Tag Archives: Photography

Kennedy family snubs RFK Jr. in St. Patrick’s Day photo with Biden!

The Kennedy family openly snubbed RFK Jr. when it posted a St. Patrick’s Day photo with President Joe Biden at the White House!

 

Kennedy family snubs RFK Jr. in St. Patrick’s Day photo with Biden!

The Kennedy family has largely been against the independent bid for the US Presidency by their infamous family member, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which is also known as RFK Jr.

Several members of the family have openly spoken out against his candidacy, and his anti-vaccine views, calling them “dangerous”. To make it clear that the Kennedy family supports Joe Biden in his bid to be re-elected for a second term, almost the entire Kennedy family joined the president for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House on Sunday, 17 March 2024.

In an open snub to her own brother – RFK Jr., Kerry Kennedy posted a photo showing dozens of the Kennedy family taking a photo with Joe Biden, with this message.

“It’s not enough to wish the world were better, you must make the world better”

@POTUS President Biden, you make the world better. Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️

@vradenburg3 @Mkennedycuomo @vickikennedy2277 @amykennedy715 @pjk4brainhealt @roryekennedy
@maxeykennedy

The photo featured former Rhode Island congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, Biden’s special envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, as well as Kennedy family members of all ages… except RFK Jr. himself.

Recommended : Did Joe Biden Just Propose To Start Vaccinating America?!

Other members of the family then reshared the photo on their social media accounts, making it clear that they support Joe Biden, and not their infamous family member – RFK Jr.

Patrick Kennedy even tweeted additional photos, writing:

What an honor to spend St. Patrick’s Day afternoon at the @WhiteHouse with friends, family, and world leaders @POTUS , His Excellency @LeoVaradkar and many cousins – Smiths, Shrivers, and Kennedys!
We are blessed.”

Joe Biden himself retweeted Kerry Kennedy’s post, with the reply, “From one proud Irish family to another — it was good to have you all back at the White House.

 

 

Maria Shriver Snubs RFK Jr. The Next Day!

In the second of a one-two punch against RFK Jr., Maria Shriver – another member of the Kennedy family, joined President Joe Biden the next day for his signing of a new executive order to spend $$12 billion to improve research on women’s issues like reproductive challenges and conditions like menopause.

At that White House event which was also attended by First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Maria Shriver called the executive order historic, and praised Biden profusely for his commitment to women’s health in an obvious snub of RFK Jr., and joked:

I’ll bet today that this is the first time a president of the United States has ever signed an executive order that mentions the words ‘menopause’ and ‘women’s mid-life health!’

Shriver even threw a veiled jab at former President Donald Trump, when she said:

This is an undertaking that could only be put into a motion by a president who respects women sees women who understands women and who want the best for women who wants us all to achieve our highest potential.

Recommended : Did Joe Biden Teach The 2nd Amendment For 12 Years?!

Biden’s executive order comes at a time when women’s health issues are dominating politics, with several states adopting anti-abortion laws that have threatened even unrelated reproductive issues like IVF.

Just before he signed the executive order, Joe Biden repeated his call for people to vote for a Democratic Congress to restore abortion rights:

You send me a Democratic Congress that supports reproductive freedom, I promise you we will restore Roe v Wade again as the law of the land.

Biden’s executive order goes beyond reproductive health issues. It also includes federal funding of research into mental health, substance abuse disorders, environmental health factors, and autoimmune diseases that disproportionately affect women, like rheumatoid arthritis.

The National Institutes of Health, for example, will increase its investments in small businesses that focus on women’s health by 50%, while the Defense Department will invest $10 million to learn more about cancers and mental health issues affecting women in active military service.

The US NIH is also launching a new effort around menopause and the treatment of menopausal symptoms that will identify research gaps and work to close them, according to White House advisor Jennifer Klein. However, this funding isn’t guaranteed as it is ultimately up to the US Congress to approve it.

 

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Was French First Lady Brigitte Macron Born A Man?!

Is French First Lady Brigitte Macron a transgender woman who was really born a man?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2024-03-17 : Added more details about Brigitte Macron and Jean-Michel Trogneux.
Originally posted @ 2024-03-15

 

Claim : French First Lady Brigitte Macron Was Born A Man!

Some people are claiming that French First Lady Brigitte Macron was born a man, who later transitioned into a transgender woman!

Candace Owens : Stop everything and watch this! Not a joke or an exaggeration to say that barring political assassinations, this is likely the biggest scandal that has ever happened in politics in human history.

I looked into this expecting it to be an insane conspiracy theory and it is anything but. It took 3 years of research for the journalists to unpack this series. It would take 3 seconds for Macron to dispel these rumors and yet they seem unable to. The implications are WILD.

Candace OwensThis episode is blowing up so I just want to say—After looking into this, I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man. Any journalist or publication that is trying to dismiss this plausibility is immediately identifiable as establishment.

I have never seen anything like this in my life. The implications here are terrifying. I do not intend to let up on this story and I am calling on other journalists to look into this explosive story and report accordingly.

Recommended : Is Kate Middleton Planning To Retire From Royal Duties?!

 

Truth : Brigitte Marcon Was Not Born A Man!

This is yet another example of fake news created or promoted by conspiracy theorists, and here are the reasons why, with the help of Nicolas Faure and Jonathan Moadab!

Fact #1 : Emmanuel Macron Called Rumours False + Fabricated!

After Candace Owens made those claims on her Daily Wire show, French President Emmanuel Macron called them “false and fabricated“.

The worst thing is the false information and fabricated scenarios. People eventually believe them and disturb you, even in your intimacy.

He also said that the transgender claims about his wife were typical of misogynistic online attacks that women have to put up with. These transgender attacks on Brigitte Macron as similar (example | example | example) to what Michelle Obama has been subjected to.

Fact #2 : Brigitte Macron Family Photo Shows Her As A Girl

Conspiracy theorists claim that Brigitte is the boy on the far left in this Trogneux family photo. But that’s actually her brother – Jean-Michel Trogneux. Brigitte Trogneux is really the little girl sitting on the lap of her mother, Simone Pujol.

Of course, they claim that the little girl is really Christine Haquin or Nathalie Farcy – one of her cousins. They can’t seem to decide who. They also cannot explain why would the Trogneux family included a niece in a family portrait!

In any case, those theories are easily dismissed – Christine Haquin was born in 1957, while Nathalie Farcy was born on 23 September 1959. In other words, they were born about 2-5 years after this photo was taken (circa 1954/1955).

Recommended : Is Taylor Swift Performing Satanic Rituals At Eras Tour?!

Fact #3 : Jean-Michel Did Not Disappear!

The conspiracy theory claims that Brigitte Macron is really Jean-Michel Henri Trogneux – the boy on the far left in the photo above, and that he disappeared in the 1980s.

That’s not true, because Jean-Michel’s birth certificate shows that he was born on 11 February 1945, while a newspaper cutting shows that Brigette Trogeneux was born a girl on 13 April 1953 – more than 8 years later!

Jean-Michel Trogneux was also seen on television together with Emmanuel Macron. French journalist Jonathan Moadab also tracked Jean-Michel to his house.

Fact #4 : Brigitte Macron Married Her First Husband In 1975

The conspiracy theory claims that Brigitte Macron only became a transgender woman when she was 30 years old. That’s not possible.

Born Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux on 13 April 1953, she married her first husband, André-Louis Auzière, on 22 June 1974 – when she was 21 years old.

According to the conspiracy theory, Brigitte would have been a man when she married Auzière (also a man). That’s not possible, because France did not permit same sex marriage in the 1970s. In fact, France only legalised same-sex marriage on 18 May 2013 – almost 39 years later!

In addition, Jean-Michel married Véronique Christine Dominique on 24 November 1980 – more than 5 years later, and Brigitte attended as a witness!

Fact #5 : Brigitte Macron Gave Birth To Three Children

On top of that, Brigitte Macron gave birth to three children – Sébastien Auzière, Laurence Auzière-Jourdan, and Tiphaine Auzière (photo below). That would not be possible if she was born a biological male.

Transgender women can change their looks, and develop breasts. They, however, lack both ovaries and uterus, and cannot give birth to children. So this claim is utter nonsense.

Recommended : Did Mel Gibson Say Elites Will Die To Make Way For Antichrist?!

Fact #6 : Brigitte Macron Won Libel Case On Transgender Rumour

It appears that these transgender rumours were started with the release of a so-called “three-year investigation” by a small, far-right publication called Faits et Documents (Facts and Documents) in September 2021.

However, it only went viral, when two women – Amandine Roy, a clairvoyant, and Natacha Rey, a so-called freelance journalist, made those claims in a YouTube video in December 2021.

In February 2022, Brigitte Macron and her three children, as well as her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, filed a libel lawsuit against the two women. Brigitte and her brother, Jean-Michel, also filed a (criminal) complaint for libel.

On Tuesday, 14 February 2023, the judicial court in Lisieux convicted the two women of libel, and fined them €2,000 each. Those fines were later reduced on appeal, but they both remain convicted of libel.

Fact #7 : Viral Photos Were Edited

Some people are sharing photos which they claim show Jean-Michel Trogneux, before she transitioned into Brigitte Trogneux. They are not genuine.

The viral photos were edited from a photo that was taken by Abaca Press on 4 June 2019, showing Brigitte Macron meeting with players and staff at Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines, southwest of Paris, during the French women national football team’s preparation for FIFA World Cup 2019 in France.

Recommended : Did Michelle Obama Rape Child When She Was A Man?!

Fact #8 : Candace Owens Provided No Evidence

Finally, I should point out that Candace Owens provided no actual evidence that Brigitte Macron was born a man, beyond the debunked claims from years ago… and her claim that Brigitte Macron was unable to produce any photos of herself in the first 30 years of her life.

Guys, how easy to debunk this – if you say Candace, no, actually you lived as a man for 30 years, I’ve lived 30 years: I’m going to show you every photo of every year that I’ve lived. Here’s me in college right, here’s me while I was pregnant with my children. Here’s me and my husband on our wedding day.

There would be so many photos that Brigitte should have at her disposal if this is false. Nope – they’re just calling everybody wrong and backwards and transphobic. Just produce the photos.

Instead, the only photos they have produced that are circulating in the media are the photos that I just showed you. And, as I said, the first photo she looks more like the Jean-Michel who she claims is actually her brother, who she won’t just present to the public. If that is in fact your brother, please just go on a walk with him so we can capture it.

It must be a Millennial “thing” (Candace Owens was born in 1989) to take photos of everything, all the time, to share with the world on social media. It’s easy for people today to demand – “photo, or it didn’t happen”.

The thing is – Brigitte Trogneux was born in 1953, and she was not fortunate enough back in those “good old days” to own a smartphone, or have access to social media. Even digital cameras were not common until the late 1990s.

Frankly, even if Brigitte Macron shared any photo she took as a child, conspiracists will likely insist that the photos were doctored, or of a different girl. Hence, the onus lies with the accusers to prove their claims.

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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.

 

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Proven : Why Brigitte Macron Is Not Jean-Michel Trogneux!

Was Brigitte Macron really born a man called Jean-Michel Trogneux?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Brigitte Macron Was A Man Called Jean-Michel Trogneux!

Some people are claiming that French First Lady Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman who was born a man called Jean-Michel Trogneux!

These rumours started with the release of a so-called “three-year investigation” by a small, far-right publication called Faits et Documents (Facts and Documents) in September 2021. However, it only went viral, when two women – Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey, made those claims in a YouTube video in December 2021.

These claims were revived in March 2024, by American conservative commentator Candace Owens on her Daily Wire show.

Candace Owens : Stop everything and watch this! Not a joke or an exaggeration to say that barring political assassinations, this is likely the biggest scandal that has ever happened in politics in human history.

I looked into this expecting it to be an insane conspiracy theory and it is anything but. It took 3 years of research for the journalists to unpack this series. It would take 3 seconds for Macron to dispel these rumors and yet they seem unable to. The implications are WILD.

Candace OwensThis episode is blowing up so I just want to say—After looking into this, I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man. Any journalist or publication that is trying to dismiss this plausibility is immediately identifiable as establishment.

I have never seen anything like this in my life. The implications here are terrifying. I do not intend to let up on this story and I am calling on other journalists to look into this explosive story and report accordingly.

It then went viral again, with many right-wing conservatives and conspiracy theorists repeating them, or sharing her video.

Recommended : Was French First Lady Brigitte Macron Born A Man?!

 

Proven : Why Brigitte Macron Is Not Jean-Michel Trogneux!

This is yet another example of fake news created or promoted by conspiracy theorists, and here are the reasons why, with the help of Nicolas Faure and Jonathan Moadab!

French journalist Jonathan Moadab started his own investigation in 2021, when those rumours first went viral. At first, he believed that Brigitte could really be Jean-Michel, but he soon found out that they are two different people from the same family!

Fact #1 : Brigitte Trogneux’s Birth Was Announced In Newspaper!

Let me start by pointing out that after Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux was born on 13 April 1953, her family announced it in the local newspaper:

SOCIAL NOTEBOOK

Anne-Marie, Jean-Claude, Mary-vonne, Monique and Jean-Michel TROGNEUX have the great joy of announcing the birth of their little sister Brigitte. Amiens, 1, rue Delambre.

CARNET MONDAIN

Anne-Marie, Jean-Claude, Maryvonne, Monique et Jean-Michel TROGNEUX ont la grande joie de vous annoncer la naissance de leur petite sœur Brigitte. Amiens, 1, rue Delambre.

The newspaper announcement specifically stated that her name was indeed, Brigitte at birth, and that she was born a female. You will also note that it mentioned her brother – Jean-Michel.

The carnival should have stopped for anyone who bothered to dig a bit deeper into this story, but no… this photo must be fake, or the Trogneuxs or Macrons must have used a time machine to go back to 1953 and pay for that fake announcement to be printed!

Recommended : Is Justin Trudeau planning to BAN Christianity in Canada?!

Fact #2 : Jean-Michel Trogneux Was Born Earlier + Still Alive!

In January 2022, Jonathan Moadab obtained an extract from Jean-Michel’s official birth certificate, showing that he was born as a male, at 4 o’clock on 11 February 1945. That’s 8 years before his sister, Brigitte Trogneux!

In addition, he found that Jean-Michel Trogneux was listed on the French electoral roll in 2022, which confirms that he still exists as a separate person from Brigitte Macron (née Trogneux).

But of course, these can be faked, right? The Illuminati and the New World Order can make short work of such documents, no?

Fact #3 : Jean-Michel Trogneux Married After Brigitte!

The supplementary update in the birth certificate extract also stated that Jean-Michel Henri Trogneux married and subsequently divorced Véronique Christine Dominique in 1980 and 1987 respectively.

Jean-Michel, therefore, cannot possibly be Brigitte Trogneux since his sister married her first husband, André-Louis Auzière, on 22 June 1974 – more than 5 years earlier!

Recommended : Is Kate Middleton Planning To Retire From Royal Duties?!

Fact #4 : Brigitte Trogneux Witnessed Her Brother’s Wedding!

On top of that, Moadab obtained a copy of this administrative document, which appears to show that Brigitte attended her brother’s wedding to Véronique Christine Dominique!

Could both Jean-Michel and Brigitte Trogneux have attended the wedding as the same person at the same time? That would be quite the miracle!

Fact #5 : Jean-Michel Trogneux Did Not Disappear!

The conspiracy theory claims that Jean-Michel Henri Trogneux disappeared in the 1980s. That’s not true. While Jean-Michel Trogneux is a very private person, he was actually seen on television with French President Emmanuel Macron!

Jonathan Moadab asked two different friends of Jean-Michel Trogneux, who never met each other, to confirm that that man in the video was Jean-Michel Trogneux. Both persons “vigorously stated that Jean-Michel Trogneux existed, and that he was the man in those images“.

