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The Journal FactCheck

@factcheck.thejournal.ie

3.5K followers 8 following 120 posts

A project by @thejournal.ie to tackle misinformation in Ireland. Heard something dodgy? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on +353 83 876 0971.

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The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Apr 3

Do you want to get ahead of fake news before it reaches you?

Every month, our FactCheck team sends a newsletter that analyses what’s true, false or somewhere in the middle from the worlds of news and politics, and in online spaces.
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Sign up to The Journal FactCheck's newsletter on fake news and misinformation

Our fact-checking team bring you insights into misinformation every month.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 21h

A video decrying non-government organisations (NGOs) in Ireland features a list of groups that are said to be funded by the State. However, many of the organisations on the list receive no State funding.

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Debunked: Video decrying NGOs wrongly names organisations it says are receiving State money

A mosque, a Buddhist centre, and a charity were incorrectly named as being funded by taxpayers.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 6d

A years-old list that purports to show the UN's sustainable development goals for 2030 and includes items such as "the end of the family unit" and a ban on "non-synthetic drugs" continues to spread widely on the internet, despite being fake.

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Debunked: The UN Agenda 2030 goals do not mention a ‘one world government’ or ‘depopulation’

Agenda 2030 is a real plan – but its goals are not the ones that are being shared online in a fake list.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 8d

A video being reshared on social media falsely claims that Irish authorities, with backing from the EU, are cracking down on independent media and so-called citizen journalists.

No proof has been given that supports these claims.

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Debunked: No proof for viral video's claims of a ‘crackdown’ on independent media in Ireland

A video featuring the false claims also incorrectly described footage taken during riots.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 13d

False claims about how to get on the ballot to run in Irish presidential elections have continued to spread online, including one which suggests that all would-be candidates must be nominated by the government.

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Debunked: Candidates who want to run for President of Ireland do not need government backing

Mary Robinson won the presidency without a government party nomination.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 15d

A viral chart claiming that migrant apprentices are far better off financially than Irish apprentices has no basis in fact.

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Debunked: A viral chart comparing the finances of Irish and migrant apprentices is false

The chart appears to invent payments to migrant apprentices.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 22d

A false claim that there are special government grants of €60,000 given to migrants in Ireland to start new businesses continues to spread, despite being previously debunked.
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Debunked: The government is not giving migrants €60,000 to start new businesses

False claims that non-Irish people are financially discriminated against by the government are common.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 26d

Images of a now-destroyed Banksy mural at the back of a London courthouse have been altered to make them appear to show a judge with a gavel attacking a person holding an English national flag.

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Debunked: Images of destroyed Banksy mural in London edited to show English flags

The original mural of a judge battering a protester appeared after mass arrests.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 27d

The world's richest person, Elon Musk, has broadcast his support for former professional fighter Conor McGregor’s bid to run in for president this October. However, in doing so, he has spread misinformation about how the election will work.

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Debunked: Elon Musk wrongly claims Simon Harris blocked 'the will of the people' in Áras race

Musk also endorsed Conor McGregor, who was polling at two percent.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · 28d

A video viewed on social media millions of times is falsely said to show a kidnapping in East Wall, Dublin.

The video shows two men walking on a path alongside a child of primary school age.

Gardaí said they investigated the incident shown and that no such crime had occurred.

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Debunked: No evidence a viral video of men walking with a child in Dublin shows a kidnapping

The footage was viewed more than 5.9 million times.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 29

In ongoing posts about his aspirations to run for president, Conor McGregor has promised to hold referendums to change the Irish Constitution, despite this not being a power that presidents in Ireland have.
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Debunked: Irish Presidents cannot call referendums, despite Conor McGregor’s pledges

McGregor insists he will be on the ballot, despite little indication he can get nominated for president.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 28

A Facebook post claiming that the media is covering up a surge in young girls going missing in Ireland has been shared widely — despite media covering all the missing persons mentioned in the post, and most of them having since been found safe.

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Debunked: Misleading post claims the media is covering up a surge in young girls going missing

A post featuring photos of women and girls that have been found was used in the claim.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 22

With Mairead McGuinness bowing out of the presidential race, Fine Gael’s support seems set behind Heather Humphreys.

But controversy follows Humphrey from her days as a minister over a plan to overhaul disability payments condemned as punitive.

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FactFind: What is the Disability Green Paper haunting Heather Humphreys’ presidential run?

