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AAP Newswire

Australia’s national news agency, delivering a continuous stream of breaking news, information and images direct to clients. Ready-to-use on all platforms and channels, our news service sets the standard for accuracy, reliability and impartiality.

AAP Photos

Breaking news, feature and stock photography, delivered at speed and on-demand. Quality-controlled and curated by our network of professional photographers and editors, coverage focuses on national and world events, sport, entertainment and lifestyle.

FactCheck:
Social media claims

FactCheck Social Media

Back to the drawing board for claims about Melania's dress

A Facebook post claims there is a deeper meaning behind a designer dress Melania Trump wore for early July 4 celebrations at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.

FactCheck Social Media

Misinformation and fake "predicament" in claims about COVID-19 and a vaccine that isn't available

A Facebook post claims COVID-19 has a "99.9 per cent" recovery rate and that there is a choice between the disease and a vaccine with an "80 per cent adverse reaction rate".

AAP is accredited by the Poynter Institute’s International Fact Checking Network and adheres to its rigorous protocols.

FactCheck Social Media

No, Bill Gates isn't partnering with ID companies to implant microchips in humans

A Facebook post claims that in a bid for "worldwide control", US billionaire Bill Gates has teamed up with digital identity companies to implant microchips in humans.

FactCheck Social Media

Claim that cow-caused methane doesn't raise emissions is just hot air

A Facebook post claims that methane produced by cows is part of an emissions-neutral cycle in which the gas is absorbed back into plants which are then eaten by the cows.

FactCheck Social Media

Is Clint Eastwood really making Trump's day with an endorsement?

A Facebook post claims to be a letter by Hollywood star Clint Eastwood defending US President Donald Trump.

FactCheck Social Media

Story about thieves using chemical-laced knockout masks has been told and debunked around the world

A social media post claims thieves are taking advantage of mandatory face mask rules by offering unsuspecting people facemasks doused in chemicals which leave them unconscious.

FactCheck Social Media

PCR inventor - who died in 2019 - did not say his test won't work for COVID-19 infections

A video claims the inventor of the PCR test - one of the main tests used to detect COVID-19 - said the tests do not work to properly diagnose COVID-19 infections.

FactCheck Social Media

Claim that "COVID-19 test has the virus" misleads on an early US kit fault that was found and fixed

An Instagram post is claiming Covid-19 tests tainted with coronavirus have been in circulation for "many months".

FactCheck Social Media

The name "COVID-19" has nothing to do with sheep, Latin or surrendering

A Facebook post makes several claims about the etymology of COVID-19 as the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold across the globe.

FactCheck Social Media

Flu vaccine did not kill 50 million during the 1918 Spanish Flu

As the race to find a COVID-19 vaccine continues, a Facebook post highlights the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic to warn of the ill effects of vaccines.

FactCheck Social Media

Coronavirus does not just equal the common cold

A widely-shared Facebook post features a medical text from 1989 and claims that coronaviruses equal the common cold.

FactCheck Social Media

'Microwave sickness' has not just been added to the dictionary

A social media post claims the term 'microwave sickness' has recently been added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

FactCheck Social Media

Misleading claim about COVID Commission ignores why the advisory body was set up

The body set up by the Prime Minister to advise on economic and social impacts of COVID-19 has been targeted in a Facebook post that claims none of the committee's members have medical credentials.

FactCheck Social Media

Explosive COVID-19 safety tale can't be pinned on piggybacked donkey pic

A historical image of a soldier carrying a donkey on his back is being presented as a cautionary tale about safety and control during the COVID-19 pandemic but the details aren't quite right.

FactCheck Social Media

NZ national debt figure of $120 billion is out of date - it's now higher

A Facebook post claims New Zealand's national debt has risen to $NZ120.1 billion.

FactCheck Social Media

No evidence for 5G rollout rush or rush of symptoms

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen conspiracy theories emerge with claims 5G vendors have used the lockdown in Australia - and elsewhere - to roll out 5G networks without public knowledge.

FactCheck Social Media

Claims that face masks can cause illnesses are just hot air

A Facebook post claims that a grocery store worker who wore a mask for hours at a time got a lung infection from "breathing in her own bacteria".

FactCheck Social Media

A viral post from someone called Serena Williams was not from the tennis champion

There's a famous US tennis player called Serena Williams. There's also a social media post by someone called Serena Williams getting a lot of attention in the US and elsewhere in the world.

FactCheck Social Media

Claim of no COVID-19 pandemic ignores basic facts

A widely circulated Facebook post claims that there is no COVID-19 pandemic.

FactCheck Social Media

COVID-19 vaccine "whistleblower" information sounds a lot like an unrelated study from 1989

As researchers worldwide work to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, a social media post is claiming a vaccine has already been developed and will cause widespread infertility.

AAP is accredited by the Poynter Institute’s International Fact Checking Network and adheres to its rigorous protocols.

Latest news claims

FactCheck News Media

New Zealand near top of Pacific Rim tax table but hard to say it leads the pack

AAP FactCheck Investigation: Is New Zealand the highest-taxed country in the Pacific Rim?

FactCheck News Media

Dutton's McKenzie defence fails audit test

Did deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie fund programs that were recommended for funding?

FactCheck News Media

Did the NSW government cut $12.9 million from Fire and Rescue NSW’s funding in the 2019-20 budget?

"The 2019/20 budget cut of $12.9 million to recurrent expenditure on top of $21 million of savings to be found for the government's Labour Expense Cap is crippling FRNSW."

FactCheck News Media

Has the level of casual employment in the Australian workforce not changed for two decades?

“The claim that the workforce is now excessively casualised is simply not true. The level of casualisation hasn’t changed for about 20 years.”

FactCheck News Media

Are dairy farmers receiving just 1.4 cents from a 10 cent per litre milk levy by the major supermarkets?

“Coles and Woolies, they said look we’ll put 10 cents a litre on for the milk and we’ll give it to the dairy farmers. Well I’ve just found out that the dairy farmers get 1.4 cents of that." One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. October 10, 2019.