Finally, Jonathan Moadab went to Jean-Michel Trogneux’s house, and rang his doorbell. Naturally, Jean-Michel was not happy to see him, and asked him to leave. But he actually met the man himself, and confirmed that he does indeed exist.

Recommended : Did Palace Aide Admit Kate Middleton Was In Medical Coma?!

Fact #6 : Jean-Michel + Brigitte Won Their Libel Lawsuit!

In February 2022, Jean-Michel Henri Trogneux joined his sister Brigitte Macron, and her three children, in filing a libel lawsuit against the two women who made those transgender claims. They also also filed a (criminal) complaint for libel.

Obviously, it would not be possible for Jean-Michel to jointly file the lawsuit with Brigitte Macron, if they are one and the same person!

On Tuesday, 14 February 2023, the judicial court in Lisieux convicted the two women of libel, and fined them €2,000 each. Those fines were later reduced on appeal, but they both remain convicted of libel.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

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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.

 

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Did Kate Middleton hint at divorce by not wearing wedding ring?!

Did Kate Middleton hinted at a divorce after she was spotted not wearing her wedding ring in the controversial Mother’s Day photo?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Kate Middleton Hinted At Divorce By Not Wearing Wedding Ring!

Some websites and people are suggesting that Kate Middleton hinted at a divorce from Prince William, after she was spotted not wearing her wedding ring in the controversial Mother’s Day photo!

Music Mundial : Kate Middleton confirms she didn’t wear her wedding ring in her new photo. Neglect or declaration of divorce?

The new post for Women’s Day of the princess with her three children had a small signal of editing, which she later apologized for, confirming the photo is real and that she was conscious of the lack of her important jewel that symbolizes her union with Prince William.

Recommended : Are Prince William + Kate Middleton Getting A Divorce?!

 

No Evidence Kate Middleton Hinted At Divorce By Not Wearing Wedding Ring!

Let’s take a look at the claims, and see what the facts really are!

Fact #1 : Kate Middleton Edited Mother’s Day Photo

First, let me just give you a quick recap on the Kate Middleton Mother’s Day photo controversy.

In order of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, Kensington Palace shared a new photo of Kate Middleton with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Soon after, multiple photo agencies recalled the photo because it appeared to be a “manipulated” photo. In other words – there were signs that it was edited.

On 11 March 2024, Kate Middleton posted on their official @KensingtonRoyal account that she edited the photo herself.

Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C

To be clear – Kate Middleton never said that she edited out the ring. In fact, she made no mention of her engagement ring!

Recommended : Was King Charles Just Exposed For Raping Children?!

Fact #2 : Photo Was Taken By Prince William

I should also point out that the photo was taken by Prince William. If you look at the original post, you can see that it was labelled as taken by The Prince of Wales.

The exact date was not provided, only that he took it in 2024. So it could hypothetically been taken before her planned abdominal surgery on 16 January 2024.

If they were in the midst of a divorce, I highly doubt Kate Middleton would ask Prince William to take that photo!

Fact #3 : It Was A Mother’s Day Photo!

People are wondering – why isn’t Prince William in the photo? Simply explained – that was a photo for Mother’s Day. It would be very odd if Prince William was in that shot!

In fact, when it was Father’s Day, the couple released a photo of Prince William (alone!) with his three children, taken by portrait photographer, Millie Pilkington.

Does this Father’s Day photo, which was not taken by Kate Middleton, suggest that Prince William wanted to divorce the Princess of Wales??? Of course, not!

Recommended : Prince Harry + Meghan Confirmed Not Sleeping Together?!

Fact #4 : Kate Middleton Does Not Always Wear Her Rings

Kate Middleton does not normally wear her engagement ring – the massive (in size and cost!) sapphire ring that she inherited from Princess Diana. Instead, she often wears a Welsh gold wedding band.

Neither were seen in the Mother’s Day photo, but that’s not something shocking, because she was at home when Prince William took that photo. Many people don’t wear their wedding rings at home.

Others have pointed out that it is also possible that Kate removed her ring before her surgery, and had yet to put it back on because of swelling that had not subsided.

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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.

 

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Did Barack Obama’s Mother Pose In Nude Photos?!

Did Barack Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, pose in nude photos for his “real” father, Frank Marshall Davis?!

Take a look at the viral photos, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Barack Obama’s Mother Posed In Nude Photos!

People are posting photos purportedly of Barack Obama’s mother, when she posed in nude photos, suggesting that the photographer, Frank Marshall Davis, was his real father, and not Barack Obama Sr.!

Stew Peters : Never forget that this “lady’s” son was the first “black” president of the United States. 🇺🇸

Recommended : Was Joan Rivers Killed For Insulting The Obamas?!

 

Truth : Barack Obama’s Mother Did Not Pose Nude For Men’s Magazines!

This is yet another example of fake news created about former President Barack Obama, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Nude Photos Are Not Of Barack Obama’s Mother

This is really silly, but let me just start by pointing out that Barack Obama’s mother – Stanley Ann Dunham, is not the woman seen in those viral nude photos.

Those nude photos are also not private photos taken by Frank Marshall Davis, because they appeared in the men’s magazine called Exotique!

Fact #2 : Ann Dunham Only Moved To Hawaii In 1960

It is temporally impossible for Ann Dunham to be the woman in those photos, or even be acquainted with Frank Marshall Davis when those photos were taken, because she only moved to Hawaii in 1960.

  • Those viral photos appeared in the men’s magazine called Exotique in 1958. Stanley Ann Dunham was still living in Washington when those photos were published.
  • The Dunham family did not move to Hawaii until the summer of 1960 – two years after those photos were published.
  • The magazine Exotique ceased publication in 1959 – one year before Barack Obama’s mother first stepped foot in Hawaii.

Unless Stanley Ann Dunham had a time machine in the 1960s, it would be impossible for her to travel back in time to pose nude in 1958.

Fact #2 : Posing Nude Isn’t Illegal

Even if Barack Obama’s mother posed nude for men’s magazines, that wouldn’t have been illegal, or wrong.

In fact, former First Lady Melania Trump famously posed nude in the January 2000 edition of GQ magazine, while she was Donald Trump’s girlfriend, Melania Knauss.

Recommended : Did Taylor Swift Show Trump Won Flag At 2024 Grammys?!

Fact #3 : Nude Photos Claim Originated In 2012

I should also point out that these claims about Barack Obama’s mother posing nude for men’s magazines is very old, originating with the 2012 conspiracy movie, Dreams from My Real Father. by conspiracy theorist Joel Gilbert.

Loren Collins did a great job fact checking that very old claim, which you can read here and here.

We may never know who the mystery model is. But the Dunham family didn’t move to Hawaii until the summer of 1960. Unless Ann Dunham had access to a time machine in the 1960s, it simply cannot be her.

Moreover, Joel Gilbert knows this. He found that opera glove photo; it was not circulating the web as an ‘Ann’ photo prior to his videos. He knows it came from Exotique, a magazine that ceased publication in 1959. From WND: “Gilbert found that several of the photos in the collection appeared in a magazine called Exotique, published by pin-up photographer Leonard Burtman, who worked in New York City.”

Thus he knows this picture was published two years before Ann first stepped foot in Hawaii, years before she could have met Frank Marshall Davis. And yet he explicitly claims, multiple times, that the photo was TAKEN at Christmastime 1960. This is not a lie of ignorance or mistake; it is a lie of pure, fully-informed malice.

It is interesting that these old photos and long-debunked claims should resurface in 2024, in the run-up to the 2024 US Presidential Election. Is it because some conservatives believe that Michelle Obama might run for the US Presidency?

Fact #4 : Ann Dunham Would Have Been Underage

Joel Gilbert not only put those photos in his movie, he mailed out more than a million copies to voters in Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Colorado, in an apparent attempt to influence the 2012 US presidential election.

However, Stanley Ann Dunham was born in 1942, and would have been 15 years old – underage, when those photos were originally published in 1958.

If those photos are really of Ann Dunham, it would mean that Joel Gilbert knowingly published child pornography, and illegally distributed them to more than a million people!

Recommended : Was King Charles Just Exposed For Raping Children?!

Fact #5 : This Is Just Obama Fake News

This is yet another example of fake news created about Barack Obama and his family, just like these examples:

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Did Germany Just Decriminalise Child Pornography?!

Did Germany just decriminalise child pornography?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Germany Just Decriminalised Child Pornography!

People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that Germany just decriminalised child pornography!

Here is an excerpt from the long, and (intentionally?) rambling article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Germany Decriminalizes Child Pornography Offenses – Media Blackout

Recommended : Did Germany accuse US of blowing up Nord Stream 2?!

 

Truth : Germany Did Not Decriminalise Child Pornography!

This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Child Pornography Is Still Illegal In Germany

Let me start by pointing out that child pornography is still illegal in Germany.

While The People’s Voice article claimed otherwise, possession and distribution of child pornography remains a crime in Germany.

Fact #2 : Germany Partially Reversed Increased Punishment

In July 2021, Germany actually increased the punishment for distributing child pornography, with a prison sentence of between 1 and 10 years. Previously, those convicted of the crime would face imprisonment of between three months and 5 years.

However, the German government soon realised that the minimum sentence of one year was problematic in practice. It meant that even parents and teachers who forward these child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to the police would face at least one year of prison!

The minimum 1 year sentence also meant the automatic classification as a crime, which means prosecutors and the courts cannot simply stop proceedings, as they would with misdemeanours. They would have to prosecute even people reporting child pornography to the fullest extent of the law!

That led investigators, courts, and even state justice ministers to push for a reduction in the sentencing guidelines.

As such, the German Federal Cabinet voted on Wednesday, 7 February 2024, to reduce the minimum sentence, from one year to six months. This would give prosecutors and the courts greater flexibility to address each claim proportionally.

As German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann explained, the new upper limit of 10 years would stay in place, but there will be a new minimum sentence:

In particular, people who receive such material involuntarily — for example in the context of a WhatsApp parents’ group — risk a minimum sentence of one year. The same also applies in the case of teachers who have discovered child pornographic material on students’ cellphones and have forwarded it to alert the affected parents.

This completely refutes claims by The People’s Voice article that the distribution of child pornography is no longer a crime in Germany.

Even after this new law is passed with its reduced minimum sentence, it will still have longer prison time than the original 3 months to 5 year sentencing guidelines.

Recommended : Is Bill Gates Planning To Kill Billions Using Turbo AIDS?!

Fact #3 : German Parliament Has Not Approved The Law

The German Federal Cabinet’s decision to amend the law does not immediately change it, as the The People’s Voice article appears to suggest.

Even though the German government urgently wants to implement the amended law, it has not been approved by the Bundestag – the German parliament. Until the new law is approved, the existing law continues to be in effect.

Fact #4 : The People’s Voice Source Clearly Explained Reasons

The People’s Voice article printed quotes from the German news service, Tagesshau, as “evidence”.

However, the Tagesshau article (machine translation) clearly states that the punishment was only partially reversed, which completely refutes The People’s Voice‘s claim that Germany has decriminalised child pornography.

Cabinet partially reverses increased punishment

The penalties for possession and distribution of child pornography are to be partially weakened. One reason: Until now, parents who forwarded images to highlight grievances also had to be punished.

After criticism from practice, the Federal Cabinet has decided to change some points in the criminal law provisions that came into force in July 2021 on the distribution of depictions of sexual abuse against children. Among other things, according to the draft law, the minimum penalty for disseminating such material will be reduced from one year to six months and for obtaining and possessing it from one year to three months.

Anyone reading even the title can clearly understand that child pornography has not been decriminalised in Germany. Why on Earth would anyone claim otherwise???

Fact #5 : There Is No Media Blackout

The People’s Voice article suggested in its title that there is a media blackout. That’s easily refuted. For one thing – its own article quotes the German news service, Tagesshau!

And anyone who bothers to look it up online, can easily find articles on the proposed amendment of the law. Heck, it was even reported by the Associated Press!

Recommended : Is Bill Gates Planning To Kill Billions Using Turbo AIDS?!

Fact #6 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Publishing 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:

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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.

 

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Did Simon Cowell Just Die Suddenly In Hospital?!

Did Simon Cowell just die suddenly in a hospital?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2024-02-12 : Added updated MediaMass claim, and other details
Originally posted @ 2023-01-07

 

Claim : Simon Cowell Just Died Suddenly In Car Crash!

People are sharing YouTube and TikTok videos which claim that Simon Cowell just died suddenly in a tragic car crash or unknown causes, with titles like :

10 minutes ago in Chicago, “America’s Got Talent” Simon Cowell died suddenly at the hospital

5 minutes ago announced that simon cowell died at the hospital…😳🤐 #viral #viralvideo

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Truth : Simon Cowell Did Not Die Suddenly In Hospital!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by people to generate income from page views and YouTube advertising, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : No Legitimate Media Outlet Reported His Death

These YouTube videos have been circulating for weeks and months, but people don’t seem to notice that no legitimate media has reported his death.

Never mind his wealth, Simon Cowell is a celebrity in his own right. Even if he did not die, the worldwide media would have reported on his car accident or hospitalisation.

No legitimate media outlet reported that Simon Cowell was hospitalised, never mind dying suddenly in a car crash. That’s because it never happened!

Fact #2 : Simon Cowell Is Still Alive + Well!

Simon Cowell – the long-time judge on Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent is still very much alive and well, as of Monday, 12  February 2024.

Of course, you need actual “proof of life”, right? Well, Simon Cowell posted a video of Shadow Ace performing on America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League.

As you can see – Simon Cowell is not dead, or in the hospital. He certainly does not look like he’s dying in a hospital!

Recommended : Did Dolly Parton Just Die Suddenly From A Stroke?!

Fact #3 : The Photos Were Edited

I analysed the photos used in these videos, and traced the origin of four examples used in many of these videos.

This photo that shows Simon Cowell on a hospital bed, was edited from a real photo of a kidney transplant patient called Gerhard van Tonder. The photo was taken in October 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Healthcare professionals will immediately notice that Simon Cowell is not intubated despite being mysteriously hooked up to a ventilator!

If you look carefully, you will also notice that Simon Cowell’s head is oddly larger than normal – to superimpose over Gerhard’s head in the real photo.

If you zoom into the fake photo, you can even see a white border around Simon Cowell’s head – a clear sign it was added to the photo.

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The photo of this white SUV was taken on July 17, 2019 on Highway 6 near Freelton, Ontario, Canada. The driver was a 38 year-old woman, not Simon Cowell.

This photo was also misappropriated from another car accident, this time in the Selma neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley, on May 9, 2021.

The driver was a 57 year-old woman who died in that accident. Again, not Simon Cowell.

This fake photo is a pretty good edit, albeit showing Simon Cowell smiling with his eyes closed – odd for someone who was dying or has already died.

But it was really a photo of Blake Bargatze, a 24 year-old man, who was being treated at a South Florida hospital for COVID-19 in March 2021.

Bargatze, unfortunately, did not qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine at that time, and got infected. His condition grew worse over time, and he eventually had to be placed on an ECMO machine to let his lungs heal.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and he ended up with a double-lung transplant in June 2021, to save his life.

Recommended : Did Justin Bieber Just Die In A High Speed Car Crash?!

Fact #4 : Simon Cowell Death Hoax Is Driven By Fake Fact Check Too

This Simon Cowell death hoax is, ironically, also being driven by a fake fact check article by the MediaMass Project, which keeps “updating” the dates in their fake fact check article:

News of television host Simon Cowell’s death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the February 2024 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, the creator of Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor is alive and well.

Their claim of a viral R.I.P. Simon Cowell Facebook page is false. There is no such Facebook page. It is their standard fake fact check spiel for fake celebrity deaths.

The statement from Simon Cowell’s unnamed rep confirming that he is not dead is exactly the same as statements from other reps MediaMass claimed were victims of death hoaxes, like Angelina Jolie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barry Gibb, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Celine Dion, Clint Eastwood, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dolly Parton, Harrison Ford, Justine Bieber, Lionel Messi, Lucy LiuMadonna, Melanie Laurent, Mike Tyson, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Robert PattinsonSylvester Stallone, Taylor Swift, Tom Cruise, and Tom Hanks.

