copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-03): There was a Chinese government balloon floating over Montana on Thursday that now appears to have blown to Kansas City, and it’s causing an old-fashioned international incident in addition to earning five-alarm BREAKING LIVE TRACKER coverage on every cable news network. Let’s get into it. [...] Late Thursday afternoon, NBC News reported that the U.S. military was tracking a "suspected Chinese surveillance balloon" that had flown into airspace above Billings, Montana, via Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and Canada. (The Associated Press has since published the sentence "The balloon was first reported by NBC News." Thank you for reporting balloon, NBC.) As of this writing, it appears to be hovering above Kansas City, Missouri. [...] A spokesperson for the Chinese government confirmed Friday that the balloon originated from thereabouts, but claimed it was not a spy balloon—merely a "civilian airship" used for research about weather patterns. In this case, the balloon "deviated far from its planned course," thanks to its "limited self-steering capability" and the strong wind currents of the westerlies. The U.S. government is suspicious of this explanation. (Reasonable, considering the Communist Party also said Friday that "China is a responsible country"—hmm—"that always abides by international law"—uh-huh—"and has no intention of infringing on any country’s territory and airspace." Totally, yeah.)
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-07): But when the Pentagon announced Feb. 2 that a Chinese surveillance balloon had been seen hovering over the Northwest, the news unleashed a torrent of questions and political rhetoric. [...] High-altitude surveillance balloons, such as the one recently discovered from China, are different from satellites. These balloon-powered devices typically hover around 80,000 to 120,000 feet above ground. By comparison, the majority of satellites orbiting Earth do so at altitudes between 100 and 1,243 miles, although some satellites are as far as 22,370 miles away. [...] CNN, "Why the US hasn’t shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, according to officials," Feb. 3, 2023
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-04): China acknowledged Friday that a high-altitude balloon spotted this week over the U.S. does in fact belong to Beijing, but it referred to the airship as a civilian device "used for scientific research such as meteorology." A senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday that the Defense Department was "confident" that it was, in fact, a Chinese surveillance balloon. [...] After earlier sightings over Montana, the balloon moved along Friday to cross "the middle of the country," according to a U.S. official. A Chinese balloon has never been over the middle of the country before. The only other time a Chinese balloon has flown over the continental U.S. was during a brief overflight of Florida. There have been overflights of Hawaii and Guam. In previous instances, the Chinese have been able to recover the balloon. Although it can maneuver, it will still travel in the direction it is carried by the jet stream. [...] Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said Thursday in a statement that he had "received an informational briefing" Wednesday "on the situation involving a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over Montana," and added that he was "deeply troubled by the constant stream of alarming developments for our national security."
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-03): The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a balloon spotted over Montana Thursday was a civilian "airship" used primarily for meteorological research that drifted wildly off course. As for how the balloon end up in big sky country, which houses one of the nation’s nuclear launch facilities, China blamed the wind as well as the airship’s limited self-steering capabilities. Government officials apologized for their wayward balloon. [...] Earlier: The Chinese Foreign Ministry addressed the balloon incident in a daily briefing on Friday and stated it was "verifying" the situation, according to Reuters. Reports of a giant white spy balloon in sensitive air space in Montana, home to one of the nation’s three nuclear silos, captivated the internet on Thursday. They also traveled up the ladder, capturing the attention of U.S. military officials and President Joe Biden. At the briefing, the foreign ministry did not deny that the balloon belonged to China. [...] It’s not clear what will happen to China’s purported spy balloon now that its cover’s been blown. Top defense and military officials recommended Biden against shooting down the balloon because of the possible safety risks to the public from the debris. The AP reported that Biden accepted the recommendation.
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-06): The alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after traversing the continental U.S. has raised questions about whether other airships like it have floated into other countries’ airspace in the past. [...] Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Washington Post that lawmakers and military officials spoke on Saturday to discuss previous instances of similar surveillance balloons in the U.S. During the Trump Administration, a Chinese spy balloon reportedly made its way to Texas and Florida, military officials said Sunday. Another such balloon made it to Guam. One crashed off the coast of Hawaii four months ago, Fox News reported. [...] In the most recent incident in the U.S., a Chinese spy balloon was spotted about 60,000 feet over Billings, Montana on Feb. 1. It passed through Alaska and Canada, as well as parts of Idaho and Missouri, before the military shot it down above the Atlantic Ocean off the South Carolina coast.
