Fact-Check Dispatch: Jimmy Carter 'votes' in presidential election, video claims to show Liam Payne fall from balcony, and red flares in sky amid Iranian attack on Israel
Issue 9 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.
Video claiming to show Jimmy Carter voting in presidential election actually filmed at birthday party
A video widely shared across multiple social media platforms in October 2024 claimed to show former U.S. president Jimmy Carter on the first day of early voting in Georgia. A caption to the video added that his family had declared he was voting for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
A Facebook post from October 15 claimed to show former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at a polling location in Georgia on the first day of early voting. The caption claimed that the 100-year-old’s family had confirmed he was voting for Kamala Harris.
Using Google to search for “Jimmy Carter” and “CBS Exclusive” led us to a video posted on Facebook by CBS News on October 1, accompanied by the caption: “Former President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 100th birthday surrounded by family and friends in his backyard in Plains, Georgia. CBS News was there as he was wheeled outside, beneath the shade of his trees, to witness a military flyover with four fighter jets.” The CBS video was the same used in the numerous social media posts.
Videos of red flares in sky amid Iranian attack on Israel actually show Algerian football fan celebrations
A video was shared widely by dozens of accounts across several social media platforms in October 2024, with captions describing it as showing an Iranian attack on Tel Aviv and more generally in Israel.
The last YouTube video mentioned above bore a TikTok watermark and username on screen, appearing to be a reshare.
We followed it over to TikTok, where we were able to see it had been uploaded by the account @al_share on August 11, and had close to 3 million views. There was no caption with the clip, but the comments featured many mentions of Israel. The clip was marked on the platform: “Creator labeled as AI-generated”.
Video claiming to show Liam Payne fall from hotel is from unrelated incident
Videos circulating on social media after news emerged of Liam Payne's death in Argentina purported to show his fall from a hotel in Buenos Aires.
Images purporting to show damage and evidence of drug use in the hotel room were shared on social media in the immediate aftermath of the news, as well as footage that purported to show Payne's fall to his death.
The footage of the man falling from a window, seemingly in a white T-shirt and underwear, is from an incident in 2023 in Mexico City.
This news article covered the story and included a screenshot from the same video, which described how the man fell from his bedroom window after a fire broke out in his apartment.
Videos claiming to show tornadoes in Florida amid Hurricane Milton are unrelated, outdated
A compilation of dramatic videos has been widely shared on social media purported to show images of tornadoes produced by Hurricane Milton as it swept across Florida.
Several accounts known to spread misinformation and disinformation have shared a compilation of eight videos on different platforms. The videos, with the same onscreen caption, have been viewed thousands of times.
A series of reverse image searches using Google Lens revealed that some of the clips were old, unrelated to the storm, or generated by computer.