The daily check-in

Trending, checked.

Twice a day we pull the posts going viral on TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook and run them through the record. Each entry is a published verdict — what we found, why, and the sources behind it.

241 checks

Did Trump post a 'Welcome to Greenland' image showing the island as a giant US air base?

X · 3.8K likes; Trump's AI Greenland-carrier image covered by Mediaite, IBTimes, Raw Story and MEAWW 31 Oct

True But

Trump really did post this AI-generated 'Welcome to Greenland' illustration on Truth Social on 31 October 2026, and the September security deal did expand US military rights on the island — but there was no 'Greenland takeover': the territory remains under Danish sovereignty.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Does this video show the explosion at Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden?

X · Primary 170 likes; reposted on X (31 Oct), Facebook reels and Instagram amid the Houthi-Saudi escalation

Misleading

The video is real but recycled: it shows the 30 August 2024 gas-station explosion in Aden's Mansoura district, not a strike on Al-Maashiq Palace in late October 2026. The caption reattributes old footage to a fresh attack, a claim Misbar and earlier AFP fact-checks have debunked.

ConflictView details→

Did Putin say Russia is ready for war with Europe and that World War III has begun?

X · Primary post 25.5K likes, 730 replies (X syndication, 1 Nov); copied by several Arabic-language accounts

Misleading

The Russian audio and footage are a genuine Moscow Victory Day parade, but the caption misrepresents it: Putin's "we are ready, but we do not want war with Europe… there will be no winners" line from 29 October 2026 is real, while the added claim that "World War III has begun" is invented and the parade video is old footage passed off as breaking war news.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Lt Gen Girish Kalia say China has taken control of Asaphila, Longju and Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh?

X · 11.7K likes, 609 replies; Indian Army debunk; part of ongoing Arunachal deepfake wave

False

The video is a deepfake: real 2023 footage of then Major General Girish Kalia in Kupwara was re-voiced with AI lip-syncing to insert fabricated remarks about China seizing parts of Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Army and several independent fact-checkers have debunked the clip and the claim it carries.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Rajnath Singh say the Indian Army cannot fight China?

X · 1,931 likes, 288 replies; PIB Fact Check issued a deepfake alert

False

The video is a deepfake: genuine ANI footage of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from a 26 October 2026 press interaction about Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks, with AI-generated audio falsely making him say the Indian Army cannot fight China and that soldiers are rebelling against the BJP government. PIB Fact Check and independent fact-checkers confirm he made no such statements.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did a missile hit a ship loaded with iPhones in the Strait of Hormuz?

X · 82 likes on X post; still spreading per three fact-checks published 29-30 Oct (Correctiv, dpa, Facta) · resurfaced

False

The video of people scooping up iPhone boxes from a pink-tinted sea near a listing container ship is AI-generated — the earliest version was posted by an AI-art Instagram account with an 'AI content' label and carries Google SynthID watermarks — yet this repost presents it as real footage of a missile strike in the Strait of Hormuz. The GFS Pride did sink in the strait on 14 October 2026 after being hit, but no evidence establishes that it was carrying iPhones.

ConflictTechnologyView details→

Did Trump say the Iran war was paid for by hundreds of billions of dollars taken from Venezuela?

X · 6.3K likes, 950 replies on clip of Trump's Oval Office remarks

False

The video is genuine White House footage of Donald Trump on 30 October 2026, and he did say the Iran war spending was more than covered by hundreds of billions of dollars taken in from Venezuela. That financial claim is false: the war has cost about $47 billion and Venezuelan oil revenue is estimated at roughly $13 billion, held in accounts the administration itself calls Venezuelan property.

PoliticsEconomyView details→

Did the Houthis bomb Aden International Airport in October 2026?

X · 885 likes, 79 replies; same text copied by @Sou_Arab_News; Aden fighting still escalating

Can't Verify

The video shows large explosion smoke plumes over an urban district, consistent with the confirmed Houthi missile strikes on Aden International Airport on 28 October 2026, which followed Houthi evacuation warnings — so the post's core account checks out, though its speculation about continuous secondary blasts and a possible weapons depot is unverified.

ConflictView details→

Did the Pentagon award $41 million to iX Biopharma for a ketamine wafer?

Facebook · Readers emailed Snopes enough to prompt a check (29 Oct); Google autocomplete leads with 'ketamine wafers for soldiers'

True

The Military Times/Defense News explainer accurately reports a real February 2026 Pentagon contract worth about $41 million with Singapore-based iX Biopharma to develop Wafermine, a sublingual ketamine wafer, plus the company's push for FDA emergency use authorization for troops. Every checkable claim in the clip matches the company's own regulatory filings and mainstream reporting.