Humphreys abandoned reform plans that were called punitive, demeaning and rooted in “Victorian” ideas.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 20

While some seekers are entitled to work in Ireland while waiting for a decision on their application, it is not true that they enjoy a “tax-free year” while doing so, as was claimed in a recruitment video for an anti-immigration group.

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Debunked: Asylum seekers are not exempt from income tax for a year after they are allowed to work

The claim was shared in a recruitment video featuring a man wearing a MÉGA cap.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 15

False claims the Premier League is banning rainbow laces and captain’s armbands have spread widely online.

The Premier League says it remains committed to improving LGBTQ+ inclusivity and that players can still wear rainbow laces if they wish.

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Debunked: No, the Premier League has not banned players from wearing rainbow-coloured bootlaces

The league ended its partnership with an LGBTQ+ charity earlier this month.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 9

A Fox News segment that described Dublin as “one of the most dangerous cities in Europe" repeats bad stats and debunked claims to argue that immigrants are responsible for a surge in crime.

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Debunked: Fox News claims about an Irish crime wave are based on discredited claims and bad stats

The segment blamed immigration for a 114% increase in “murder/assault attempts” (that didn’t happen).

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Aug 7

A video of children bowing and prostrating themselves in a mosque has been shared by an Irish anti-migrant internet personality along with the false claim that the footage is evidence of what children are being taught in schools nowadays.

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Debunked: Old video of a Belgian mosque claims to show “what they’re teaching kids now in school”

The controversy was reported by Belgian publications back in 2018.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 30

Following a knife attack on a garda patrolling inner city Dublin yesterday, false claims that the suspect was a migrant quickly spread on the internet.
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Debunked: How misinformation spread within minutes of a garda being stabbed on Capel Street

The suspect is an Irish citizen who was born in the country.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 29

The images of starving children coming out of Gaza recently have been met with alarm by some of Israel’s closest allies, and dealt a blow to the propaganda narrative about its siege of the devastated Palestinian territory.

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How Israeli disinformation is attempting - and failing - to mask the starvation in Gaza

Israeli officials have throughout the war labelled videos and images of Palestinian suffering as examples of “Pallywood” (Palestinian Hollywood).

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 25

Donald Trump has claimed he never draws pictures, but that's not the case. He's been donating drawings to charity auctions for years.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 24

The victim of a racist assault who was stripped and bloodied by a group of youths has been accused of crimes, both online and on the day of the attack, despite there being no evidence to support these claims.

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Debunked: False accusations against victim of Tallaght attack viewed more than a million times

The victim was stripped of his trousers and underwear by the gang during the vicious attack.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 23

Social media posts viewed tens of thousands of times have falsely claimed that planning has been lodged for an asylum seeker centre in a Tallaght suburb — and that local TD Paul Murphy is objecting to it on that basis.

Neither claim is accurate.

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Debunked: Proposed building plans in Tallaght suburb are not for an IPAS centre

Social media posts viewed tens of thousands of times made claims about the building in a Tallaght suburb – and about local TD Paul Murphy’s involvement.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 18

Faked images and explanations have already spread in the wake of a Wall Street Journal article that says Donald Trump sent a raunchy 50th birthday letter to sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

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Debunked: Amid reports of a cryptic Trump-Epstein letter, misinformation muddies the waters

“I don’t draw pictures,” said documented doodler Donald Trump.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 18

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil that a litre of milk now costs more than a litre of petrol, which she presented as an example of the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Here's a breakdown of milk and petrol prices in Ireland.
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Does a litre of milk cost more than a litre of petrol, as Mary Lou McDonald claimed?

McDonald made the claim in the Dáil on Wednesday.

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 18

A 2018 visit by Catherine Connolly to areas of Syria controlled by the since-toppled Assad regime has been cited as a potential source of controversy.

Earlier this week, Connolly became the first candidate to announce she would run in the presidential election.

www.thejournal.ie/factfind-cat...

FactFind: What do we know about Catherine Connolly's visit to Syria in 2018?

Connolly says she did not “utter one word of support for Assad.”

www.thejournal.ie

The Journal FactCheck @factcheck.thejournal.ie · Jul 18

An image of a tweet that appears to depict Hillary Clinton calling Conor McGregor a future president has duped people into thinking it is real, despite being an edited image likely meant as a joke.

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Debunked: Meme image of Hillary Clinton calling Conor McGregor ‘future president’ is a spoof

In 2016, Clinton posted a photo of herself, saying “Happy birthday to this future president.”