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

CDC did not say new COVID-19 variant is more contagious among vaccinated people than those unvaccinated

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared the claim that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recently suggested that people vaccinated against COVID-19 were more likely to be infected by a new variant of the disease than those who were not vaccinated.

Truth:

  • The viral claim seems to stem from the misinterpretation of a risk assessment summary published on August 23 by the CDC on the new COVID-19 variant BA.2.86.
  • In the document, the CDC states that “BA.2.86 may be more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines.” However, the text, does not state that people who have not been vaccinated are less likely to be infected by the new variant.
  • In a statement to Politifact, the CDC informs that “vaccination remains the safest strategy for avoiding hospitalizations, long-term health outcomes and death.”

World

RT has not claimed that Prigozhin pilot may have had a heart attack before plane crash

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared a screenshot of an alleged article published by Russia's state broadcaster Russia Today (RT) which claims that the pilot of Yevgeny Prigozhin's private jet, which crashed on August 23, killing all 10 people on board, including the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, suffered from myocarditis caused by a COVID-19 vaccine and may have had a heart attack during the flight.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the screenshot shared is actually a digitally altered version of a real article published by RT with the headline “Wagner chief listed among passengers on crashed plane - officials.” The text makes no mention of an alleged myocarditis or heart attack of Prigozhin's pilot.
  • Both the doctored article and the original one share the same image of a pillar of smoke where the plane crashed and the same date and timestamp (23 Aug, 2023 17:07).
  • Unlike the original article, in the doctored version the title and subtitle end with a period, contrary to both RT's standard and that of the vast majority of digital media outlets.

USA

Fox News did not refer to the University of North Carolina shooting suspect as a “mostly white Asian male”

False claim: Social media users in the United States have shared the claim that during its coverage of Monday’s University of North Carolina shooting, Fox News aired a chyron referring to the suspect as a “mostly white Asian male.”

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the screenshot shared on social media matches Fox News' coverage on Monday afternoon, showing the image of 34-year-old Tailei Qi, named by police as a suspect.
  • Available on Fox News' YouTube page, the original broadcast shows that the chyron did not have the phrase “mostly white Asian male,” but rather “UNC police release picture of person of interest.”
  • In a statement to the Associated Press, Fox spokesperson Irena Briganti said that the claim on social media “is completely false.”

Asia

Video does not show dead fish after Fukushima wastewater release

False claim: Social media users in China and South Korea have shared a video showing thousands of dead fish floating in the sea near a beach, accompanied by the claim that the images were allegedly recorded in Japan after the country released a large amount of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific on August 24.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the video was originally published on February 7, 2023 on the platforms Douyin, as TikTok is called in China, and Sina Weibo, where the description of the post reads: “During a live broadcast by a Japanese internet celebrity, a large number of dead fish were found on the beach.”
  • Also on February 7, the Japanese newspaper Joetsu Times published an article reporting that “a large number of dead fish were found on the coast of Tsutsuishi Fishing Port in Itoigawa City.” The article is accompanied by a picture of the same spot that appears in the viral video.
  • Itoigawa is on the west coast of Japan, while the Fukushima plant is on the east coast, more than 170 miles (280 kilometers) away.
  • The Japanese government's decision to dump more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific has generated strong criticism from neighboring countries such as South Korea and China.
  • In a statement on August 26, TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima plant, said that seawater samples taken after the release of the wastewater showed levels of radioactivity within safe limits.
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