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.

USA

Pictures do not show a crowd of people approaching the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2023

False claim: Social media users in the United States have shared two images, accompanied by the claim that they show crowds of migrants approaching the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2023, whilst the U.S. prepares to lift Title 42, a migration policy introduced by former President Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed officials to quickly expel people trying to enter the United States.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the first image, with a street packed with people, was taken on June 6, 2022 by photographer Quetzalli Nicte-Ha.
  • The description of the image, archived on the Reuters website, reads: “Migrants walk in a caravan to cross the country to reach the US border, as regional leaders gather in Los Angeles to discuss migration and other issues, in Tapachula, Mexico June 6, 2022.” Tapachula, where the image was taken, is almost 2,000 miles from the U.S. border.
  • A reverse image search shows that the second image, with a crowd of people crossing a bridge, was taken on October 27, 2018 by AFP photographer Guillermo Arias.
  • The description of the image, available on the Getty Images website, reads: “Aerial view of Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the US, as they leave Arriaga on their way to San Pedro Tapanatepec, in southern Mexico on October 27, 2018.”

World

Video of a fighting Boston Dynamics robot was digitally created

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared a video of a humanoid robot performing a backflip and a series of punches in the air, accompanied by the claim that the images show a robot from the US company Boston Dynamics that has been taught how to fight.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the video was originally published on TikTok on April 30, 2023. Although the post has a watermark saying @boston_dynamic, the name of the account that published the video is actually @Botsom_Dynamics.
  • A search on the Boston Dynamics website shows that the company does not have an account on TikTok.
  • A comparison of the robot featured in the viral video with recent posts made by Boston Dynamics on its official channels, demonstrating the abilities of its humanoid robot Atlas, shows that the TikTok robot has a much simpler design.
  • Another point that indicates that the video shared on TikTok was digitally created is the fact that when the robot performs the backflip and then moves forward to punch, there is no sign of movement on the gravel on which it stands.

United Kingdom

Sand was not used to fill potholes along the coronation procession route

False claim: Social media users in the UK have shared an aerial image of King Charles III's coronation procession on May 6, in which several sections of the route can be seen covered with sand.

According to the posts, the sand was used to fill the potholes on the procession route.

Truth:

  • In a statement to the British fact-checking agency Full Fact, a spokesperson for Westminster City Council, the central London area where the procession took place, explained that the sand that appears in the image shared on social media was actually used to cover any type of manhole, drain or inspection covers to prevent horses from slipping.
  • Images published by the press on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral last September show that sand was used in a similar way during the monarch's funeral procession.

Europe

Viral video does not show fireworks in Naples after Napoli's Serie A win

False claim: Social media users in Europe have shared a video of an impressive fireworks display, recorded from inside a car, alongside the claim that the clip was allegedly recorded in the Italian city of Naples after local club Napoli won the national soccer championship for the first time in 33 years.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the video shared on social media was actually recorded on October 28, 2020 in the city of Split in southern Croatia.
  • The footage shows the 70th anniversary celebration of Torcida, a supporters' group of Croatian soccer club HNK Hajduk Split.

Africa/Asia

Picture does not show wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines flight

False claim: Social media users in Africa and Southeast Asia have shared a picture of a submerged plane, accompanied by the claim that the image shows the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board.

“Malaysia Airplane MH370 that disappeared 9 years ago has been found under the ocean with no human skeleton,” reads the caption of some of the posts.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the picture shared on social media is actually a screenshot of a video posted on Instagram on April 6, 2023 by scuba diving company Deep Blue Dive Center, based in Aqaba, Jordan.
  • The caption of the post reads: “Tristar Airplane Wreck.” The post also indicates that the location of the recording is “Red Sea, Aqaba.”
  • According to information posted on Deep Blue Dive Center's Facebook page, the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was a commercial plane that had been inactive and parked at Aqaba's King Hussein International Airport for several years. The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) acquired the aircraft with the intention of sinking it and creating an artificial reef in a barren area located in the northern part of the Gulf of Aqaba. In 2019, the TriStar was successfully sunk for this purpose, joining a military Hercules C130 aircraft that had been sunk in Aqaba two years earlier.
  • Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, during a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The aircraft had a total of 239 people on board, including 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 14 countries. After a three-year joint effort by Malaysia, China and Australia, the search for the missing plane ended in January 2017. To this day, no definitive explanation has been given as to what happened to the flight.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED