FactCheck Social Media

FactCheck Social Media

Story about an unmarked police car and calling "112" has been around the block a few times

A popular Facebook post tells a frightening tale about a woman who was supposedly followed by a fake unmarked police vehicle but escaped danger by remembering a warning from her parents.

FactCheck Social Media

False claims about COVID-19, 5G and a vaccine that doesn't exist yet

A widely shared social media post claims that the COVID-19 pandemic does not exist and that the coronavirus crisis is instead a cover-up to allow the deployment of 5G telecommunications towers.

FactCheck Social Media

COVIDSafe app regulations say you can't be barred from work or the shops for not downloading

With the number of COVIDsafe app users now over five million, a Facebook post is claiming "hidden" rules could allow workplaces and supermarkets to bar people who haven't downloaded the program.

FactCheck Social Media

Dog theft marker or myth? What a "pet tag" around a fence means

A Facebook post claims criminals are marking homes, targeting them for dog theft.

FactCheck Social Media

Woolworths workers are not being forced to have flu vaccinations

As flu season arrives in Australia and health authorities encourage people to get a flu shot, a post claims Woolworths supermarkets have implemented a mandatory flu vaccination program for staff.

FactCheck Social Media

COVID-19 did not claim the life of former Fijian PM Laisenia Qarase

As the COVID-19 global death toll rises, a Facebook post claims former Fijian prime minister Laisenia Qarase died from the coronavirus.

FactCheck Social Media

Did the Last Post originate on an American Civil War battlefield?

While Australians celebrated Anzac Day on their driveways this year a Facebook post purporting to tell the history of the military bugle call the Last Post resurfaced.

FactCheck Social Media

COVIDsafe app location detection post is a hoax message, says Department of Health

A screenshot claiming to show a location warning message from Australia's new COVIDSafe app is circulating on Facebook followng the federal government's launch of the coronavirus tracking tool.

FactCheck Social Media

Photo of "world's smallest bird" has a small problem

A post flitting around Facebook claims to show a picture of the world's smallest bird, the bee hummingbird or zunzuncito of Cuba.

FactCheck Social Media

New Zealand, Ireland COVID-19 comparison statistics are not 100 per cent accurate

A social media post has compared the coronavirus statistics of Ireland and New Zealand in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FactCheck Social Media

Nobel Prize-winning professor did not say coronavirus was manufactured in China

A post on Facebook claims a Nobel Prize-winning Japanese scientist has said the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the potentially deadly COVID-19 disease was "manufactured" by China.

FactCheck Social Media

Barcodes post fails to crack the code on Chinese and Indian products

Amid fears about the spread of COVID-19, a Facebook post purports to show how people can "differentiate between Chinese and Indian products".

FactCheck Social Media

Woolworths store does not have a dedicated Aussie products aisle

At a time when Australians are questioning the country's reliance on overseas products, a Facebook post is purporting to show an "Aussie product aisle" at a Woolworths store in Queensland.

FactCheck Social Media

Cell towers disguised as trees are not being used to spy on communities

A Facebook post by a New Zealand user claims that telecommunications companies are setting up camouflaged cell towers to spy on local communities.

FactCheck Social Media

US scientist was not arrested for selling coronavirus to China

Claims that COVID-19 is a man-made virus continue to appear on social media, with Facebook post seeking to lay the blame on a United States academic.

FactCheck Social Media

Hand sanitiser, pets and patting post gets ingredients mixed up

A widely shared Facebook post is warning pet owners about the ingredients of hand sanitisers and their purported effects on animals.

FactCheck Social Media

NZ's three-month wage subsidy does not mean there will be a three-month lockdown

A Facebook post claims that the New Zealand government has secretly planned to extend its Level 4 lockdown over the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic for three months.

FactCheck Social Media

Instagram's COVID-19 chloroquine merchants are barking up the wrong tree

After reports an anti-malaria drug may help combat COVID-19 symptoms a series of Instagram posts are claiming the drug is made from tree bark - and seeking to sell the powdered bark online.

FactCheck Social Media

NZ "burning tower" image seems to be from US, via Hungary

A Facebook post claims to show a phone tower in New Zealand being burned down.

FactCheck Social Media

Dates don't line up when comparing disease epidemics and new mobile technology rollouts

YouTube is taking down videos linking 5G with COVID-19 in an effort to stop misinformation but theories claiming the deadly virus is linked with the technology are still spreading on Facebook.

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