copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-08-24): FALSE: This video is not of Nigerien Finance minister crying after being told to account for stolen money [...] This tweet with a video, supposedly of Nigerien Finance minister crying after being told to account for all stolen money in the next 48 hours or face execution is FALSE. [...] PesaCheck has looked into a tweet claiming to show a video of Nigerien Finance minister crying after being told to account for all the stolen money in the next 48 hours or face execution and found it to be FALSE.
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-08-18): Soon after his removal, amateur footage of a large march surfaced online purporting to show a pro-Bazoum rally in Niger’s capital Niamey on August 6. In reality, the clip was filmed on the day of the president’s removal from power. Another viral video allegedly featured Niger’s deposed finance minister crying after coup leaders gave him an ultimatum to account for missing funds or face death. But Agence French Presse found the clip was from 2021 and in fact showed Niger’s former Justice Minister Marou Amadou expressing his gratitude to ex-President Mahamadou Issoufou.
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-08-18): A video of a man in a white shirt crying uncontrollably as he wipes his face with his green scarf has been circulating online since late July 2023 with the claim that he is Niger’s minister of finance Ahmat Jidoud, and faces execution. A typical caption reads: "Finance Minister of Niger Republic weeps after being reportedly told by new military junta to account for all the stolen money of the country in the next 48 hours or face execution by firing squad." [...] But does it show Niger’s finance minister crying after he was given 48 hours to account for the country’s stolen money or face a firing squad?
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-08-14): Fact-check: Former Niger finance minister caught on video crying after allegedly squandering state funds? [...] A video originally posted on Tiktok and making the rounds on WhatsApp claiming that Niger’s former finance minister was crying after being threatened with death by firing squad for stealing from the state coffers is false. The video shows a man sobbing and being offered a bottle of water. The WhatsApp message accompanying the video claims that the man, supposedly Niger’s former finance minister, was crying because he was given an ultimatum of 48 hours by the coup plotters to account for all the stolen Nigerien money or else he would be killed by firing squad. The video was shared on July 31, 2023.
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-08-10): The head of the presidential guard, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, claims he now runs Niger, while the junta appointed ex-finance minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, as the new prime minister following the coup.
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-07-30): On Friday evening, a video allegedly showing the erstwhile Minister of Finance of Niger, Dr Ahmat Jidoud, emerged within the Nigerian online space with claims that the new military junta had asked him to account for stolen funds of the country within 48 hours or face execution by firing squad. [...] The narrative was that the minister was crying while praising the former presidents of Niger, especially the former President of the Republic, Muhammadu Issoufou, with whom he worked for ten years as Minister of Justice. [...] The claim that the Ex-Nigerien Minister of Finance, Ahmat Jidoud, has been arrested by the Abdourahmane Tchiani-led military junta of the Republic of Niger is false. The video purportedly showing the erstwhile Finance Minister crying has been on the internet since 2021, and the man in the video is reportedly a former Minister of Justice, Marou Amadou.
Claim: purports to show Niger's Minister of Finance crying (Video, 2023-07-29)
Evidence (2023-08-01): If you only have a minute - Many social media accounts have been sharing a video of a man crying in front of the cameras, claiming that it show Niger's finance minister after the junta gave him "48 hours" to explain "missing" money in the state budget. [...] A video published on July 29 and viewed more than 10 million times on Twitter shows a man crying in front of the cameras and holding his face in his hands. The person who shared the video claims it shows Niger's finance minister being ordered by the junta to explain what happened to the "missing money" from public funds. "The army has given him 48 hours [...] to explain the country's failing finances, otherwise he will face execution by a firing squad," reads the caption. [...] Therefore, this video does not show Niger’s finance minister crying because the junta threatened to kill him if he did not explain where the public money was. Instead, the video was taken in 2021 when the former justice minister paid tribute to Niger's former president.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-08-09): The claim is inaccurate. The New York Post did report on the journalist’s guilty plea, just with a different headline and the journalist did not debunk ‘Pizzagate.’