HealthConflictView details→

Did Kemi Badenoch rewrite her support for the Iran war on Good Morning Britain?

X · 253 likes (syndication); HuffPost UK 29 Oct 'Taking public for fools: Badenoch accused of rewriting past Iran war remarks'.

True But

The clip is genuine ITV Good Morning Britain footage of Kemi Badenoch being challenged over her past support for the Iran war, and Labour's claim that she is softening that record is supported by her own dated statements from early 2026, though Labour's assertion that she 'admits' the Tories crashed the economy is a partisan spin on an ambiguous remark.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did Tucker Carlson post real video of an American beaten by Israeli settlers — and did Huckabee "blow him off"?

X · Carlson post ~126.8K likes (x-syndication); Huckabee rebuttal thread ~15.8K likes calling Carlson 'deranged' and publishing an embassy contact timeline; Gateway Pundit write-up 30 Oct

True But

The surveillance video is genuine footage of the 19 October 2026 settler assault on a Palestinian-American man in Turmus Ayya, and the beating is independently documented. Carlson's accompanying accusation that Ambassador Huckabee simply 'blew him off' is only partly supported: the ambassador published a dated record of repeated embassy contacts with the man's son, though the family's side and any US representations to Israel are unrecorded.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Is Trump reportedly planning to restart war with Iran after the election?

X · 14,821 likes / 2,802 replies (X syndication, 30 Oct); Daily Beast and IBTimes ('A Democratic Senator Said he Was Briefed on the Plan to Resume Attacks Against Iran') coverage 29 Oct

True But

The video is genuine footage of Senator Chris Murphy speaking at a Middle East Institute event on 28 October 2026, and his remarks are accurately quoted. His claim that the administration is reportedly preparing to restart strikes on Iran after the 3 November midterms is corroborated by Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN and AP-sourced reporting, though officials say no final decision has been made and his 'insane' characterisation is opinion.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did Zia Yusuf call Alastair Campbell a war criminal to his face on Question Time?

X · 7,638 likes / 647 replies within about 5h (X syndication, 30 Oct); 'Zia Yusuf', '#bbcqt' and 'Fiona Bruce' trending on X UK (trends24, 30 Oct); Express, GB News, Mirror and AOL coverage 29-30 Oct; Campbell replied (1,385 likes)

True But

The video is genuine BBC Question Time footage from the 29 October 2026 Warwick edition: Zia Yusuf did call Alastair Campbell a 'war criminal' to his face over Iraq, and Campbell did push back. Yusuf's core factual points on the 45-minute dossier claim, the absence of WMD stockpiles and roughly 180 UK military deaths check out, but the 600,000 Iraqi civilian death figure is a contested high-end estimate and the war criminal label is political opinion.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did Iran capture a US MQM-170 drone intact west of the Strait of Hormuz?

X · Post with video 283 likes (check.py 29 Oct); CENTCOM spokesman called the IRGC report false; conflicting versions (captured MQM-170 vs MEE report of MQ-1 shot down); covered by Gulf News, Middle East Eye, Saudi Gazette, Xinhua, CBS live blog 29 Oct

Can't Verify

The video is genuine footage released by Iran's IRGC and shows an airframe on the ground, but the central assertion — that a US MQM-170 drone was electronically captured intact west of the Strait of Hormuz — rests solely on Iranian state media and is categorically denied by US Central Command, with no independent verification.

ConflictView details→

Did a Russian drone strike the railway station in Dnipro, killing 13 people?

X · Zelensky post 13,138 likes / 710 replies, with video+photos (check.py 29 Oct); wide wire pickup (AFP via France24/Yahoo, CNN via local US sites, Kyiv Independent: toll now 14)

True

Authentic footage from Ukraine's State Emergency Service showing the aftermath of the 29 October 2026 Russian drone strike on Dnipro railway station, which Zelenskyy correctly described: 13 people had been confirmed killed at the time of posting, with the toll later revised to 14.

ConflictView details→

Did three tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz and catch fire?

X · Post with video 461 likes (check.py 29 Oct); UKMTO confirmed at least one ship on fire, another in distress, no cause given; CENTCOM insists primary routes demined; wire pickup (Reuters via IOL/Dhaka Tribune, Xinhua, Saudi Gazette, CBS) 29 Oct; oil-market relevance

Can't Verify

The IRGC did announce on 29 October 2026 that three tankers hit mines and burned in the Strait of Hormuz, so the post's attribution is accurate — but the mine-strike account is an unverified belligerent claim that CENTCOM disputes, and independent monitors confirmed only a single burning vessel with the cause unknown. The clip is plausible IRGC-released footage of a burning vessel but cannot by itself confirm the specific three-tanker incident.

