Internet/social media
Monday 10 August 2020
-
![Veteran's Today]()
Veteran's Today
Conspiracy theory site
“Breaking: Israel Nukes Beirut – Two explosions in Beirut, one a conventional guided bomb followed by a small nuclear weapon. The target seems to be an Iranian/Hezbollah missile storage facility. Our evaluation is guesswork and we are waiting for word from our nuclear exper ...”
Read more...Cause of the Beirut blast is under investigation but is believed to be 2,750 metric tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate fertilizer. There is no evidence of a nuclear detonation. -
![Lijian Zhao]()
Lijian Zhao
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
“Eid Mubarak to all celebrating Eid-Al-Adha today. It’s the second Eid under the pandemic. Stay safe & keep well.”
Read more...In China’s campaign to control ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim groups, celebrating holidays and wearing traditional head coverings can lead to detention. -
![Mamuka Mdinaradze]()
Mamuka Mdinaradze
Vice Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament
“Facebook has not mentioned the Georgian Dream [party] even once. It has never mentioned a political actor or a political party save the United National Movement.”
Read more...Facebook recently took down accounts linked to the opposition UNM. But last year, it also removed accounts associated with the ruling Georgian Dream party for improper activity. -
![Kim Kardashian West]()
Kim Kardashian West
Reality TV star
“Azerbaijan has threatened to bomb the nuclear power plant in Armenia.”
Read more...Azerbaijan’s military did state that it would attack the Metsamor nuclear plant – but only in retaliation for an Armenian attack on its gas and oil facilities. -
![Qatari Ministry of Interior]()
Qatari Ministry of Interior
“EHTERAZ is your trusted smart application to follow up on the latest updates of COVID-19 Coronavirus in Qatar.”
Read more...The Qatari government’s COVID-19 app has been named among the “most dangerous for privacy” by the Amnesty International Security Lab. It’s not alone. Bahrain, China, Iran, Kuwait, Norway and Russia have suspect apps, too. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
“[I]t is unfair to claim that the two-day visit to Moscow of Nazi Foreign Minister Ribbentrop was the main reason for the start of the Second World War. All the leading countries are to a certain extent responsible for its outbreak.”
Read more...Putin’s view is not shared by most historians. The subsequent Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the USSR and Germany triggered the Nazi invasion of Poland, and it provided Soviet economic aid that made German conquests possible. -
![Xinhua News]()
Xinhua News
State-run news agency
“Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission, said there is ‘no delay or cover-up’ in the Chinese government's response to the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Read more...Evidence shows Chinese authorities initially covered up the outbreak, even censoring citizens who discussed the disease on social media. -
![Hua Chunying]()
Hua Chunying
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
“All lives matter. We stand firmly with our African friends. We strongly oppose all forms of racial discrimination and inflammatory expressions of racism and hatred.” (Regarding the death in U. S. police custody of George Floyd, an African American.)
Read more...During the COVID-19 pandemic, African expats and students in China experienced discrimination from the state and ordinary citizens. China has sent more than a million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities to detention camps. -
![RIA Novosti]()
RIA Novosti
Russian state-owned media outlet
“Bogdan Vechirko, who rammed a crowd of rebelling Americans in Minneapolis with a truck, served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was an ardent fan of Donald Trump, writes Strana.ua.”
Read more...The truck driver and the Ukrainian soldier are two different people using the same name. There is no evidence the soldier ever visited the United States, and Ukraine’s military denounced any connection. -
![YouTube/Social media video]()
YouTube/Social media video
"Italian Government call for arrest of Bill Gates."
Read more...The video, its audience amplified with the help of Russian state TV, shows a single Italian parliament member spouting debunked conspiracy claims about Gates, whose foundation hopes to distribute a coronavirus vaccine. -
![RT (Russia Today)]()
RT (Russia Today)
Russian state-owned media outlet
“Billionaire currency speculator George Soros has hailed the Covid-19 pandemic as the crisis of his lifetime, all but salivating over the chance to remake society amid the ‘revolutionary moment’ he claims preceded the virus. “
Read more...The online magazine Project Syndicate published an interview with Soros about the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing in the interview suggests Soros was “salivating over the chance to remake society” because of the pandemic. -
![Jair Bolsonaro]()
Jair Bolsonaro
President of Brazil
“TV Globo at Fantasy yesterday dedicated itself to attacks on President Jair Bolsonaro, due to the fact that a photographer from Jornal O Estado de SP was attacked by some possible infiltrators in the peaceful demonstration. We also condemn violence. However, I did not see such an act, as it was within the limits of the Planalto Palace, and I only saw the joy of the people who, spontaneously, defended an elected government, democracy and freedom.”
Read more...After Bolsonaro stirred up supporters at a May 3 rally, some in the crowd turned on journalists. They punched and kicked a photographer, pushed a driver to the ground and verbally harassed other reporters.
