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.

540 checks

What are AI protests in Germany?

TikTok · Coordinated campaign identified targeting 6 countries. Individual videos gathered 300,000+ views each. Videos feature fake journalists with country-specific media logos.

True

This appears to be an ordinary in-class photo used as part of the TikTok "It's My Time" meme (caption: "when my teacher randomly decided it was my time"). The media looks plausible and likely authentic; the caption is a personal anecdote/meme rather than a verifiable news claim.

TechnologyPoliticsView details→

Did Peter Thiel say, "If you're evil, you're at least competent"?

X · Viral X posts (multiple sources cited with 100K+ engagement); HuffPost coverage; widespread social media sharing of decontextualized clip

True

Authentic footage: Peter Thiel made the quoted remark during an MD MEETS interview published by Axel Springer on September 24, 2026; major episode pages and the published episode corroborate the line and its context.

PoliticsTechnologyView details→

Did Japan ban Israeli tourists from entering the country?

X · One X post claimed 1.3M+ views; multiple posts on Facebook, X using 'BREAKING' language; spread during Israel-Gaza protests at Japanese embassy

False

False — there is no evidence Japan has enacted a nationwide ban on Israeli tourists. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to list Israel for short-term visa exemption and multiple independent fact-checkers have debunked viral posts claiming a ban.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Is Crown Royal facing an import ban in the U.S.?

Threads · Threads post: 'Crown Royal is facing a future import ban in the United States starting September 29, 2026'. The ban took effect 9/29; Sunday Guardian and Hindustan Times ran 'Did Trump ban Crown Royal?' fact-checks citing viral TikTok/X posts.

True But

There is an official U.S. import prohibition on specified Canadian alcoholic beverages that took effect on September 29, 2026. However, the post's implication that Crown Royal itself is definitively 'facing' a ban is incomplete: implementation details and permitted workarounds (e.g., bulk shipments and U.S. processing) mean Crown Royal may not be wholly barred in practice.

EconomyConsumerView details→

What happened on the Flydubai flight on September 30, 2026?

X · One Objective post quotes the attacker as saying 'I'm going to bomb the plane, Death to America, Death to Trump - Allahu Akbar' over cockpit video. End Wokeness: 'Muslim co-pilot stabs pilot and tries to take down plane'. Both embedded by WND.

True But

Reputable news organisations confirm that on Sept. 30, 2026 a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced a cockpit stabbing and an attempted crash; passengers and crew subdued the attacker and the aircraft landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The social‑media caption correctly identifies the violent incident but mixes or amplifies details (exact passenger/child counts and quoted slogans) that are not corroborated in major reporting.

ConflictCrimeView details→

Did Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska hold Israeli passports?

Facebook · Mimikama (DE/AT) debunked it on 29 Sep and Maldita (ES) on 30 Sep. Maldita found Google SynthID watermarks on both images. The images first appeared in Aug and Sep 2026 and are spreading again now. · resurfaced

False

The pictured Israeli passports for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska are manipulated forgeries. Multiple fact-checking organisations and Ukraine's counter-disinformation centre have analysed and debunked these images; there is no credible evidence the documents are authentic.

PoliticsConflictView details→

What did Erika Kirk say in her Vanity Fair interview?

X · A partial 'I am so fixated and paranoid...' quote was reframed online as Erika Kirk suspecting a cover-up; picked up by online news on 30 Sep.

True

The post quotes lines from a Vanity Fair profile of Erika Kirk published on September 29, 2026; those quotes appear verbatim in the Vanity Fair article and contemporaneous news coverage, so the post's claims are accurate.

PoliticsCrimeView details→

Did Trump say he did a shitty job as president?

X · Clipped quote pushed by several large left-leaning X accounts and by David Pakman on Bluesky; Mediaite reported it as out of context.

True But

The video is authentic and shows President Trump saying the line quoted in the post during the America.gov launch on September 29, 2026. He uttered the words, but they were spoken conditionally/jokingly about whether the new AI portal would be his "biggest" achievement—sharing the clipped line without that context is misleading.

PoliticsView details→

Did NATO just drop a new promotional clip?

X · The X post had over one million views; Facebook copies in English and Italian say NATO 'just dropped' the clip. New coverage on 29 and 30 Sep shows it is still spreading. · resurfaced

Misleading

The video is an authentic NATO promotional video originally published on NATO's official YouTube channel on 7 July 2024; the post's claim that NATO 'just dropped this new promotional clip' is false/misleading, and the characterization of the clip as purely 'war propaganda' is an opinion. The video's content matches NATO's stated message about allied solidarity and support for Ukraine.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Is Russia staging propaganda videos in Oleshky?

X · 'Olechky' in Google Trends FR (500+, 29 Sep); covered by Euronews (28 Sep), Kyiv Independent editorial, Kyiv Post & RTE (30 Sep); tennis player Oliinykova and musician Pivovarov posted 'google Oleshky'; 'Save Oleshky' banner at football match.

Can't Verify

The X post accurately records an intelligence assessment made public by Ukraine's foreign minister on 30 September 2026. Multiple reputable outlets quote Sybiha's statement, but independent on-the-ground confirmation of the specific allegation that Russia is preparing dozens of staged videos coercing residents was not found in public reporting.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Josh Hawley say he would charge Jack Smith with perjury?

X · Google Trends US 'Eric Schmitt' 500+; heavy coverage (Mediaite, Daily Beast, TPM, NBC). MAGA influencers (Benny Johnson, Hannity, Mark Levin producer) posted 'caught perjuring', some later deleted; Hawley posted 'I'd charge Jack Smith with perjury'.

True

The post accurately reproduces Senator Josh Hawley’s remarks from the September 29, 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing; the image is an authentic hearing still and the quoted lines are confirmed in the televised transcript and contemporaneous press coverage. The statements are Hawley’s political opinions/calls for discipline, not independently established findings about Jack Smith.

PoliticsView details→

What does Trump's unusual posture in the viral video indicate?

X · Several X accounts posted the clip claiming leg weakness or hyperextension; picked up by online news on 30 Sep. Matches ongoing Trump-health search demand.

Can't Verify

The video is authentic footage from a Sept. 29, 2026 White House driveway gaggle and shows the posture described. News outlets confirmed the event and quoted Trump's remarks about "superintelligence," but there is no independent medical confirmation that the posture is caused by a leg injury or indicates cognitive decline. The health-related interpretation in the caption is unsupported by available evidence.

HealthPoliticsView details→