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-03): Chinese spy balloon: US tracks suspected surveillance device The US is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted flying over sensitive sites in recent days. Defence officials said they were confident the "high-altitude surveillance balloon" belonged to China. It was most recently seen above the western state of Montana.
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-05): After the Biden administration disclosed last week that a suspected Chinese spy balloon was hovering over Montana, the Pentagon said similar balloon incidents had occurred during the Trump administration. In response, former Trump administration Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNN on Friday that he was "surprised" by that statement. [...] "This was a PRC (People’s Republic of China) surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites," the official said. [...] When US President Joe Biden learned a suspected Chinese spy balloon was drifting through the stratosphere 60,000 feet above Montana, his first inclination was to take it down.
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-02): One of the places the balloon was spotted was over the state of Montana, which is home to one of America's three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. [...] The defense official said the spy balloon was trying to fly over the Montana missile fields, but the U.S. has assessed that it has "limited" value in terms of providing intelligence it couldn't obtain by other technologies, such as spy satellites. [...] The surveillance balloon was first reported by NBC News.
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2024-02-20): Pentagon officials announced on Thursday that they had detected a Chinese "surveillance balloon" flying over Montana. On Friday the Pentagon’s press secretary said that the balloon is now over the central U.S. and moving eastward at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. Observers on the ground have been able to snap photographs and videos of the object, and the incident has prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned trip to China. Although China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly claimed that the object is merely a civilian weather observatory blown off course, later on Friday, the Pentagon press secretary, Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, held a press briefing where he stated, "We know that it’s a surveillance balloon.... We know this is a Chinese balloon and that it has the ability to maneuver." [...] How can the Pentagon tell it is actually a spy balloon, as opposed to a civilian project for meteorology research, as the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed?
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-02): News that the Pentagon is monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in the skies over the continental United States raises a series of questions – not least among them, what exactly it might be doing. US officials have said the flight path of the balloon, first spotted over Montana on Thursday, could potentially take it over a "number of sensitive sites" and say they are taking steps to "protect against foreign intelligence collection." [...] According to Layton, the suspected Chinese balloon is likely collecting information on US communication systems and radars.
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-03): A graph circulating on social media that purports to show the reverse trajectory of a suspected Chinese spy balloon has raised questions as to why it wasn't shot down, since weather data shows it would have originated from mainland China. [...] A senior defense official told reporters that the Pentagon had "very high confidence" that it was a Chinese high-altitude balloon collecting information about sensitive sites within America, according to the Associated Press. Montana is home to one of America's three domestic nuclear missile silo fields. [...] In a letter to Austin, Republican senator for Montana Steve Daines said that the balloon's presence over Montana, which has a nuclear silo field at the Malmstrom Air Force Base, "creates significant concern" that U.S. nuclear missile fields "are the target of this intelligence gathering mission." In a tweet he said that the administration has "failed to protect our skies."
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-09-14): MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Eyes were locked on the Carolina skies Saturday as a suspected Chinese spy balloon ended its weeklong traverse over the U.S. when it drifted over the Atlantic Ocean and was shot down by a fighter jet. [...] The balloon had entered the U.S. air defense zone north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28, crossed into Canadian airspace two days later and then back into the U.S. over northern Idaho on Tuesday, U.S. defense and military officials said. It was acknowledged by government officials Thursday, a day after commercial flights were temporarily halted at the airport in Billings, Montana, where people on the ground saw the balloon seemingly loitering high above the city. [...] It was viewed millions of times and local officials had to bat down speculation that a Chinese balloon had been shot down. The city of Billings issued a statement that declared "there have not been any explosions in, around, or across #Montana."
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-04): President Joe Biden said the mission to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the East Coast Saturday was successful, and that he had ordered the Pentagon to knock the aircraft out of the sky as soon as it was safe to do so. "On Wednesday when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down — on Wednesday — as soon as possible," the president told reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland. "They decided, without doing damage to anyone on the ground, they decided that the best time to do that was as it got over water ... within a 12-mile limit. They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," the president added. [...] U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the balloon was being used by the Chinese government "to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States."