ConflictEconomyView details→

Has Iran's air force declared a no-fly zone over the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, barring civilian aircraft, as a viral video of Iranian fighter jets claims?

X · 1,149 likes on @Rd_Irani (syndication, 29 Oct); multiple Facebook reels with same clip cited by Misbar (EN + AR fact-checks 28 Oct)

False

The video is genuine Israeli Air Force footage of F-15I jets heading to strikes on Tehran, released by the IDF in June 2025, but the Arabic caption presents it as an Iranian Air Force operation enforcing a no-fly zone over the Strait of Hormuz — an announcement for which no credible evidence exists.

ConflictView details→

Does a viral video show Benjamin Netanyahu being violently attacked in Tel Aviv after the 27 October 2026 election, leaving him severely injured and needing to be flown to the United States?

X · 9,361 likes on the X post (check.py syndication, 29 Oct ~02:45Z) within ~9h; Lead Stories fact-check 28 Oct

False

The clip is real but wholly unrelated footage: it shows the 2013 attempt on Bulgarian politician Ahmed Dogan in Sofia, not an attack on Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. The 'breaking' claim of his severe injury and evacuation to the United States is fabricated.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did a Houthi ballistic missile hit Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery on 27 October 2026 and set off huge fires, as Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed?

X · 1,426 likes on @MMY1444 relay of Saree statement (syndication, 29 Oct); wide pickup: Anadolu, Baird Maritime, Marine Insight (28 Oct), Clash Report, Al-Quds, Euronews Arabic; Energy News Beat 29 Oct on oil price reaction

True But

The post reproduces a genuine 27 October 2026 statement by Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claiming a precise ballistic-missile hit on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery with massive fires. Missile launches at the Eastern Province, interceptions and a contained fire near Ras Tanura are corroborated by Reuters, AFP and Bloomberg, but Saudi Arabia never confirmed the refinery was hit and the scale of damage is unverified.

ConflictEconomyView details→

Does a viral video show the US military preparing to launch a nuclear strike on Iran?

X · 3,073 likes on @AmericaSpoof (syndication, 29 Oct); Turkish version by @Mustafakurnaz 1,490 likes; copied by other accounts (Mr_J_F_K_Jr, Qdigital12); Misbar fact-check 28 Oct

Misleading

The footage is genuine but not American: it is Russian Yars intercontinental missile launchers on a February 2024 parade march to Alabino, relabelled as US forces poised to strike Iran. No evidence supports the claim of US nuclear-strike preparations or an attack on 29 October 2026.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Does a viral video show Iran's Revolutionary Guard newly rehearsing a missile strike on Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor this week?

X · 777 likes (syndication, 28 Oct); Misbar fact-check 28 Oct (old 'Great Prophet 17' drill, Dec 2021) · resurfaced

Misleading

The video is genuine IRGC footage, but of the December 2021 Payambar-e Azam 17 exercise — not a new simulation carried out amid October 2026 tensions. Presenting it as a fresh 'urgent' drill against Dimona is misleading.

ConflictView details→

Does a viral video show Yemen's Houthis capturing 47 Pakistani soldiers near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait during the current Houthi-Saudi fighting?

X · GFNIND 1,189 likes (syndication, 28 Oct); Misbar fact-check 28 Oct; Pakistani autocomplete shows question searches

False

The video is real handheld conflict footage but predates the claim by years, and the assertion that Houthi rebels captured 47 Pakistani soldiers at Bab al-Mandeb is unsupported and contradicted by fact-checkers, who trace the clip to April 2023. The post uses old footage to dress up a fabricated war rumour.

ConflictView details→

Did Saudi Arabia cut daily crude production by 80%?

X · 1,913 likes on X (syndication); MEAWW fact-check 27 Oct

False

The post's central claim — that Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ cut crude production by 80% and locked shipments to the West — is false. No authoritative reporting, OPEC/OPEC+ statement, or official Saudi/US statement supports it; a viral fact-check has debunked the claim.

EconomyConflictView details→

Does this video show a recent Houthi bombing in Riyadh?

X · 304 likes + 298 likes (syndication); Misbar EN 27 Oct, Al-Masry Al-Youm 27 Oct; new Houthi missiles at Riyadh 27 Oct keep it relevant · resurfaced

Misleading

The video likely shows a real high-rise fire, but there is no verified evidence that it depicts damage from a Houthi strike in Riyadh 'just now.' Saudi authorities did report debris-related damage in Riyadh on October 27, 2026, but independent fact-checkers have found that many viral clips claiming to show Houthi strikes are old or unrelated — the post’s attribution is therefore misleading.

ConflictView details→