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2024-09-19): - ^ a b Hsu, Spencer (March 24, 2017). "Comet Pizza gunman pleads guilty to federal and local charges". The Washington Post. Washington. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. [...] - ^ "Pizzagate gunman refuses to dismiss online conspiracy theory claims about child sex ring". Fox News. December 8, 2016. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016. [...] - ^ Young, Cathy (December 9, 2016). "'Pizzagate' Recalls the Debunked Child Sex Rings of the '80s and '90s". New York Observer. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2022-04-19): Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A reporter who was jailed for possessing child sexual abuse images was not the person who debunked the "pizzagate" conspiracy theory.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): Runaway teen's ex-boyfriend pleads guilty to possessing child sex abuse images October 3, 2024 | 12:49amEddie Davis, 37, pleaded guilty to a count of sexual abuse of children more than a year after it was revealed the pervert was connected to Navarro.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2024-09-30): "Pizzagate" refers to a 2016 conspiracy theory that falsely claimed that New York City Police had discovered a pedophile ring operating out of Washington D.C.-based pizzeria, Comet Ping Pong. [...] Has anyone debunked this new Pizzagate scandal?
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2024-07-07): - ^ a b c Rizzo, Salvador (February 1, 2023). "Former ABC News journalist charged in child pornography case". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2023. [...] - ^ Barakat, Matthew (July 22, 2023). "Ex-ABC News reporter pleads guilty in Virginia court to child porn charges". Richmond Times-Dispatch. [...] - ^ "Former journalist who lived on Columbia Pike pleads guilty to child sexual abuse material possession | ARLnow.com". July 21, 2023.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2019-04-05): The dismissals represent a small fraction of the hundreds of federal and state child pornography prosecutions since 2011. More often, defendants plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence. (Of 17 closed cases brought since 2017 by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, all but two resulted in plea deals, ProPublica found.) Even after their charges were dropped, Tolworthy and Hartman are both facing new trials. Still, the dismissals are noteworthy because challenges to the software are spreading among the defense bar and gaining credence with judges.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-09-26): Disgraced former ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek — who traded "sadistic" child pornography content involving infants and toddlers — should get as much as 15 years behind bars at his sentencing later this week, federal prosecutors said. Meek, 54, is set to be sentenced Friday in Virginia federal court after he pleaded guilty in July to transporting and possessing child sex abuse material — and has asked the judge for the minimum of five years in prison. [...] The once-acclaimed national security journalist sent and received child porn materials of "infants and toddlers and content depicting sadistic and masochistic abuse of prepubescent children," the prosecutors wrote.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-12-04): Fabricated headline falsely links journalist child porn conviction to pizzagate | Fact check [...] "Award winning ABC journalist who ‘debunked’ Pizzagate, pleads guilty in horrific child porn case," reads the headline. [...] - Iva Benson, Dec. 5, Email exchange with USA TODAY - New York Post, accessed Dec. 1, website search - New York Post, July 21, Ex-ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek facing minimum 5 years in child porn case following guilty plea - New York Post, July 18, Ex-ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek to plead guilty in child porn case - ABC News, April 13, 2017, Behind #SyriaHoax and the Russian propaganda onslaught
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-12-02): CLAIM: An expert who debunked the "pizzagate" conspiracy theory has been jailed for possessing child sexual abuse images. THE FACTS: A former ABC reporter referenced in a meme circulating online was recently sentenced to federal prison for such crimes, but he never investigated "pizzagate." The long-dormant conspiracy theory — which posited that Democratic Party insiders harbored child sex slaves in a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor — has been revived online in recent days, boosted by prominent social media users including Elon Musk. [...] "Award winning ABC journalist who ‘debunked’ pizzagate, pleads guilty in horrific child porn case," the headline reads over an image of Meek. The newspaper didn’t comment, but a search of its website archive showed no such story, and the headline image does not match the outlet’s style.