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PODCAST

Truth or Fake

FRANCE 24 English

Truth or Fake is a fact-checking rendez-vous in association with the FRANCE 24 Observers. Our content focuses on false images circulating online and how to identify them. Monday to Thursday at 8:45pm and 10:20pm Paris time.

news & politics

All Episodes

00:04:43

AI-generated videos of Hurricane Melissa flood social...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/29

From shark videos to news reports, AI is taking fake disaster content to a new level. If you have opened TikTok or X in the past 48 hours you may well have seen AI-generated photos and videos of Hurricane Melissa, as the storm blasted across the Caribbean. The flood of disinformation prompted Jamaican authorities to issue warnings. Emerald Maxwell takes a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:05:16

Can Musk's AI-generated 'Grokipedia' be trusted?

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/28

In this edition of Truth or Fake we look at Elon Musk’s new website Grokipedia, which he has just launched to compete with Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that he and others on the American right have accused of left-wing bias. Musk touts AI-generated Grokipedia as unbiased, but is it really?

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00:06:03

The 'transvestigation' of Brigitte Macron: How false...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/27

As 10 defendants go on trial in Paris for allegedly cyber-harassing the French first lady, Vedika Bahl takes a look at the timeline of how unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about her gender began to circulate, how the claims exploded globally after far-right US commentator Candace Owens got involved, and how the Macrons have pushed back with legal action.

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00:05:14

Louvre jewel heist: fake AI videos of the robbery...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/23

Since the robbery of the world’s most-visited museum—which saw thieves make off with France’s priceless crown jewels—multiple videos have surfaced on social media claiming to show CCTV footage of the heist. These videos differ in how they depict the burglars and their methods, but they have one thing in common: they’re all AI-generated using Sora 2, the latest AI video generator from OpenAI. Vedika Bahl walks us through these false videos in Truth or Fake.

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00:05:28

Looking for Assad: is Syria's ousted President hiding...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/22

The Assad family ruled Syria for more than five decades. However, since last December, Bashar al-Assad has vanished after a lightning rebel offensive toppled his regime. Online, memes and fake news now claim to have spotted the ousted president in the most unlikely places. But what about in reality? Assad and his family are believed to be living in Moscow, in luxury apartments, — not working as car mechanics anywhere on Earth. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:05:13

Musk's Grok misleads internet users about anti-Trump...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/21

Over the weekend, huge crowds gathered in cities across the US for demonstrations against President Donald Trump's policies. Some online have been alleging that the American news channel MSNBC used old footage to exaggerate the scale of the protests. On X, Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok claimed that the footage shown was from 2017. But Grok's claims were false: analysis shows the footage shared by MSNBC was indeed taken at a "No Kings" protest in Boston on October 18, 2025, as FRANCE 24's Charlotte

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00:04:58

Israel's foreign ministry denounces video allegedly...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/20

As Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow desperately needed aid into Gaza, a viral video on social media alleged to show Palestinians in the enclave celebrating after catching a whale shark. But as FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains, the circumstances surrounding this video are unclear. It comes as a UN official stated that the quantity of aid being allowed into the war-battered enclave continues to be "way below what is needed".

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00:05:34

No, ICE agents did not zip-tie a toddler in Chicago

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/15

Viral posts accuse US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of arresting and zip-tying very young children in Chicago, as part of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. In reality, the footage shared in these posts was filmed in 2024 by a father playing “cops and robbers” with his son. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:05:02

Did youths wreak havoc in the French National Assembly?

