Truth or Fake

AI-generated fake videos, viral hoaxes and real racism are colliding at the FIFA World Cup. From a fabricated Ronald Koeman rant and false claims targeting Algerian fans to the racist abuse of Kylian Mbappé and FIFA investigations, misinformation is spreading alongside genuine discrimination. Vedika Bahl fact-checks the biggest World Cup racism claims, debunks the false ones, and separates AI-gene...

Egypt has filed a formal complaint with FIFA after its controversial World Cup exit to Argentina, accusing officials of “double standards” and demanding the removal of the referee and his team. Egypt led 2-0 before Argentina staged a dramatic comeback, with controversy centred on a VAR decision that ruled out a crucial Egyptian goal. The defeat has since fuelled viral claims on social media of Arg...

International news agencies documented huge crowds at former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral procession in Tehran. But alongside genuine images of mourners, AI-generated videos and photos falsely claiming to show the event have spread widely online. Some exaggerate the size of the crowds, while others feature tell-tale AI errors and fabricated landmarks designed to generate clicks...

On the eve of a key NATO summit, US Presient Donald Trump reignited his feud with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by sharing a doctored image on Truth Social, captioned “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED.” The altered image is based on genuine G7 footage but changes Meloni's facial expression to make her appear enamoured with Trump. This new jab follows weeks of bitter public clashes between the two...

Austria and Algeria's dramatic 3-3 World Cup draw sparked online claims that the match was fixed to send both teams into the knockout stage at Iran's expense. Conspiracy theories, misleading videos and fake FIFA notices have fuelled the speculation, with some dubbing it the "Disgrace of Kansas City" in a nod to the infamous 1982 "Disgrace of Gijón". But is there any evidence the game was engineere...

The US Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to President Donald Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, ruling that children born in the US are citizens under the Constitution regardless of their parents' immigration status. The decision also casts fresh scrutiny on Trump's repeated claims about the policy, including that the US is the only country with birthright citizenship and that it's driv...

Ahead of America's 250th anniversary, US President Donald Trump shared what appears to be an AI-generated image of a giant golden eagle mounted on the White House's Truman Balcony. Google detected a SynthID watermark, while photos taken after the post showed no eagle in place. Reposted by official White House accounts, the image sparked widespread mockery online with critics calling it "tacky" and...

As rescue efforts continue in Venezuela after the twin earthquakes, social media has been flooded with misleading videos falsely claiming to show the devastation. Viral clips have been recycled from disasters in other countries, old footage from Venezuela presented as current and AI-generated videos put out as real. Together, these tactics are driving widespread misinformation about the disaster w...

FIFA has rejected calls from Iran and Egypt to ban rainbow flags at their World Cup match in Seattle on Friday, despite both countries objecting to local Pride-themed celebrations linked to the fixture. FIFA says LGBTQ+ flags are permitted at all World Cup games under its Code of Conduct, despite different rules in Qatar's 2022 tournament. While FIFA has distanced itself from the city's events, it...

A viral clip from the first round of US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland has fuelled online speculation that US Vice President JD Vance was snubbed by Qatar’s prime minister, after users claimed the video showed him "ignore" Vance in favour of greeting Pakistan's prime minister. The Qatari PM, though, dismissed the claims as "unfounded", saying he and Vance had already spent hours together during t...

With algae-green water and blue peeling paint, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is set to be drained again, despite US President Donald Trump's recent renovation costing over $14 million. Trump has blamed the problems on "vandalism," claiming a 350-foot gash was deliberately cut into the pool, adding that multiple arrests have been made. However, he has not publicly provided evidence for the c...

Lionel Messi is now the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, after scoring twice on Monday against Austria in the 2026 World Cup. But his first match, where he scored a hat-trick against Algeria, saw some online controversy. According to internet users, Algerian fans allegedly targeted him with an aggressive chant, calling Messi the "enemy of Allah" and threatening Argentina. But the audio is...

The World Cup is well underway across North America, bringing its usual mix of spectacular goals, historic upsets and colourful stadium crowds. But alongside the genuine celebrations, a wave of manipulated media is flooding social media. From a fake Hitler lookalike to hyper-realistic female football enthusiasts designed exclusively to bait clicks, FRANCE 24's Maya-Anaïs Yataghène investigates the...

As Iran began its World Cup campaign amidst a tense political climate, a wave of misleading images and claims have spread online about the team allegedly making political statements. One photo falsely claimed to show an Iranian player carrying a pink school backpack in tribute to Iranian schoolgirls killed in Minab during the US-Iran conflict. A goal celebration by Iranian forward Mohamed Mohebi w...

With the G7 summit underway in France, some social media users are claiming that French leader Emmanuel Macron deliberately "humiliated" US President Donald Trump by not being there to greet him upon his arrival at the airport. Many posts shared a video showing Trump disembarking an aircraft and later appearing unsmiling during a handshake with Macron, suggesting the two events were linked. Howeve...

Police in Northern Ireland on Thursday prepared for further disorder, as anti-immigration riots risked entering their third night. The unrest erupted after a brutal street stabbing on Monday by Sudanese national Hadi Alodid, who has been charged for attempted murder following his attack on Stephen Ogilvie. False and outdated images have been fanning the flames online, amplified by far-right voices...

Kicking off this Thursday, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has faced its share of criticism before it has even begun. A viral video has sparked fresh backlash, appearing to show members of Senegal's national team being searched with metal detectors on the tarmac of a US airport. Online, some users have claimed the players were being "treated like criminals" and pointed to the footage as evidence of "unapo...

This weekend saw the French Open wrap up with Russia's Mirra Andreeva winning the women's final. There has since been a lot of speculation as to why her country's flag was not allowed at the trophy ceremony. Some people online are that claiming French President Emmanuel Macron is responsible, but as FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains, this is not the case. 

US President Donald Trump stormed off from his interview for NBC's "Meet the Press" at the weekend, after he was fact-checked on his false claims about election fraud by reporter Kristen Welker. She also asked him about the Iran war, his controversial "anti-weaponisation" fund and the cost of living, though Trump made a serious of false and exaggerated responses. He also denied having made campaig...

Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day of protests in Albania, sparked by plans for a proposed billion-dollar luxury resort backed by Jared Kushner, the husband of Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump. Online, however, misleading videos of the unrest are going viral, with social media users sharing old and out-of-context footage falsely presented as scenes from the current demonstrations. Man...

In a video posted to his official TikTok account on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump suggested he may never remove the enormous UFC arena being constructed on the White House lawn for his birthday celebrations. He also compared it to Paris's iconic Eiffel Tower, which was initially intended to be temporary but ultimately remained standing. However, Trump's account of the tower's history is not...

The countdown is on for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted for the first time by the US, Canada and Mexico. But a viral training video has triggered doubts about whether the US stadiums are ready for the tournament, after Senegal's national team was seen practicing on a pitch that saw the ball barely bounce. Fans online said it would result in "player injuries" and the "worst World Cup ever",...

Over the last 24 hours, reports have surfaced claiming Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian resigned due to an alleged power struggle between his government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which is "excluding" him from decision-making in the Iran war. Tehran has outright denied the reports, calling it "rumour mongering" by a foreign media outlet and accusing it of publishing "wishful thin...

According to a new report by the Washington Post, Donald Trump's team is pushing for his face to appear on a new $250 bill to mark the USA's 250th anniversary. That would make him the first living person to appear on US currency in more than 150 years. Trump allies allegedly pressured staff at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and "abruptly reassigned" the director when she expressed concerns...