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.

88 checks

Did Elon Musk say a billion people could die in 2027?

Facebook · Full Fact: video 'shared thousands of times on Facebook'; og:title of primary shows 11K reactions; ends with plug for 'USWR' (United States Water Reserve) crypto token

False

The post is false. The clip purporting to show Elon Musk saying '1 billion people could die in 2027' uses generated audio and lip-sync manipulation; fact-checkers (Full Fact) found the statement is fabricated and did not appear in the original interview footage.

TechnologyEnvironmentView details→

Was there an ASOS push notification about a hack on October 6, 2026?

X · Primary 101 likes (syndication, 2026-10-06); story picked up by Guardian, FT, Forbes, STV, LBC, LADbible, Tyla, PinkNews on 2026-10-06; reports say ASOS shares fell ~11-12% after the alert; ASOS says it is investigating

Can't Verify

The push-notification image is authentic: many ASOS app users received a push on 6 October 2026 reading 'ASOS HACKED' and linking to a Telegram channel. The message's claim that ASOS's Snowflake instance was 'fully compromised' is an attacker assertion and has not been independently confirmed; ASOS says it is investigating.

TechnologyConsumerView details→

Did Patriot interceptor missiles fall onto Saudi Aramco facilities in Dammam?

X · Pushed by NofouzMap 90 min later and by 3 Facebook reels cited by Misbar

False

The video likely shows real falling burning debris (consistent with interceptor fragments) but fact-checkers and reporting show this specific clip is older and has been misattributed. The post's claim that Patriot interceptors recently malfunctioned and fell on Aramco facilities in Dammam is false.

ConflictTechnologyView details→

Was the Flydubai hijacking video staged?

Instagram · Posted by @daily_rumble account on Instagram. Lead Stories fact-checked conspiracy claim.

False

The Flydubai on-board attack of September 30, 2026 is a confirmed event reported by major outlets. The Instagram video from Daily Rumble mixes that reporting with older, unrelated cabin footage (traced to August 2025) and edited clips to claim the incident was staged; that use of misattributed footage is misleading.

ConflictTechnologyView details→

Did an Indian national named Raghav Menon attempt to hijack Flydubai flight FZ1073?

X · 300,000+ views on X post @ThokaReturns. Fact-checked by FullFact, BOOM, France24, Newschecker, NewsGuard.

False

The flight-deck incident aboard Flydubai FZ1073 on 30 Sept 2026 is real and confirmed by Flydubai and major news outlets. The 15‑second BBC-style clip and the post's caption that name 'Raghav Menon' as a hijacker and allege an Indian–Mossad conspiracy are fabricated: the clip is a deepfake (doctored BBC footage with AI audio/captions) and those specific allegations are false.

ConflictTechnologyView details→

Is the whale next to the fishing boat in the video real?

X · Multiple viral posts on TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube from late September

False

The short video was created with generative tools and is being presented as a real whale-boat encounter; fact-checking finds no credible on-scene corroboration and classifies the clip among a recent wave of AI-generated whale videos. The caption's implication that this is authentic footage is false.

ScienceTechnologyView details→

Did Anderson Cooper open a free hospital for the homeless?

X · AI-generated content circulated on X with fabricated images

False

The post is false. There is no evidence that Anderson Cooper opened a 250‑bed, free hospital for the homeless; fact-checkers report no credible coverage and attribute a denial from a CNN spokesperson. The image appears to be a synthetic or edited composite used to illustrate a fabricated event.

ConsumerTechnologyView details→

Is this clip leaked cockpit video from Flydubai?

X · Lead Stories fact-check article from October 2, 2026

False

The short video being shared as 'Leaked Video from FlightDubai' is a fabricated/AI-generated clip (with unrelated 2017 road-rage audio) and does not show authentic leaked cockpit footage. The underlying Flydubai emergency landing on Sept 30, 2026 is real and widely reported, but this specific post is false and misleading.

ConflictTechnologyView details→

Are Israeli Chips Used in the iPhone 17e?

X · Multiple trending hashtags on X; international pickup. Geopolitical angle drives engagement. Claims about chip manufacturing and surveillance are verifiable.

True But

The corrective caption is broadly accurate: the iPhone 17e includes Apple’s C1X modem and N1 wireless chip and Israeli R&D teams are credited with engineering contributions. What is misleading in many viral posts is the phrasing "Israeli chips," which implies Israeli manufacture or sovereign control; large-scale fabrication (including the A19 processor) is done by TSMC in Taiwan.

TechnologyPoliticsView details→

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 scammers create deepfake ads with Martin Lewis's wife?

X · £20M+ lost to these scams; Ads appear across Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, MSN News; widespread scam network

True

Martin Lewis's post accurately reports that scammers circulated AI‑generated (deepfake) adverts including a fake video purporting to show his wife Lara Lewington being assaulted to promote a 'Quantum AI' investment scam; multiple reputable outlets and AI incident monitors corroborate his statement and say the videos were fake and his wife was unharmed.

TechnologyConsumerView details→

Was there a zombie sighting at an Atlanta nightclub?

TikTok · Viral on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram in July 2026; continued circulation through September; multiple variations; created with OpenAI Sora text-to-video tool

False

The TikTok post claims a 'zombie sighting at an Atlanta nightclub', but independent fact-checking and reporting show the short viral clip is AI-generated and not evidence of a real attack; the central claim is false.

TechnologyConsumerView 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→

Will AI have access to all chats on WhatsApp starting Saturday?

Facebook · Viral video and copy-paste Facebook posts urge users to enable 'Advanced Chat Privacy' to stop Meta AI reading chats; Fact Crescendo rated it misleading/false on 30 Sep, citing WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption. · resurfaced

False

False — the circulating Facebook text that says “Starting Saturday, AI will be available in WhatsApp and will have access to all chats” is misleading and incorrect. WhatsApp/Meta have been rolling out AI features, but the company says AI interactions are user-invoked and protected by privacy measures; multiple fact-checkers conclude the viral message is false.

TechnologyConsumerView 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→

Does this video show a mountain collapse in Nepal?

X · Hindi caption 'नेपाल में पहाड़ के ढहने का भयावह दृश्य'. Spread on X and Instagram; part of a wave of disputed disaster footage in the region (Nepal and Bihar floods, Rajasthan storms).

Can't Verify

The clip plausibly shows a real hillside collapse and mudflow, but I could not confirm that this particular video was filmed in Nepal. Multiple recent news items report landslides in Nepal, but no authoritative source was found that ties this exact footage to a Nepali location — the video's geographic attribution is therefore unsupported.

DisasterTechnologyView details→