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 are some of the most shared false claims of this week, of which none are legit.

World

Christian Eriksen did not have COVID-19 vaccine days before collapsing on the pitch

False statement: Posts shared on social media claim that the 29-year-old Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine days before collapsing on the pitch last Saturday, June 12, during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland.

Truth:

  • In an interview with Italian TV network Rai Sport, Inter Milan’s director Giuseppe Marotta said that Erikson has never been vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • The Italian radio station Radio Sportiva, which had been cited in some of the posts as the alleged source of the information, published on its official Twitter account that the claim is false.
  • In a press conference on Sunday, June 13, Denmark’s team doctor Morten Boesen has confirmed Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and that “he was gone” before being resuscitated with a defibrillator.

Think outside the box: Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, anti-vax advocates have spread dozens of false or misleading claims about vaccines.

For more information about vaccine safety check on the websites of WHO, CDC, EMA, or NHS.

World

Cristiano Ronaldo's gesture during press conference did not cause $4 billion loss for Coca-Cola

Facts: Articles shared on social media claim that Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo's attitude of removing two bottles of Coca-Cola from his press conference table on Monday, June 14, ahead of Portugal’s opening Euro 2020 game against Hungary, led the soft drink giant to lose around $4 billion in market value.

When putting the bottles of the Euro 2020 top-tier sponsor aside, the Portuguese player held up a bottle of water and exclaimed: “Água [Portuguese for water].”

Truth: According to data from the Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola shares dropped from $56.16 to $55.22 right at the market opening on Monday, before the episode involving Cristiano Ronaldo.

After the gesture of the Portuguese player, it is possible to note that there was no further significant variation in the stock price on that day.

Thailand

It is false that birth control pills poses risk when taken along with COVID-19 vaccines

Facts: Posts shared on Facebook claim that women should avoid taking birth control pills two weeks before and two weeks after their COVID-19 vaccination due to the risk of developing blood clots that can lead to death.

Truth: After the rumor start spreading on social media, The Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said in a statement that “those who use all types of hormonal birth control pills can get COVID-19 vaccination without having to stop.” “Based on the present data of the research studies of women getting Covid-19 vaccines, there are no risks of getting blood clots whatsoever.” According to Thai government data, after administering more than 5 million doses of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, the country has not recorded any cases of blood clots.

Africa

Emmanuel Macron was not slapped for not respecting Covid-19 sanitary protocols

Facts: Posts shared on Facebook and Twitter claim that French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face by a man during a walkabout in Tain-l'Hermitage, southern France, for not respecting the social distancing rules in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

According to the posts, Macron's wrong attitude meant that Damien Tarel, the man who attacked him, was given only a three-month prison sentence and a fine of 1,500 euros.

Truth: Contrary to what the posts claim, Tarel received an 18-month sentence. During a court hearing, the 28-year-old claimed to be a right-wing sympathizer and reported hitting the French president in the face “instinctively and without thinking.”

Brazil

Bolsonaro's motorcade did not gather 1.3 million motorcycles and did not get into the Guinness Book of Records

Facts: Posts shared on social media claim that the motorcade held Saturday, June 12, in São Paulo, attended by the right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, gathered 1.3 million motorcycles and entered the Guinness Book of Records.

Truth: In a statement, the São Paulo Secretary of Public Security (SSP) said that about 12,000 motorcycles participated in the event. “The SSP informs that the estimate of the public present in demonstrations is made based on mapping and georeferencing resources, based on aerial images, which determine the main extension of the demonstration, as well as the occupations in adjacent streets,” reads the statement. Regarding the world record, the Guinness Book organization said in a statement that “there was no official attempt” to break any record.

Colombia

Former Swedish Prime Minister did not say that Nobel Peace Prize to Juan Manuel Santos was 'the worst mistake in its history'

Facts: Posts shared on Facebook and Twitter claim that former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said in an interview on June 2 with the Russian newspaper Pravda that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences committed “the worst mistake in its history” by awarding in 2017 the Nobel Peace Prize to then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his peace negotiations with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and his efforts to end the country's more than 50-year civil war.

“He lied to the Committee, to the world, defending the impunity of the aggressors of the most precious rights of a society, such as life and liberty, creating for these monsters with whom he agreed a peace treaty, a special justice of forgiveness and forgetfulness,” Bildt allegedly said in the interview.

Truth: First, Juan Manuel Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016, and not in 2017, as the posts claim. When asked on Twitter about the veracity of the claim, Carl Bildt posted in his official account on the social media that the information is “all wrong in every way” and also clarified that, unlike the scientific prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Norway, not in Sweden. The posts also mistakenly state that Bildt was once a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In the Pravda newspaper archive, it is not possible to find any interview given by Bildt.
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