Claim: purports a balloon seen hovering over Montana was a "Deep State" surveillance tool and not a suspected Chinese spy balloon (Post, 2023-02-04)
Evidence (2023-02-10): NORAD Missed Previous Chinese Spy Balloons: 'A Domain Awareness Gap We Have to Figure Out' Chinese surveillance balloons have previously entered U.S. airspace but went undetected by the Pentagon, the commander in charge of protecting American skies said Feb. 6.
Claim: a 15-year-old orphan named Billy recently created a "cost-free" portable air conditioning device (Viral Video, 2020-06-05)
Evidence (2020-06-05): The video uses footage from a short documentary about a 14-year-old computer programming prodigy. The air conditioning device is not “cost-free” and appears to be sold by a Hong Kong-based company.
Claim: a 15-year-old orphan named Billy recently created a "cost-free" portable air conditioning device (Viral Video, 2020-06-05)
Evidence (2020-07-01): Fact Check: 15-Year-Old Orphan Did NOT Invent 'Cost Free Air Con' That Destroyed The $15-Billion Air Conditioning Industry Did a 15-year-old orphan boy named Billy from Albuquerque invent a "cost free" air conditioner that "destroyed" the $15-billion air conditioning industry? No, that's not true: A marketing video making the claim is edited from an unrelated video of a teen software programming prodigy. The small portable Blaux air conditioner that the video is selling is not "cost free," and the company's website does not mention the story of the young inventor. The video tells a fake story intended to help an online marketer earn affiliate referral fees.
Claim: a 15-year-old orphan named Billy recently created a "cost-free" portable air conditioning device (Viral Video, 2020-06-05)
Evidence (2013-10-20): Davion Only, a 15-year-old orphan boy who recently pleaded in front of a Florida church for a family to adopt him, has now had about 10,000 families from the United States and abroad seeking to adopt him, says the adoption agency handling his case.
Claim: a 15-year-old orphan named Billy recently created a "cost-free" portable air conditioning device (Viral Video, 2020-06-05)
Evidence (2020-07-21): FACT CHECK: Video Claims A 15-Year-Old Orphan Invented A ‘Cost-Free’ Air Conditioning Device A video shared on Facebook claims a 15-year-old orphan named Billy recently created a "cost-free" portable air conditioning device. [...] While the device, called the Blaux Portable AC, is a real air conditioning unit, it is not "cost-free" and appears to sell for about $125, according to the official website. The backstory of it being invented by a 15-year-old orphan appears to have been fabricated. No mention of Billy is included on the company website. Nor did an internet search by the Daily Caller find any credible record of a 15-year-old orphan inventing such an air conditioning unit.
Claim: a 15-year-old orphan named Billy recently created a "cost-free" portable air conditioning device (Viral Video, 2020-06-05)
Evidence (2020-07-13): Did a 15-year-old orphan boy named Billy from Albuquerque invent a "cost free" air conditioner that "destroyed" the $15-billion air conditioning industry? No, that's not true: A marketing video making the claim is edited from an unrelated video of a teen software programming prodigy. The small portable Blaux air conditioner that the video is selling is not "cost free," and the company's website does not mention the story of the young inventor. The video tells a fake story intended to help an online marketer earn affiliate referral fees. [...] Sick of hot and stuffy rooms during summer? A 15-year-old just destroyed the billion dollar air-con industry with a device that pumps out ice cooled air for barely a dime... After word got out about what he'd made... Top colleges fought for the chance to give him a scholarship." [...] Finally, the air conditioner does not operate "cost free." It must be plugged into an electrical outlet to charge the battery, which has a cost.
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2020-01-04): The Jamkaran mosque has flown the red flag on several occasions over the past three years.
