Factchecks

FactCheck: Did the New York Times say in 1854 the US was being ‘overwhelmed’ by Irish immigrants? Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Are there really more teachers in Ireland than ever before? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: There is nothing ‘strange’ about not naming unconvicted rape suspects. It’s the law. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: No, the electricity blackouts in Spain and Portugal were not caused by a solar flare. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Video of church attack was filmed in Nebraska a decade ago, not present-day Europe. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Conor McGregor’s false claims about roads policing, immigrants and Irish ‘genocide’. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Studies of millions of children show there is no connection between autism and vaccines. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Video of Army exercise in Kildare did not show someone arrested for planting a bomb. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A grant doesn’t show ‘Phone shops, Turkish barbers & vape shops’ are funded by taxes. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A new conspiracy theory claims 14 countries signed a treaty to ban natural conception. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Fake BBC video claims Olena Zelenska ‘failed’ in attempt to flee husband Volodymyr. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Viral image contains false claim that UK’s Southport killer was an ‘Islamic migrant’. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A video showing a man assaulting a woman is from the US, not Ireland. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: An article claiming LGBTQ+ people have ‘lower IQ than average’ is fake. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Does the EU impose a 39% tariff on US goods as Donald Trump’s massive chart claimed? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Brennans didn’t recently apply for Halal certification (but Muslims can eat it anyway). Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: How does someone become a candidate for the Irish presidency? Read more on TheJournal.

• FactCheck: Is the Irish government paying for Ukrainians to repair their cars? Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: A UK local newspaper headline about Ukrainian soldiers ‘dying in vain’ is fake. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: No, Donald Trump did not announce that he wants to annex Alaska. Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: Will the MetroLink cost more than €23 billion? Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: ‘Dangerous Dublin’: How two viral headlines were behind Conor McGregor’s White House comments. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Data contradicts McGregor’s White House claim that Irish are a minority in some towns. Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: ‘Disinformation will be back’ warns expert as Meta rolls out Community Notes. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Fake headline claims Trump granted the Burke family asylum over religious persecution. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Project Ireland 2040 isn’t a plan ‘to flood the country with nearly 2m extra people’. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: No, RTÉ is not replacing the Angelus with a Muslim call to prayer. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Enoch Burke payment claim that was shared by Musk is filled with misinformation. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Deepfake video showing Michael O’Leary promoting financial software was made with AI. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: A video showing the Ukrainian flag flying from the Statue of Liberty is fake. Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: Does the UN Security Council have final say when it comes to sending Irish troops abroad? Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Irish Facebook groups inundated with housing scams. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: No evidence Bill Gates funded project to make bird flu transmissible to humans. Read more on TheJournal.

Explainer: Here’s why elections have not been held in Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Old reports circulating about plans for a huge mosque in Dublin that never went ahead. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has a 57% approval rating, not 4% as Trump said. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: No, US Vice-President JD Vance did not make a security conference chairman cry on stage. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: How far-right agitators exploited an information vacuum after the Stoneybatter attack. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: USAID does not fund the BBC, as some public figures in the United States have claimed. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Image of Pope Francis with respirator mask was made with generative AI. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Videos showing ballots being shredded after German election were fake. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Did Elon Musk abandon his son at a Donald Trump rally? No. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Years-old video used to falsely claim Ireland is establishing a ‘National Hijab Day’. Read more on TheJournal.

• Debunked: The Status Red warning during Storm Éowyn was not a ‘climate lockdown’. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: ‘HIV-infected Green Monkey DNA’ has not been found in Covid-19 vaccines. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Elon Musk misleadingly suggests other celebrities made controversial ‘Nazi’ gesture. Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: Will your car insurance be cancelled if you drive during a Red warning? Insurers say no. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Fake missing child posts shared widely in Limerick and Roscommon Facebook groups. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Photo of Jimmy Saville with a child does not show a young Keir Starmer. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Estimate of 250,000 victims of UK ‘grooming gangs’ is based on bad stats. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Enoch Burke isn’t forced to stand outside a school for refusing ‘transgender ideology’. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Woman wrongly accused of Satanism for wearing St Brigid’s cross at LA fires press event. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: The Hollywood sign still stands, despite AI-generated images of it burning. Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: What do we know about the scale of child sex exploitation by gangs in the UK? Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: Do immigrants get shorter sentences than Irish citizens? Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Man arrested at Connolly Station was Irish and not a foreign national. Read more on TheJournal.
• FactCheck: Why has Elon Musk taken aim at both Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage over a UK sex abuse scandal? Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: Tommy Robinson was jailed for lying, not ‘for telling the truth’ as Elon Musk claims. Read more on TheJournal.
• Debunked: No, Pope Francis didn’t open spiritual portals to other dimensions over Christmas. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: No evidence that DHL scam using ‘sorry we missed you’ notes is operating in Ireland. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Image of Bono and Bob Geldof holding Israeli flags is AI-generated. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: False claims about Ireland’s position on Gaza ramp up after embassy closure. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Asylum seekers are not suspects for bloody Mullingar incident, as some posts claim. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Pride flags will not be banned at next year’s Fifa Club World Cup. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A search for a man missing in Kildare is a scam using the ID of a dead American. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A failed election candidate was jailed, but not for uncovering election tampering. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: False claims the World Health Organisation will undo human rights have spread online. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Why is Israel accusing Amnesty International of inventing its own definition of genocide? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Baseless claims about a cow feed supplement used in attempts to boycott milk. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Fake AI slop images of old Ireland are being used to push anti-immigrant narratives. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: The far-right failed in the general election – but reports of their death have been exaggerated. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Disappointed by failed campaigns, far-right candidates turn to claims of election rigging. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Images of men at Dublin Airport show EU seasonal workers, not an ‘invasion’. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: CCTV footage shared online does not show Nikita Hand on night of sexual assault. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Are a third of hotels and B&Bs outside the M50 used to house asylum seekers? Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: The final debate of the campaign, with claims on housing, inflation and manifestos. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Image of Simon Harris poster saying ‘more waste, it wasn’t me’ has been doctored. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: An Post says posts offering to sell undeliverable ‘lost parcels’ is a scam. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Does Fine Gael’s manifesto pledge an additional half a billion Euro to landlords? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: An image said to show ‘unvetted men in Rosslare’ was taken in England. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: How many children were waiting more than four months for scoliosis surgery in 2020? Read more on TheJournal.

