The most shared Fake News from around the globe, curated by Blasting News’ editorial team.

We are monitoring social media, national and international media, and fact-checking websites in order to share the fake news making the rounds each week. Don't be fooled!

The world of news is complex – and false stories and images are often widely shared on social media. Blasting News’s editorial team spots the most popular hoaxes and misleading information every week to help you discern truth from falsehood. Here is some of the most popular fake news of the week from around the world.

Please send us fake news tips or claims to check at this email: factcheck@blastingnews.com or at this X/Twitter account @BNFactCheck: Read this page for our submission guidelines.

This week we monitored these topics: US debate / Taylor Swift / Donald Trump / Colombo and Galileo / Palestine /

No, Joe Biden didn’t fall asleep during a TV interview

False news: A viral video circulating on right-wing and MAGA X accounts shows the US president, Joe Biden, falling asleep during a live interview on TV.

Truth:

  • The edited video: The TV interview shows an anchor on the left side of the screen, and Joe Biden with his eyes seemingly closed on the other. The anchor says, "Wake up, wake up…(laughs) okay…this is your wake-up call… I’ll tell you what…He’s meditating, he’s taking a little nap.” Laughter and snoring sounds are heard in the background, with a ticker at the bottom reading “On Air: Joe Biden.”



  • Reverse image search: a reverse image search reveals that the video was doctored and refers to a 2011 interview of Harry Belafonte with KBAK-TV in Bakersfield, Calif. After that interview Belafonte said that he was not sleeping but meditating and that the delay in his answer was a technical glitch in the feed of the local TV.



  • The Sleepy Joe narrative: since the first Presidential campaign in 2019, Donald Trump coined a nickname for his opponent, called him “Sleepy Joe,” debating his ability to run the country. The first time Trump used it was on April 25th, 2019, on his Twitter account. “"Welcome to the race, Sleepy Joe, " Trump tweeted.

Trump falsely suggests that George Washington didn’t own slaves

False News: Trump said that the first American president George Washington didn’t own slaves.

Speaking at an event of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative Christian group, the former president said: “How about George Washington High School? ‘We want the name removed from that high school.’ They don’t know why. You know, they thought he had slaves. Actually, I think he probably didn’t.”

Truth:

  • Rewrite History: Trump is wrong. According to multiple documents, Washington owned slaves. Washington died in 1799, leaving at his plantation at Mount Vernon in Virginia 123 slaves.
  • The Movement After George Floyd Killing: In the wake of George Floyd's death in late May 2020, a surge of nationwide protests and calls for social justice led to the removal of over 130 Confederate statues and tributes to controversial historical figures. These removals occurred through a combination of public protests, acts of vandalism, and official government actions. The movement expanded also to school names and other federal and national building names, asking to change them if related to a divisive past.

Galileo didn’t show Columbus how to reach the Americas

False News: On Sunday, June 23, Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said at TaoBuk, the Taormina Book Festival: “Columbus wanted to reach the Indies by circumnavigating the Earth on the basis of Galileo Galilei's theories.”

Truth:

  • Back to the Future: Sangiuliano’s assertion is incorrect. Christopher Columbus died in 1506, almost 60 years before Galileo Galilei was born. Therefore, it is impossible that Columbus was inspired by Galilei’s theories.
  • Columbus's Mission: A growing body of studies shows that Columbus was not trying to prove that the Earth was round. Instead, he was seeking a new route to bring highly sought-after gold and spices from Asia to Europe.

South Dakota didn’t ban watermelon cause is pro-Palestine symbol

False News: Claims have circulated on social media that South Dakota banned the sale of sliced watermelons due to perceived antisemitic connotations.

Truth:

  • The rumors originated from posts on the Chinese social media Weibo, because the watermelon is a symbol of the Palestinian resistance against Israel, in fact the watermelon colors (black, red and green) resemble the Palestinian flag. However, according to South Dakota officials and from several reports from credible news organizations, sliced watermelons are not banned in the state.
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