Did the Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo wave a Palestinian flag to express solidarity with the Palestinians following an October 2023 football match? No, that's not true: The player shown in the video is Moroccan footballer Jaway el-Yamiq, who waved the Palestinian flag following Morocco's victory over Canada during the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. It was posted…

Does video show Egyptian army soldiers entering Palestinian territory or being deployed to the border between Egypt, Gaza and Israel? No, that's not true. The video is old and it shows Yemeni army soldiers marching in Marib, Yemen. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published on TikTok by @mnbmnb741 on October 8, 2023, with a…

Did the measles-rubella vaccine, which Jordan plans to use to inoculate some 2.2 million schoolchildren this fall, kill 15 children in neighboring Syria in 2014? No, that's not true: The Jordanian health minister said the vaccine had been adulterated with a muscle relaxant in 2014. The World Health Organization and UNICEF vouched for the vaccine in a joint statement posted…

Does a video posted on TikTok show "Hamas taking Israeli fighter jets" during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel? No, that's not true: The video was first posted on September 14, 2023, and thus predates the current Hamas-Israel conflict. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @daleupright on October 7, 2023, with the following overlay…

Did famous Egyptian actor Hani Ramzi endorse opposition politician and presidential candidate Ahmed Tantawi? No, that's not true: Ramzi posted a video explaining that the message he shared on social media was meant for a friend with the same last name. He said he did not endorse Tantawi in the upcoming Egyptian presidential elections, scheduled for December 2024. The claim…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin declare Islam to be Russia's second state religion? No, that's not true: Russia is a secular state and does not have a state religion. According to its constitution, no state religion may be established, and the state and religion are considered separate. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @tahaaljlal on…

Is cancer not a disease and can it be cured by a sugar-free diet, warm lemon water and coconut oil, as the purported "Dr. Gubta" claims? No, that's not true. According to credible health and medical sources, cancer is considered a disease and there is no evidence that a sugar-free diet, warm lemon water and coconut oil can cure it.…

Does this video show the tragic incident when fire broke out at a wedding party in Northern Iraq? No, that's not true: This video is from 2010 and is in Lebanon, not Iraq. The claim appeared in several posts like this video (archived here) on TikTok by @mohanad_1987 on September 27, 2023, with banners (translated from Arabic to English by…

Did the World Health Organization (WHO) predict a new virus called "Disease X" that will turn humans into zombies and that is expected to hit the world soon, leading to lockdowns and deaths in the millions? No, that's not true. The WHO did not prophesize that there would be a "Disease X," but it launched a global scientific process in…

Did BRICS publish a banknote for the group's new currency that is meant to replace the dollar in financial transactions? No, that's not true: The Russian ambassador to South Africa presented a commemorative BRICS banknote as a souvenir to a United Arab Emirates counterpart at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in South Africa in 2023.…