Explainer: Fine Gael is promising a €1,000 savings account for newborns, will it work? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Man filmed waving Palestinian flag was a Peaky Blinders fan, not actor Cillian Murphy. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Years-old headline used to suggest Taoiseach wants to bar unvaccinated kids from school. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: RTÉ leaders’ debate, from housing and transport to The National Children’s Hospital. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Has the carbon tax led to a reduction in Ireland’s emissions? Read more on TheJournal.

FactFind: What professions are over-represented (and under-represented) in the Dáil? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Weather manipulation claims are taking hold in Ireland despite no evidence support them. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Where have Fine Gael (and Simon Harris) stood on drug decriminalisation in the past? Read more on TheJournal.

The Great Replacement’: How a racist conspiracy theory is showing up in election materials. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Four claims from last night’s General Election housing debate. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: An image of a rough sleeper beside a Fine Gael election poster has been doctored. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Has work begun on nearly 60,000 new homes in the last 12 months? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Image of a goaty statue in the Vatican is AI-generated, not proof of devil worship. Read more on TheJournal.

Floods in Valencia prompt conspiracy theories on weather weapons, Israel, migrants, and Netflix. Read more on TheJournal.

How Roderic O’Gorman is targeted with homophobic slurs and misinformation about missing children. Read more on TheJournal.

Podcast: What is AI slop and did it lead to a Halloween parade hoax in Dublin? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Photo of Leonardo DiCaprio’s niece on yacht altered to look like Greta Thunberg. Read more on TheJournal. Read more on TheJournal.

How did hundreds of people end up at a Halloween parade in Dublin that never existed? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Most prisoners in Ireland are Irish, not foreign nationals as some claim Claims are spread in fringe social media groups that foreigners are inherently criminal. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Photo of Obama’s visit to Ireland falsely said to show controversial NYC Trump rally. Read more on TheJournal.

What does UNRWA do and why is it seen as a lifeline for Palestinians? Read more on TheJournal.

Newsletter: How a campaign against sex education has taken hold across Ireland. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Israeli forces did not destroy a base used by Irish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Claims about Enoch Burke shared in multiple languages as ‘misinformation chain mail’. Read more on TheJournal.

How a ‘missing person’ scam is luring Irish social media users using old photos of real children. A photo of an American child who was attacked by dogs was claimed to show a child found in Ireland. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: No, 800 Ukrainian refugees have not applied for asylum in Ireland since August. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: The Occupied Territories Bill will not ban all trade between Israel and Ireland. Read more on TheJournal.

A vision of hell’: What we know about Israel’s strike that sparked fire and burned people alive. The Gaza health ministry said it was the seventh time this year that Israel has attacked the hospital. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Oat milk is set to be brought under VAT laws – but it isn’t about to get more expensive. Read more on TheJournal.

Brian Stanley: How the Sinn Féin TD’s resignation and the ensuing controversy have unfolded so far. Read more on TheJournal.

They control weather’: Trump supporters have been brewing up a storm of hurricane misinformation. The topic has become a big political issue as US voters get set to go to the polls. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Irish peacekeepers working for UNIFIL were not fired on by Israeli forces in Lebanon. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Anti-migrant groups share hoax images of Sinn Féin TDs and ‘refugees welcome’ slogans. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Fake news story claims Irish government will arrest those who refuse vaccines in future. Read more on TheJournal.

