Chinese celebrities have become increasingly politically active on social media over the years – in part to help advance their careers.
Publication: china
Logically→ A massive explosion took place in Beijing during the coup against Chinese President Xi Jinping.
An old video of an explosion in Tianjin was misinterpreted as a blast that occurred during an alleged military coup in China.
Snopes→ Some Like It Hot: Eating Spicy in China’s WWII Shelters
The city of Chongqing, dubbed one of China's four “furnace” cities, is known for both soaring temperatures and spicy cuisine — notably its hotpot.
Truth or Fiction?→ Twitter Wrongfully Flags Stories on COVID-19 Research as ‘Misleading’
Social platform Twitter has started to flag articles about COVID-19 as “potentially misleading,” despite the articles being based on actual research and legitimate reporting, with no explanation. One such article, posted by the Internation
Snopes→ Did Pelosi Say China Is ‘One of the Freest Societies in the World’?
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about her August 2022 trip to Taiwan during an appearance on the "Today" show.
Snopes→ China Halts Climate, Military Ties over Pelosi Taiwan Visit
The measures are the latest in a promised series of steps intended to punish the U.S. for allowing the visit to the island it claims as its own territory.
Logically→ U. S. Navy planes flew around Taiwan during House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
The video in question dates back to at least April 2021. It is not connected to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
Logically→ In his Massachusetts speech, Biden admitted that China had launched an artificial sun.
This is a doctored video. Biden made no such statements in his Massachusetts speech on July 20.
Logically→ The largest hydroelectric dam in the world has exploded.
The video does not depict an explosion at the world's largest dam in China. It shows flooding in Uttarakhand, India, in 2013 that damaged a structure.
Snopes→ China Says Remains of Rocket Booster Fall to Earth
Debris from a rocket that boosted part of China’s new space station into orbit fell into the sea in the Philippines.
Snopes→ US Military Making Plans in Case Pelosi Travels to Taiwan
The Pentagon is developing plans for any contingency.
Logically→ A video shows military tanks deployed in China’s Henan province to protect banks from protesters.
A video of an annual military drill in China's Shandong province has been incorrectly linked to bank protests in the Henan province.
Logically→ Biden administration is selling millions of American oil barrels from strategic petroleum reserves to China in the middle of the energy crisis.
U.S. law does not restrict awarding SPR crude oil contracts to companies from countries. The sale is expected to ease the gas prices.
Logically→ A video shows people celebrating the death of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in China.
A video of a police march against bank protests in China has been misattributed as people celebrating Shinzo Abe's death.
Snopes→ Did Biden Sell Millions of Barrels of Oil to China?
The U.S. often exports oil to China — or overseas in general.
Snopes→ UN Projects World Population Will Reach 8 Billion on Nov. 15
The United Nations estimates that the world’s population will reach 8 billion on Nov. 15 and that India will replace China as the world’s most populous nation next year.
Logically→ A video depicts Hoori, a silicone-based artificial woman built in China that can function for 72 hours after being charged.
Snopes→ Biden: US Would Intervene with Military to Defend Taiwan
It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of self-governing in decades.
Logically→ Chinese state television displayed a map showing how Russia will be divided among other countries after its collapse.
China did not air a map depicting a divided Russia. A map showing Russia's neighboring countries relative to its vast area has been miscaptioned.
Snopes→ Pandas Devour Ice Cake to Celebrate 50 Years at National Zoo
The “cake” was made from frozen fruit juice, sweet potatoes, carrots and sugar cane and it lasted about 15 minutes once giant panda mama Mei Xiang and her cub Xiao Qi Ji got hold of it.
Logically→ This video shows a Boeing 737 crashing in southern China.
A simulation video of an Ethiopian plane crash from 2019 has been misattributed to the Boeing 737 crash in China that happened in March 2022.
Logically→ A viral video shows China launching an artificial sun.
A video of the Long March 7A carrier rocket launched on December 23, 2021, has been widely shared with a false caption.
Truth or Fiction?→ Diane Sawyer’s Special Report, ‘Made in China’
In January 2022, Facebook posts describing a Diane Sawyer “special report” about items “made in China” circulated on social media, either in copied and pasted posts or screenshots: A variation shared to a Facebook group (̶
Logically→ China unfurled its national flag at Galwan Valley on January 1, 2022.
