Fact-Check Dispatch: Greenland poll, Trudeau’s resignation, and iconic Hollywood sign on fire
Issue 10 of the Spotlight Fact-Check Dispatch
Spotlight is a newsletter created by Eurovision News in collaboration with Members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It aims to combat misinformation and promote fact-checking efforts in Europe. The newsletter serves as a platform to showcase the fact-checking work of European public service media broadcasters.
Opinion poll finds majority of Greenlanders support joining the U.S.
An opinion poll by the U.S. polling firm Patriot Polling was conducted among 416 residents of Greenland between January 6 and 11. The poll found that 57.3 percent support the territory’s joining the U.S. The poll was conducted as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressed a renewed interest in America purchasing the autonomous Danish territory and the Panama Canal.
Polls rating organisation fivethirtyeight ranks in 249th place out of 282 polling organisations, giving it only one star. It ranks particularly low on “error and bias” and has only had 10 polls that have been rated so far. Patriot Polling also specifies that this was the first survey it has conducted outside the U.S.
Musk reposts claim California Governor Newsom decriminalised looting
A claim that California Governor Gavin Newsome decriminalised looting has been spreading on social media amid reports of looters taking advantage of the wildfires around Los Angeles to ransack evacuated homes.
Elon Musk shared a post featuring a video of Newsome being interviewed on camera saying there was “zero tolerance for looting”. In a caption the account claimed: “Newsom and California Democrats literally decriminalized looting baring (sic) police from arresting looters and prosecutors from prosecuting them.”
Under Newsome’s post, several comments cited Proposition 47, which came into effect in 2014 and reclassified several non-violent felonies, including theft of property that did not exceed the value of US$950, to a misdemeanour. A document on the website of the Judicial Branch of California showed that it was punishable by up to 6 months in prison. An LA Times article reported misdemeanours are punishable with up to a year in prison.
Photos purporting to show iconic Hollywood sign on fire AI-generated
A number of photos, as well as videos, spread on social media shortly after news broke of a fire burning in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening, January 8, purport to show the iconic Hollywood sign in flames.
The photo also shows a logo of Grok, an AI generator developed by xAI that was founded by X platform owner Elon Musk in March 2023. This logo also appeared in the bottom right of another image shared on X and seen below.
Video purporting to show street party celebrating Trudeau’s resignation is 3 years old
A number of viral videos circulated on social media claim to show Canadians rejoicing at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation on January 6. One widely shared video shows people dancing in front of a trailer with the text ‘F*ck Trudeau’ written across it.
Several viral videos circulated on X were described as showing celebrations among the general public over the resignation. Two of these videos, one showing a crowd jumping for a joy in front of a screen appearing to show Trudeau’s resignation broadcast live and another showing people celebrating in a hot tub on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, have been fact-checked and found as manipulated and AI-generated. (See here, here and here) A community note has also been added on X on the video showing the hot tub.
Narayana Murthy article about ‘limited interaction between girls and boys’ is not genuine
A screenshot widely circulating on Indian social media accounts purported to show a Hindustan Times article titled: “Narayana Murthy advocates limited interaction between young girls and boys for success.”
The official Hindustan Times account on X, which is a verified business account with over 8 million followers, published a post clarifying the provenance of the apparent screenshot.
In the ‘Note To Readers’, the news outlet wrote: “A screenshot of a purported HT story claiming ‘Narayana Murthy advocates limited interaction between young girls and boys for success’ is circulating online. We confirm that the screenshot is photoshopped and the story is fake.
Purported list of MPs who voted against ‘deporting foreign rapists’ is missing context
A post was shared on X on January 6, 2025, claiming to show a list of MPs who voted against the deportation from the UK of “foreign rapists”.
The post, shared by an account that posts under the name ‘The Yorkshire Lass’, was captioned: “Here is a list of MPs who voted against deporting foreign rapists. These people are evil and need arresting! We are being invaded. TREASON!”
The post included a screenshot of a list of names, many of whom are Labour party politicians in Britain. It had a huge reach on X, where it was viewed over six million times in just a few hours.