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: Trump’s conviction / India Elections / US Elections / Elon Musk

The video of the crowd cheering for Trump’s guilty verdict is doctored

False news: A viral video circulating on social media claims to show a large crowd in a bar reacting to a supposed guilty verdict in a trial involving former President Donald Trump.

Truth:

  • Video Context: The video does not depict a crowd reacting to any verdict involving Trump. It was originally recorded in England in 2016 during a soccer match between England and Wales. The original video was posted on YouTube with the caption: “Fans at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, celebrate England winner against Wales at Euro 2016.”



  • Social Media Misinformation: The misleading video was amplified by several accounts. For instance, The Lincoln Project, a self-described anti-Trump conservative political advocacy group, probably created and then shared the video.



  • A long journey: This clip was already used to mislead the audience. In 2023 for instance, another video falsely claimed to show the same crowd celebrating the release of Trump's mugshot.

No, the BBC didn’t predict 2024 Indian elections

False news: a video is being circulated as a BBC prediction for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India.

Truth:

  • Video Origin: the video in question was published on May 31 2024, but is not recent. It was originally broadcasted on May 23, 2019. During that election the BJP - Narendra Modi’s party - and allies won 347 seats, and the Congress and allies won 87 seats.



  • A close fight: this year elections lasted about 6 weeks and ended on June 1. Around 642 million showed up at the polls in the biggest democratic elections ever held. Narendra Modi’s coalition has a narrow majority of just 286 seats (the minimum is 272).

AI-Generated Image of Trump at a Cookout with Black Supporters

False news: a viral image circulating on social media purports to show former President Donald Trump at a cookout with a group of Black supporters, suggesting strong African American support for him.

Truth:

  • Image authenticity: the image is not genuine. It was created using AI technology and has been identified as a fabricated piece of digital art. The composition and context of the image are entirely artificial and do not reflect a real event.



  • Verification: USA Today fact-checked the image and confirmed that it was generated by artificial intelligence. This has been corroborated by several other fact-checking organizations, which have highlighted the telltale signs of AI-generated imagery, such as inconsistencies in the visual details.

Elon Musk didn’t buy ABC and then fired all the cast of “The View”

False news: Social media posts claim that Elon Musk recently acquired ABC and immediately fired the entire cast of the TV show ‘The View.’

Truth:

  • No Acquisition: There is no evidence to support the claim that Elon Musk has acquired ABC. No official announcements or credible reports confirm such a transaction.



Cast Status: The story about firing the cast of 'The View' is also baseless. There have been no reports or statements from ABC or Musk regarding such actions.
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