Did Kamala Harris Really Threaten to Shut Down X? Here’s the Truth.
In the midst, of the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, there have been circulating rumors that Vice President Kamala Harris might shut down X (previously Twitter) if elected. The widely shared accusations on social media originate from misinterpreted remarks made during an interview in 2019. Harris talked about not shutting down the platform but rather suspending Donald Trump’s account. The comment has been misrepresented, according to fact-checkers, which feed false information online.
Screen Shot of a tweet from @PoliticsViedeoChannel that
circulated X during the election.
➢ Claim: Kamla Harris would shut down “X” if she won the elections.
The post that was circulating X had pictures of both Elon Musk and Kamala Harris from different events that they attended. In other words, the pictures had no relation to what the caption was saying.
Elon musk at Paris Tech Conference in 2023.
Kamla Harris during presidential
campaign in 2024.
Further investigations were carried to find the original video of Kamla Harris claim by using fact-checking tools like Yandex, TinEye and Boolean Operators (advanced google search). The widely circulated allegations proved that they are a misrepresentation of Harris’ 2019 remarks in which she demanded that former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account be shut down for using offensive language. She never advocated for the platform to be shut down. Voters are confused because of the out-of-context statement being misrepresented and spread on social media.
Screen Shot from Reuters in October of 2019
from the democratic primary debate.
Misinformation frequently spreads more quickly than the truth in the hyperconnected world of today. Harris’ 2019 comments focused on holding people responsible for breaking platform rules rather than shutting down entire services like X. Experts stress that material should always be verified before being shared online, especially during election seasons when political narratives are easily manipulated.
Sources
• https://yandex.com/images/search?cbir_id=2239571%2FpMx
QIIUrezV4ka0oLy
ug435&cbir_page=similar&crop=0.5704%3B0.3345%3B0.984%3B0.984&lr =11484&rpt=imageview&url=https%3A%2F%2Favatars.mds.yandex.net%2F get-images-cbir%2F2239571%2FpMx-QIIUrezV4ka0oLy-ug435%2Forig
• https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/harris-did-not-say-she-wanted-shut down-x-2019-interview-2024-09-10/
• https://tineye.com/search/b318d0ce501951691af8d47d07890624c021cc91?s ort=score&order=desc&page=547
• https://youtu.be/7qZl_5xHoBw?si=eT-83Fc0iUnV8N2o
• https://www.wionews.com/world/elon-musk-claims-harris-will-shut-down x-if-she-becomes-next-president-773650
• https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/05/elon-musk-predicts-kamala-harris will-shut-down-x-if-elected
president/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHKx0ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXI_ABUUVONY Fy5zUY0_Twz5XNNLOz_LkRN7wz–
By Mariam Amr
The Erosion of Truth Behind The Found Of Sadam Hussein
Claim:
Sadam Hussein the past Iraq president was found on Saydaneya prison in Syria after the downfall of Bashar ElAssad.
In December 2024, after the downfall of Bashar ElAssad, attention turned to Saydnaya prison, amid many Syrians seeking from their families who have been detained and missing for years. Claims started spreading on social media platforms about the Saydnaya detained prisoners. An image of Sadam Hussein was widely spread on X, claiming that Sadam Hussein is found in Saydaneya prison in Syria after years of his death.
Copies and modified versions were widely spread on Facebook , X and news website, from various accounts.
Did Sadam Hussein appear in Saydnaya prison?
Many sources defended that it was Sadam Hussein, claiming that he was found in Saydnaya prison. Adding, that Sadam Hussein is still alive. Sadam Hussein was After checking, it was verified that it is not Sadam Hussein in the picture. Verification tools provided clear evidence of the main image and that it was AI fabricated.
The truth behind the real image:
The main image goes back to 5 December 2017, to report to the arrest of former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in the Ukrinian capital Kiev in 2017. AI tools were used to fabricate the image of Sadam Hussein to manipulate the public and make propaganda. The image of Saakashvili was replaced with an image of Sadam Husssein and the security agents clothing was altered to display the Iraqi flag rather than Ukrainian one.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a topic of discussion about Syrian prisons, particularly the Saidnaya prison, since the recent events in Syria and the removal of President Bashar al-Assad’s administration. Since the start of the events, images and videos showing Syrian prisons and the misery of prisoners have been shared on social media.
