AFP Canada

Northgate Mall: a copy-and-paste kidnap hoax goes viral across North America

Published on 18 January 2020 at 03:32

According to a post copied and pasted thousands of times on Facebook, sex traffickers are leaving $100 bills laced with a debilitating agent on door handles of cars parked near malls in order to abduct incapacitated shoppers. This is false; local police departments across Canada and a mall manager told AFP this did not happen.

Speculation Canada agreed to cover royal couple’s security bill is false, government sources say

Published on 16 January 2020 at 04:12

Following the publication of speculative articles in the British press, several posts on social media in Canada have claimed that Ottawa has agreed to pay the security bill for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as the couple pushes to split their time between Canada and Britain. This is false: government sources close to the matter say that Prime Minister Trudeau has not spoken to Queen Elizabeth II about security costs. The official registry of the prime minister’s office shows no reference of a call with her in the past month.

Lowe’s is not offering a $150 coupon on Facebook

Published on 8 January 2020 at 23:50

Hundreds of Facebook users in North America have shared links to an offer which claims home improvement retailer Lowe’s is giving away a coupon worth $150. This offer is “not a valid coupon,” the company told AFP in a statement.

Facebook users share false distracted driving penalties for Canada

Published on 24 December 2019 at 00:52Updated on 23 January 2020 at 20:15

A claim shared on Facebook in Canada states that using a cell phone while driving will lead to a $999 fine and a three year license suspension, starting in January 2020. This is false; distracted driving laws in Canada are not expected to change in 2020. Fines vary across provinces, but can only exceed a $999 fine in three provinces and in case of aggravated circumstances. Punishment by license suspension also varies by province, but does not exceed three days on first offense.

The Calgary mayor did not say Syrian refugees are more intelligent than rural Albertans

Published on 20 December 2019 at 23:48Updated on 21 December 2019 at 02:53

Social media posts that surfaced in mid-December claim that the Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi called Syrian refugees more intelligent and more educated than rural Albertans. This is false. The posts suggest that Nenshi made this statement on December 18 on a local radio station, although he was not on the air that day. In a December 17, 2015 interview on that same radio station, Nenshi did say Syrian refugees tend to be urban and educated, but made no contrast with rural Albertans.

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