He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet.

Hidden in the description page for the MediaMass Project is a disclaimer that they are a “satire” website. That’s the usual “cover” for websites peddling fake news.

Regardless of their reasons, anything posted by MediaMass.net must be considered as fake news, until proven otherwise.

Recommended : Did Sylvester Stallone Just Die Suddenly In Hospital?!

Fact #5 : This Is Just Fake Celebrity News

This is yet another example of fake celebrity news created to generate page views and money through advertising, just like these examples:

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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.

 

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Did Sylvester Stallone Just Die Suddenly In Hospital?!

Did Sylvester Stallone just die suddenly in the hospital?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2024-01-26 : Added new updates, including updated MediaMass claim.
Originally posted @ 2023-04-12

 

Claim : Sylvester Stallone Just Died Suddenly In Hospital!

People are sharing YouTube and TikTok videos claiming to show Sylvester Stallone just died in a hospital, with titles like :

Sylvester Stallone Just Die Suddenly In Hospital? Family announced sad news legend Sylvester Stallone

🔆 Rest In Peace // Legendary Actor ”’Sylvester Stallone”’ Breathed His Last At The Age of 76.

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Truth : Sylvester Stallone Did Not Die Suddenly Anywhere!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by people to generate income from page views and YouTube advertising, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Sylvester Stallone Is Still Alive + Well!

Hollywood legend, Sylvester Stallone (born Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone on July 6, 1946), is still very much alive and well, as of 26 January 2024.

For those who readily believe claims that Sylvester Stallone has died without even asking for evidence, here are some recent “proof of life”…

On 18 January 2024, Syl Stallone posted on his official Instagram account about the upcoming second season of his reality TV show – The Family Stallone.

Just last month, Sylvester Stallone posted a video of himself on 13 December 2023, speaking about never giving up when the time gets tough.

As you can see, Sly Stallone is still very much alive and well, even regularly keeping in shape in his gym – weeks and months after these fake YouTube videos claimed that he died in a hospital, at home, or even on the street!

Recommended : Did Dolly Parton Just Die Suddenly From A Stroke?!

Fact #2 : No Legitimate Media Outlet Reported His Death

These YouTube videos have been circulating for weeks and months, but people don’t seem to notice that no legitimate media has reported his death.

Sylvester Stallone is a Hollywood icon, starring in the Rocky and Rambo movies, as well as more recently, The Expendables movies.

No legitimate media outlet reported that Sylvester Stallone was sick, much less died suddenly in a hospital!

If Sylvester Stallone did indeed die, the worldwide media would have reported on his death. Yet, no one but small YouTube and TikTok channels picked up on his tragic death? That’s because it never happened.

Fact #3 : The Photos Were Edited

The photos used in these videos were edited from real photos, with some celebrities added in to make it look genuine. In this example, the fake news creator added Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.

The actual photo is of the February 2019 funeral of Argentinian footballer, Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash off Alderney on 21 January 2019.

The photo was taken by Associated Press, and shows Nantes defender Nicolas Pallois and Emiliano Sala’s brother, Dario, helping to carry his coffin at his funeral on 19 February 2019.

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Even when it comes to the really good photo-editing efforts, there are still some clues to show you that these were edited images.

In this example, you can see that Sylvester Stallone’s chin appeared to be cut out. More damning is pillow which had a Queensland Health logo on it.

Unless Sylvester Stallone happened to be filming in Queensland, Australia; there is no way he would end up being treated in its hospital!

Fact #4 : Sylvester Stallone Death Hoax Is Driven By Fake Fact Check Too

This Sylvester Stallone death hoax is, ironically, also being driven by a fact check article by the MediaMass Project.

News of actor Sylvester Stallone’s death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the January 2024 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, the actor best known for his roles in Rambo or Rocky is alive and well.

Their claim of a viral R.I.P. Sylvester Stallone Facebook page is false. There is no such Facebook page. It is their standard fake fact check spiel for fake celebrity deaths.

The statement from Sylvester Stallone’s unnamed rep confirming that he is not dead is exactly the same as statements from other reps of celebrities MediaMass claimed were victims of death hoaxes, like Angelina Jolie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barry Gibb, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Celine Dion, Clint Eastwood, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dolly Parton, Harrison Ford, Justine Bieber, Lionel Messi, Lucy LiuMadonna, Melanie Laurent, Mike Tyson, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Pattinson, Simon Cowell, Taylor Swift, Toby Keith, Tom Cruise, and Tom Hanks.

He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet.

Hidden in the description page for the MediaMass Project is a disclaimer that they are a “satire” website. That’s the usual “cover” for websites peddling fake news.

Regardless of their reasons, anything posted by MediaMass.net must be considered as fake news, until proven otherwise.

Recommended : Did Tom Hanks Just Die Suddenly?!

This is yet another example of fake celebrity news created to generate page views and money through advertising, just like these examples:

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Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Did Jamie Lee Curtis Post Photo Of Naked Child In Box?!

Did Jamie Lee Curtis really post a photo of a naked child in a box?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Jamie Lee Curtis Posted Photo Of Naked Child In Box!

People are posting screenshots of an Instagram post which shows that Jamie Lee Curtis has a photo of a naked child in a box hanging on her wall!

Gina Bontempo : Why does Jamie Lee Curtis have a painting of a naked child stuffed in a box hanging on her wall? She deleted this whole thing shortly after posting it.

Recommended : Died Suddenly : Anti-Vaccination Movie Lies Exposed!

 

Why Jamie Lee Curtis Has Photo Of Naked Child On Her Wall!

Here is what you need to know about Jamie Lee Curtis and the photo of a naked child on her wall…

Fact #1 : Jamie Lee Curtis Posted It In January 2023

First, let me start by confirming the photo / screenshot is genuine. In fact, Jamie Lee posted the original photo on her Instagram account.

OK. This is a weird post. But I have Covid, so fuck it. During one of the SAG nomination panels for @everythingeverywheremovie I told the story of how I ended up with my office furnished with my beautiful Pollack chairs from that movie. I mentioned that if people followed me, that was not a cheap trick to try to get people to boost my numbers, but I couldn’t figure out how else to get the picture out into the world, that I would post a picture of them on my IC in my offices for @comet.pictures and I am a truth teller so here you go.

However, the renewed 2024 interest in Jamie Lee Curtis and the photo of a naked child on her wall is peculiar, as she posted the photo in January 2023 – a year ago!

Fact #2 : Jamie Lee Curtis Addressed The Controversy

After conservative media personalities and conspiracy theorists called her taste in art “creepy” or “sick”, or linked it to Jeffrey Epstein and the Balenciaga BDSM scandal, Jamie Lee Curtis quickly deleted her Instagram post.

She later addressed the controversy, stating that it was a photograph by an artist who gifted it to her 20 years earlier:

Last week I posted a picture of some chairs that included a photograph on the wall by an artist that was gifted to me 20 years ago.

Read more : Sinead O’Connor : Autopsy To Determine Cause Of Death!

Fact #3 : It Was Photographer’s Daughter In A Tub Of Water

There have been suggestions that the viral photo showed a naked child in a suitcase, or a box, insinuating that it celebrated or condoned child abuse or child pornography.

Some have also suggested that it was a photo of one of Jamie Lee Curtis’ adopted daughters – Annie Guest or Ruby Guest, or an unnamed niece. None of that is true.

The truth is – the photo shows the photographer’s daughter in a small plastic tub filled with water, as Jamie Lee Curtis explained:

As I have said, I am a truth teller so here’s the truth. It’s a picture of a child, taken by her mother, of her playing in their backyard in a tub of water. Nothing more, nothing less. I took down the post because I didn’t want to keep something up that upset anyone.

There isn’t anything nefarious or unseemly about the photo – many parents take similarly innocent photos of their children. Perhaps only perverts can see the perversion in such photos?

Fact #4 : It Was Taken By Betsy Schneider

The photo was actually taken by Betsy Schneider, a notable American photographer who often publishes and exhibits photos of her family.

The viral photo, in particular, is called The Tub, and was taken in 2003, as part of her photo series, Sweet is the Swamp.

I should point out that Betsy Schneider was one of just 9 photographers to be awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011. If she ever gifted me a print, I would certainly have it framed and mounted on my wall!

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Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Did This Muslim Man Just Marry An 8 Year-Old Girl?!

Did this elderly Muslim man just marry an 8 year-old girl?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : This Muslim Man Just Married An 8 Year-Old Girl!

People are sharing this photo, claiming or suggesting that it shows a Muslim man who just married a very young girl.

David Vance : Husband and wife, Islam approved. Thoughts? (screenshot)

David Atherton : Yes, that is his wife (screenshot)

Mrutyunjay Joshi : 40 year of man with skull cap marries 8 year old girl who was her grand daughter. A little girls dies at Suhagraat.

Recommended : Did These Famous People Mock God And Die?!

 

Truth : That Muslim Man Did Not Marry An 8 Year-Old Girl!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on X (formerly Twitter), and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : The Photo Was From 2016

The viral photo isn’t new, even though people are posting it in 2023. It has been circulating since 2016, and keeps going viral over the years.

Fact #2 : The Photo Was Taken In Turkey

Even though some have posted the photo together with screenshots of news articles suggesting that this occurred in Yemen, the viral photo was actually taken in Elâzığ, a city in Turkey.

Fact #3 : It Was A Kindergarten Ceremony

Regardless of what’s been claimed on social media, the viral photo does not show an old man and his very young wife. Neither does it show a wedding of the man and the very young girl.

The photo is one of many taken at a private kindergarten in Elâzığ, Turkey, showing the celebration ceremony held for children – boys and girls, who successfully completed their Quran education.

Notably, the girls came to the kindergarten ceremony dressed in costumes, including wedding dresses. However, it does not mean that they were there to be married off to old men!

The man in the viral photo is apparently the kindergarten’s principal, who shared those photos on the kindergarten’s social media account.

Needless to say – the parents of those children were also present! The photos also show the children receiving presents.

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Fact #4 : Bride Who Died On Wedding Night Was A Different Girl

The shocking case of an 8 year-old Yemeni girl called Rawan, who allegedly died on her wedding night, has been tied to this viral photo.

Allegedly, the girl died from internal bleeding and a uterine rupture, after having intercourse with her 40 year-old husband on their wedding night in the northwestern Yemeni town of Meedi.

The story was reported by a Yemeni social activist, and confirmed to Reuters by two residents in Meedi. However, a security official in the provincial town of Haradh denied that any such incident occurred. To date, no additional details have been reported, and it is not known if this incident actually happened.

Even if the story is true, that incident was reported in September 2013 – more than 10 years ago. That case has nothing to do with the viral photo above, which was taken three years later – in 2016.

Fact #5 : Dead Bride + Husband Photos Are False

To be clear – no known photo exists of the 40 year-old man, or his 8 year-old bride who allegedly died on their wedding night. The two viral photos that often accompany that story were misappropriated.

The man in the screenshot below is actually Ebrahim Yusuf Kazi, a 67 year-old imam who was jailed in 2011 for two years for sexually assaulting three young girls in the United Kingdom.

The girl, who appears to be dressed as a bride, was apparently taken from a Russia-1 video uploaded in 2012, about child brides in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) of the former Soviet Union.

I should also point out that the girl’s name is not Ilham Mahdi al Assi. That is a 13 year-old Yemeni girl who died after bleeding from her first sexual intercourse with her 23 year-old husband, Abed al-Hikmi. That happened in April 2010, and her husband was detained by the police.

Recommended : Did Pope Francis Suddenly Become A Fashion Icon?!

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Is This The Only Official Michelle Obama Pregnancy Photo?!

Is there only one official Michelle Obama pregnancy photo, taken with Barack Obama?!

Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : This Is Only Official Michelle Obama Pregnancy Photo!

People are sharing a photo which claims to be the only official Michelle Obama pregnancy photo!

Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narritives : The last photo I shared of Michelle Obama pregnant was community noted so here is the official and only picture of Michelle Obama being pregnant.

Recommended : Did Michelle Obama Release Photos Of Herself Pregnant?!

 

Truth : That’s Not An Official Michelle Obama Pregnancy Photo!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created about Barack and Michelle Obama, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Michelle Obama Never Released Photos Of Herself Pregnant

First, let me just point out that Michelle Obama has never released photos of herself while pregnant with Sasha or Malia.

That’s not to say they don’t exist. It is likely that they exist – they were simply not made available to us – members of the public.

Perhaps she’s just like many of us who don’t share private photos on social media. Perhaps she did not want to “jinx” her pregnancies.

After all, Michelle and Barack Obama had trouble getting pregnant, and she suffered a miscarriage. They ultimately conceived Malia and Sasha through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

But I did find a single photo showing her pregnant with Sasha in the year 2000, while walking with Barack Obama and Malia Sasha in a stroller. It was apparently taken by AP, so we know this is a genuine photo.

Michelle Obama was 36 years old at that time, while Barack Obama was 39 years old. As you can see – they look young!

Photo Credit : AP Images

Fact #2 : The Viral Photo Was AI-Generated

A quick look at the viral photo quickly showed image artifacts that tell us that it was AI-generated.

  • Both Michelle and Barack Obama look like they are in their 50s, instead of their 30s when they had their two girls.
  • Michelle Obama has really abnormal eyebrows. The left eyebrow appears to start from her inner corner of the eyelid, while she appears to have two eyebrows on the right.
  • Michelle Obama appears to have two bulges on her skull.
  • Michelle Obama’s right hand has really weird nails and the fingers are too long.
  • Barack Obama’s left ear is located way too low, right next to his cheek!
  • Barack Obama appears to have a giant double-chin!
  • Barack Obama’s left hand has ridiculously long fingers!

In short – this photo was created using generative AI software. It is most certainly not an actual Michelle Obama pregnancy photo, never mind an official one.

The person who created this photo using generative AI also made the mistake of generating it using current photos of Michelle and Barack Obama. They were only in their 30s when they had Malia and Sasha, not their 50s!

Recommended : Was Joan Rivers Killed For Insulting The Obamas?!

Fact #3 : Michelle Obama Was Born A Woman

There is no need for Michelle Obama to release any photos of herself pregnant to prove that she is a woman.

Even if you ignore the fact that she gave birth to two girls, Michelle Obama grew up as a female. Her family and friends only knew her as a girl and then, a woman. Never as a boy or a man who later became transgender.

Michelle Obama sometimes shares photos of her childhood on her Instagram account. They are all proof that she grew up as a girl, never as a boy.

On the other hand, all these claims that she was born a boy has never been backed by any evidence.

Read more : Do Photos Prove Michelle Obama Is Transgender?!

Fact #4 : Michelle Obama Gave Birth To Two Girls

Claims that Michelle Obama was born a man is not only false, it’s absurdly ridiculous, because she gave birth to two girls – Malia Obama and Sasha Obama.

For those who are wondering – transgender women cannot give birth, or suffer miscarriages, as they were born men, and lack both ovaries and uterus. And no, Malia and Sasha Obama were not adopted

Ultimately, these fake photos, and claims about Michelle Obama being transgender, are just attempts by misogynists and Republicans of the MAGA persuasion to disparage Barack and Michelle Obama.

As the 2024 US Presidential Election draws close, you can expect more rumours of Michelle Obama joining the race, and even more fake news and photos about her.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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Did Michelle Obama Release Photos Of Herself Pregnant?!

Did Michelle Obama just release photos of herself pregnant, to prove that she is a real woman?!

Take a look at the viral photos, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-10-01 : Added fact check video
Originally posted @ 2023-09-30

 

Claim : Michelle Obama Released Photos Of Herself Pregnant!

People are sharing photos that they claim were taken when Michelle Obama was pregnant, to prove that she is a real woman.

