: A photo shows a man in Poland gesturing with both his middle fingers at President Joe Biden.

CLAIM: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley “changed” her name for political reasons.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The former United Nations ambassador has long used her legal middle name, Nikki.

CLAIM: Governments can “forcibly remove” people living on polluted land or water and require them to live in “smart cities” under a plan from the World Economic Forum and United Nations called Agenda 2030.

CLAIM: A video shows hundreds of birds filmed gathering on a residential block in Mexico  because they were sensing a looming environmental crisis.

CLAIM: George Soros endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election.

CLAIM: Video shows a fracture in Earth’s crust created by recent earthquakes in Turkey.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. While the severe earthquakes in Turkey this month did rupture the Earth’s surface, this video shows river erosion in China’s Loess Plateau, which is unrelated to earthquakes.

The recent burning of toxic chemicals at the site of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has left concerned residents seeking answers about potential health effects on their families as well as pets, livestock and wildlife in the area.

CLAIM: Searches on the National Institutes of Health website show that ivermectin is a cure for cancer but it is being suppressed.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The website shows that some studies have explored the use of ivermectin in relation to cancer.

CLAIM: Ireland’s government and a local diversity nonprofit distributed a flyer near Dublin instructing girls to stay indoors after 6 p.m. because of new immigrants “not accustomed to Irish cultural norms.” 

CLAIM: A video of a purple cloud looming over a street as a car drives underneath shows East Palestine, Ohio, after a recent freight train derailment and intentional burning of some of the hazardous chemicals on board.

CLAIM: Everyone living in the Ohio River basin, as shown in the yellow area of a map, should be concerned about the safety of their drinking water after the derailment of a train in East Palestine, Ohio, contaminated the river.

CLAIM: The Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win is being “put on hold” while the NFL launches an investigation into whether quarterback Patrick Mahomes used performance-enhancing drugs during halftime.

CLAIM: Statistics show that among members of Congress, 117 have bankrupted at least two businesses, 71 can’t receive credit cards due to bad credit and 84 have been arrested for drunk driving.

CLAIM: A photo shows 21-year-old Lynn Dee Walker, the suspect in the Michigan State University shooting.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The person in the image is not the gunman and has no connection to the shooting.

CLAIM: The Minions in the popular “Despicable Me” animated film series were inspired by a horrific 1944 Nazi experiment that put hard metal helmets on children’s heads.

CLAIM: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley has never served in combat or won a war.

CLAIM: Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a recent science paper, admits that COVID-19 vaccines don’t work.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The scientific journal article doesn’t say the vaccines don’t work.

CLAIM: A video shows a strange light that appeared in the night sky in Turkey before Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

CLAIM: The deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitted that COVID-19 vaccines are causing “debilitating illnesses.”

CLAIM: A video shows the pop singer Shakira’s house being physically moved from her former partner’s property.

CLAIM: The Church of England will stop using male pronouns for God and will drop the phrase “our Father” from the Lord’s Prayer.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The church has been in ongoing discussions about using gender-neutral language in written services, and recently said it is launching a new project on the matter in the spring.

CLAIM: A photo shows a white-haired dog covered in dirt who helped rescue at least 10 people in Turkey after an earthquake struck the country on Monday.

CLAIM: A clip shows Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel admitting the company produced 100,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2019, before the pandemic began.

CLAIM: A photo of a child crouching and holding their head in rubble was taken in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria Monday.

CLAIM: Thailand is canceling its COVID-19 vaccine contract with Pfizer after its princess fell into a coma following a booster shot. 

CLAIM: Video of a tsunami wave crashing against a shoreline and hitting buildings as people run for safety shows Turkey’s shore after Monday’s earthquake.

CLAIM: Los Angeles International Airport is adding urinals to its women’s restrooms. 

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. One men’s restroom has been temporarily converted into a women’s restroom while that section of the airport undergoes construction, a spokesperson told The Associated Press.  

CLAIM: A photo shows the U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter jet that shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon now sporting a victory mark in the shape of a balloon.

As footage of the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria spread online on Monday, some social media posts shared old and unrelated videos, falsely claiming they showed the quake. 

CLAIM: A photo of a dog moving through rubble, and another of a dog lying next to the arm of someone trapped under rubble, were taken after the earthquake that struck Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday.

CLAIM: A protein naturally found in egg yolks protects against COVID-19 in humans, which is why there is an egg shortage.