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-12-06): NO: There is no truth to the conspiratorial claim that a child-sex trafficking ring was ever operated out of Comet Ping Pong, a pizza shop in Washington, D.C. YES: James Meek, a veteran reporter for ABC News, pleaded guilty to transportation and possession of child pornography in July 2023. NO: Meek was not a "Pizzagate expert" and was not involved with the network’s investigations into the debunked conspiracy theory. YES: The Pizzagate conspiracy theory — which is a precursor to QAnon conspiracy theories — was widely debunked by reporting from dozens of reputable, standards-based news and fact-checking organizations. YES: A fabricated New York post headline that falsely labeled Meek as the "journalist who ‘debunked’ Pizzagate" was circulated on social media in August 2023. NewsLit takeaway: Purveyors of misinformation frequently fabricate false claims to spread and support false narratives, or to draw well-established facts into question. While those individual claims are often swiftly debunked, their underlying messages often persist on social media as they get repeated in new memes and posts.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-07-21): Former Journalist Pleads Guilty to Transportation and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material [...] A former journalist pleaded guilty today to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-12-03): Musk’s posts have since been deleted. But the false connection stems from an image of a fabricated New York Post headline that spread online in recent months. "Award winning ABC journalist who ‘debunked’ pizzagate, pleads guilty in horrific child porn case," the headline reads over an image of Meek. The newspaper didn’t comment, but a search of its website archive showed no such story, and the headline image does not match the outlet’s style. Spokespersons for ABC News didn’t respond to messages seeking comment, but a review of the network’s online archives shows Meek never published an investigation on "pizzagate" while employed there. A 2017 story he co-wrote about Russian propaganda during the war in Syria only briefly mentions the conspiracy theory. Instead, numerous news outlets at the time, including CNN and The New York Times, debunked the rumor. Meek, who covered national security issues until his resignation last year, was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse images.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-11-29): In a now deleted Tweet, Musk had posted a meme from The Office, where Michael Scott is telling Pam "Pizzagate is real" as she responds "no it isn't, we have experts", with Scott finishing by saying "your expert just went to jail for child porn." [...] Musk accompanied the men with the caption, "Does seem at least a little suspicious". And added to the tweet a story about former journalist James Gordon Meek pleading guilty to possession of child sex abuse imagery. In the summer, a fake New York Post headline that read 'Award Winning ABC Journalist Who 'Debunked' Pizzagate, Pleads Guilty in Horrific Child Porn Case,' went viral. The Post in fact never published such a headline, and Meek never wrote an article debunking Pizzagate.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-07-21): Ex-ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek facing minimum 5 years in child porn case following guilty plea Disgraced former ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek is facing at least five years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography in a Virginia federal court Friday. [...] The shamed journalist also kept child porn images and videos on his other devices that showed he’d chatted with minors on the internet, prosecutors allege.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-11-28): Journalist who pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse images did not debunk Pizzagate [...] The claim that Meek debunked Pizzagate seems to have originated from what appears to be a fake New York Post headline that read, "Award winning ABC journalist who ‘debunked’ Pizzagate, pleads guilty in horrific child porn case." We searched the New York Post archives, Nexis news archives and Google and found no story with that or a similar headline. PolitiFact also reached out to the New York Post to confirm whether the headline was authentic, but did not immediately receive a response. [...] U.S. Office of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, "Former Journalist Pleads Guilty to Transportation and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material," July 21, 2023.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-07-18): Ex-ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek to plead guilty in child porn case Former ABC News reporter James Gordon Meek is scheduled to plead guilty later this week in a case accusing him of exchanging child porn content and sending disturbing messages about his alleged perverted desires.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-11-28): On Tuesday morning, tech billionaire Elon Musk tweeted an image related to the Pizzagate conspiracy and a journalist sentenced for charges related to child pornography. He deleted the tweet, but not before it racked up more than 10 million views. In a follow-up post, Musk clarified that the "expert" referred to in the meme is former ABC News investigative journalist James Gordon Meek, who pleaded guilty in July 2023 to federal charges related to the transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. A screenshot of a supposed New York Post headline—reading "Award Winning ABC Journalist Who ‘Debunked’ Pizzagate, Pleads Guilty in Horrific Child Porn Case"—circulated online a month later, but Reuters’ fact-checking team noted at the time that such a headline did not exist in the New York Post’s archives and that Meek did not conduct an investigation of the Pizzagate conspiracy while at ABC News. (Meek does feature as one of three authors of an article about Russian propaganda in Syria that mentions Pizzagate in passing.)
