Published on Saturday28 March 2020 at 07:37Updated on Wednesday8 April 2020 at 08:43
This is AFP's verification hub for tackling the damaging COVID-19 misinformation that is spreading as fast as the novel coronavirus. Updated daily, it contains debunks, tips, trustworthy sources and more.
AFP FactCheck
Published on Wednesday19 February 2020 at 11:45Updated on Wednesday8 April 2020 at 08:35
Rumors, myths and misinformation about the novel coronavirus have spread as quickly as the virus itself. AFP Factcheck has been debunking disinformation as it emerges along with new cases across the world.
Here is a list of our 268 fact-checks in English so far, starting with the most recent:
A video viewed thousands of times in Nigeria and shared in multiple Facebook posts claims to show police in Spain rounding up people aged 50 and above to transfer them to quarantine centers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The claim is false; the footage was circulating months before the outbreak and actually shows police in Azerbaijan detaining anti-government protesters in the capital Baku.
A photo has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows coffins of coronavirus victims in Italy. The claim is false; the photo has circulated in media reports since 2009 about the coffins of earthquake victims in the Italian city of L’Aquila.
AFP Sri Lanka
Published on Wednesday8 April 2020 at 09:45
A claim has been shared on Facebook and several Sri Lankan news websites that Muslims at a mosque in Sri Lanka reacted violently after authorities told them their gathering was in violation of the country's novel coronavirus curfew. The claim is misleading; police and public health officials said that locals were in fact asked to gather at the mosque to receive tests to detect COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The scuffle that occurred at the event was sparked over fears that the testing site would make the village more susceptible to infections, they said.