Charlotte, The Baroness : BREAKING: Michelle Obama silences ALL conspiracy theorists and demands a universal apology after FINALLY releasing glowing pregnancy photos when she was expecting Sasha and Malia.

Was_it_Planned : You can fake the baby bump. We need 3 independent DNA samples analyzed to prove man or women.

The rest is smoke and mirrors. I think she’s a he! While you’re at it, DNA test the kids to verify birth parents are Obama’s.

Ultra Maga Tx Teresa 🇺🇸 : 😂🤣😆😂 we know you’re a dude & we’ve seen their real parents. 🤡🤡

Recommended : Did Michelle Obama Call Women “Womxn”?!

 

Truth : Those Are Not Photos Of A Pregnant Michelle Obama!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created about Barack and Michelle Obama, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Michelle Obama Never Released Photos Of Herself Pregnant

First, let me just point out that Michelle Obama has never released photos of herself while pregnant with Sasha or Malia.

That’s not to say they don’t exist. It is likely that they exist – they were simply not made available to us – members of the public.

Perhaps she’s just like many of us who don’t share private photos on social media. Perhaps she did not want to “jinx” her pregnancies.

After all, Michelle and Barack Obama had trouble getting pregnant, and she suffered a miscarriage. They ultimately conceived Malia and Sasha through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Fact #2 : The Photos Were AI-Generated

I took a look at all four photos and quickly determined that they were AI-generated, and rather poor examples at that.

The first two are better examples, but if you look closely, you can see that her hands are grossly distorted. She not only has at least six fingers on each hand, they are of wrong lengths and with nails in the wrong position.

Recommended : Jho Low Paid $20 Million For Photo With The Obamas!

These two examples are terrible. The example on the left does not even look like Michelle Obama. Perhaps a young Oprah Winfrey? Of course, Oprah never had children…

The one on the right looks more like Michelle Obama but had grossly exaggerated features, including a hump neck. But the easiest way to identify it as an AI-generated fake photo is by looking at her hands.

As you can see, both examples have distorted hands. In the example on the left, the fingers of both hands appear to merge together. In the example of the right, her left hand has six unnaturally long fingers, while her right hand has a ridiculously long thumb.

Recommended : Was Joan Rivers Killed For Insulting The Obamas?!

Fact #3 : Online Tools Confirmed Images Were AI-Generated

Just in case you don’t trust my Mark 1 eyeballs, or my common sense, you will be glad to know that two online tools used to detect AI-generated photos – AI or Not, and Illuminarty, have confirmed all four photos were generated using AI image generators.

Fact #4 : Michelle Obama Was Born A Woman

There is no need for Michelle Obama to release any photos of herself pregnant to prove that she is a woman.

Even if you ignore the fact that she gave birth to two girls, Michelle Obama grew up as a female. Her family and friends only knew her as a girl and then, a woman. Never as a boy or a man who later became transgender.

Michelle Obama sometimes shares photos of her childhood on her Instagram account. They are all proof that she grew up as a girl, never as a boy.

On the other hand, all these claims that she was born a boy has never been backed by any evidence.

Read more : Do Photos Prove Michelle Obama Is Transgender?!

Fact #5 : Michelle Obama Gave Birth To Two Girls

Claims that Michelle Obama was born a man is not only false, it’s absurdly ridiculous, because she gave birth to two girls – Malia Obama and Sasha Obama.

For those who are wondering – transgender women cannot give birth, or suffer miscarriages, as they were born men, and lack both ovaries and uterus. And no, Malia and Sasha Obama were not adopted

Ultimately, these fake photos, and claims about Michelle Obama being transgender, are just attempts by misogynists and Republicans of the MAGA persuasion to disparage Barack and Michelle Obama.

As the 2024 US Presidential Election draws close, you can expect more rumours of Michelle Obama joining the race, and even more fake news and photos about her.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Did Putin Threaten To Release 9/11 Satellite Evidence?!

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin threaten to release secret satellite evidence of US government’s involvement in the 9/11 attacks?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-09-21 : Added new information on the Pravda article, and the Russian satellite.
Originally posted @ 2022-03-11

 

Claim : Putin Threatened To Release 9/11 Satellite Evidence!

People are sharing a long message which claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to release secret satellite evidence of US government involvement in the 9/11 attacks!

They appear to believe that Putin issued this threat in retaliation for US sanctions against Russia, and military assistance to Ukraine. It’s a long post, so please skip to the next section for the facts…

Putin is going to hit once, but he’s going to hit hard. Russia is preparing the release of evidence of the involvement of the US government and intelligence services in the September 11 attacks. The list of evidence includes satellite images.

Recommended : Did US Send Nuclear AEGIS Missiles To Ukraine?!

 

Truth : Putin Did Not Threaten To Release 9/11 Satellite Evidence!

This is yet another example of pro-Russia FAKE NEWS that are spamming social media, as well as WhatsApp and Telegram groups. Here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Pravda Article Was Posted In February 2015

The Pravda article (translated archive | original Russian) was actually posted on 7 February 2015, and updated on 10 February 2015. This was specifically mentioned in the 2015 examples :

VT Editor’s note:  Russian satellite evidence proving the controlled demolition of the World Trade Center using “special weapons” was reviewed by a VT editor while in Moscow.

The article below was forwarded to us for publication in the US and translated from Russian. It is 3 days old, published on February 7, 2015.

The fake news creators removed that section, to mislead you into thinking that this was a new threat by Putin in 2022 and 2023.

Fact #2 : No Evidence Putin Threatened To Release 9/11 Satellite Photos

Even though the viral post is based on a Pravda article, there never was any evidence that Vladimir Putin himself actually threatened to release satellite photos, or evidence of any 9/11 conspiracy.

The Pravda article itself did not make that claim. It only claimed that Russia is “preparing” to release evidence of the involvement of the US government and intelligence services in the 9/11 attacks.

Fact #3 : Russia Did Not Release Any Evidence Of 9/11 Conspiracy

If the Pravda article is true, then Russia is taking an extraordinarily long time to release evidence of a 9/11 conspiracy by the US government and intelligence services.

Despite preparing for over 8.5 years – since February 2015 – the Russian government has never released any evidence of any conspiracy by the US government in the September 11 attacks.

No satellite imagery… no photos… no documents… no evidence in any form or manner. Why not? Does it take that long to develop and digitise the photos from Russian satellites?

Recommended : Did NATO Promise Russia Never To Expand East?!

Fact #3 : Russian Satellites Were Terrible In 2001

It would also be quite a feat for Russia to provide “conclusive satellite imagery” as the Pravda article alleges, as Russian electro-optical satellites were not quite “state-of-the-art” in 2001, and that’s being generous.

At that time, they used the Yantar-4K2 (Cobalt / Kobalt) satellite – a slightly improved version of the Yantar-4KS1M (Neman / Неман) satellite, which had a resolution of just under a meter using the Zhemchug-18 camera.

These satellites have a limited lifespan of just 26 to 32 weeks, and used film which could be returned using two small canisters mid-mission, and a larger reentry module at the end.

Russia only had one in operation at that time – (Космос 2377) Cosmos 2377, which was launched on 29 May 2001, and dropped out of orbit on 10 October 2001.

Cosmos 2377 could plausibly have taken photos of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, but the images was likely only as good as the Maxar IKONOS commercial imaging satellite.

Note that the Kobalt satellite is different from the Kobalt-M (Yantar-4K2M) satellite, which features upgraded optics with reported image resolution of 30 cm (0.3m), and a modernised platform. The first Kobalt-M satellite was launched on 24 September 2004.

Fact #4 : There Are Many Satellite Images Of 9/11 Attack

There is no real need for the Russians to share their satellite photos, because there are many publicly-available satellite photos on the September 11 attacks.

The private satellite imaging company, Maxar, for example, shared this high-resolution photo of ground zero at the World Trade Center on 15 September, 2001.

Taken by IKONOS, which had a resolution of 0.82 to 1 metre, it gives you a good idea of the image quality and resolution that are already available for free to the public. So it begs the question – do the Russians really have better images than that?

Recommended : Did Russia Capture US General Roger Cloutier In Azovstal?!

Fact #5 : Satellites Have Limitations

Despite being extremely useful, imaging satellites not magical instruments. They have limitations in what they can and cannot do.

For example, they have to generally stay in a pre-determined orbit, and “fly through” an area – leaving large gaps during which there is no coverage.

They also cannot look inside or under solid objects – planes, buildings, trees; and their view can be obscured by smoke and clouds, unless they have multi-spectral ability.

You can see how the smoke obscures the picture in this Maxar image taken of the Manhattan financial district on September 11, 2001.

It is therefore highly improbable that any satellite image from way up high would have captured “incriminating evidence” of the US government’s involvement in the September 11 attacks.

Recommended : Are Nazis From Japan Fighting For Ukraine?!

Fact #6 : 9/11 Attack Was Committed By Al Qaeda

In the past 22 years, the many conspiracy theories have all been repeatedly looked into and debunked.

We now know, with absolute certainty, that the September 11 attacks were conceived by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, approved by Osama bin Laden, and carried out by nineteen Al Qaeda terrorists.

There was no US government involvement in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Osama bin Laden himself claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks on several occasions. You don’t need a satellite to know that.

Now that you know the truth, please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check out!

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Mexico Did It Photo : Can It Infect Your Phone With Virus?!

Can the “Mexico Did It” photo infect your phone with a virus in just 5 seconds?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-09-13 : Revised for a new wave
Originally posted @ 2022-11-07

 

Claim : “Mexico Did It” Photo Will Infect Your Phone With A Virus!

The warning about the “Mexico Did It” photo or image that will infect your phone with a virus keeps going… viral on WhatsApp and social media.

There are two versions so far – in English, and in Spanish.

FYI: They are going to publish an image that shows how Covid 19 is cured in Mexico and it is called “Mexico did it”, do not open it because it enters the phone in 5 seconds and it cannot be stopped in any way. It’s a virus. Pass it on to your friends and family. Now they also said it on CNN and BBC. DO NOT OPEN IT

Pass it on

Van a publicar una imagen que muestra como el Covid 19 se cura en Mexico y se llama “Mexico lo hizo” no lo abran porque entra al telefono en 5 segundos y no se puede frenar de ninguna forma. Es un virus. Pasenlo a sus familiares y amigos. Ahora lo dijeron tambien en CNN y BBC

Recommended : Can Morocco Earthquake Seismic Wave Card Hack Your Phone?!

 

Truth : There Is No “Mexico Did It” Photo / Virus!

This is just another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Viral Message Has Been Circulating Since 2021

The viral message about the “Mexico Did It” photo or virus has been circulating on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter since April 2021.

Fact #2 : This Is A Modified Version Of “Argentina Is Doing It”

This viral message is actually a modified version of an earlier fake message, which claims that a video on WhatsApp called “Argentina is doing it” will hack your phone in 10 seconds.

It just replaces Argentina with Mexico, a video with a photo, and changes it from a 10-second hack into a 5-second virus attack.

Those two fake news are, in turn, probably based on the even older fake claim that hackers are using greeting photos and videos to hack your phone.

Read more : Can Greeting Photos + Videos Hack Your Phone?!

Fact #3 : There Is No “Mexico Did It” Photo / Virus

There is no such thing as a “Mexico Did It” image or photo. Neither is there a virus called “Mexico Did It“.

There is also no known virus that can infect your phone with a virus simply using a photo or image.

Fact #4 : CNN + BBC Never Reported On Such A virus

It’s been over 2.5 years since this fake story first appeared on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, but neither CNN nor BBC has ever reported on a “Mexico Did It” virus.

Fact #5 : Image-Based Malware Is Possible, But…

Digital steganography is a method by which secret messages and other data can be hidden in digital files, like a photo or a video, or even a music file.

It is also possible to embed malicious code within a photo, but it won’t be a full-fledged malware that can execute by itself.

At most, it can be used to hide the malware payload from antivirus scanners, which is pretty clever to be honest… but it cannot hack your smartphone by itself.

Recommended : Can Restaurant Menu QR Code Hack Your Phone?!

Fact #6 : Image-Based Malware Requires User Action

In January 2019, cybercriminals created an online advertisement with a script that appears innocuous and would pass any malware check.

However, the image itself has an “almost white” rectangle that is recognised by the script, triggering it to redirect the user to the cybercriminals’ website. Once there, the victim is tricked into installing a Trojan disguised as an Adobe Flash Player update.

Such a clever way to bypass malware checks, but even so, this image-based malware requires user action.

You cannot get infected by the Trojan if you practice good “Internet hygiene” by not downloading or installing anything from unknown websites.

Fact #7 : Malicious Code Executes Immediately

If you accidentally download and trigger malware, it will execute immediately. It won’t take 5 seconds, as the hoax message claims.

Generally, malware won’t wait a few seconds before it infects your devices. Waiting will only increase the risk of detection.

Unless the malware creator designed it to only infect your phone when you are sleeping (like the early hours of the morning), it pays to execute immediately.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Is This The New US Ambassador To Jamaica + His Wife?!

A photo allegedly showing the new US ambassador to Jamaica and his wife at a party has gone viral on social media! Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-07-31 : Added fact check video, and photo of Joyce Perry
Originally posted @ 2023-07-29

 

Claim : This Is New US Ambassador To Jamaica + His Wife!

This photo that allegedly shows the new US ambassador to Jamaica and his wife at a party has gone viral on social media, with people claiming that Jamaica has refused to accredit them as a couple because they are gay!

George Njoroge : The new US Ambassador to Jamaica and his ‘wife’. Jamaica is refusing to accredit them as a couple as they don’t recognise gay marriages.

The US in turn is refusing to renew the diplomatic status of Jamaican Ambassador to US and Consulate General in Miami… A diplomatic row is brewing 😅

JustSociety : This is the new US ambassador to Jamaica and his wife. Jamaica is in a rage over this but the US says they will cut off all aid to Jamaica if they do not let him and his wife go there to do their job. 🤷

That Lunda Guy : The New US ambassador to Jamaica with his wife, Jamaica refusing to accredit them as Jamaica doesn’t recognize gay marriages. The Us is planning to close down Jamaican consulate in Miami.

Recommended : Did EU Torture + Kill Hundreds Of African Refugees?!

 

Truth : This Is Not The US Ambassador To Jamaica + His Wife!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS designed to disparage the LGBT community, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Jamaica Refused To Accredit Spouse Of US Diplomat

First, let me start by pointing out that this fake photo appears to be circulating over claims that the Jamaican government is refusing to accredit the spouse of an incoming US diplomat, because same-sex marriage is not recognised in Jamaica.

The Jamaican media also claimed that the US State Department has retaliated by refusing to extend the stay of some Jamaican diplomats.

Jamaican authorities, including Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamina Johnson Smith, allegedly argued that accrediting the gay spouse of that US diplomat would be in breach of the Jamaican constitution.

However, the Jamaican ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, has downplayed those reports, saying that US denials to the extension for serving diplomats are nothing new, and not related to the current diplomatic spat.

Over the past two years, we have requested a few extensions, and some were denied. The fact is that the USA gave two years’ notice of this policy change, and many persons who were or will be affected have been here for well over five years.

Such long-term stays in the US were never the intent of these work visas when they were issued, so this policy is an effort by the USA to return to the diplomatic accreditations’ original intent. As a government, we agree and respect this policy position.

Marks also explained that the US requested to extend diplomatic privileges and immunity to the same-sex spouse on June 20, 2023. Jamaica declined the request on July 5, and contrary to claims, the United States did not repeat their request:

Based on the foregoing, and the timeliness of the response, it is clear that the request by the United States was not ignored and contrary to reports, no ‘second demand’ was made.

Recommended : Viral Photo Of Luxembourg PM + His Wife Is FAKE!

Fact #2 : That Was Photo Of Conchita Wurst + Andre Karsai

The viral photo is actually of famous Austrian singer and drag queen, Conchita Wurst, and her business manager and the executive director of her company, Andre Karsai.

