Tag Archives: predict

Videos circulating online appear to show Amazon’s virtual assistant device, known as Alexa, predicting the start of World War III. But this is not genuine. 

The videos all use the same audio over footage showing different Alexa devices. Alexa is a voice-controlled virtual assistant that can help with tasks such as playing audio, controlling smart home devices and answering questions, among other things.

The videos show someone behind the camera asking the device when WWIII will start. The device responds: “World War III starts on November 23rd, 2023, at 6.05pm, when Russia launches an attack against Germany.”

But these videos are not genuine. Neither the makers of Alexa or Full Fact have been able to replicate this response. 

One video, with what appears to be…

A tweet shared by Greta Thunberg in 2018 did not warn that the world would end in five years, as some on social media have implied. 

False or misleading claims online have the potential to harm individuals, groups and democratic processes and institutions. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct. 

Ms Thunberg’s tweet, which was shared on 21 June 2018, but has since been deleted, read: ““A top climate scientist is warning that climate change will wipe out all of humanity unless we stop using fossil fuels over the next five years.””

It also included a link to a since-deleted article about a speech given by James Anderson—a professor of atmospheric chemistry at Harvard University. Ms Thunberg was quoting the first…