April 14, 2025 Supporters of Malta’s Labour Party are sharing photorealistic AI-generated images in partisan Facebook groups that attempt to portray opposition leader Bernard Grech at a civil society protest in the capital city of Valletta. A protest was held by a number of local NGOs on 2nd April 2025 outside the parliament building in […]
February 21, 2025 Earlier this year we highlighted a barrage of posts by fake pages and profiles targeting people interested in a popular artisan Christmas market in Malta. Scammers really never do take a holiday, and this particular tactic seems to be a growing trend. Another Facebook Event created by Malta Artisan Markets, this time
Fact-check Malta: Social media scammers strike again Read More »
January 15, 2025 From the United States to Italy, Britain, and Pakistan, female politicians are increasingly becoming victims of AI-generated deepfake pornography or sexualized images, in a troubling trend that researchers say threatens women’s participation in public life. An online boom in non-consensual deepfakes is outpacing efforts to regulate the technology globally, experts say, with
‘Form of violence’: Across globe, deepfake porn targets women politicians Read More »
October 22, 2024 Poor and tasteless construction is rampant in Malta. So it is no surprise that many Maltese believed that a particular image published on Facebook showed a local building. A reverse image search on Google quickly shows that the building is not in Malta. Search results show that it first went viral in
Fact-check Malta: The country has bad buildings, but this isn’t one of them Read More »
September 6, 2024 With the tourist season in full swing, the debate over the type of tourists arriving in Malta, and their impact on Malta’s economy, has once again hit the front pages. Tony Zahra, the president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, one of Malta’s main tourism lobby groups, was the first to
Fact-check Malta: Are tourists in Malta spending more than they used to? Read More »
August 30, 2024 Have you recently received an “urgent” WhatsApp message from your friend asking you to send them a code? That ‘friend’ is no friend at all but a scammer trying to worm their way into kicking you out of your WhatsApp account. Police have urged the public to take more care as reports of WhatsApp
Fact-check Malta: How scammers are trying to get into your WhatsApp account Read More »
For the month of July, the EDMO fact-checking network notes that disinformation about the EU diminishes, while climate change is the most targeted topic by false stories.
New EDMO brief on disinformation around Politics and the Olympic Games Read More »
July 31, 2024 As the court cases in connection to the fraudulent privatisation of three of Malta’s state hospitals continue, some locals believe another hospital-related line has been crossed. This time, though, the issue is the supposed removal of crucifixes from wards. On Sunday 28 July, several Facebook users shared posts claiming that Mater Dei
Fact-check Malta: No, Mater Dei is not removing crucifixes from its walls Read More »
In June, the disinformation targeting the elections held continued, with narratives that revolved around them being allegedly rigged.
Malicious post-election disinformation pushes claims about ‘fixed election’ Read More »
June 27, 2024 Several of Malta’s largest localities emerged from the local council elections held on 8 June with hung councils, after neither of Malta’s two main political parties obtained a majority of seats. In Birkirkara, one of Malta’s most populated towns, the Labour Party (PL) and Nationalist Party (PN) each won six seats, meaning
Fact-check Malta: Who gets to be mayor in Malta’s hung councils? Read More »
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.
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.