Conchita is actually the drag queen persona of Thomas Neuwirth, with a fictional backstory – Conchita was born in the mountains of Colombia, and married to French burlesque dancer Jacques Patriaque (Neuwirth’s actual friend)

He says this Conchita Wurst persona is similar to Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce alter-ego, and uses it as a way to protect his private life.

Neuwirth is gay but not a trans woman. He uses the he/him pronouns when referring to himself, but uses she/her to describe his Conchita Wurst character.

Conchita Wurst is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. She also had a cameo in the 2020 movie, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

Here is an interesting fact about the character’s name. Conchita is a Spanish slang word for vagina, while Wurst is a German slang word for penis. So Conchita Wurst literally means vagina penis!

In 2019, Neuwirth introduced a new mononymous persona called WURST, which would allow for a “more masculine expression”.

Recommended : Do Photos Prove Michelle Obama Is Transgender?!

Fact #3 : That Photo Was Taken At 2019 Vienna Opera Ball

The viral photo was taken at the Vienna Opera Ball that took place 28 February, 2019, by Jeff Mangione of Kurier magazine. Here is Conchita Wurst with the Austrian Minister of Justice, Dr. Josef Moser.

Recommended : Eurovision: Did Polish Presenter Give Nazi Salute To Ukraine?!

And this was her Instagram post at Wiener Opernball 2019 :

Fact #4 : No Evidence US Is Closing Jamaica Consulate In Miami

Embassies and consulates are legally considered to be the territory of the country they represent. Therefore, the Jamaica consulate in Miami is legally Jamaican territory.

While the US can order the closure of embassies and consulates, and expel the foreign diplomatic staff, this only happens when there is a serious deterioration of relations.

There is no evidence that the US is planning to order the closure of the Jamaican consulate in Miami.

Fact #5 : US Ambassador To Jamaica Is N. Nick Perry

The US Ambassador to Jamaica is Noah Nickolas Perry, who assumed his office on May 13, 2022, after being confirmed in the US Senate on March 10, 2022.

To be clear – he remains the US Ambassador to Jamaica. Furthermore, he is not in a same-sex marriage – his wife is Joyce Perry, who bore him two children.

Vice President Kamala Harris administers the oat of office for US Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry, with his wife, Joyce Perry, holding the family bible, May 9, 2022

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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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.

 

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Who Captured This Amazing Rainbow Photo At 30,000 Feet?!

Was this viral photo of an amazing full circle rainbow captured by a pilot flying at 30,000 feet?!

Take a look at the photo, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : This Rare Rainbow Was Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!

People are sharing what they claim is a rare rainbow captured by Lloyd J Ferraro, a pilot flying over the Pacific Ocean at at an altitude of 30,000 feet.

Rainbow at 30,000 Feet: Pilot’s Photo Captures Rare and Breathtaking Sight

A rare sight was captured from the cockpit of a commercial airplane as pilot Lloyd J Ferraro took a stunning photograph of a complete rainbow from an altitude of 30,000 feet. The breathtaking image shows the colors of the rainbow in their full spectrum, arching gracefully across the sky.

Rainbows have long been a source of fascination for people around the world, with their vivid colors and seemingly magical appearance. While rainbows can be seen from the ground after a storm, it is much rarer to witness a complete rainbow from the vantage point of an airplane.

Recommended : Leaked Last Messages From OceanGate Titan Sub?!

 

Truth : Rare Rainbow Was Not Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!

This is yet another example of FAKE PHOTOS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Photo Was Not Taken By Lloyd J Ferraro

Lead Stories spoke to the pilot, Lloyd J Ferraro, on March 1, 2023. He has seen circular rainbows while flying, but he did not take that viral photo.

Ferraro shared that both he and his colleague copied and shared the rainbow image on social media, but he did not take the photo himself.

Fact #2 : Circular Rainbows Are Not Particularly Rare

Lloyd J Ferraro said that full-circle rainbows are not as rare as people think, and people do not need to be in an airplane to see one – a full circle rainbow can be observed from any high vantage point, like a mountain top.

In fact, NASA featured this full circle rainbow photo as its Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 27, 2022. That amazing photo of a full circle rainbow was taken using a drone by Swiss photographer Lukas Moesch over the Lofoten islands of Norway.

NASA also explained why full circle rainbows are more commonly seen from the air, instead of the ground.

Have you ever seen an entire rainbow? From the ground, typically, only the top portion of a rainbow is visible because directions toward the ground have fewer raindrops. From the air, though, the entire 360-degree circle of a rainbow is more commonly visible.

Pictured here, a full-circle rainbow was captured over the Lofoten Islands of Norway in September by a drone passing through a rain shower.

An observer-dependent phenomenon primarily caused by the internal reflection of sunlight by raindrops, the rainbow has a full diameter of 84 degrees. The Sun is in the exact opposite direction from the rainbow’s center. As a bonus, a second rainbow that was more faint and color-reversed was visible outside the first.

Recommended : Did Beyonce Flash Her Fans At Paris Concert?!

Fact #3 : Rainbow Photo Originated In Xiaohongshu

Lloyd J Ferraro could not have been the creator of the photo, because the viral photo of the rare circular rainbow circulated much earlier.

It appeared to have been posted in the Facebook group, Beautiful Nature, as part of a 5-photo collection of rainbows on February 6, 2023. After that, it went viral with many people sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.

But a closer examination of these photos will show a digital watermark at their lower right corners. These photos were created by someone with the user ID of 5463530014 on the Chinese social shopping platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

Fact #4 : Professor Labelled Rainbow Photo As Fake

Lead Stories asked Roland Stull, a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of British Columbia to analyse the photo. He labelled it as a fake rainbow photo, and explained why:

It is fake. Rainbows form a circle centered around the shadow of the photographer or the camera; namely, looking away from the sun.

In the photo you attached, based on the sides of the clouds that are illuminated by the sun, the rainbow incorrectly appears to be in the direction of the sun, not opposite to the sun. Also, the rainbow circle itself appears to be incorrectly touching the location in the sky where the sun is (even though it is hidden behind a cloud), instead of the circle being centered on a shadow opposite to the sun (i.e., centered around the “anti-solar” point).

Recommended : Did Beyonce Flash Her Fans At Paris Concert?!

Fact #5 : Rainbow Photo Most Likely Generated By AI

It is not possible to know if the fake rainbow photo was digitally drawn by an artist, or created by AI image generators.

However, due to the numerous examples of similar rainbow photos with the same tone and colour palette, they were all likely generated by text-to-image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E or Stable Diffusion.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

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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.

 

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Prince William Banned Photos With Kate Middleton?!

Did Prince William just ban photos with his wife, Kate Middleton?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Prince William Banned Photos With Kate Middleton!

People are sharing a Music Mundial article which claims that Prince William has been forbidden from being photographed with his wife, Kate Middleton!

Here is the viral Music Mundial article. Please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Prince William is reportedly forbidden to be photographed with his wife Kate Middleton

Recommended : Is Prince William Violently Abusing Kate Middleton?!

 

Truth : Prince William Did Not Ban Photos With Kate Middleton!

This is yet another example of celebrity FAKE NEWS created by Music Mundial to generate page views, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Prince William Annoyed At Being Cropped Out

The quotation that Prince William was “a little annoyed” is based on an opinion by royal expert Roya Nikkhah.

On June 6, 2023, Roya told told True Royalty TV that the Prince of Wales is “slightly” bothered that he was being “cropped out of photos” by the press.

Fact #2 : Prince William Did Not Ban Photos With His Wife

Music Mundial falsely claimed that Prince William has banned photographs of him being taken next to his wife. There was no such ban. And no legitimate media has reported on this. Only Music Mundial is making this baseless claim.

It would be stupid for Prince William to ban photos of himself with Kate Middleton, because that is precisely what the press would prefer. It would simply save them the job of cropping him out of the photos!

Fact #3 : Prince William Is Not Jealous Of Kate Middleton

Music Mundial suggested that Prince William does not want to be seen with Kate Middleton because he was “very much ego-driven”. As Roya Nikkhah pointed out, that’s completely untrue:

William is delighted by the fact that people warm to Catherine.

Recommended : Did Prince William Finally Dump Rose Hanbury?!

Fact #4 : Prince William Likes To Be Photographed With Kate Middleton

Music Mundial claimed that Prince William has banned being photographed next to his wife, Kate Middleton. The truth is he likes to be photographed with his wife.  As Kate Mansey, assistant editor of The Mail pointed out:

I don’t think it’s jealousy of Kate. It’s more that Kate and William have worked hard to create an image of themselves together as a united front. So, when they’re on jobs together, they’d like to be pictured together—as a team.

Royal expert, Hannah Fernando, also agreed:

When they work together, he would like them to be photographed together, as a team, noted royal expert Hannah Fernando.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Music Mundial Fake News

This appears to be nothing more than yet another example of celebrity fake news posted by Music Mundial. Here are examples of Music Mundial fake news that I looked into recently:

Everything Music Mundial posts should be considered as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

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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.

 

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Did Brooklyn Couple Steal Palestinian Couple’s Home?!

Did a couple from Brooklyn steal a home that was once owned by an elderly Palestinian couple?!

Take a look at the photo that Michael Moore made viral, and find out what the FACTS really are!

 

Claim : Brooklyn Couple Stole Palestinian Couple’s Home!

People keep sharing this photo as evidence that Americans / Israelis are stealing Palestinian homes, every time there is a conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

It notably went viral in May 2021, after Michael Moore posted it on his Facebook wall, and keeps going viral every few months since then.

If someone took/stole your home right now, and moved you out because a theocracy ordered it — or what if this same theocracy bulldozed your home and tossed you out into a field and told you and your children to GTF outta here — what would YOUR response be?

What would you have the moral right to do about it? And to be perfectly clear, I don’t care if it was a Christian Fascist German soldier in 1941 forcibly removing you from your home, or an American bank in 2008 forcibly removing you and kicking you to the curb while taking your home — it’s gut-check time, folks (and yes, I mean you too, fellow pacifists):

What would you have the moral and human right and DUTY to do about it, to respond to it, to stop it? And would the rest of the world just stand by and let you suffer as it so often does?

When do we all just put a stop to this, to grind the gears of the machine to a complete halt and replace the plutocracy (we’re not a democracy), the theocracy (you’re not a democracy), and any racial, religious or corporate supremacy with TRUE democracy, FULL human rights, and love?

 

Truth : Brooklyn Couple Did NOT Steal Palestinian Couple’s Home!

This is a rather iconic photo – a Palestinian couple looking at what used to be their ancestral home, now occupied by an Israeli couple. We decided to investigate the photo, and here was what we found…

Fact #1 : The Photo Was Taken In Israel

This photo is genuine, and was taken in the village of Ijzim, about 30 minutes south of Haifa in Israel.

Just to be clear, Ijzim is not in the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip – territory under partial or full Palestinian control.

Fact #2 : The Photo Was Taken In 2020

Despite what people may say, this photo was not taken recently. It was taken and published in May 2020. The last time the elderly Palestinian couple was in Ijzim was 72 years ago.

Fact #3 : Ijzim Was Depopulated In 1948

Israel captured Ijzim during the 1948 War, and the majority of the villagers fled or were expelled during the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe). The Israelis quickly demolished the Arab houses to make way for permanent Jewish settlements.

Photo credit : Fred Csasznik – Front cover of The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem by Benny Morris, Cambridge University Press 1989.

Fact #4 : Palestinians No Longer Own These Lands

While the Nakba can be argued as morally wrong, this is not an uncommon practice whenever a country annexes or conquers a region.

For example, the Soviet Union expelled Germans from East Prussia after World War 2, and gave the southern part to Poland, while Lithuania was given the northern part.

Today, East Prussia is part of Poland and Lithuania – both members of the European Union and NATO. Germans who were expelled between 1945 and 1949 can visit their ancestral homes, but they cannot claim ownership over those lands.

More directly – there is no evidence the elderly Palestinian couple have any paper to prove their prior ownership of the land on which their home used to be.

Fact #5 : The House Was Not Their Home

The house in the photo is not the same house that the elderly Palestinian couple used to live in. That house, which belonged to the Palestinian man’s father, was demolished during the Nakba, and a new home was built on the land.

So it is factually wrong to say that the elderly Palestinian couple was looking at “the house they once lived in“. The house they were looking at is completely different from the house they once lived in.

That does not mean that the Palestinian couple has no right to feel hurt over their loss. It was, after all, where they once lived. But whether they are entitled to that land that they abandoned more than 70 years ago is another question altogether.

Fact #6 : It Was Part Of An Al-Jazeera Project

For those who doubt the authenticity of the photo, I can confirm that it is genuine and was taken as part of an al-Jazeera project.

In May 2020, Najwan Simri of Al Jazeera took an elderly Palestinian couple to visit their original homes and to meet their current Israeli residents. Here is the Al Jazeera video clip, as well as an English translation.

Some towns and cities inside the Green Line will become the hope of those in the diaspora. But they will also become a station of refuge for others.

Here lives a family uprooted from a nearby village. We had an appointment with Hajjeh Im Samir to accompany her there. Her [ailing] husband insisted on coming with us because he said the air of Ijzim is the best cure.

Despite its beauty, the road there seems desolate as if it gets you to the place but doesn’t take you there. Eagerly, Im Samir organizes our tour for us and tells us the names of the [Palestinian] owners of the houses.

Our first stop is God’s house. Its stones have been preserved as they were. Alone, the colors of its locked doors change each time the dryness of the seasons intensifies.

Here, Abu Samir does not stay in the car because this stop [station] is the location for which he has most longed in order to banish the other stations of his life. “This was our house, my father’s house. After the ‘48 wars, the Jews occupied it.”

After a few minutes, the residents of the house come out to [the gate]. They ask us what we want. We say, this is the owner of the house; how do you feel living in a house built on the wreckage of his house? [The answer] Frankly, I don’t feel anything. I am very happy. Living here is very enjoyable.

How strange is the distance between the owner of the house and he who is occupying it. How strange is the irony between he who has to stand inside the gate and he who must stand outside the gate. How strong Abu Samir is! For other uprooted people have refused to accompany us [on our tour]. One of them told us that he cannot bear to glimpse through the window of his father’s house a foreigner living there.

And that [glimpse] could possibly be of a strange symbol, like [what is glimpsed through the window] of a stolen [Palestinian] school converted into a temple with an emblem [the flag of Israel] that is not as old as the memory of the stones of the school.

And so, an extreme picture! It is said that the passage of time helps in forgetting, but, in the Palestinian case, it seems that the equation of time is different and that the years are merely a number. Rather, the longer the banishment of the Palestinians is, the more they remember.

– This is Najwan Simri, reporting from the depopulated village of Ijzim for Al Jazeera.

Fact #7 : No Evidence The Couple Was From Brooklyn

The most authoritative source for this photo was Al Jazeera, and even they did not identify the Israeli couple, much less confirmed that they were from Brooklyn, New York City.

Despite my extensive searching, I could find no source to back up this claim. None of the earlier posts using this picture – in May to June 2020 – even mentioned that the Israeli couple were from Brooklyn.

Therefore, it is highly likely that their Brooklyn origin is completely bogus, and was added much later.

Many detractors have pointed out that this is of no importance. If that is true, then I ask – why lie about this? Why claim, without evidence, that the couple was from Brooklyn?

IMHO, it must have been important for the people who added this “Brooklyn” connection to tie this “occupation” of Palestinian land to the Americans. Hence, the necessity to claim that the Jewish couple was from the United States.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Do Photos Prove Michelle Obama Is Transgender?!

Do viral photos circulating on social media prove that Michelle Obama is really a transgender woman who was born a man?!

Take a look at those viral photos, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Photos Prove Michelle Obama Is Transgender Woman!