As Sinn Féin faces increasing scrutiny, here’s how the press office scandal has unfolded so far. Read more on TheJournal.

Dept of Education says secondary pupils will ‘categorically’ not watch pornography in SPHE class. It follows the uploading of a video featuring an ‘SPHE whistleblower’ last week. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Kamala Harris didn’t make an ad about a woman regretting not having an abortion. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Is Ireland now ‘the top country in Europe’ when it comes to building new homes? Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Why are so many people presenting as homeless in Dublin? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A hoax image posted online suggests Sinn Féin and PBP have a joint immigration policy. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Scam ads featuring images of Dara Ó Briain and Pat Kenny appear on Facebook. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: No evidence for two attempted child abductions in Cork despite online rumours. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A doctored image falsely claims to show Kamala Harris posing with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Is it true that only about 3% of people pay tax on inheritance in Ireland?. Read more on TheJournal.

Explained: How controversial reporting restrictions on an alleged abduction case were lifted. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: The WHO can’t enforce ‘mandatory vaccines’ under new International Health Regulations. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Clip of Buzz Aldrin does not show him saying the moon landings were faked. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Hoax Facebook ads containing claims about Fintan O’Toole bring users to a malicious link. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Hoax claim suggests leaflets are telling Irish children to make friends with strangers. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Claim that PCR tests are ‘97% inaccurate’ is false (and old). Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: False claims allege Kamala Harris paralysed a child and dressed in Communist attire. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Examining four claims from Darragh O’Brien and Eoin O Broin’s latest housing debate. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Fake Sinn Féin ads shared online suggest party is selling ‘burkas’ featuring its logo. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Videos showing a man smashing up an airport with a hammer were not filmed in Dublin. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Deepfake video of Simon Harris ‘congratulating’ anti-immigrant groups shared online. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Irish groups spread baseless claim that Southport stabbing attacker was asylum seeker. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: ‘Unlikely to survive the night’: False rumours about Joe Biden’s demise are going viral online. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Ursula von der Leyen’s husband is not the director of a company owned by Pfizer. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Conspiracy theories swirl online amid unanswered questions about Trump assassination attempt. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Bus company refutes claims it wouldn’t drive 150 asylum seekers into Coolock site. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Coolock: Disinformation included claims about ‘unvetted males’ and ‘white destruction’. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Do two new PESCO projects mean Irish troops will be sent off to fight? Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Tánaiste says First Home Scheme can’t be used for Oscar Traynor Road affordable homes. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A comparison of US temperatures in May 1896 and May 2024 is misleading. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Visiting restrictions at Tallaght Hospital are due to viruses, despite conspiracy theories. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: How many times did the Dáil discuss the EU Nature Restoration Law? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Why terms like ‘illegals’ and ‘people trafficking’ mischaracterise the asylum system. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Ireland has not agreed to ‘arrest citizens who speak out against the Bird Flu vaccine’. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: A US appeals court did not rule that mRNA shots are not really ‘vaccines’. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Fabricated quotes and made-up commentators feature in ‘vote-rigging’ news story. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: 20 years of legal migrant voting in Ireland but conspiracies about it are being shared online. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Child sexual abuse material still illegal in Germany despite decriminalisation claims. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: How Ireland’s non-white election candidates are targeted with misinformation and racist abuse. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Condensation trails after airplanes aren’t signs of intentional climate modification. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: High Court did not rule that ‘illegal immigrants should be paid €318 per week’. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Image of burning house in rural Ireland is AI-generated and not a real arson attack. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Man charged with alleged knife offences in Dublin was Irish, not a foreign national. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: One political party’s false election claims on immigration, neutrality and NATO. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: The disinfluencers: How over 150 anonymous ‘Irish’ accounts are swamping X with extreme views. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Hoax claim that wife of man who shot Slovakia PM Robert Fico is a Ukrainian refugee. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: The number of ‘illegally present immigrants’ in Ireland last year was not 10 times the EU average. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Police at Newtownmountkennedy clashes were Gardaí, not PSNI officers. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Deepfaked Michael O’Leary appears in scam ad pushing financial platform ‘Ryan Chain’. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Image of Garda standoff shared after Newtownmountkennedy protests is AI-generated. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme is not closed to Irish businesses. It’s for them. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Did Sinn Féin really propose spending €500m less on health than the Government? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Posts ‘as Gaeilge’ among more than 100 scam ads featuring presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: The Journal FactCheck launches new resource around Ireland’s biggest talking points. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not buy a British Royal residence. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Nazis falsely identified as members of Ursula von der Leyen’s family. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: No, the European Union has not told Ireland to delay a general election. Read more on TheJournal.

FactCheck: Are psychiatric patients in Canada given leaflets for assisted dying when they go to A&E? Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Posts advertising free online further education certificate courses are a scam. Read more on TheJournal.

Debunked: Fake frame from Simpsons episode used to say show predicted Baltimore bridge disaster. Read more on TheJournal.