The fact-check archive.
Thousands of dissected hoaxes in Indonesian and English: the claim, what the fact-checkers found, and the sources to verify it yourself.
8,224 fact-checks
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HOAX – ‘Belgium Mayor Explains Why he Refused to Ban Pork From School Canteens’
The claims in the message are untrue. It is a hoax that first began circulating in 2013. No such letter was ever sent to parents. And Mayor Marc Duvivier has stated that the municipality never received any demands or requests to ban pork from canteens and the…
Hoax-Slayer · English · Sep 12, 2014
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MALWARE – TNT Express ‘Could Not Make Delivery’ Email
The email is not from TNT. Clicking the link opens a compromised website that harbours malware. Similar malware emails claim to be from other well-known delivery companies, including FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Sep 10, 2014
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Fake News – ‘Ruins of Ancient City Discovered in Australian Desert’
The claims in the message are nonsense. No such ruins have been found in Australia. The image actually depicts the 2000-year-old foundations of pyramids found at Sedeinga in northern Sudan.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Sep 8, 2014
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SCAM – ‘Facebook Work From Home Program’
The message is a scam. Facebook has not launched such a program and has no connection to the scheme. The link in the message takes you to a fake Facebook Page that tries to trick you into paying four dollars for a dodgy ‘Facebook Millionaire’ kit.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Aug 25, 2014
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MALWARE – ‘Baker & McKenzie’ Court Notice Email
The email is not from Baker & McKenzie and has no connection to the firm. Instead, it is an attempt by criminals to trick you into downloading and installing malware.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Aug 20, 2014
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PHISHING SCAM – Amazon 90% Discount Coupon Email
The email is not from Amazon and you have not won a 90% discount as claimed. Instead, the message is a phishing scam designed to steal your Amazon login details and other personal information.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Aug 13, 2014
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LIKE-FARMING – ‘Mercedes Benz CLA 45’ Facebook Giveaway
The Page is bogus and the competitions that it promotes are not legitimate. There are no winners and no cars are being given away. This is a like-farming scam designed to fraudulently increase the number of likes garnered by the Page.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jul 21, 2014
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RESHIPPING SCAM – ‘Transportation Manager’ Parcel Repacking Job Offer
The email is a scam. The promised job is, in fact, a criminal ruse designed to trick you into receiving goods bought via fraudulent transactions and sending them back to your criminal ’employer’.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jul 17, 2014
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PHISHING – ‘Security Alert Facebook Disabled’ Email
The message is not from Facebook and the claim that your Facebook account will be disabled if you do not confirm account details is a lie.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jul 15, 2014
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NONSENSE: August 2014 Date Combination – ‘Once Every 823 Years’
It is perfectly true that August 2014 has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. However, this combination occurs far more often than once every 823 years and is not at all remarkable.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jul 11, 2014
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Hoax – ‘Dangerous ‘New Known Spider’ Spreading In Australia’
Update In August 2018, another hoax warning about a new and supposedly deadly “spider from hell” began circulating via Facebook. The “spider from hell” message is not related to the older hoax I discuss below.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jul 10, 2014
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Phishing: ‘Credit Card Expired’ PayPal Email
According to this email, which claims to be from online payment service PayPal, your credit card has expired and you will need to update card details to continue using PayPal. The email instructs you to click a link to log in and update your information.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jul 4, 2014
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HOAX – ‘Men Claiming to be From Water Company Robbing Homes at Gunpoint’
The claims in the warning are untrue. The message is a mutated version of a fake warning that began circulating in Dubai back in 2012. Dubai police dismissed the warning as a baseless rumour. Sharing this false information will help nobody.
Hoax-Slayer · English · Jun 3, 2014
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HOAX – ‘Semen Found on McDonald’s Burger’
The message is a hoax. No such incident occurred and it has not been confirmed by the Health Department as claimed. The warning is just a variant of a long running series of hoaxes that have falsely claimed that food at various eateries was contaminated with…
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 28, 2014
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‘Prayers for Likes’ Facebook Sick Baby Scam
The message is a disgraceful scam designed solely to accumulate likes for a Facebook Page and promote the Page further via shares. The baby’s picture was stolen from a personal Facebook profile and is being circulated without the permission of the baby’s…
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 20, 2014
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Unsold Car Stockpile Images
The report is misleading. Many of the images in the report are from 2009 and depict cars stockpiled due to dramatic falls in sales caused by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Since then, new car sales have rallied considerably.
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 19, 2014
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Cliff Hanging House Image – ‘Crazy Master Bedroom’
The image does not show a real house but, rather, a conceptual design for a cliff-hugging home created using Photoshop and other digital manipulation software.
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 15, 2014
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LIKE-FARMING SCAM – ‘Brad Duke’s 20 Million Dollar Giveaway Contest’
The Page is a scam and has no connection whatsoever with Brad Duke. Brad Duke really did win a very large lottery prize back in 2005, but he is not randomly giving away millions of dollars to people who like a Facebook Page.
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 14, 2014
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Facebook Account Registration ‘Copy Code’ Scam Messages
The messages are scams and they are certainly not from Facebook. Entering the code as instructed can allow criminals to control the behaviour of your Facebook account without your knowledge.
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 7, 2014
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‘Shovel Girl’ Miranda Fugate is NOT Dead
The claims in the report are false. ‘Shovel Girl’ is alive and reportedly enjoying her sudden fame. The viral video does depict an altercation in which Miranda was whacked solidly in the head with a shovel, but the girl did not sustain serious injuries.
Hoax-Slayer · English · May 7, 2014
Entries are collected from public fact-checking sites and link back to the original article.