People are sharing photos that claim to prove that Michelle Obama is really a transgender woman who was born a man, with comments like:

WeLoveTrump : Joan Rivers “Died Suddenly” After Making This Comment About Michelle Obama…

Michelle Obama is a man that used to be named Michael. Obama is gay #TrumpIsBetter

She’s a transgender woman, born male and still male..he probably has a bigger man piece than you & proud of it.  God’s children tell the truth, they don’t conceal truth, only Lucifer’s ppl do that..

Stew Peters : I am open to the idea that Michelle Robinson was born a female, though it seems unlikely. One way or another, she’s got something swinging around down there.

Recommended : Was Joan Rivers Killed For Insulting The Obamas?!

 

Truth : Photos Do NOT Prove Michelle Obama Is Transgender Woman!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created to disparage Michelle Obama by misogynists and Republicans of the MAGA persuasion, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Michelle Obama Gave Birth To Two Girls

The claims that Michelle Obama is a transgender woman who was born a man is not only false, it’s absurdly ridiculous, because she gave birth to two girls – Malia Obama and Sasha Obama.

In November 2018, Michelle Obama even opened up about her experience with infertility, revealing that she suffered a miscarriage early in their marriage. Eventually she and former President Barack Obama resorted to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) to conceive Malia and Sasha.

For those who are wondering – transgender women cannot give birth, or suffer miscarriages, as they were born men, and lack both ovaries and uterus.

And no, Malia and Sasha Obama were not adopted

Recommended : Was President Joe Biden Caught Molesting A Little Girl?!

Malia Obama with her new baby sister, Sasha (2001)

Fact #2 : Michelle Obama Was Female All Her Life

Even if you ignore the fact that she gave birth to two girls, Michelle Obama grew up as a female. Her family and friends only knew her as a girl and then, a woman. Never as a boy or a man who later became transgender.

Michelle Obama sometimes shares photos of her childhood on her Instagram account. They are all proof that she grew up as a girl, never as a boy.

On the other hand, all these claims that she was born a boy has never been backed by any evidence.

Fact #3 : Michelle Obama Photos Were Edited

I investigated three of the most common photos that people were sharing as “evidence” that Michelle Obama is a transgender woman, and by extension, former President Barack Obama is a gay man.

This first photo, which claims to show Michelle Obama scratching her itchy crotch / penis, was photoshopped using a photo taken by AFP photographer, Jewel Samad.

The original photo is available on Getty Images as photo number 167345551, with the description:

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 24, 2013 to leave for Dallas, Texas. Obama was heading to Dallas, Texas to attend a Democratic National Committee event later in the day. He will also attend a memorial service in Waco on Thursday for the victims of the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad

The original photo shows Michelle Obama looking down with her right hand covering her crotch, likely fighting against the wind from the spinning helicopter blades.

It was edited to change the angle of her hand, which is why her dress is suddenly much wider. The fake news creator then added the “crotch”.

Recommended : Was Joe Biden Caught Groping Girl On Viral Video?!

This viral (but fake) photo was edited from an original photo posted by former President Barack Obama on January 17, 2019, to celebrate Michelle Obama’s birthday.

The fake news creator changed her hairstyle, giving her a crewcut, and made her face wider to make it look masculine.

This viral photo of Michelle Obama with a visible penis bulge was a screenshot from a video of the Democratic National Convention, when she gave a speech on August 25, 2008.

Tens of millions of people watched her speech, and dozens of photographers took photos of Michelle Obama from the moment she walked onto the stage of the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado that day.

If Michelle Obama really sported a penis bulge that day, it would have been captured in the videos and photos taken that day.

However, none of the real photos taken by photographers that day showed a penis bulge. The viral photo was evidently edited to add a penis bulge.

I should also point out, again, that Michelle Obama could not have given birth to her two daughters (who accompanied her that day) if she was a transgender woman.

Recommended : Was Prince William Caught Seducing Jacinda Ardern?!

Fact #4 : This Is Just Fake News About Politicians

This is yet another example of fake news about politicians and their families, just like these examples:

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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.

 

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Did Pentagon Just Get Hit By A Large Explosion?!

Was the Pentagon just hit by a large explosion?! Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Pentagon Was Just Hit By A Large Explosion!

A photo of an explosion at the Pentagon has gone viral on social media, with multiple “blue check” Twitter accounts, an Indian media outlet and Russian state media sharing it!

RT : Reports of an explosion near the Pentagon in Washington DC

Bloomberg Feed : Large Explosion near The Pentagon Complex in Washington D.C. – Initial Report

⚠️BREAKING – Initial Reports of a Large Explosion near The Pentagon Complex in Washington D.C.
A Fire is currently Burning at the Location of the Blast with Fire and Rescue Crews arriving On-Scene.

Initial Reports of a Large Explosion near The #Pentagon Complex in #Washington D.C.
A Fire is currently Burning at the Location of the Blast with Fire and Rescue Crews arriving On-Scene.

Recommended : Did US Send Nuclear AEGIS Missiles To Ukraine?!

 

Truth : Pentagon Was Not Hit By A Large Explosion!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created using AI technology, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : There Was No Pentagon Explosion

First, let me just confirmed that there was no explosion at the Pentagon yesterday or today. The Pentagon did not come under attack, as many people have claimed.

For one thing – no legitimate media outlet has reported on such an explosion. No, propaganda outlets like Russia Today (RT) do not count.

This incident has shown just how unreliable RT really is – it was the only state media agency to post the fake photo. RT deleted the photo hours later, but did not appear to apologise for the “mistake”.

Furthermore, police and fire officials in Arlington, Virgina, have confirmed that the viral photo is fake, and that there was no incident at the Pentagon. No explosion. No fire. No smoke.

@PFPAOfficial and the ACFD are aware of a social media report circulating online about an explosion near the Pentagon.

There is NO explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon reservation, and there is no immediate danger or hazards to the public.

Fact #2 : That Is Not The Pentagon

Anyone who has seen the facade / side profile of the Pentagon will immediately realise that the photo does not show the famous building.

The fake building looks like like a university than the Pentagon, which has a flat, sloping roof without a triangular Gable roof.

The facade of the Pentagon is also almost flat and uniform, with uniform, same-sized windows throughout.

Recommended : Did US + UK Create COVID-19 As Bioweapon?!

Fact #3 : The Photo Was AI Generated

The viral photo appears to be created using an AI image generator. If you look closely at the photo, you will see many discrepancies that suggest it was AI-generated:

  • The facade of the building is distorted, with some windows merging together.
  • The fence suddenly turns into crowd barriers, both of which have distortions with holes too.
  • The lamp post appears to be distorted and cut off from its base, literally floating sideways.

Not shown below, but the concrete walkway also gradually fades into grass, which is another sign it was AI-generated.

Recommended : Did Boston Dynamics Just Create A Fighting Robot?!

Fact #4 : Twitter Blue + Gold Accounts Helped Spread Fake Photo!

It is important to point out that while this viral photo tricked many people into thinking it was real, it was the new Twitter Blue and Twitter Gold accounts that helped it go viral.

The photo went viral because multiple Twitter Blue accounts shared the fake photo. Because many people still believe that blue check Twitter accounts are “verified” and therefore trustworthy, they shared it out too.

Elon Musk is responsible for this debacle, by allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry to purchase a blue check to masquerade as a “verified” Twitter account. That was how the fake Bloomberg Feed account was able to trick so many people to share this fake photo.

On top of that, Russian state media – RT (Russia Today) boosted the fake photo by reposting it on its Twitter Gold account, which is a paid and verified account. Even though RT finally deleted the tweet hours later, more than 38,000 people had already viewed the post, and many shared it because they believed RT verified the news.

Fact #5 : Indian News Channel Helped Spread Fake Photo

It also did not help that Republic TV – a right-wing, English language news channel in India, broadcasted a “Live & Breaking” news of the Pentagon explosion using nothing more than that fake photo!

To top it off, they even invited Professor Madhav Nalapat – “an international affairs expert” to opine on the fake explosion!

To be fair – Republic TV relied on RT to verify that news, with a chyron saying, “RT REPORTS EXPLOSION NEAR PENTAGON“. That ought to teach them for relying on Russian state media for facts…

Recommended : Did ICC Just Issue Arrest Warrant For Joe Biden?!

Fact #6 : This Is Just AI-Generated Fake News!

This is yet another example of fake photos / videos / news created by artificial intelligence. Here are some other examples I fact checked recently:

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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.

 

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Did Tom Hanks Just Die Suddenly?!

Did Hollywood legend Tom Hanks just die suddenly from an unspecified cause of death?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Tom Hanks Just Died Suddenly!

People are sharing YouTube, Facebook and TikTok videos claiming that Hollywood legend Tom Hanks just died suddenly of an unspecified cause of death, with titles like :

10 minutes ago : Tom Hanks passed away | R.I.P. Tom Hanks

Stop breathing 5 minutes ago / RIP Legendary Hollywood actor Tom Hanks / Goodbye Tom Hanks #tomhanks

10 Minutes Ago Sad News Tom Hands Is Pass Away Expected Soon Family Prepared To Say Goodbye

R.I.P. Tom Hanks touches our hearts with this tearful goodbye

R.I.P. It’s With Our Deepest Regret to Report About Tom Hanks Mourns Beloved

R.I.P. Tom Hanks : Tom Hanks dead 2023

Recommended : Did Clint Eastwood Just Die From Ligma Virus?!

 

Truth : Tom Hanks Did Not Die Suddenly

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by people to generate income from page views and advertising, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Tom Hanks Is Still Alive + Well!

Tom Hanks is still very much alive and well, as of May 16, 2023, when his interview on The Adam Buxton podcast was released. In that interview, he said that AI may allow him to continue appearing in movies even after he dies.

I can tell you that there is discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property.

What is a bona fide possibility right now is, if I wanted to, I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come.

Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology. I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but performances can go on and on and on and on.

Of course, that podcast was recorded earlier – on April 18. But on the same day the podcast was released, Tom Hanks himself posted about his wife’s latest record with Emily Shackleton – I Loved You First.

Tom Hanks is also on a book tour, to promote his novel – The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. On May 16, he was in Tulsa for a book signing and a Q&A session with his fans.

So yeah, Tom Hanks is very much alive, well, and healthy!

Recommended : Did Simon Cowell Just Die In A Tragic Car Crash?!

Fact #2 : No Legitimate Media Outlet Reported His Death

These YouTube / TikTok / Facebook videos have been circulating for weeks and months, but people don’t seem to notice that no legitimate media has reported his death.

When Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, got infected with COVID-19, the worldwide media breathlessly reported on their condition – they were both fine.

No legitimate media outlet has reported that he died recently from any cause. Why should you believe random YouTube / TikTok / Facebook videos?

Fact #3 : The Photos Were Edited

I analysed the photos used in these videos, and traced the origin of three examples used in many of these videos.

This photo was edited from a Getty Images stock photo of a funeral, to add a crying lady and other people, as well as a photo of Tom Hanks in a frame.

Recommended : Celine Dion Died Suddenly In Car / Plane Crash?!

This photo of his funeral is also fake. This is actually a photo of Serbian folk singer, Šaban Šaulić, who died on February 17, 2019. His funeral was held on February 22, 2019.

The fake news creator flipped the photo, and superimposed a large and overly bright head of Sylvester Stallone together with a framed photo of Tom Hanks magically floating in front of him!

This funeral photo is really a stock photograph of a funeral that is available on the Unsplash website.

Recommended : Did Michael J. Fox Die Suddenly From COVID-19?!

Fact #4 : This Video Is From Veep

This video that some people are sharing out is actually a video clip from the final scene of the comedy television series, Veep.

It shows Tom Hanks dying at the age of 88, after winning four Oscar awards and a statuette for Philadelphia 2.

Just in case you are wondering, Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956) and will only turn 88 in the year 2044. And the movie Philadelphia 2 does not exist.

Recommended : Did Harrison Ford Just Die In Hospital / Plane Crash?!

Fact #5 : Tom Hanks Death Hoax Driven By Fake Fact Check Too

This Tom Hanks death hoax is, ironically, also being driven by a fake fact check article by the MediaMass Project, which keeps “updating” the dates in their fake fact check article:

Rumors of the actor’s alleged demise gained traction on Sunday after a ‘R.I.P. Tom Hanks’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million of ‘likes’. Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the American actor’s passing:

Their claim of a viral R.I.P. Tom Hanks Facebook page is false. There is no such Facebook page. It is their standard fake fact check spiel for fake celebrity deaths.

The statement from Tom Hanks’ unnamed rep confirming that he is not dead is exactly the same as statements from other reps whose celebrities MediaMass claimed were victims of death hoaxes, like Celine Dion, Simon Cowell, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Justin Bieber, Harrison Ford, Sylvester StalloneDolly Parton, Lucy Liu, Clint Eastwood, and Melanie Laurent.

He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet.

Hidden in the description page for the MediaMass Project is a disclaimer that they are a “satire” website. That’s the usual “cover” for websites peddling fake news.

Regardless of their reasons, anything posted by MediaMass.net must be considered as fake news, until proven otherwise.

Recommended : Did Justin Bieber Just Die In High Speed Car Crash?!

Fact #6 : This Is Just Fake Celebrity News

This is yet another example of fake celebrity news created to generate page views and money through advertising, just like these examples:

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Samsung Galaxy A54 : 50 MP Camera Review!

Take a look at the 50MP camera of the new Samsung Galaxy A54, and find out just how well it performs!

 

Samsung Galaxy A54 : 50 MP Main Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A54 is the marquee mid-range smartphone for 2023, and it comes with a triple camera system at the back that consists of:

  • a 50 MP main camera, with f/1.8 aperture,
  • a 12 MP ultra-wide angle camera, with f/2.2 aperture, and
  • a 5 MP macro camera, with f/2.4 aperture

The 50 MP camera is a “downgrade” in megapixels from the Galaxy A53’s 64 MP camera, but image quality is better because it is built around the Sony IMX766 image sensor used in phones like the realme 9 Pro+ and Xiaomi 12.

The Sony IMX766 is a larger 1/1.56″ sensor, which offers a 25% larger pixel size of 1.0 µm (compared to 0.8 µm). The larger pixel size is important as it means each pixel can receive 25% more light, delivering better images, especially in low-light conditions.

In fact, that is why the Galaxy A54 defaults to the 12.5 MP resolution, combining four pixels into a much larger 2 µm “bucket” to collect more light. The 64 MP camera in last year’s Galaxy A53 also does the same thing, combining four pixels in one to deliver 16 MP photos.

This 50 MP camera supports PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus), and its lens has a wide f/1.8 aperture for better light intake. If you like to record videos, you will be glad to know that it features VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilisation) and improved OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) offering a wider OIS angle.

In this review, we are going to take a look at the photography capability of Galaxy A54, and show you just how well its 50MP main camera performs!

 

Samsung Galaxy A54 : 50 MP Camera Review!

The Samsung Galaxy A54’s 50 MP camera takes 12.5 MP photos by default, with a resolution of 4080 x 3060 pixels. Each JPEG photo using the High Efficiency Image File (HEIF) format, each photo is about 2.5 MB to 5 MB in size.

Without HEIF, the file sizes are much larger, so please remember to turn on the HEIF file format to save space.

  1. Open the Camera app
  2. Go to Settings > Advanced picture options
  3. Turn on High efficiency pictures.

As this photo sample shows, the 50 MP main camera of the Samsung Galaxy A54 offers a nice bokeh, thanks to its wide f/1.8 aperture.

However, that wide aperture presents a problem too – a narrow depth of field, as this sample photo of star anise shows.

If multiple objects are present at different distances from the camera, only some of them will remain in focus, while the others will be out-of-focus.

That makes for nice portraits, but if you do not tap on the area or subject you want to be in focus, the camera may auto-focus on the wrong area or subject, and you will end up with an out-of-focus shot.

As this shot of pineapples show, only a small area of the right edge of the pineapple on the left is in focus. That’s because I intentionally tapped on that part.