Sources:
https://x.com/ali_alshmrre/status/1867531490331947486?s=46
https://x.com/ali_alshmrre/status/1867531490331947486?s=46
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/world/europe/saakashvili-arrest-ukraine.htmlhttps://www.tv3.lt/naujiena/uzsienis/saakasvilis-nepripazista-iskeltu-kaltinimu-n936751
By: Nadia Medhat
Did Israel Destroy Syria’s Navy?
On December 10, 2024, a news piece was widely spread on social media platforms that Israel has announced destroying the Syrian military navy fleet, while the attached image of the news story carries another story.
Photo screenshot from the news story of “هنا القاهرة” ’s Facebook page
➢ Claim: Israel announces the destruction of the Syrian military navy
Several news outlets, including: “صدى البلد”, reported about this piece of news, without knowing that the image followed by the article is a false context, as well as the lack of verification in the pre-publishing stage of their news articles.
Due to the ongoing incidents happening between Israel and Syria, the news was widely spread among people on social media platforms, including: Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube, marking a dramatic situation in the current Israel-Syria escalating conflict.
While there is actually evidence that Israel conducted airstrikes in Syria on the 9th of December, 2024, leaving significant damage on Syrian ships, port facilities, and military assets, the complete truth behind the whole picture of the destructions remains unclear.
Till now, no official reports, either from The Israeli Ministry of Defense and the IDF or from reliable authoritative news sources, have reported or mentioned a complete destruction of the Syrian navy.
Therefore, there is no visual documentation or imagery supporting this narrative after the recent Israeli strike.
However, a false image was spread along this news story, claiming that this featured military navy of Israel launches a strike towards Syria due to the current incidents.
The real image was published on March 28, 2023 for a Russian navy boat while launching an anti-ship missile test in the Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan.
The image was falsely taken to a different news piece with different sides involved in the story, while ignoring the fact that the ship showed in the image is hanging the flag of the Russian army.
Sources
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9&crop=0%3B0.0421%3B1%3B0.6899&lr=11484&rpt=imageview&url=https%3A%2F%2Favatars.mds.yandex.net%2Fget–images–
cbir%2F1880244%2FOXZg7cAB9rakYfGV2aW4fg1609%2Forig
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image544271057.html?irclickid=3%3AJQnUTJXxyKTSQyVlTnk0qOUkCXSo0awRInQo0&utm_source=77643&utm_campaign=Royalty–
free%20stock%20photos%20and%20images%20%E2%80%93%20Alamy%20&utm_medium=impact&irgwc=1
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EG&re=df&p=AbrfA8pVPJQ3TniIAskfFL78AJrrRr2NpS72mDsnTIoIH5GVe_5Tz6Bp1IfYop2vy0CKJ4M1AtyjAOpffzs–Z–Bdn7dHr_swugYwCkjpZXkEmeCotFXXixBFsxap0utLhq0YypxqDvk5UjBn1L4O34KVuMZwfq_JDEd5zgAnFs8k6E88HYK
C1Wzb2L_9I1Z73HECGtfdT61LIDWwHJKGxXjzOadKGCwhNAo80hRr53swlgfAacM3ziqTgkEX5U1MWYbezhokSOzprxCXpzBKu0gh5M1auzcZoAzETcQMKcwJ89hpPu005mD6a2_#lns=W251bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsIkVrY0tKRGhrT0RZeU56UmlMV0l5TmpVdE5HRmpOUzA1WkRBNUxUZzJOR1k0
TkRRMU1UWXhNeElmU1RkWk9YcHpjazR5YWxsWVRVbG5SM0JuU1V4dVVERlp
VMFJhYmxCQ2F3PT0iLG51bGwsbnVsbCxbW251bGwsbnVsbCwiMi0wIl0sWyI2M2Q3ZDJlNy1kNGZjLTQzYTQtODU1My1mZTljMmMzNjkzMzQiXV0sMSxudWxsLFtudWxsLG51bGwsWzAsMCwxMDAwMDAsMTAwMDAwXV0sbnVsbCxbIjYzZDdkMmU3LWQ0ZmMtNDNhNC04NTUzLWZlOWMyYzM2OTMzNCJdXQ
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%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B
7%D9%88%D9%84+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A+%D8
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by Jana Elkerm
Trustify 