Fact-Check Dispatch: Trump's judges, turbulence on Singapore Airlines, and Angelina Jolie supporting pro-Palestine protests
Issue 5 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.
Claim that Trump appeal will be heard by Black female judges is misleading
Posts on social media claim a photo depicts the judges on the Manhattan Appeals Court where former President Donald Trump will appeal his conviction.
The post seems to allude that Donald Trump will be looked upon unfavourably by an all-female, all-Black bench of judges.
A reverse image search on the photo reveals that it was taken in February 2024 on a landmark occasion — when the Manhattan Appeals Court for the first time sat an all-African American panel for oral arguments.
There are 21 in total, including the women featured in the image. The list is diverse, with both women and men currently serving in the court, as well as a mix of ethnic backgrounds.
Video purporting to show actress Candice King speaking about Rafah is South African influencer with same name
A video appeared on X on May 27 showing a woman shouting into her camera in frustration over the lack of action around the world in response to the Israeli strike on a tent camp for internally displaced Palestinians near Rafah. The video purports to show the actress Candice King, who is best known for her roles in The Vampire Diaries. The post on X was viewed more than 3 million times.
The first clue that the video does not show the actress Candice King is the woman’s accent, which sounds South African or, at least, from the Southern Hemisphere. The actress Candice King is Texas-born and grew up in Florida.
The video was recently posted to the page in the aftermath of the Rafah attack. In the caption, she writes: “Go for it! Cancel our sponsors, tell us you don’t want to be our clients anymore, don’t support our businesses because you think I am crazy. No bro. This is completely normal behavior after seeing a video of the body of a baby without a head. If you aren’t mortified by that, YOU ARE CRAZY.”
Video purported to show Angelina Jolie supporting pro-Palestine protests is from 2020
A video widely interpreted as showing Angelina Jolie offering hope and support for Palestine and pro-Palestine protesters has been seen millions of times after being shared on social media platforms.
In the video, Jolie appears to express support for Palestine by saying “All genocides begin with the failure to challenge these behaviours. Your generation can resist this. It already is”
By transcribing the video and searching online, however, the ESN found a transcript of a speech given by Jolie on the 25th anniversary of the Bosnian Srebrenica genocide, along with a YouTube video published on July 11, 2020.
Video purporting to show severe turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight dates back to 2019
A video circulated on social media purports to be from the severe turbulence on a Singapore Airline flight from London to Singapore on Tuesday, May 21, that killed one person and left dozens injured.
A keyword search on X for the “Mirjeta Basha” — the name courtesied on the video — produced results dating back to June 2019 and included versions of the same Sky News video.
A local newspaper from southwestern Germany, Badische Zeitung, reported the photo was shot on June 16, 2019, by a passenger on an ALK Airlines flight from Pristina to Basel, located in Switzerland near the German border, that had encountered turbulence. Ten people onboard were taken to hospital after landing.