WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Ten people are dead after a car ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas event.
OUR VERDICT
False. No deaths have been reported.
AAP FACTCHECK - A fake death toll is circulating online after a car crashed into a group of people in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
Social media posts and online articles are falsely reporting that 10 people were killed after a driver crashed into a crowd gathered for Christmas celebrations.
Authorities have described the incident as an accident and confirmed no one was killed.
"CHRISTMAS HORROR 10 innocent people are dead and at least 19 wounded after a man ploughed through a large crowd gathered for a Christmas celebration in front of a church in France's Guadeloupe," a December 7 Facebook post from an Australian user claims.
"This is multiculturalism."
Others suggested it occurred in France, rather than the French overseas region in the Caribbean Sea.
"So a car has driven into a market in France: 10 dead. 19 injured," one Facebook post says.
"The incident took place last night in Guadeloupe, France," another states.
"The suspect has not been confirmed by authorities but was detained at the scene We all know who does this."
It is the latest falsehood relating to Christmas celebrations following debunked claims about mass Christmas market cancellations, a supposed anti-Christmas protest and AI-generated images of festive markets.
However, authorities have confirmed no deaths occurred.
French outlet La Parisien reported a car crashed into a group of people waiting next to a food truck in the town square of Sainte-Anne on the evening of December 5.
Crowds had attended an event to switch on Christmas lights in the square earlier that night, the paper said.
Jean-Francois Moniotte, sub-prefect of Pointe-à-Pitre, told France Info after the incident that 19 people were injured, including three with critical injuries.
"None of their lives are in danger at this stage," he said.
Emergency services later confirmed that 23 people were injured, including 19 who required medical attention, France Info reported.
By Saturday all were in a stable condition, the report states.
Deputy prosecutor of Pointe-à-Pitre, Alexandra Onfray, said the driver was a 45-year-old man from Sainte-Anne who had a blood alcohol level of 1.5 grams per litre and also tested positive for cannabis.
The false claim was previously shared online by British far-right figure Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.
His December 6 X post gained more than 43 million views, but two days later, he acknowledged the death toll number was inaccurate.
Mr Yaxley-Lennon's original post was also shared by X owner Elon Musk, attracting a further 36 million views.
Some international media also reported there were 10 fatalities, including online Indian newspaper Mint and Azerbaijan news agency Report.az.
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