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/14

Here in France, we’re used to heated debates in the National Assembly – especially during political crises. But this time, it’s not the MPs making the noise. On social media, users claim that a group of youngsters caused chaos inside the hemicycle – using videos created with the AI video generator Sora. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:04:55

Did Israel leave behind booby-trapped dolls and food...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/13

A viral post claims that Israeli forces have left behind booby-trapped dolls and food cans in Gaza, allegedly to harm returning civilians. However, the truth is quite different: the cans are actually metal containers, and the purple Teletubby doll was filmed in Yemen a few years ago. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:05:34

Storm 1516: The Russian operation responsible for at...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/09

Earlier this year, French authorities identified almost 80 disinformation campaigns led by a Russian operation dubbed Storm 1516. These mainly targeted Ukraine and its allies. So who is behind this disinformation and how does it spread? More importantly, how can we spot it? We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:04:46

Will French ministers in short-lived Lecornu...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/07

France is grappling with further political turmoil after Sébastien Lecornu, the country's latest prime minister, stepped down after less than a month in the post. The move came the day after Lecornu revealed his new cabinet. Some social media users are claiming that the ministers appointed in his short-lived government will receive three months' salary, after being in post for only a matter of hours. But their claims lack nuance, as FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains.

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00:05:05

Is France's Macron building a luxury bunker 'in...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/06

A viral post on social media claims that French President Emmanuel Macron is spending almost €150 million in state funds on a luxury underground bunker to "shield the French elite from a looming World War III". The video claims to have solid proof coming straight from Tracfin, a service of the French finance ministry that fights money laundering. In reality, this fake news probably comes from a Russian covert influence network called Storm-1516. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or

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00:04:58

No, this footage does not show a woman assaulted by...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/10/01

As protesters in Morocco have been taking to the streets calling for improved social services and less corruption, some online are circulating footage allegedly showing a woman assaulted by security forces during the gatherings. But as FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains, this footage is not linked to the recent protests and has been taken out of its original context.

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00:05:12

'Med beds': Trump shares video championing alleged...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/09/30

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump shared an apparently AI-generated clip championing fictional cure-all medical technology, known as "med beds". The video has since been deleted from his account, but it has injected new life into a long-held conspiracy theory about "med beds'', which is prominent in far-right QAnon circles online. FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes tells us more in Truth or Fake.

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00:04:51

Pro-Russians allege ballot fraud in Moldova election

Truth or Fake ·

2025/09/29

In the wake of Moldova's parliamentary election, which saw the ruling pro-Western party clinch a solid victory, some online are widely circulating footage they allege is proof voter fraud on the part of the ruling party. But as FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains, there are many elements in the footage which cast doubt on its authenticity.

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00:06:12

'Escalatorgate': Trump accuses UN of 'triple sabotage'

Truth or Fake ·

2025/09/25

In a lengthy 357-word diatribe online, US President Donald Trump blasted the UN for what he called "triple sabotage" during his address to the UN General Assembly, after an escalator, teleprompter and sound system malfunctions. His post has triggered a slew of conspiracy theories under the hashtag #EscalatorGate. Vedika Bahl goes through them in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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00:05:10

'RaptureTok': Christians prepare for the 'end of the...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/09/24

People are selling their cars, quitting their jobs and saying goodbye to their children. On TikTok, viral videos show Christians preparing for what they call the "Rapture", predicted to take place on September 23 or 24. It all stems from a prediction made by a South African pastor several months ago, in which he said Jesus spoke to him. But for all the believers, there's also been a slew of online mockery about the latest doomsday theory, as Vedika Bahl explains in Truth or Fake.

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00:06:18

Fact-checking Trump's claims of a link between...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/09/23

US President Donald Trump has made sweeping statements urging Americans not to use the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen (paracetamol) during pregnancy, saying it had links to autism. But he provided little scientific evidence to back this up. He also made sweeping statements about there being "virtually no autism" amongst the Amish or in Cuba. Most dangerously, he also repeated debunked claims about vaccines causing autism. FRANCE 24's Vedika Bahl fact-checks these claims in Truth or

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00:04:37

Defiant French town halls fly Palestinian flags...

Truth or Fake ·

2025/09/22

To mark France's recognition of a Palestinian state, 50 town halls across France have hoisted the Palestinian flag onto their facades. It's a defiant move against a government order by hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau that ordered them not to do so, saying that displaying flags violates the French "principle of neutrality." But what is this principle, and what does the law say about the flag flying? Vedika Bahl explains in this edition of Truth or Fake.

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