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-11-30): CLAIM: An expert who debunked the "pizzagate" conspiracy theory has been jailed for possessing child sexual abuse images. [...] "Award winning ABC journalist who ‘debunked’ pizzagate, pleads guilty in horrific child porn case," the headline reads over an image of Meek. [...] Meek, who covered national security issues until his resignation last year, was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse images.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2023-11-28): In another post replying to the first, Musk linked to an Associated Press article published by NBC News about an ABC News journalist’s pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges. NBC News could not locate any content related to pizzagate published by the ABC News journalist on his archived author page. [...] The ABC News journalist Musk referred to was folded into online discussion of pizzagate when a fake New York Post headline circulated that was fabricated to say the journalist had had a hand in "debunking" pizzagate. A similar headline was applied to a different journalist who also became the subject of posts from Musk. That journalist, who was featured in three pizzagate-related posts that Musk responded to, was arrested this month on charges of possessing and transmitting child sexual abuse material; there’s no indication that he had a central role in debunking pizzagate.
Claim: New York Post headline reports that journalist who debunked pizzagate plead guilty in child porn case (Viral post, 2023-08-09)
Evidence (2024-07-27): Musk’s most recent Pizzagate post is a meme from The Office. "Pizzagate is real," the first panel says over an image of Michael Scott. Pam explains that it’s not, according to experts. "Your expert just went to jail for child porn," Michael replies. "Does seem at least a little suspicious," Musk wrote in his caption. Musk replied to this image with a story about former journalist James Gordon Meek pleading guilty to possession of child sex abuse imagery. Over the summer, a fake New York Post headline went viral online. "Award Winning ABC Journalist Who ‘Debunked’ Pizzagate, Pleads Guilty in Horrific Child Porn Case," it said. The Post never ran such a headline and Meek never published an article debunking Pizzagate—at most, the conspiracy was merely referenced in a story about Syria that Meek co-authored with two other reporters in 2017. The long-debunked Pizzagate conspiracy posits that there was a dungeon underneath the suburban D.C. pizza parlor Comet Ping Pong. The story had it that Washington power players like Hillary Clinton frequented this dungeon to abuse children. Comet Ping Pong does not have a basement and the conspiracy theory has been routinely debunked, although it has had troubling real-world effects: In 2016, a man was arrested after bringing an AR-15 into Comet Ping Pong to "investigate" the conspiracy and firing several shots.
Claim: George Soros is banned from several countries (Viral Post, 2023-04-19)
Evidence (2023-04-19): There is no evidence for the claim. A Soros spokesperson told PolitiFact that Soros is not banned from the countries.
Claim: George Soros is banned from several countries (Viral Post, 2023-04-19)
Evidence (2020-10-02): A viral Facebook post shared over 16,000 times claims billionaire George Soros "has been banned from 6 countries including his country of birth." [...] In recent weeks, social media users have been sharing posts claiming the philanthropist has been "banned from six countries, including his country of birth." The claim appears to stem from an Oct. 1, 2019 YouTube video titled, "George Soros Now BANNED From 6 Nations," that was shared by conservative YouTuber and podcaster Dr. Steve Turley. In the video, Turley names the Philippines, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Poland and Pakistan as the six countries that allegedly banned Soros. While some of his organizations are not allowed to operate in some of those countries, there is no evidence to suggest Soros himself has been banned from any of them. Laura Silber, the chief communications officer at OSF, said in an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation: "George Soros has not been banned from any country." (RELATED: Does George Soros Own The Voting Technology Firm Smartmatic?)
Claim: George Soros is banned from several countries (Viral Post, 2023-04-19)
Evidence (2023-09-05): The announcement by the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the global grant-making network founded by billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros, to sharply curtail European funding has rattled the continent’s civil society communities. Part of a momentous overhaul, the $25 billion-strong philanthropy that the 93-year-old hedge fund tycoon handed over to his son Alexander Soros this year will phase out many of its long-standing European programs and grant-giving activities. In an Aug. 31 internal letter, the younger Soros explained that the OSF was not withdrawing as such from Europe: "In our new operating model, we will be better positioned to allow the robust civil society sector in many EU countries to move forward, as we free resources and personnel to anticipate emerging threats from authoritarians across the region, and indeed, around the world."