The People's Liberation Army unfurled the Chinese flag along the region of the Galwan Valley that lies in territory controlled by China.
Snopes→ Congress Approves Import Ban Targeting Forced Labor in China
Senators gave final congressional approval to a bill barring imports from China’s Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove they were produced without forced labor.
Logically→ A CNN video shows the Chinese police abducting an Uyghur girl in Xinjiang.
A video of Sichuan Armed Police attempting to protect the girl from a moving bicycle has been falsely shared as a CNN News story.
Snopes→ Yahoo Pulls out of China, Citing ‘Challenging’ Environment
Yahoo Inc. said it has pulled out of China, citing an “increasingly challenging business and legal environment.”
Logically→ Wuhan scientists planned to release coronaviruses into bat caves 18 months before the COVID-19 outbreak.
There are no credible reports or records to prove that Wuhan scientists planned to release any coronaviruses into bat caves.
Snopes→ China Declares All Cryptocurrency Transactions Illegal
Chinese banks were banned from handling cryptocurrencies in 2013, but the government issued a reminder this year.
Truth or Fiction?→ Was George Orwell’s ‘1984’ Banned in the United States and the USSR for Conflicting Reasons?
On September 2 2021, a Facebook post featured an image suggesting that George Orwell’s 1984 was banned in the United States for pro-communist sentiments, but that it was also banned in the USSR for anti-communist sentiments. A screenshot from Tu
Snopes→ China’s Wandering Elephants May Finally Be Heading Home
Despite their entrance into villages and a close approach to the Yunnan provincial capital of Kunming, no animals or humans have been injured.
Logically→ Fashion giant H&M sees sales in China slump after the Xinjiang boycott.
H&M's sales in the Chinese market fell 28 percent in Swedish krona terms in the second quarter of 2021 after the boycott.
Logically→ Anthony Bourdain once praised Wuhan’s bat soup.
There is no evidence that Bourdain ever ate bat soup in Wuhan or of praising it.
Truth or Fiction?→ Foreign Influence Agents Goaded Trump Forums After U.S. Elections, Researchers Say
Foreign agents — particularly those working from or on behalf of Russia — were active on Donald Trump-themed forums in the weeks and months leading up to the January 6 2021 coup attempt at the United States Capitol, a new report says. Accor
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This a Chinese ‘Luckiest Birthday’ List?
In August 2020, a nearly year-old post purportedly ranking what Chinese people believe are the “luckiest birthdays” circulated on Facebook: Facebook provided a slightly baffling automatic translation: Chinese made a list of the l
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Quarantined Kids in in Wuhan Defeat a Homework App by Spamming it With One-Star Reviews?
In a tweet which became a Facebook post, @zenalbatross reported that Wuhan’s clever schoolchildren “defeated the app assigning them homework” by spamming it with one-star reviews to trigger its deletion from an app store: good morn
Truth or Fiction?→ Conspiracy Theorists Help Spread Video Pushing Coronavirus ‘Live Cremation’ Claim
A video circulating online promoting the claim that coronavirus victims in China were being “cremated alive” was promoted by an organization employing disinformation specialist and white nationalist Steve Bannon. According to Politifact, t
Truth or Fiction?→ Chinese Media Walks Back Reports Linking Doctor’s Death to Coronavirus
A January 2020 story about a 62-year-old doctor who reputedly died “at the front lines” of fighting a coronavirus outbreak in China was walked back by state media within the country after the report spread internationally. Both the China G
Truth or Fiction?→ Can You Get Coronavirus from Wish.com Products?
As concern over coronavirus spread in late January 2020, Facebook users began to share memes claiming that all products from ubiquitous seller Wish.com shipped from Wuhan, China — thought to be the region from which a massive outbreak of what
Snopes→ Hidden Camera Video: US Citizen Accused of Spying on Behalf of Chinese Government
U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson said Xuehua (Edward) Peng is charged with using secret locations to deliver information, delivering payments, and personally carrying to Beijing secure digital cards containing classified information related to U.S. nati