The Taliban captured $80B worth of equipment, CR7 autographed a soccer ball for the Queen and more.
The cr7 is a soccer player who plays for Real Madrid. He has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or three times, and he also has two Champions League titles.
The world of journalism is complicated, and fake news and pictures are often disseminated on social media. Every week, the editorial staff at Blasting News identifies the most common hoaxes and incorrect information to help you distinguish truth from fiction. Here are some of the most widely circulated bogus statements this week, none of which are true.
World
The United States did not hand over more than $80 billion in military weaponry to the Taliban.
False claim: According to social media posts, the US departure from Afghanistan left the Taliban with more than $80 billion worth of military equipment, including helicopters, guns, and Humvees, when they retook control in the nation on August 15.
Truth:
- The number of more than $80 billion stated in the postings, according to a study by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), represents the amount of money spent by the US to train, equip, and sustain military troops in Afghanistan over the last two decades.
- Defense expert John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, told Politifact that “very little” of the $80 billion would have gone into equipment. According to him, the Taliban most likely acquired weaponry worth less than $10 billion.
- The image “Taliban’s New Arsenal,” published by the British daily The Times, appears in many of the publications. However, the graph depicts the entire amount of equipment supplied to the Afghan military during the last 20 years, excluding equipment that has been withdrawn from the country, damaged, or destroyed.
World
Cristiano Ronaldo’s autograph was not requested by Queen Elizabeth II.
False claim: Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United on August 31, social media postings claimed that Queen Elizabeth II had demanded an autographed shirt from the Portuguese player.
Truth:
- After the website Sport Innovation Society shared the information on its Twitter account on September 1, the allegation started to circulate on social media. “We couldn’t confirm the authenticity of the letter from the Queen and CR7, therefore we chose to remove the tweet,” the statement reads. Apologies.”
- The Queen has never said publicly which team she supports. However, recent journalistic conjecture has suggested that the king might be a West Ham or Arsenal supporter.
Queen Elizabeth has requested that #mufc hold the first jersey signed by Cristiano Ronaldo, making him the first and only human being for whom she has demanded a signature. pic.twitter.com/UaaQ9VX43a [@sis]
September 1, 2021 — The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC)
USA
The image does not depict the evacuation of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Ida.
False claim: A picture of a highway with standstill traffic in both directions was posted on Facebook and Twitter, along with the claim that the congestion was caused by the huge number of people attempting to flee New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Ida.
Truth:
- The viral picture was published by the Los Angeles Times in November 2017 and depicts a traffic congestion on the 405 highway over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to a reverse image search.
- Last Sunday, August 29, Hurricane Ida slammed New Orleans as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least two people and leaving more than 1 million people without electricity.
Latin America/Spain
It is untrue that an alleged well-known billionaire sent aircraft to evacuate Afghans.
False claim: An picture posted on Facebook depicts a guy next to the claim that he is Francisco Córdoba, known as Guti, a “renowned businessman and nuclear scientist” who reportedly purchased three aircraft to aid Afghans escaping the Taliban rule.
Truth:
- There is no trace of a businessman and nuclear scientist called Francisco Córdoba or Guti on the internet. There are no results when searching for the purported entrepreneur using the name Francisco Córdoba or the nickname Guti in reverse image search.
- Two of the three aircraft in the collage posted on social media are from the US Air Force, while one is from the Afghan carrier Kam Air, according to a reverse image search.
Brazil
It is not true that a new law bans ultrasound examinations to determine a baby’s gender.
False claim: A snapshot from a social media post claims that a new law enacted in Brazil bans ultrasound examinations to determine the sex of unborn infants.
According to the news article’s subhead, the law is based on the assumption that “babies are neutral.”
Truth:
- The material circulated on social media was first published on the satirical site Melhor No Ler in Brazil. The following disclaimer appears at the conclusion of the text: “This article is fiction, although it may not be…”
- The measure was presented by a congresswoman called Juju Pimenta, according to the text, which overlooks the difference between biological sex and gender, although there is no congresswoman with that name in the Brazilian House of Representatives.
- A check of the Brazilian House of Representatives and Senate websites reveals that no such measure has been passed or is currently being debated in Congress.
Nigeria
Nigerian newspaper headlines regarding state-sponsored weddings are false.
False claim: Facebook postings circulate a purported front page of Nigeria’s This Day newspaper, with a headline stating that the governor of Imo state, in the country’s southeast, has ordered state-sponsored weddings “between Fulani settlers and Imo women.” The governor also plans to provide dowries for Fulani herders ready to marry women from inside his state, according to the report, and parents who fail to grant permission would face a fine of about $2,400.
Truth:
- The allegation, according to the governor’s principal press secretary, Oguwike Nwachuku, is untrue. “The ill-conceived book demonstrates how desperate people and organizations may get in their attempts to undermine society, believing Governor Uzodimma is the problem,” he added.
- This Day claimed the front page posted on social media was doctored from an August 27, 2021 issue of the newspaper in a tweet on its official Twitter account.
- The erroneous allegation arises in the backdrop of historical hostility between Fulani settlers, who are typically nomadic cattle herders, and the Igbo ethnic group, who are Imo residents, which, coupled with the high expense of marriage in the area, makes marriages between the two groups uncommon.
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