Otherwise, the camera would naturally focus on the nearest part of the pineapple (its centre, which is located to the far left of the photo) and this photo would look really out-of-focus.

In most cases, the colour reproduction is pretty accurate, even if it’s indoors.

But in some cases, you can end up with pretty dull-looking photos under artificial light.

You need to be careful with close-up shots though. This isn’t a macro camera, and so it has trouble focusing if the subject is too close.

The problem is – the Samsung camera app does not warn you if the 50 MP camera cannot focus properly on the subject. It may look like it is focused properly in the camera app, but when you open it up later, you will see that it’s completely out-of-focus.

I definitely recommend you tapping on the subject to “force” the camera app to visibly try to focus. If it fails, you know that you are much too close. It’s also a good habit to tap to focus anyway, as this 50 MP camera has a narrow depth-of-field.

There is no need to worry about the “loss” in resolution from 64 MP to 50 MP. In most cases, you probably won’t even realise that the camera defaults to just 12.5 MP!

Even at 12.5 MP, there is more than enough detail in the photos that the Galaxy A54’s 50MP camera delivers, even if you want to zoom in.

But that does not mean that its 50 MP sensor is pure marketing. You can use it to take 50 MP shots, but you will have to live with significantly larger file sizes.

The full 50 MP resolution isn’t needed for 90% of the photos that most people take, but it is useful for long-distance shots. The Samsung Galaxy A54 does not have a telephoto camera, so taking photos in 50 MP effectively gives you a 4X zoom capability.

For example, if you need to take a faraway shot of a bell tower, you can switch to 50 MP before taking the photo. Then you can zoom into the 50 MP photo you took and crop out a much closer looking shot of that bell tower without using software or digital zoom.

 

Samsung Galaxy A54 : 50 MP Camera Summary

I’m glad Samsung switched from the 64 MP camera to a 50 MP camera in the Galaxy A54. The “loss” in megapixels is more than made up by the larger and better Sony IMX766 image sensor, with 25% larger pixels.

This improved 50 MP main camera performed well in our tests, generally delivering good photos with accurate colours in most cases. It has a good level of detail, even at 12.5 MP.

The biggest problem I have with it is its minimum focus distance. The camera seems to work best with subjects that are at least 50 cm away, or so. If I get too close to the subject, the shot ends up out-of-focus, especially if I tried to let the camera auto-focus by itself.

This is not readily apparent in the camera app, so you need to tap to focus. That triggers the camera to seek a better focus. That’s when you can see whether it can really focus properly. Even then, I sometimes end up with out-of-focus shots, because I was simply too close to the subject.

For most people, this won’t a problem if you are taking the usual photos – people standing at a distance, landscapes and buildings at a distance, etc. Just keep this in mind if you are taking close shots of products or food, etc.

 

Samsung Galaxy A54 : Price + Availability

The Samsung Galaxy A54 smartphone is available in three main colours with a glossy finish :

  • Awesome Graphite
  • Awesome Violet
  • Awesome Lime

The Samsung Galaxy A54 comes with 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage, with the option to add a microSD card in the hybrid SIM tray. It is covered by a 2-year warranty, with the following launch prices:

  • 8 GB + 256 GB : RM1,899 / US$449.99 / £499 / A$697 / S$648

Here are online purchase options (we may get commission from your purchase) :

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Viral Photo Of Luxembourg PM + His Wife Is FAKE!

The viral photo of the Luxembourg Prime Minister and his wife is FAKE!

Here is what you need to know about that viral photo!

Updated @ 2023-03-20 : Updated with some additional details
First published @ 2022-05-20

 

Claim : This Is Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel + His Wife!

People have been sharing this viral photo since 2019, but it is going viral again in pro-Russia and pro-CCP groups.

Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel arriving for a function with his wife, Gauthier Destenay.

卢森堡总理和他妖艳的妻子,留着胡子穿 着鱼尾裙,很fashion,你觉得呢?

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg and his coquettish wife, with beards and fishtail skirts, are very fashionable, what do you think?

卢森堡首相贝泰尔携”夫人”昨天抵京,开始对华访问。这是全球首个首相同性恋, 可拭目以待!!

Luxembourg Prime Minister Bettel arrived in Beijing yesterday with his “Madame” and started his visit to China. This is the world’s first gay prime minister Can wait and see! !

Recommended : Did EU Torture + Kill Hundreds Of African Refugees?!

 

Truth : Viral Photo Of Luxembourg PM + His Wife Is FAKE!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS designed to disparage the LGBT community and/or European / NATO leaders.

The very fact that this claim was resurrected from 2019, after Europe heavily sanctioned Russia for invading Ukraine, tells us that this is hardly coincidental.

It then went viral again in March 2023, right after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In any case, here are the reasons why this is NOT a photo of the Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, or his wife.

Fact #1 : Xavier Bettel Is Married To Gauthier Destenay

Xavier Bettel is Luxembourg’s first openly gay Prime Minister, and he married his partner, Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect.

Bettel and Destenay had been civil partners since 2010, but was able to marry each other on 15 May 2015 – a year after the Luxembourg Parliament approved same-sex marriage.

Here are real photos of Luxembourg Prime Minister Bettel (right) with his partner, at their town hall wedding.

Recommended : Is This President Macron Dancing With His Wife 30 Years Ago?!

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, right, puts his hand around the shoulder of his partner Gauthier Destenay after their marriage at the town hall in Luxembourg, on Friday, May 15, 2015. The marriage comes one year after the parliament approved legislation to turn Luxembourg into an increasing number of countries allowing for same-sex marriages. Bettel and Destenay have been civil partners since 2010. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Fact #2 : That Was Photo Of Conchita Wurst + Andre Karsai

The viral photo is actually of famous Austrian singer and drag queen, Conchita Wurst, and her business manager and the executive director of her company, Andre Karsai.

Conchita is actually the drag queen persona of Thomas Neuwirth, with a fictional backstory – Conchita was born in the mountains of Colombia, and married to French burlesque dancer Jacques Patriaque (Neuwirth’s actual friend)

He says this Conchita Wurst persona is similar to Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce alter-ego, and uses it as a way to protect his private life.

Neuwirth is gay but not a trans woman. He uses the he/him pronouns when referring to himself, but uses she/her to describe his Conchita Wurst character.

Conchita Wurst is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. She also had a cameo in the 2020 movie, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

Here is an interesting fact about the character’s name. Conchita is a Spanish slang word for vagina, while Wurst is a German slang word for penis. So Conchita Wurst literally means vagina penis!

In 2019, Neuwirth introduced a new mononymous persona called WURST, which would allow for a “more masculine expression”.

Fact #3 : That Photo Was Taken At 2019 Vienna Opera Ball

The viral photo was taken at the Vienna Opera Ball that took place 28 February, 2019, by Jeff Mangione of Kurier magazine. Here is Conchita Wurst with the Austrian Minister of Justice, Dr. Josef Moser.

Recommended : Eurovision: Did Polish Presenter Give Nazi Salute To Ukraine?!

And this was her Instagram post at Wiener Opernball 2019 :

Fact #4 : Luxembourg PM Bettel Visited China Twice

As Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Bettel paid two official visits to China :

  • 11-14 June 2017 : Bettel visited China together with two ministers.
  • 27-28 March 2019 : Bettel visited China to witness the signing of several bilateral agreements, and to speak at the Boao Forum for Asia.

There is no evidence that his partner, Destenay, ever accompanied him on his trips to China.

Just in case Chinese netizens are “confused”, let me be clear – that viral photo was not taken in China during Bettel’s official visit.

Here is an actual picture from Bettel’s official visit to China in 2017.

This photo is being circulated in pro-Russia and pro-CCP groups, as a way to both disparage LGBTQ people and EU / NATO leaders during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Please help us fight such fake news – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Samsung Galaxy Space : Open To Public Till March 12!

The Samsung Galaxy Space is now open to the public, from now until March 12, 2023!

Take a look at what it is offering, and check it out yourself!

 

Samsung Galaxy Space : Open To Public Till March 12!

Samsung Galaxy Space is an experiential space created by Samsung Malaysia Electronics to offer visitors the chance to experience the power of Nightography with the latest Galaxy S23 devices.

It has four experiential zones – The Alley, The Ballie, The Escape, and Splash Art – each offering a different and unique opportunity to explore your photographic creativity.

Take a stroll through The Alley and snap amazing photos of its neon-lit features, before taking a dive in the ball pit of The Ballie. Then The Escape takes you on a video journey through KL’s coolest nightscapes. Finally, Splash Art lets you unleash your inner artist by literally making a splash!

After enjoying all four experiential zones, don’t forget to pick up a free cup of coffee at the barista van!

The Samsung Galaxy Space also features Pingmin Market – the latest trend in cultural and creative market, which supports local F&B and handicraft vendors. There, you can take your creativity to the next level in trendy workshops and daily activities like Busker jamming, k-pop dance battles, and more!

Tantalise your taste buds with the mouth-watering Daifuku workshop or unleash your inner artist at the Fluid Pouring workshop. And DIY enthusiasts out there should not miss out on the Tufting Coaster workshop, where you’ll learn how to make some cool coasters using tufting techniques.

If you’re a K-Pop fanatic, get hyped for the K-Pop Dance battle where you can learn the hottest Korean dance routines and show off your moves! On top of that, you will have the opportunity to also meet Hakken, the famous Malaysian cosplayer from Sarawak, at a fan meet session at 2 PM, 4 March 2023.

 

Samsung Galaxy Space : Some Photos Inside!

Here are some photos from inside Samsung Galaxy Space, to show you what you could be missing out if you don’t go!

 

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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.

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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 200 MP Camera Review!

Take a look at the camera performance of the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and find out why it’s such an awesome smartphone for photographers!

 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra : 200 MP Camera FTW!

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is their flagship smartphone for the year 2023, and it boasts the best cameras money can buy.

Headlining its top-of-the-line quad-camera system is a new Adaptive Pixel camera, which is built around the 200 MP ISOCELL HP2 (S5KHP2) sensor, and improved optically-stabilised lens with a larger f/1.7 aperture.

You can seamlessly switch to its ultra-wide camera, with a 12 MP sensor and a f/2.2 aperture; or optically zoom up to 10X with its dual telephoto and periscope cameras.

In this review, we are going to take a look at the photography capability of Galaxy S23 Ultra, and show you just how well its cameras perform!

 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra : 200 MP Camera Review!

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra boasts a super-high resolution 200 MP main camera, built around a new ISOCELL HP2 sensor used in the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

This is a large 1/1.3-inch sensor with 200 million pixels, each of which is 0.6 μm in size. The Galaxy S23 Ultra camera will be able to combine up to 16 pixels to form a single large pixel for much better low-light performance.

Video capabilities also got an upgrade, thanks to this new sensor. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can now record 8K videos at 30 frames per second, instead of just 24 fps previously.

It also boasts better Adaptive VDIS capability, and improved optical image stabilisation (OIS), delivering silky smooth videos by doubling the angle to ±3°, from the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s camera‘s ±1.5°.

Here are six shots I took in Singapore, using the 200 MP main camera, and the 12 MP ultra-wide angle camera.

They are 4000 x 3000 pixels in size, with a JPEG file size of between 4 MB and 8 MB – it all depends on the amount of detail in the picture. To save space, I definitely recommend that you enable HEIF – the High Efficiency Image Format.

By default, the 200 MP camera takes 12 MP photos, combining sixteen pixels into one super-large pixel. Coupled with the improved lens and wider aperture, the final photos are not only much brighter, but have significantly lower noise.

Here are six night shots to show you just how bright the Galaxy S23 Ultra photos are, taken at night handheld without flash.

Here are six shots to show you the incredible amount of detail you can capture at just 12 MP. If you need greater detail, you can always increase the resolution to the full 200 MP, but frankly – these pictures should show you that you don’t really need to.

Of course, the 200 MP capability is not there for marketing purposes. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can truly take 200 MP photos, with a resolution of 16,320 pixels x 12,240 pixels, with each file at about 13-15 MB!

To demonstrate both the 200 MP capability and its ability to take bright photos at night, I took this 200 MP photo at Marina Bay Sands.

From that single photo, I could zoom in to make out individuals within the dome-shaped Apple Store hundreds of metres away – all unbeknownst that they were being captured on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra at night!

 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra : 200 MP Camera Summary

If you want the best cameras on a smartphone money can buy, you should definitely consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Don’t put too much stock into the 200 MP marketing spiel. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is breaking new resolution groups with its 200 MP photography capability. But most of us will probably never use it, except in special circumstances.

What you are really getting is an awesome 12 MP camera with super-large pixels for really great noise-free images, and better low-light photos.

I am especially impressed with its low-light night photography capabilities. The photos I took in Singapore look like they were well-lit by moonlight. That was not the case at all, and it was all the more impressive because I took it handheld.

The photos turned out great – bright, sharp and with much less noise than I dared to hope! There is no doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has some of the best smartphone cameras I’ve tried this year.

 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra : Prices + Pre-Order Offer!

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes in four main colours – Phantom Black, Green, Lavender, and Cream.

Sadly, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will be significantly more expensive than last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra!

Here are the official launch prices for the three available storage capacities:

  • 256 GB : RM5,699 (about US$1,336 / £1,083 / A$1,888 / S$1,755)
  • 512 GB : RM6,199 (about US$1,453 / £1,179 / A$2,052 / S$1,910)
  • 1 TB : RM7,199 (about US$1,688 / £1,369 / A$2,388 / S$2,218)

While the increased price may be disappointing, Samsung is offering some great pre-order offers:

  • you get a free upgrade to the next storage option!
  • if you buy from the Samsung Online Store, you get an RM400 e-Voucher
  • you get 30% off Samsung accessories, Samsung Care+, Galaxy tablets, Watch, and Buds earphones!
  • you get to save up to RM600 more when you trade in!

Here are online purchase options for your convenience:

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos + Scam Alert!

Please watch out for fake photos + videos, as well as donation scams capitalising on the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey!

 

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos Alert!

Many people have been sharing photos of the massive earthquake that devastated both Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023.

Unfortunately, quite a number of fake photos on WhatsApp and social media. They also appear in TikTok and YouTube videos. Here are a few notable examples.

Old Man With Bread

This photo of an old man with bread is being shared as a lesson on why we should be humble, respectful and kind.

It took just 17secs to change his status from the owner of 33 buildings to a person who’s surviving on bread and finding shelter where he can.

#TurkeyEarthquake teaches us an important lesson that life is unpredictable and nothing is permanent. Be humble, respectful and kind.

How being humble, respectful and kind could have helped this poor man was not explained. Neither did the people sharing this “lesson” explain why this photo has been circulating since 1999…

Yes, this photo was taken by photographer, Abdurrahman Antakyalı, almost 24 years ago, after the Düzce Earthquake that occurred on 12 November, 1999.

Needless to say, that old man was not a rich man who owned 33 buildings. It is incredible that people who create a fake story about this poor man. If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that everyone should “verify before sharing“!

Recommended : Did Turkey Earthquake Cause Nuclear Plant Explosion?!

Dog Looking For Survivor

Many people are sharing photos of dogs looking for survivors, like this example below, which was shared with messages like:

The little heroes will save many lives. Pray for Turkey.

This is incredible! A dog in Turkey was seen digging trying to rescue its owner. When the dog failed to move the heavy debris, he started barking to ask for help while holding one of his owner’s fingers!

Syrian🇸🇾 Turkish🇹🇷 Earthquakes!

Dogs are sensitive to their owner ❤️😊

The truth is – that is one of many stock images of “dogs looking for people in earthquake” available online.

That photo, and similar examples featuring the same dog as well as others dogs were posted by Czech photographer, Jaroslav Noska, on November 2020.

This suggests that the photos were staged for use as stock photos, and not actual photos of a real disaster area, or even real rescue dogs.

