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
U.N. did not call for decriminalizing pedophilia
False claim: Social media users around the world have shared the claim that the United Nations (U.N.) is calling for the decriminalization of intimate relations between adults and minors. The posts point to a report published last March by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in collaboration with the U.N. titled “The 8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex, Reproduction, Drug Use, HIV, Homelessness and Poverty” as evidence for the claim.
Truth:
- In a statement posted on unaids.org, the U.N. informs that the report written by the ICJ,a global non-governmental organization consisting of 60 lawyers and judges that is focused on defending human rights, lays out a set of “expert jurist legal principles to guide the application of international human rights law to criminal law.”
- "The ‘8 March principles’ as they are called lay out a human rights-based approach to laws criminalising conduct in relation to sex, drug use, HIV, sexual and reproductive health, homelessness and poverty," reads the document.
- The ICJ published on its website on April 20, 2023 a statement rejecting the claim circulating on social media: “The commitment of the United Nations to fighting the sexual exploitation of children and the content of The 8 March Principles have subsequently been seriously misrepresented on a number of social media and websites. The 8 March Principles do not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor do they call for the abolition of a domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex. Indeed, the ICJ stresses that States have a clear obligation under international law to protect children from all forms of abuses, such as child sexual abuse, including through the criminalization of such conduct.”
USA
BlackRock does not own Dominion Voting Systems and is not is involved in Tucker Carlson's departure from Fox News
False claim: Social media users in the United States have shared the claim that the American multinational BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, owns both Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems.
On April 18, 2023 the two companies struck a deal worth $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit over false claims that Dominion’s machines swayed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. “Blackrock owns 59.M shares of Dominion. Blackrock owns 45.7M shares of Fox. Blackrock sued itself and fired Tucker Carlson as part of that lawsuit,” reads the caption of some of the posts.
Truth:
- According to information from financial intelligence firm Fintel, BlackRock owns 59.1 million shares in Dominion Energy Inc –7.1 percent of the company's ownership–, a publicly traded power and energy company based in Virginia and operating in 16 states.
- Also according to Fintel, BlackRock owns 45.7 million shares in Fox Corp., Fox News’ parent company, which represents 15.1% of the company's ownership.
- In a statement to Politifact, Ryan Frazier, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy, said that his company is not related to Dominion Voting Systems.
- In a post on its official Twitter account on April 26, BlackRock said it has no ownership stake in Dominion Voting Systems and does not get involved in the hiring and firing of employees of companies in which its clients are invested. “Dominion Voting Systems is owned by a private equity firm that is not affiliated with BlackRock,” reads the message.
USA/Europe
Ukraine is not recruiting homeless Americans to fight in the war
False claim: Social media users in the United States and Europe have shared the claim that Ukraine is using posters to recruit homeless Americans to fight in the war against Russia.
The posts are accompanied by a poster with an image of a homeless man sleeping on a subway bench and the following message: “Tired of living on welfare? Join the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine.” The ad, which displays Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs logo, also states that those who enlist will receive “international volunteer status, medical insurance and monthly payments.”
Truth:
- In a statement to Snopes, Halyna Yusypiuk, a spokesperson for the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., said that “Neither Ukrainian MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs], MOD [Ministry of Defense], nor the Embassy ever produced any materials marketing the recruitment of the US citizens to the Legion.”
- Oleksandr Shahuri, a spokesman for the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military unit made up of foreign volunteers, told USA Today that the poster circulating on social media is not legitimate.
Latin America
Mexican President did not say he supports drug lords to defend country's sovereignty
False claim: Social media users in Latin America have shared a video in which the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, allegedly declares his support for drug lords on the grounds of defending the country's sovereignty.
Truth:
- A reverse image search shows that the video shared on social media is actually a collage of several excerpts from last March 8's edition of "El Espejo", broadcasted by Miami-based TV channel América TeVé.
- The full news report, which talks about the kidnapping and murder in early March of four American citizens in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, is available on América TeVé's YouTube page.
- In the original video, it is possible to see that López Obrador makes the following statement to the press: “There is cooperation, we are working in a coordinated way, with respect for sovereignty, even though the lawyer, former attorney general [William] Barr, says that I support Mexican drug lords with the argument of defending sovereignty. That is our business. And furthermore, President Biden told me that they will respect our sovereignty, and we are grateful for that. Because we will not allow interventions from any foreign country. Mexico is not a colony.”
Brazil
Pictures of a demonic theme park are AI-generated
False claim: Social media users in Brazil have shared images of a supposed demonic theme park.
“World's largest haunted park arrives in Brazil. Known as Door to Hell,” reads the caption of some of the posts.
Truth:
- A reverse image search shows that the images shared on social media were originally posted on April 6, 2023 on the Facebook page of American digital artist Dolly Cypher.
- In the description of the post, the artist disclaims that the images were created using the artificial intelligence tool Midjourney.
