Bill McCarthy
@billmccarthy.bsky.social
Senior digital investigation journalist covering online mis- and disinformation for AFP • Formerly with PolitiFact and the Raleigh News & Observer • Duke alum • “The internet folks” - Stephen Colbert https://factcheck.afp.com/Bill-MCCARTHY
Among the extraordinary scenes of migrants flooding from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta were several unrelated videos shared out of context. This clip, for example, shows rioting in Toulouse, France after PSG won the Champions League in May. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Hundreds of AI 'news' accounts are spreading claims like Kroger, Walmart, Costco, Shell, GM and Ford are all leaving Democrat-run states amid an economical collapse. None of these claims are true. www.semafor.com/article/08/0...
NEW @en.afp.com: Google has rolled back a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service's satellite imagery, less than 24 hours after announcing it. The reversal follows a furious backlash about the tool's potential for disinformation.
Risk of disinformation: Google rolls back new satellite image AI tool after backlash
Researchers are warning that Google's new AI image-generation feature for Google Earth could be used to create convincing fake satellite imagery and spread disinformation.
today.rtl.lu
Now official: Mauricio Pochettino is back. Contract agreed with U.S. Soccer through 2030. More — including comments from Poch on his approach to a second cycle with the USMNT — here and free to read @theathletic.com:
Mauricio Pochettino returns as USMNT coach on new deal through 2030 World Cup (Gift Article)
Pochettino's previous contract expired after the 2026 World Cup, but U.S. Soccer is bringing back the Argentine manager for another cycle
nytimes.com
NEW @en.afp.com: Google has rolled back a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service's satellite imagery, less than 24 hours after announcing it. The reversal follows a furious backlash about the tool's potential for disinformation.
Risk of disinformation: Google rolls back new satellite image AI tool after backlash
Researchers are warning that Google's new AI image-generation feature for Google Earth could be used to create convincing fake satellite imagery and spread disinformation.
today.rtl.lu
Testing Google Earth's new AI tool, AFP was able to fabricate satellite images of: - A Paris explosion - An Iran nuclear site - A bomb crater in Russia - ISIS training grounds - Floods in Bangladesh - Migrants at the US border - "Proof" of US election fraud The risk for disinformation is alarming
Google launches new satellite image AI tool, alarming researchers
Google announced a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service's satellite imagery, sparking concerns from researchers and open-source intelligence expe...
france24.com
NEW @en.afp.com: Disinformation and OSINT researchers are warning that Google's new feature allowing Google Earth users to create AI visualizations over real satellite imagery could enable bad actors to misuse the program -- a key resource for verification -- to make dangerous geospatial fakes.
Google launches new satellite image AI tool, alarming researchers
Google announced a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service's satellite imagery, sparking concerns from researchers and open-source intelligence expe...
france24.com
Google has launched a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service's satellite imagery. The implications for disinformation could be huge -- fake renderings of blast craters in war zones, migrant camps approaching borders, etc...
Google has launched a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service's satellite imagery. The implications for disinformation could be huge -- fake renderings of blast craters in war zones, migrant camps approaching borders, etc...
The US State Department acknowledged "an unfortunate error" after an inaccurate map of Africa was displayed at an AIDS conference in Brazil. Nigeria, for example, was shown as a landlocked country in the center of the continent. www.vanguardngr.com/2026/07/us-a...
US admits error after flawed Africa map shown at AIDS conference
The US State Department acknowledged "an unfortunate error" on Thursday after an inaccurate map of Africa was displayed at an AIDS conference in Brazil earlier this week.
vanguardngr.com
Newsmax, which settled for $67 million and $40 million in two defamation cases brought over false 2020 election claims, has entered an "AI content partnership" with Meta "to support AI queries across Meta's apps and devices," the conservative TV channel announced.
There is a lot of horrowing footage out there of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that rattled Japan's Kumamoto prefecture, but this widely shared video is unrelated. The video shows a different quake that struck the country's Noto Peninsula in 2024. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Newsmax, which settled for $67 million and $40 million in two defamation cases brought over false 2020 election claims, has entered an "AI content partnership" with Meta "to support AI queries across Meta's apps and devices," the conservative TV channel announced.
