AAP FactCheck Articles

"Simpsons" images of George Floyd are a tribute, not a prediction from a past show

As protests continue in the United States over the death in police custody of George Floyd, a trending Facebook post is claiming the Mr Floyd's arrest was predicted by animated TV series The Simpsons.

Read more

What it really means when "COVID-19 exposure notifications" is in your phone settings

Facebook users are claiming Google has automatically installed a COVID-19 tracing app on Android phones.

Read more

Story about a South African squatter camp being denied food parcels does not stack up

A widely shared Facebook post claims South African Police stopped a donation for a squatter camp during the country's COVID-19 lockdown.

Read more

Lego won't cop rumours that playsets have been pulled from stores

A Facebook post claims Danish toy company Lego is pulling police and emergency services-themed sets from shelves amid the 'Black Lives Matter' protests in the United States and around the world.

Read more

Italy did not find a treatment to defeat COVID-19 and did not say the disease is caused by bacteria

A Facebook post makes a string of claims about Italy defeating COVID-19 including that Italian authorities "discovered that it is not a virus, but a bacteria".

Read more

PM Morrison did not issue tweet about not having any racism in Australia

Facebook users are sharing a purported tweet from PM Scott Morrison saying there's no racism in Australia.

Read more

COVID-19 virus doesn't share "spikes" with HIV and Fauci didn't patent them

Misinformation about the source of SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating throughout the pandemic, with the latest example claiming the virus shares proteins with the HIV virus.

Read more

Conspiracy Insta post misrepresents Gates interview in false claims

A social media post claims Bill Gates, the billionaire backing research into a COVID-19 vaccine, "admits" hundreds of thousands of people could die from side effects of a vaccine.

Read more

"Survival rates" claim isn't part of the COVID-19 equation

As Australia's COVID-19 death toll passes 100, a Facebook post purporting to show "survival rates" for overseas countries claims "panic" about the pandemic is "out of control".

Read more

Is New Zealand's debt level really comparable to Zimbabwe's?

A social media post shared following the New Zealand government's 2020 budget compares the country's debt position unfavourably with those of Zimbabwe and South Sudan.

Read more

Facebook post of Angelina Jolie and young boy is not the full picture

A widely-shared Facebook post showing Hollywood star Angelina Jolie comforting a young boy in Africa suggests a hidden agenda.

Read more

Phone antennas outside a college aren't a new addition to the neighbourhood

Conspiracy theories involving 5G have been circulating during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the latest example claiming "new" mobile towers were installed during the lockdown.

Read more

There are no 5G, COVID-19 'secrets' in new £20 banknote

A video claiming a link between Britain's new 20 pound banknote, 5G and the COVID-19 pandemic is being shared on Facebook.

Read more

A circuit board with a "COV.19" sticker is from an old pay TV box, not a 5G tower

A Facebook video claiming to show 5G equipment labelled "COV.19" is being shared on Facebook as conspiracy theorists and 5G opponents target telecom masts in the UK and other parts of Europe.

Read more

China is not the only source of serious viral outbreaks around the world

A Facebook post blames China as the source of eight deadly viral outbreaks around the world since 1957.

Read more

Drilling into the facts about US toolmaker Black & Decker and China

A Facebook post claims that US toolmaker Black & Decker is leaving China and building a $90 million plant in Texas.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more