Fact-check: Is crime really on the decline?
Official data showing the lowest crime rate since 2004 was met with incredulity
Fact-check: Is crime really on the decline? Read More »
Society
This artefact does not come from Sparta and the technology behind it has been explained
False claims that a Roman chalice actually hails from ancient Greece and boasts mysterious colour-changing properties returned to social media in January 2023, following the latest talks over the British Museum’s possible return of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens. In reality, the ancient cup has been dated back to Roman times in the 4th century AD, is known as the “Lycurgus Cup” and has been proven by scientists to change colour in different lighting thanks to traces of silver-gold alloy in its glass front.
This artefact does not come from Sparta and the technology behind it has been explained Read More »
Greek digital artwork shared as a real photo from Turkey quake
February 20, 2023 A digitally created image showing a Greek firefighter holding a girl has been widely shared on social media in Greece following the devastating February 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Many users believed it was a photograph taken from the disaster zone and showed a Greek fireman rescuing a Turkish girl. But
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Product codes starting with the number eight do not identify genetically modified produce
Fruit and vegetables labelled with a five-digit product code starting with “8” have not been genetically modified, contrary to what has been claimed in posts shared hundreds of times on Facebook since December. While it is true that the prefix “8” was initially intended to label transgenic produce, the International Federation of Produce Standards (IFPS) – which is responsible for establishing Price Look Up (PLU) codes for fruit and vegetables – has never used it in this way. Product codes beginning with 8 will be used to designate new products in the near future. Under Greek law, products containing genetically modified organisms – or “GMOs” – must be clearly labelled as such at the point of sale.
This video shows remote control model planes in China, not real J-20 stealth fighters
December 16, 2022 A video of remote-controlled fighter jet models flying at a competition in China has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in social media posts in several languages and even published by the Chinese embassy in France alongside a false claim that it shows Chinese J-20 stealth fighter jets. A reverse image
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