Tryon The Rescue Dog

Many people shared this photo of a dirty-looking dog, claiming that it just saved 10 lives in the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.

This dog worked all night last night and saved 10 lives

This dog hero who worked the whole night and saved 10 lives in Turkey.

The truth is – this is Tryon the rescue dog who helped to search for victims of a deadly mudslide near Oso, Washington, in the United States.

This photo was taken by Rick Wilking, a freelance photographer for Reuters, on March 30, 2014. He provided the following caption for this photo:

Tryon the rescue dog waits to go through the decontamination area at the mudslide after searching for victims in Oso, Washington March 30, 2014.

Recommended : Did FedEx + Southwest Jets Almost Collide In Video?!

 

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Donation Scam Alert!

People are not just posting those fake photos to “virtue signal” or increase their popularity, some are using them for donation scams!

Photos of Tryon the rescue dog above, for example, is being used to solicit donations for the people in Syria.

(Need Some reputable or NGO in Syria to pay or food. Shelter, blankets the Earthquake affects from the donations if gathered from this page.

As Sanction Syria from all over the world needs our help. Turkey has been helping by many.

He (Reputable) or NGO must be at the Earthquake affected areas of Syria and make video or come live while giving blankets, food, donation etc. Thanks )

– Those who want to Help/Donate. Message us. Thanks!

Even more egregious is this photo of a firefighter holding a child with a Turkish flag on his sleeve.

Friends, we have launched an aid campaign to reach people who have experienced an #earthquake disaster in Turkey.

#btc B : 1)n3C4GiFCzERTWd6nvCc4hTzvK8Viz88y

#eth: Ox2cff2ad875£68bf4ec5a478e505767c348dd61d

#Suns suns

The trouble is – the photo isn’t real! It was created by Major General Panagiotis Kotridis of the Aegean fire brigade using the AI image generator called Midjourney.

While they are capable of creating really realistic images, such artificial intelligence image generators often leave tell-tale mistakes.

In the viral photo below, you can see that the firefighter has six fingers on his right hand with an abnormally long thumb. His left hand is also missing, with a third “hand?” right next to it.

Recommended : Scam Alert : Fake Damar Hamlin Donation Requests!

The BBC investigated further, and found that one of the crypto wallet addresses had been used in scam and spam tweets since 2018, while the other crypto wallet address had been posted on VK – the Russian social media website, together with pornographic content.

Ax Sharma, a cybersecurity expert at Sonatype, also pointed out that scammers are creating fake disaster relief accounts on social media to cheat people. One example is @TurkeyRelief on Twitter, which was created in January 2023 with just 31 followers and asked for donations using PayPal.

Scammers are also using TikTok Live to ask for donations, using captions like “Let’s help Turkey”, “Pray for Turkey” and “Donate for earthquake victims” over their videos. According to the BBC, TikTok takes up to 70% of the proceeds of these digital gifts.

So please WATCH OUT for such donation scams, which use real or fake photos / videos to trick people into sending them money.

If you want to help, please donate DIRECTLY to reputable organisations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), OxFam, or the nearest Turkish embassy.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

 

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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.

 

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Did Turkey Earthquake Cause Nuclear Plant Explosion?!

Did the massive Turkey earthquake cause an atomic explosion at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant?!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Turkey Earthquake Caused Nuclear Plant Explosion!

People are sharing a video of a shocking explosion that allegedly happened at a nuclear power plant, after the massive Turkey earthquake.

☢️ Shocking Atomic explosion at a nuclear power plant in Turkey

Atomic explosion at a nuclear power plant in Turkey.

Due to the last earthquake produced in Turkey, the massive explosion of a nuclear power plant is reported. At the moment, more information about the event is unknown or if it has caused fatalities. But judging by the images, it is very possible that there were deaths and injuries in the areas near the explosion. We will keep reporting.

Read more : Is This President Macron Dancing With His Wife 30 Years Ago?!

 

Truth : Turkey Earthquake Did Not Cause Nuclear Plant Explosion!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by a YouTube channel to generate money, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Is Still Under Construction

Turkey does not have any operational nuclear power plants, and only one under construction – the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Büyükeceli, in the Mersin Province.

The first reactor is only scheduled to be completed later in 2023, but it may be delayed by sanctions placed on Rosatom – the Russian company building the nuclear power plant.

Fact #2 : Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Was Undamaged By Earthquake

On Monday, February 6, 2023, a major magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria.

Fortunately, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant was only hit by magnitude 3 tremors, and was not damaged.

Earth tremors of about magnitude 3 were felt here… but our specialists have not revealed any damage to building structures, cranes and equipment.

Nevertheless, we are carrying out extensive diagnostic measures to make sure that construction and installation operations can continue safely.

– Anastasia Zoteeva, Rosatom spokesperson

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concurred, stating that there was “no impact” from the earthquakes in Turkey, and the nuclear power plant under construction was “unaffected“.

Recommended : Russian Gov Caught Fabricating Dirty Bomb Evidence!

Fact #3 : No Report Of Explosion In Mainstream Media

A nuclear power plant explosion would have been big news, and yet, there is no mention of such an explosion in any media outlet. Not CNN, not BBC, not even RT in Russia or CCTV in China.

That’s because this Turkey nuclear power plant explosion never happened. It’s a hoax. Fake news!

Fact #4 : Photo Was From Stock Photography Website

I traced the cover photo of the Turkey nuclear explosion to a stock photography website called Pixabay.

The YouTube video creator, Hide World, used the photo called “Nuclear Explosion Apocalypse” to trick you into believing that there was a nuclear power plant explosion in Turkey.

The image was created by by CristianIS, and posted to the Pixabay website on March 12, 2020.

Fact #5 : Video Showed 2020 Port of Beirut Explosion

The shocking explosion shown in the video created by Hide World was misappropriated from the 2020 Beirut explosion in Lebanon.

On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded, killing at least 218 people and devastating the port and its surrounding areas.

The video that Hide World used was taken by a witness at a restaurant, and showed the second explosion at the Port of Beirut.

You can see the original video (here) posted by Al Arabiya English on 9 August 2020. If you compare that to the Hide World video (below), you can see that they are exactly the same.

Hide World used the Beirut port explosion from 2.5 years ago, to trick you into believing that it’s a video of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant explosion in Turkey.

Recommended : Died Suddenly Caught Using Old Blood Clot Video!

Fact #6 : This Is Another Example Of Fake YouTube Videos

This is just another example of fake videos created by YouTubers who want to generate more views to build up their channel, or to generate ad money.

Here are some examples of fake YouTube videos that I fact checked  in the past:

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Was President Joe Biden Caught Molesting A Little Girl?!

Was President Joe Biden caught on camera molesting a little girl in a viral photo?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : President Joe Biden Got Caught Molesting A Little Girl!

A photo of President Joe Biden has gone viral, with people claiming that he has finally been caught on camera molesting a little girl!

The viral photo shows President Biden apparently fondling a little girl’s crotch.

Stew Peters : What the EFF am I looking at here? Is this a photo of Biden fondling a small child’s genitalia?

Adults need to keep their hands off kids @potus

Moron, wet brains are screaming and kicking their feet about @Santos4Congress lying while running for political office but doing nothing about this bullshit.

What is @JoeBiden @POTUS doing? This is definitely not a good look and rather scary looking. #PedoPeter?

 

Truth : President Joe Biden Was Not Caught Molesting A Little Girl!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by right wing activists, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Photo Was Taken On October 15, 2021

While people are sharing this photo as something that was just taken in December 2022, this is over a year old.

This photo was actually taken by Evan Bucci, a photographer working for The Associated Press, on Friday, October 15, 2021.

Fact #2 : Photo Was Taken At A Connecticut Daycare Centre

The photo was taken when President Joe Biden travelled to a daycare centre in Hartford, Connecticut, to promote childcare plans that are part of his “Build Back Better” plan.

He was greeting children at a playground, when he was interrupted by Trump supporters yelling “traitor” and “f*ck Joe Biden” from across the street.

Needless to say – it would be incredibly stupid of President Joe Biden to even try to molest children in public, with Trump supporters watching his every move, and press photographers capturing the moment.

Fact #3 : Photo Was Edited

The viral photo was edited from the original photo, which shows President Joe Biden pointing to an American flag on the girl’s shirt. That was why she stretched her shirt with her own hands.

If you look closely, the girl appears to be “floating” above the ground because she was cropped out and moved upwards so that her shirt would cover Biden’s hand.

The person who edited the photo also removed the boy in the light blue shirt behind, and used a clone stamp tool to make the fence look seamless (removing a metal pole in the process).

Ultimately – this photo was edited to make it look like President Joe Biden had his hand on the girl’s crotch, when in reality – he was just pointing at the American flag on her shirt.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 FlexCam Photography Tips!

Here are a few tips on how to maximise the FlexCam capability of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 smartphone, to create unique and more appealing photos and videos!

 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 : FlexCam Photography!

The Galaxy Z Flip4 is more than just a smartphone with a foldable display. Its foldable form factor allows you to make use of a more versatile photography method Samsung calls FlexCam.

FlexCam basically makes use of the Galaxy Z Flip4’s ability to “bend” the front and rear cameras at different angles for new perspectives.

This offers new creative ways for you to make use of the front 10 MP camera, and the dual 12 MP cameras at the back.

Read more : Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 Battery Life + Charging Speed!

 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 FlexCam Photography Tips!

To help you maximise the Galaxy Z Flip4’s foldable form factor, here are a few FlexCam photography tips to get the best possible photos!

Take Photos At Any Angle!

Thanks to the Galaxy Z Flip4’s foldable design, you can now try out unique angles, and take hands-free photos without using a selfie stick or tripod.

You no longer need to ask your friends or strangers to take your photos. Just prop your phone on any convenient surface to take your photos from either the front or rear cameras!

Bonus : Try putting the Galaxy Z Flip4 on different surfaces and angles, to take photos and videos from different perspectives. Try both cameras too!

Steady Your Shot

Whether you are using the front or rear cameras, its foldable design allows you to place the Galaxy Z Flip4 on any flat surface, to give you a steady shot for both photos and videos.

Folding the Galaxy Z Flip4 also lets you get a firmer and steadier grip while try out new perspectives in your photos and videos. Its foldable design lets you record videos like a camcorder!

Bonus : The Galaxy Z Flip4 has an upgraded main camera with a 65% brighter sensor, which makes it even easier to take sharp photos even in low light conditions.

Night Mode + Night Hyperlapse

What you may not realise is that Samsung introduced three special night photography modes.

  • Night Mode lets you capture clear and bright photos even in very dim or dark conditions, by capturing multiple frames and combining them together.
  • Night Hyperlapse lets you create impressive motion videos at night, without any blur!
  • Super Night Solution minimises noise for sharp video at night, with enhanced OIS and VDIS.

With these three features, and the aforementioned brighter sensor, you will never have to worry about taking photos in the dark!

High-Resolution Selfies!

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has a large Cover Screen which doubles as a viewfinder for its dual 12 MP cameras, allowing you to take incredibly high-resolution selfie and wefie photos in both normal and wide angles.

Thanks to enhanced Quick Shot, you can take selfies and defies quickly using the rear cameras, using the Cover Screen to make sure everyone’s in the frame.

Don’t forget to give its Portrait Mode a try, for a more appealing portrait with better blurring of the background (bokeh).

Quick Shot can also flex open until FlexCam takes over, so you can capture hands-free photos at both high and low angles.

Now that we shared those FlexCam photography tips with you, be sure to give them a try with your Galaxy Z Flip4, and level up your photos and videos!

 

To Try FlexCam, Buy Your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 Today!

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 comes in four colour options, as well as a special Bespoke Edition :

  • Graphite – legacy colour
  • Pink Gold – new colour
  • Blue – new colour
  • Bora Purple – their signature colour this year

These are the available models and launch prices for the Z Flip 4 :

  • 8 GB + 128 GB : RM4,099 (about US$920 / £760 / A$1,319 / S$1,267)
  • 8 GB + 256 GB : RM4,399 (about US$987 / £816 / A$1,415 / S$1,359)
  • 8 GB + 256 GB Bespoke Edition : RM4,599 (about US$1,032 / £853 / A$1,479 / S$1,421)
  • 8 GB + 512 GB : RM4,899 (about US$ 1,099 / £909 / A$1,576 / S$1,514)

The Bespoke Edition is only available on the Samsung website, and requires 3-4 weeks to deliver, as each unit is custom-made.

Here are online purchase options :

Read more : Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 : Colour Comparison!

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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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.

 

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The Kalani David Death Video Scam!

Does a death video showing Hawaiian surfing champion Kalani David drowning really exist?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Here Is The Kalani David Death Video!

A number of rumour / fake news websites have been capitalising on Hawaiian surfing prodigy, Kalani David, who tragically died out on the ocean.

They are claiming that they have the video of how he died, posting on YouTube

LifeStyle Magazine : Watch Kalani David death video https://bit.ly/3SkseUR with full detailed information. Pro Surfer champ suffered a massive seizure while practicing in the waters of Costa Rica #KalaniDavid

Various App.Link sites : WATCH:🛑Omg Kalani David Last Death Video|kalani david dies at 24 after seizure while surfing in costa rica

925trend : Omg Kalani David Last Death Video | kalani david dies at 24 after seizure while surfing in costa rica

NewsHubPK : Kalani David Death Video – Kalani David dies at the of 24😮😮

Newswizal : Kalani David Death Video – Kalani David dies at the of 24

Beharinews : Kalani David Death Video – Kalani David dies at the of 24

 

Truth : There Is No Kalani David Death Video!

This is another example of FAKE NEWS that some websites create for more page views and money, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Kalani David Drowned While Practicing

Kalani David suffered epileptic seizures while surfing off the coast of Costa Rica, and drowned.

He was practicing on his own, and not competing in a competition. So there would not have been any video cameras to capture his death.

Fact #2 : Kalani David Death Videos Are All Fake

A number of these websites created fake YouTube videos with misleading titles, claiming to show Kalani David’s death. Terribly ghoulish and insensitive, if you ask me.

Fortunately – they are ALL fake, if you click and watch those videos. And why not? There is currently no evidence that anyone actually witnessed Kalani drowning after he suffered seizures on the waves, much less recorded it on video.

Yes, it is possible that Kalani David was surfing with other people, and someone may have been recording the session.

But even if someone actually recorded Kalani David’s death on video (instead of rushing to help), he/she would have provided the video to the Costa Rica police, and it would have been held as evidence as they are still investigating his death.

Fact #3 : Title Screens Are Intentionally Misleading

To mislead you, these fake video creators used misleading screenshots of Kalani David from years earlier, or in one case – a May 2014 photo of surfers at Salsa Brava.

The photos showing Kalani David in a hospital bed are from his August 2016 seizure, and either his December 2016 heart operation, or someone who looks like him.

It is important to note that Kalani David drowned in the ocean. He never made it to the hospital. So these are fake title screens to lure you into clicking.

To be clear – there is no video footage of Kalani David drowning.

Read more : Did Surfing Champ Kalani David Die From Vaccine?!

Fact #4 : None Of Them Offered Any Evidence

No reputable media outlet even mentioned that his death was witnessed, much less recorded on video for our ghoulish entertainment.

Yet, these no-name websites out of India and Pakistan somehow managed to get their grubby little hands on the “death video” of Kalani David?

None of those websites claiming to show the Kalani David death video offered anything remotely close to “evidence”. Their articles will mention “death video” for SEO reasons, but offer nothing else.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Another Example Of Celebrity Fake News

This is yet another example of fake news created by rumour and fake news blogs to drive traffic and increase page views for ad money. Here are examples of other celebrity fake news that we debunked earlier:

Don’t fall for the fake news / fake videos created by people whose only motivation is to make money from your views and clicks.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

And please STOP supporting these fake news websites!

 

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.

 

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | Photo + VideoTech ARP

 

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!