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Doctored image shows ‘demonic’ flames engulfing Minneapolis apartment building

Published on 3 June 2020 at 00:44

An image shared hundreds of times on Facebook appears to show eerie, symmetrical flames billowing from a Minneapolis “police station” during protests and unrest that followed the death of George Floyd while in the custody of the US city’s police. The image and caption are false; the photo has been doctored and the original depicts an apartment building, not a police station.

Simpsons drawing is from independent artist in homage to Floyd's death

Published on 2 June 2020 at 22:04

A drawing reproducing the scene of George Floyd’s death featuring characters from the US television show “The Simpsons” has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube alongside the claim it appeared in an episode of the series in 1990. This is false; the drawing was created by Italian artist Yuri Pomo, as an homage to Floyd’s death.

This clip actually shows a bee attack outside a mall in Nicaragua

Published on 2 June 2020 at 10:45

A video showing people running inside a parking lot has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook and Twitter alongside a claim that it shows Asian giant hornets attacking people in the US in May 2020. This claim is false; the clip actually shows an incident involving Africanized bees outside a shopping centre in Nicaragua.

US food safety regulators made no such announcement about chicken

Published on 20 May 2020 at 06:30

Multiple Facebook shared hundreds of times claim the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admitted “70% of chicken” meat contains carcinogenic arsenic that accumulated in the animals due to arsenic laden feed. The claim is misleading; the FDA, the federal agency in the US in charge of food safety, made no such announcement. In 2011, the agency did suspend certain products after “very low” levels of inorganic arsenic was found in chickens, but the FDA said the meat did not pose a threat to human health.

Coronavirus pandemic: misinformation circulates about antiviral medicine remdesivir

Published on 12 May 2020 at 09:40

Multiple Facebook and Twitter posts shared hundreds of times claim the antiviral medicine remdesivir has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19. The claim is misleading; as of May 12, 2020, the FDA has only authorised the emergency use of remdesivir, an experimental drug, in treating COVID-19 patients in hospitals; as of May 12, 2020, there is no FDA-approved product available to treat COVID-19.