Society

This artefact does not come from Sparta and the technology behind it has been explained

Fact Check, Politics, Science, Society

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.

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Product codes starting with the number eight do not identify genetically modified produce

Environment, Fact Check, Health, Society

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.

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This video shows remote control model planes in China, not real J-20 stealth fighters

Fact Check, Society

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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The Mediterranean Digital Media Observatory (MedDMO) is an alliance of fact-checkers, media literacy experts and scientists taking a coordinated approach to combating disinformation and misinformation.

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This project has received funding from the European Union under Grant Agreement number 101083756. This website reflects the views only of the independent Consortium, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein.