AFP Canada

High temperatures in Alaska did not cause these salmon’s deaths

Published on 20 August 2019 at 21:03

A viral Facebook video shows thousands of dead salmon floating on a river surface, while claiming in the caption that unusually high seasonal temperatures are to blame for the fish’s deaths. The video is real, but its author misinterpreted the cause of death. In late July 2019, a fishing boat’s net ripped and released hundreds of salmon into an Alaska river, a local aquaculture association told AFP.

This tweet about mass shootings needs to define the term

Published on 19 August 2019 at 23:48

A viral tweet comparing mass shootings perpetrated in various countries since the beginning of 2019 continues to be shared across social media since the August 4 shooting in Dayton, Ohio. The original tweet pointed out that the United States experienced 249 mass shootings, while countries like Brazil only suffered one. This is misleading. The definition of a mass shooting for the US data includes gang related violence, which it does not for other countries, experts told AFP.

Tweet about Eid gets second life as fake Bill Gates quote

Published on 16 August 2019 at 19:43

A screenshot of a tweet from Bill Gates addressing criticism of the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha has gained a lot of traction on social media. This tweet is fabricated. The Microsoft founder did not tweet on the matter, and the wording in the image exactly mirrors an existing tweet from a Kurdish student in Iraq.

Meme about mass shooters leads to harassment of 15-year-old boy

Published on 13 August 2019 at 22:55

A meme shared thousands of times claims to show photos of the Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton shooters, in order to point out their physical resemblance. One of the photos depicts the wrong man. The image said to show the Dayton shooter actually shows a 15-year-old Ohio boy who shares a name with the perpetrator and whose photo was stolen from his Twitter profile.

Tale of thwarted child abduction returns with Canadian theme park twist

Published on 7 August 2019 at 12:51

A story recounting the alleged foiled abduction of a child by a stranger at a theme park in Ontario has been shared thousands of times on social media in Canada over the past week. This is false, and similar tales of abduction by strangers in crowded areas have been commonplace since the first days of the internet.

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