Did Israel just kill 1,800 Hezbollah militants in Lebanon using exploding goats?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Israel kills 1,800 Hezbollah militants with exploding goats!
People are sharing a video which purportedly shows CNN anchor Jake Tapper reporting that Israel just killed 1,800 Hezbollah militants in Lebanon using exploding goats!
Shashank S Tripathi : BREAKING NEWS: First pager then radio and now Goat.
Explosions in #Lebanon reported allegedly caused by Israel , involved of goats rigged with explosives, leading to the deaths and injuries of several #Hezbollah members.
Praveen Kumar : BREAKING NEWS: Mass #Hezbollah Casualties Reported After Goats Explode.
#Mossad is everywhere to eliminate Terrorists around the #lebnan
Kimberly Reich : Shocking! : Mass Hezbollah Casualties Reported After Goats Explode 🇮🇱✡️
Mihir Jha : Is this true? 😮 Rectums of Goats exploding in Lebanon Kill!πg hundreds of Hezbollah fighters – This is a blasphemy act by Israel
Mr. Nationalist : 🚨 BREAKING NEWS: Mass Hezbollah casualties reported after goats explode in Lebanon. Hamas and Hezbollah are in shock now! 😲
Vekho P Ringa : From pagers to walkie-talkies, and now even goats? #Hezbollah situation now 🥸
ValluvaNayanar : BREAKING NEWS: Mass Hezbollah Casualties Reported After Goats Explode.
Truth : Israel did not kill any Hezbollah militant with exploding goats!
This appears to be yet another example of fake news circulating around the Hezbollah pager + walkie-talkie explosions, and here are the reasons why…
It was a parody video
Soon after news broke that Israel killed dozens of people and injured thousands more using exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by members of Hezbollah, some people started making memes and joke videos.
The video that people are sharing as “evidence” that Israel killed even more Hezbollah militants using exploding goats is actually a parody video (archive) created by Danny Polishchuk – a comedian with the X account @dannyjokes.
To be clear – Israel did not kill or injure anyone by inserting explosives into the rectums of goats, so that they would explode when someone has sexual relations with the goats. It was a joke.
He used an AI app (archive) to make the deepfake video of CNN anchor Jake Tapper saying that Israel killed another 1,800 people using exploding goats, before inserting himself into the video as a CNN journalist reporting on the incident.
Funny part about this is the AI app I used wouldn’t let me use Anderson Cooper because he’s a celebrity but didn’t consider Jake Tapper one
Frankly, even if the joke was not readily apparent, the static chyron and clock should be a giveaway that it was not a genuine CNN video.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Has Michigan begun arresting people for posting fake news on social media?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Michigan has begun arresting people for posting fake news!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that the state of Michigan has begun arresting people for posting fake news on social media!
Here is an excerpt of the long and (intentionally?) confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Michigan Begins Arresting Residents Who Post ‘Misleading’ Content on Social Media
The state of Michigan has ordered residents to report neighbors who post ‘misleading’ content online, so that police can arrest offenders to stop the spread of ‘election misinformation’.
Michigan’s Democrat Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, is leading the campaign, and a document from her office lists an email address people can use to report their neighbors. Residents are being told to keep an eye on those around them and report anything they see or hear that they believe is “misinformation” – and they are even being told to include an image if they can.
The state is also instructing residents to look for media outlets that print “true” stories, which sounds like a code word for stories that support their preferred narratives. For example, they list the left-leaning fact check sites Snopes, FactCheck.org and PolitiFact as “trusted, verified nonpartisan information” providers, along with Michigan’s own “SOSFactCheck” site. The Bureau claims it can debunk so-called conspiracy theories and verify the “accuracy of political speech” in addition to debates, statements, ads and interviews.
Michigan is the same state whose Attorney General recently threatened to prosecute a resident for spreading what they deem “misleading or false” election information. This is according to a letter received by Ross Township resident Kerry Lynn Elieff after posting concerns on June 12 about changes to polling locations.
The “cease and desist” letter was dated July 24, and it contained a threat of prosecution from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. It stated: “It has come to the attention of our office that you have spread misleading or false election information regarding polling locations in Ross Township through on-line sites.”
The letter warns: “[Y]ou are hereby ordered to CEASE AND DESIST the use of online platforms to continue spreading false or misleading information regarding the Ross Township polling locations. Failure to comply with this notice may result in criminal prosecution.”
Truth : Michigan is not arresting people for posting fake news!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Michigan is not arresting people for posting general fake news
Let me start by pointing out that Michigan has not begun arresting people for posting general misinformation or fake news on social media, and neither is it planning to arrest people who choose to do that.
If that actually happened, it would have been reportedly widely by the mainstream media. Yet, there has been no legitimate news report on such arrests, and there has been no outrage about the infringement of free speech. That’s because it was all made up!
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence that Michigan is actually arresting people for posting general misinformation or fake news on social media. In fact, the words “arresting” and “arrest” only appear once in its title and lede respectively, but nowhere else in the rest of the article!
Fact #2 : Secretary Benson only asked people to report election misinformation
On May 8, 2024, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson warned the public about the dangers of election misinformation, just six months before the 2024 Presidential election.
We know 2024 is going to be a noisy year for us in Michigan because the path to the presidency runs right through our state.
She reminded people that political campaign ads that use AI must be clearly marked, and it is illegal for anyone to use AI-generated photos or videos to purposefully mislead the public. Then she called on people to report [election] misinformation when they see it.
When you find misinformation or if you see something questionable, of course, don’t share it, but please expose it. Please report it.
At no point in time did she ever threaten to arrest people who post fake news on social media. She only asked people to report election misinformation. Now, why would anyone be opposed to reporting election misinformation?
Fact #3 : Michigan has long had laws against election interference
While free speech is protected in the United States, election interference is not. Hence, it is illegal to spread misleading or false information that can interfere with elections in Michigan, or any other state.
In Michigan, the Michigan Election Law (Act 116 of 1954) includes provisions related to election integrity and criminal penalties for various types of election-related fraud. For example, Section 168.931 makes it illegal to wilfully or knowingly create or provide false information with the intent to deceive people about the election process, or to change the outcome of elections.
So yes, it is possible for people in Michigan to get arrested for creating or spreading fake news or misinformation to mislead people about the election process, or to influence any election outcome. However, as you can tell – this law isn’t new. It has been in effect since 1954.
Fact #4 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
