Not Real News | The Week in Fake News | AP News

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FILE - Claire Woodall executive director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, teaches a class to poll workers Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Milwaukee. On Friday, May 17, 2024 The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming the Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director was fired in recent days for her role in rigging the 2020 presidential election.(AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Milwaukee’s director of elections was not removed from her position for vote rigging in the 2020 presidential election.

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron waits on the steps of the Elysee Palace, Monday, March 11, 2024 in Paris. On Friday, May 10, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming that France sent troops to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

FILE - Actor Robert De Niro attends the Tribeca Festival opening night premiere of "Kiss the Future" at the OKX Theater at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York. On Friday, May 3, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming De Niro was captured on video yelling at anti-Israel protesters in New York City.(Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

FILE - Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York, March 14, 2024. On Friday, April 19, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Merchan told former President Donald Trump on the first day of his hush money case that he can’t attend his son Barron’s May 17 high school graduation because he must be in court that day. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

FILE - The U.S. Social Security Administration office is seen in Mount Prospect, Ill., Oct. 12, 2022. On Friday, April 5, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Social Security Administration data shows the number of voters registering without a photo ID is skyrocketing in three key swing states, evidence that migrants who entered the country illegally are registering to vote in Arizona, Texas and Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

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FILE - A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. On Thursday, March 28, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming the captain of Dali, the container ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, is Ukrainian. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week, many of them related to the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a container ship.

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014 photo, a security official walks in front of the entrance to the national headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington. On Friday, March 1, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming an update to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ background check policy allows people in the U.S. illegally to purchase firearms. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has not updated its background check policy to allow people in the U.S. illegally to purchase firearms.

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks with reporters as he leaves St. Edmund Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, after attending a Mass. On Friday, Feb. 23, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Biden issued Executive Order 9066, which provides people who enter the U.S. illegally with a $5,000 Visa gift card. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: President Joe Biden did not issue Executive Order 9066 to provide $5,000 gift cards to migrants who enter the U.S. illegally.

FILE - Workers dismantle the stage outside of Union Station Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. On Friday, Feb. 16, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a 44-year-old migrant was identified as one of the shooters at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Three juveniles were detained and one was later released in connection with the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory celebration.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in New York. On Friday, Feb. 9, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Hawaii passed a bill to keep Trump off the ballot during the 2024 election. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Hawaii has not passed a bill that could keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump leaves his apartment building in New York, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. On Friday, Jan. 26, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a judge on Monday delayed proceedings in Trump’s New York defamation trial until Tuesday, the day of the New Hampshire primary, which is proof of election interference. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Not Real News: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts:

Proceedings in former President Donald Trump’s New York defamation trial were delayed because a juror was sick and did not interfere with him being in New Hampshire for Tuesday’s primary.

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A contagion known as Disease X is not real.

FILE - City inspectors and police officers outside the Brooklyn borough, N.Y., headquarters of the Chabad movement, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. On Friday, Jan. 12, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a secret underground tunnel found connected to the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters was used for child sex trafficking or other illicit activities.(AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A secret underground tunnel discovered at a historic synagogue in Brooklyn was not used for illicit activities, the claims are baseless.

FILE - This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein, March 28, 2017. On Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming court documents connected to a lawsuit involving financier Jeffrey Epstein that were released this week include details about theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018, Hawking’s “proclivities” and a sexual encounter involving late night host Jimmy Kimmel. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media.

FILE - The Capitol Dome and the West Front of the House of Representatives are seen in Washington, Monday, April 17, 2023. On Friday, Dec. 15, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming the federal government gives people who enter the U.S. illegally a cell phone, a domestic plane ticket to a location of their choosing and a $5,000 Visa gift card. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: The federal government does not give people who enter the U.S. illegally a cell phone, a domestic plane ticket to a location of their choice and a $5,000 Visa gift card, as an Arizona sheriff running for the U.S.

FILE - University of Pennsylvania athlete Lia Thomas prepares for the 500 meter freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, March 17, 2022, at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. On Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming The NCAA is transferring medals won by Thomas to Riley Gaines, another former Division I swimmer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: The NCAA is not transferring medals won by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to Riley Gaines, another former Division I swimmer.

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2016 photo, flowers and notes left by well-wishers outside a pizza restaurant in northwest Washington, D.C.,are shown, where a North Carolina man fired an assault rifle multiple times as he attempted to "self-investigate" the conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate. On Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming an expert who debunked the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory has been jailed for possessing child sexual abuse images. (AP Photo/Jessica Gresko, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A reporter who was jailed for possessing child sexual abuse images was not the person who debunked the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory.

FILE - A health worker administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Reading, Pa. On Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine contains a DNA sequence called Simian Virus 40 that can cause health problems, including cancer. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: DNA fragments used in the development of the coronavirus vaccine -- such as a portion of SV40’s DNA sequence — are not causing health problems in people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

FILE - A sign covered with ice advertises a COVID-19 vaccination site in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. On Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming over-the-counter cold and cough medications are being pulled from drugstore shelves in an effort to start the “next plandemic” or force people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Over-the-counter cold and cough medications aren’t being pulled from drugstore shelves for nefarious reasons — some products that contain phenylephrine as a single ingredient are being voluntarily removed at CVS stores

FILE - Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear replies to a question during his first interview following his re-election in the Kentucky Governors race in the State Reception Room at the Kentucky State Capitol Frankfort, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. On Friday, Nov. 10, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming reports of a gas leak at a Kentucky polling place were an election-rigging tactic to gain more votes for Beshear. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Reports of a gas leak at a Kentucky polling place were not an election-rigging tactic to gain more votes for Democratic Gov.

