Weekly Fact-checks: Photos of a Japanese highway circulating as being under construction in Cebu, Philippines

(ISSUED ON August 28, 2020)

Welcome to FIJ’s English FactChecks Report vol.15. This weekly report comes in two parts, consisting of Fact-checks at a glance and Announcements & News. 

Fact-checks at a glance

①Rappler | Philippines (August 25, 2020)

False: Photos of Metro Cebu Expressway

Explanation: On August 18, a Facebook page “I AM A CEBUANO” posted photos of an expressway with the caption, “UNDER CONSTRUCTION: the 74km Metro Cebu Expressway, connecting Danao City to the Naga-Toledo road”  However, these photos were not of the actual Metro Cebu Expressway, but instead, they were of highways in Japan and Kosovo, with no relation to the Cebu expressway.

Read the full article here.

 

②BuzzFeed Japan | Japan (August 19, 2020)

Unfounded : Putin’s daughter dies after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

Explanation: Unfounded reports that President Vladimir Putin’s daughter has died after receiving a vaccine for the novel coronavirus has spread widely around the world. It seems to have originated from a Canadian website which fails to clarify its source, but links to a video of a video already taken down titled “Tarot Reading – Vladimir Putin’s daughter dies from Covid vaccine” and includes a disclaimer “Tarot Reading is subject to interpretation and should not be taken as absolute”.  

Read the full article here (Japanese).

Check out the IFCN’s #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance database of 5,000+ fact-checks from more than 70 countries on the novel coronavirus. Other themes of factcheck can be found on each organization’s website.

Announcements & News

・We continue to welcome offers of factcheck collaboration.

・Please follow our English twitter account for the latest information! 

・For useful Japan-related information resources in English, check us out here.

Hope you stay well,

FIJ English team.