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

Putin did not order the destruction of all doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Russia

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared the claim that Russia's President Vladimir Putin has allegedly ordered the destruction of all doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country due to a “sudden surge of HIV infections in vaccinated persons”.

Truth:

  • A search of the official website and social media accounts of the Russian Presidency and Ministry of Health shows no sign of Putin ordering the destruction of all doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
  • A reverse image search shows that the claim was originally published on March 4, 2023 in an article on the Real Raw News, which describes itself as a “humor, parody, and satire” website.
  • In recent days, both the Russian Health Ministry and the state-run Tass agency have published articles showing that COVID-19 vaccines continue to be used in the country.

USA/Latin America

Congress did not authorize Biden to use the military against drug cartels in Mexico

False claim: Social media users in the United States and Latin America have shared the claim that the U.S.

Congress reportedly passed a resolution authorizing President Joe Biden to use the Armed Forces against drug cartels in Mexico.

Truth:

  • The posts refer to the “H.J.Res.18 - AUMF CARTEL Influence Resolution”, introduced by Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw on January 12, 2023.
  • The resolution proposes to “authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for trafficking fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance into the United States or carrying out other related activities that cause regional destabilization in the Western Hemisphere.”
  • According to information from the U.S. House website, the resolution has not yet been voted on in Congress, and thus has no legal effect.

Spain

European Union has not asked people to skip breakfast “to protect the environment”

False claim: Social media users in Spain have shared the claim that the European Union has allegedly asked people to stop eating breakfast “to protect the environment.” The posts are accompanied by an image of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

Truth:

  • A search of the European Commission's official website and its verified social media accounts finds no posts related to the EU's alleged suggestion to stop eating breakfast to save the environment. There is also no record on the web of Ursula von der Leyen making the statement that went viral.
  • In a statement to Spanish fact-checking agency Newtral, Yannis Virvilis, a spokesman for the European Commission in Spain, said the claim circulating on social media is “completely false.”

Africa

Video of Biden insulting LGBTQIA+ people was digitally manipulated

False claim: Social media users in Kenya and Uganda have shared a video in which President Joe Biden allegedly insults and attacks members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“You will never be a real woman. You have no womb, you have no ovaries, you have no eggs,” Biden appears to say at the beginning of the video, in a direct attack on the trans community.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the video was originally published on January 25, 2023. In the original clip, shared by CNN and NBC, Biden announces that the U.S. would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine and reinforces his commitment to protecting Ukraine's sovereignty.
  • The transcript of the full speech is available on the White House website, and it is possible to confirm that at no time did Biden attack the LGBTQIA+ community.
  • The version of the video that went viral on social media was digitally manipulated, using a technique known as deepfake, inserting Biden's false statements over the original footage.
  • The clip began circulating on the web after Kenya's Supreme Court rejected on February 24, 2023 a government attempt to block the LGBTQ+ community from registering a rights organization. The decision ended a 10-year legal dispute in Kenya, where homosexuality is still illegal and condemned by President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Middle East

Alleged first snow in Saudi Arabia in 100 years does not prove global warming is a “hoax”

False claim: Social media users have shared a video that shows snow falling on camels in a desert.

According to the posts, the clip shows the first recorded snowfall in Saudi Arabia in 100 years, proving that global warming is a “hoax.”

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the video was originally published in February 2021 in an article in the UAE newspaper Gulf Today. According to the publication, the clip was recorded in the Tabuk region in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
  • Contrary to what the posts that went viral on social media suggest, snow is not uncommon in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi tourism authority even promotes camel rides in the snowy mountains in the north of the country on its official website. Articles published in the local press also report snowfall in the country on several occasions in recent years.
  • According to data published on January 12, 2023 by the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2022 was the eighth consecutive year that global temperatures rose at least 1 °C above pre-industrial levels.
  • According to a survey published in October 2021 in the scientific journal IOPscience, in a group of 153 climate experts interviewed, 98.7% said that the Earth is getting warmer mostly because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels.
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