This undated photo provided by Commend International shows Salzburg Airport in Austria. On Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Salzburg Airport has a help desk specifically for people who intended to fly to Australia.(Commend International/Salzburg Airport via AP)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Austria’s Salzburg Airport does not have a special desk for travelers who thought they were going to Australia, people are misrepresenting an ad that appeared at the airport joking about such a service.

FILE - Law enforcement officers hold rifles while investigating a scene, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. On Friday, Oct. 27, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming an aerial video of a man lying on his stomach in the middle of a road, being detained by authorities, shows police arresting Maine shooting suspect Robert Card. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: An aerial video of a man lying on his stomach in the middle of a road doesn’t show police arresting Maine shooting suspect Robert Card.

FILE - Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani waits for the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Lusail, Qatar, Friday Oct. 13, 2023. On Friday, Oct. 20, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claim that a video shows Qatar’s emir threatening to cut off the world’s natural gas supply if Israel doesn’t stop bombing Gaza. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A clip circulating online doesn’t show Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, threatening to cut off the world’s natural gas supply if Israel doesn’t stop bombing Gaza — and the footage is more than six y

FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a media conference prior to a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. On Friday, Oct. 13, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a video shows a BBC News report confirming Ukraine provided weapons to Hamas. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: BBC News did not report that Ukraine provided weapons to Hamas; a video circulating online was fabricated to look like it came from the news outlet.

FILE - President Joe Biden talks with reporters after delivering remarks on student loan debt forgiveness, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Washington. On Friday, Sept. 6, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming The Biden administration is giving people who enter the U.S illegally payments of $2,200 per month. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: The Biden administration is not giving people who enter the U.S illegally payments of $2,200 per month.

FILE - A person uses a cell phone in New Orleans on Aug. 11, 2019. On Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming an emergency broadcast system test on Oct. 4 will send a signal to cell phones nationwide in order to activate nanoparticles such as graphene oxide that have been introduced into people’s bodies. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency broadcast system test on Oct. 4 won’t activate nanoparticles contained in COVID-19 vaccines.

In this frame grab from video provided by Debbie McFarland, state Sen. Bill Eigel torches a pile of cardboard boxes at a “Freedom Fest” event in Defiance, Mo., Sept. 15, 2023. Eigel is a Republican candidate for Missouri governor. After video of Eigel's use of the flamethrower gained attention, Eigel said he'd burn objectionable books if that's what it took to keep them away from children. (Debbie McFarland via AP)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A viral video shows two Missouri lawmakers using a flamethrower to burn cardboard boxes, not books.

FILE - U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Cody Brown, right, with the 436th Aerial Port Squadron, checks pallets of 155 mm shells ultimately bound for Ukraine, April 29, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. On Sept. 15, 2023, The Associated Press reported on a false claim online that the U.S. accidentally sent Ukraine $6 billion in military aid. The claim misrepresents remarks by a Pentagon spokesperson. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: COVID-19 cases have spiked at various times of the year, not only near elections.

FILE - Vehicles line up in a several hour wait to leave the Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert, Nev., Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. On Friday, Sept. 8, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming officials confirmed an Ebola outbreak at the Burning Man festival and that a national emergency was declared. (AP Photo/Andy Barron, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: While flooding in Nevada stranded tens of thousands of Burning Man attendees last weekend, there was not an Ebola outbreak at the event, contrary to social media posts.

FILE - Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Joe Biden (D-Del.), right, and the former chairman of the panel, Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), depart the West Wing of White House in Washington, Nov. 12, 1987, after meeting with President Reagan. On Sept. 1, 2023, The Associated Press reported on President Biden’s inaccurate claim that he “literally” convinced Thurmond, a segregationist, to vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act. (AP Photo/Ira Schwarz, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Health officials said a new COVID-19 variant may be more likely to infect people with immunity than previous variants; they didn’t say vaccinated people are more at risk than the unvaccinated.

FILE - A Transportation Security Administration agent signals for the next airline passenger in line at a security checkpoint in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Friday, May 26, 2023. On Aug. 25, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming TSA managers were told on Aug. 15 that by mid-September they, along with airport employees, will again be required to wear face masks and by mid-October the policy will apply to travelers as well. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Transportation Security Administration managers weren’t told they must start wearing face masks again in mid-September.

FILE - County Clerk Che Alexander departs the courtroom of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. On Friday, Aug. 18, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming officials in Fulton County, forgot to redact the names of the grand jurors who indicted former President Donald Trump this week in relation to his actions following the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Georgia officials didn’t “forget” to redact the names of the grand jurors who indicted former President Donald Trump; that’s standard in the state.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a fundraising event for U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, Aug. 6, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On Friday, Aug. 11, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming that Dominion Voting Systems owns a bank that donated $2 million to DeSantis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Dominion Voting Systems didn’t contribute $2 million to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump arrives at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Arlington, Va., as he heads to Washington to face a judge on federal conspiracy charges alleging Trump conspired to subvert the 2020 election. The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Trump is facing the death penalty on federal charges filed against him in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Former President Donald Trump does not face the death penalty on any of the federal charges brought in a recent indictment.

FILE - The House meets for the third day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Jan. 5, 2023. On Friday, July 28, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a new law passed by Congress “allows you to permanently remove any negative debt” from your credit report that is over two years old. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Ingesting borax, a chemical in cleaning products, can be harmful or deadly, contrary to online claims.