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2020-01-08): TEHRAN: Massively shared online publications claim that a red flag calling for revenge was raised for the "first time" above a mosque in the Iranian city of Qom, after the death of general Qassem Soleimani, killed by a US air strike. However, this red flag often flies above this mosque, as in the rest of the Shia Muslim world. WHAT ARE WE VERIFYING ?Various Twitter accounts as well as larger media organisations including the Daily Mail, the Times of India and the Daily Express, have claimed that a "red flag," synonymous with revenge, was unfurled for the "first time" in the history of Iran, over the Jamkaran mosque in Qom. A "symbol of severe battle to come," the Daily Express wrote. WHAT DO WE KNOW ?A red flag was raised above the main dome of the Jamkaran mosque in Qom, a holy Shia city 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Tehran. The holy site gained importance after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rise to power in 1989. The video was created by the mosque’s press office. This was confirmed to AFP by Yassine Hossein Abadi, one of the mosque’s administrators in charge of cultural affairs. Contrary to what many of the publications assert, this red flag — a colour symbolising the blood of martyrs — is frequently raised in Iran. It is often unfurled above mosques or brandished at religious processions, particularly during the Islamic month of Muharram, which ended on September 29 last year.
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2024-07-31): Red flag of revenge was raised in Iran after Haniyeh's death A video was shared on social media showing an Iranian TV channel's broadcast from outside Jamkaran Mosque, which is one of the primary significant mosques in Jamkaran, a village in the outskirts of the city of Qom. [...] In the clip, posted on X, a man was seen to raise the "red flag of revenge" on the top of the mosque. This comes as the Iranian supreme leader threatened to revenge the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran.
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2024-07-31): Iran raised the flag of revenge, a red flag, over the dome of Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, Iran, following Israel's assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau. [...] Watch: Iran raises red flag of revenge
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2020-01-20): Metro.co.uk published an article Jan. 4 claiming the Jamkaran mosque displayed a red flag of vengeance for the "first time in history," in response to the U.S. killing top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a Jan. 3 drone strike. [...] The Jamkaran mosque, a prominent Shiite pilgrimage site the Iranian city of Qom, hoisted a red flag above its turquoise dome Jan. 4, the day after the U.S. killed Soleimani in a drone strike, according to the Times of India. The flag, which bears an Arabic statement roughly translating to "The Avengers of Hussein," refers to Hussein ibn Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson who died in battle against Sunni Muslims during the 7th century. "It is the first time in history that the red flag has been hoisted on top of the Jamkaran mosque in the Iranian city," claims the Metro.co.uk article. ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos made a similar claim during a Jan. 5 broadcast of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2024-04-30): The Jamkaran Mosque (Persian: مسجد جمکران; Masjed-e Jamkarân) is one of the primary significant mosques in Jamkaran, a village in the outskirts of the city of Qom, Iran. [...] On 4 January 2020, a blood-red flag symbolizing vengeance unfurled above the dome in response to the 2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike. However, usually the red flag is raised during Muharram and it also flown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran whenever a milestone of casualties was reached.[6] [...] - ^ "History of Jamkaran Mosque". Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2024-07-31): Iran raised a symbolic red flag of revenge above an important mosque while vowing to take revenge against Israel over its assassination of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh. The red flag with the inscription, "O ye avengers of Hussein," was raised above Jamkaran Mosque in the city of Qom. The flag is rarely raised outside the mourning of the Muharram month, which commemorates the death of the Shiite Imam Hussein ibn Ali. According to the Kashmir Observer, it has only been raised above the mosque outside of religious reasons six times in recent history, notably after the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Leader Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.
Claim: The Jamkaran mosque in Iran raised a red flag over its dome for the first time in history. (Metro UK, 2020-01-04)
Evidence (2024-10-09): Various Twitter accounts as well as larger media organisations including the Daily Mail, the Times of India and the Daily Express, have claimed that a "red flag," synonymous with revenge, was unfurled for the "first time" in the history of Iran, over the Jamkaran mosque in Qom. A "symbol of severe battle to come," the Daily Express wrote. [...] A red flag was raised above the main dome of the Jamkaran mosque in Qom, a holy Shia city 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Tehran. The holy site gained importance after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rise to power in 1989. [...] This red flag is frequently used in Iran during the month of Muharram, or month of mourning, whether flown above mosques or brandished at religious processions. Although it was used on an unusual occasion at the Jamkaran mosque, this was not the first time that this flag was unfurled in Iran.