Tag Archives: image

A picture is being shared widely online with false claims it shows plumes of smoke emanating from the headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in Kyiv after a missile attack by Russia.

A Facebook post sharing an image claiming to be of the headquarters says: “Breaking news: What hit the security headquarters of the SBU in Kiev?! All the important officers were inside‼”

However, this is not what the photograph circulating on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter), depicts.

The image is actually a screenshot from a video showing a section of the evacuated port silos in Beirut, Lebanon, collapsing in August 2022 after a fire broke out on the site in July. 

This followed a huge explosion in the port in August 2020, involving thousands of tonnes of stored…

An image of vapour trails left in the sky by aeroplanes has been shared on Facebook alongside a caption claiming these are “chemtrails” that are blocking the sun. 

This isn’t true. These white lines are contrails, trails of vapour left behind by planes. 

The image shows the roofs of what appear to be terraced houses or businesses, alongside a blue sky. A number of white trails are visible in the sky, some crossing each other, with some appearing to be in front of the sun. 

It was posted with the caption: “Bill gates + Chemtrails = block the sun”. 

We’ve written many times about “chemtrails”, a false but enduring conspiracy theory that typically claims these white lines are evidence of a plot to control the weather or spread poison by spraying…

Following various rumours surrounding the health of senior members of the Royal Family, a number of posts on social media have claimed this week that the union flag has been seen flying at half-mast over Buckingham Palace.

Some of these posts have either directly suggested or implied that this is due to the death of King Charles III or the Princess of Wales. Both have been seen in public in recent days.

The image in the posts was actually taken on 8 September 2022, and shows the union flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

It was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Al Jazeera news correspondent Rory Challands shortly after the announcement of the Queen’s death.

Flying a flag at half-mast is often used as a gesture of…

A post widely shared on social media falsely claims to include a photo of an Israeli soldier who took their own life after being raped.

The post, which has been shared across Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter), includes a photo of a young woman in military attire.

A caption with one post says: “Today’s scandal: The tragic suicide of the soldier ‘Sarah Awidan’ after being subjected to a gang rape and hidden in one of the army barracks in the ‘Magellan’ brigade in Gaza for several days. The Israeli army is the most morally corrupt in the world. Shameful… #Gaza #Israel.”

But the woman pictured is not “Sarah Awidan”, and Full Fact could not find evidence of a soldier of this name dying in the way described while serving in the Israel Defence Forces…

An altered screenshot of an opinion article in the Daily Telegraph has been circulating on social media.

The image being shared on Facebook supposedly depicts a comment piece, in mobile format, published on 8 February with the headline: “Mass migration is slowly bankrupting the UK.” 

This was the correct headline and date of the original article on the Telegraph website—which has since been updated to replace “the UK” with “Britain”.

However, the header image accompanying the story in the screenshot is not the one that appeared on the Telegraph’s website.

Where does the image come from?

A reverse image search shows that the photo in the Facebook post was