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.

Please send us tips or claims to check at this email factcheck@blastingnews.com or at this X/Twitter account @BNFactCheck. Read this page to better understand our submission guidelines.

Iceland has not banned COVID vaccines “amid soaring sudden deaths”

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared alleged news articles reporting that the government of Iceland has reportedly banned COVID-19 vaccines “amid soaring sudden deaths”.

Truth:

  • Speaking to USA Today and Reuters, Guðrún Aspelund, chief epidemiologist at the Icelandic Directorate of Health, said that the country “has not banned COVID-19 vaccines” and that “there are no soaring sudden deaths either.”
  • According to Aspelund, vaccination against COVID-19 this fall and winter is indicated in the country for people aged 60 and over, individuals aged 5 and over with underlying illnesses and healthcare professionals.
  • According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control's Vaccine Tracker, more than 80% of Iceland's population has received at least two doses of the COVID vaccine.

Algeria's president was not authorized by parliament to declare war on Israel

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared a video in which people appear gathered in a congress, holding placards with the flags of Algeria and Palestine and shouting slogans.

According to the posts, the clip was recorded during an alleged unanimous approval in the Algerian parliament of an authorization for the country's president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to declare war on Israel.

Truth:

  • A reverse image search shows that the viral video was originally published on YouTube on October 31, 2023, on the channel of Algerian TV station Ennahar. The publication is accompanied by the following description: “Chilling scenes... Representatives chanting, 'The people’s army is with you, Gaza.'”
  • A similar video was published on the same day on the official Facebook page of the National People's Assembly (APN) of Algeria with the following title: “Live broadcast of an extraordinary public session on the dangerous developments of the brutal aggression against occupied Palestine”.
  • In an official statement published at the end of that parliamentary session, the Algerian legislators, among other demonstrations of their rejection of Israel's invasion of Gaza, condemned “the genocide, ethnic cleansing and massacres committed by the Zionist occupation against our Palestinian brothers”. At no point in the text is there any mention of authorization to declare war on Israel.

Video does not show a demonstration at Netanyahu's Jerusalem home demanding his resignation

False claim: Social media users around the world have shared a 22-second video in which a large crowd is seen holding a street demonstration at night.

The posts are accompanied by the claim that the footage was allegedly recorded near the residence of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, amid a protest to demand his resignation.

Truth:

  • The video shared on social media bears the watermark of the Russian news agency Ruptly, which published the clip on its Telegram channel on November 25, accompanied by the following description: “A demonstration demanding the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas is held in Tel Aviv”.
  • A search for the keywords “demonstration”, “Tel Aviv” and “hostages” brings up an article published by The Times of Israel on November 26 about a demonstration that gathered some 100,000 people the previous day in the square in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, calling for the release of all hostages held in Gaza.
  • Based on one of the photos illustrating the article, it is possible to confirm that the demonstration in Tel Avis is the same that appears in the viral video.

FBI has not announced “Pizzagate” is real

False claim: Social media users in the United States have shared the claim that the FBI have officially confirmed in recent weeks that the conspiracy theory known as “Pizzagate” is real.

Truth:

  • “Pizzagate” is a conspiracy theory that emerged during the 2016 U.S. presidential election that alleges without any basis that high-level Democratic politicians, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are involved in a child sex trafficking ring that operates out of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong.
  • A search on the internet shows that the claim that the FBI had confirmed that “Pizzagate” is real first appeared in an article published on November 23 on the website The People's Voice –previously called Your News Wire and NewsPunch–, famous for promoting disinformation and conspiracy theories.
  • The article claims that the FBI made the alleged announcement about “Pizzagate” in court documents related to the arrest of Clinton Harnden on November 13 in Texas on charges of possession of child pornography.
  • In statements to the Associated Press, Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI's office in Texas, said the agency has made no statements regarding “Pizzagate” in the documents related to Clinton Harnden's case.
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