This video depicting Donald Trump falling in front of his presidential limo has millions of views, but it is fake. The video's creator on TikTok admitted it was AI-generated. Real footage of the moment shows the US president moving gingerly but never collapsing. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
This video depicting Donald Trump falling in front of his presidential limo has millions of views, but it is fake. The video's creator on TikTok admitted it was AI-generated. Real footage of the moment shows the US president moving gingerly but never collapsing. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
This viral image purports to show a Palestinian flag hanging from Spain's World Cup parade bus in front of star Lamine Yamal. However, it is a fake altered by AI. Livestreams showed some Palestinian flags among the Madrid crowd, but not on the team bus. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
AI-generated maps of Canada's wildfires are circulating online, hallucinating details about the blazes' threat risk. Experts warned the fakes could deceive Canadians into fearing nonexistent fires -- or underestimating infernos that really are raging. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
The World Cup may be over, but misinformation about football's biggest event continues to spread online. How much of what you have seen is real? Here is a thread of more than 40 AI-generated fakes and out-of-context clips debunked by @en.afp.com. It is still being updated daily:
Bill McCarthy@billmccarthy.bsky.social · 2mo agoTHREAD: Misinformation about the World Cup is already spreading online. That includes this video widely claimed to show South Koreans unfurling a giant Palestinian flag at the tournament. The clip is in fact from a 2024 qualifier vs Palestine in Seoul. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
⚽️ Images purport to Spain's forward Lamine Yamal holding and praying over a Palestinian keffiyeh on the World Cup pitch. But the visuals were altered using artificial intelligence. Read more: u.afp.com/Srg2
Images depicting Yamal with keffiyeh at World Cup are AI-generated
Images spreading online after the Spanish men's national football team won the 2026 FIFA World Cup final purport to show star forward Lamine Yamal holding and praying over a Palestinian keffiyeh on…
u.afp.com
This video Rudy Giuliani is claiming shows US airstrikes in Iran is misrepresented. In reality, it is footage of a massive fire that scorched a market in the UAE in 2020. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
This image purporting to show Spain's Lamine Yamal wrapped in a Palestinian flag after winning the World Cup is fake. While Yamal did wave a Palestinian flag during FC Barcelona's La Liga title parade in May, this visual was altered with OpenAI's tools. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Donald Trump revived long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging in a primetime address that China stole millions of voter files and suggesting Venezuela could manipulate US voting machines. AFP fact-checked his speech: www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Fact Check: Trump's primetime speech rehashing election claims
US President Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging in an address Thursday that China stole millions of voter files and…
france24.com
In case you missed it: I live fact-checked Donald Trump's speech rehashing long-debunked claims about the 2020 election. Via @en.afp.com: www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Fact Check: Trump's primetime speech rehashing election claims
US President Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging in an address Thursday that China stole millions of voter files and sugge...
france24.com
NEW: Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging that China stole millions of voter files and suggesting Venezuela could manipulate US voting machines. I fact-checked his speech: www.yahoo.com/news/politic...
Fact Check: Trump's primetime speech rehashing election claims
US President Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging in an address Thursday that China stole millions of voter files and sugge...
yahoo.com
NEW: Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging that China stole millions of voter files and suggesting Venezuela could manipulate US voting machines. I fact-checked his speech: www.yahoo.com/news/politic...
Fact Check: Trump's primetime speech rehashing election claims
US President Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging in an address Thursday that China stole millions of voter files and sugge...
yahoo.com
Fact Check: Trump's Primetime Speech Rehashing Election Claims www.barrons.com/news/fact-ch...
Fact Check: Trump's Primetime Speech Rehashing Election Claims
US President Donald Trump resurrected long-debunked claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election, alleging in an address Thursday that China stole millions of voter files and sugge...
barrons.com
Neither of these videos, which have both gone viral, show recent US strikes on Iran. One is footage from a September 2022 fire engulfing a Changsha, China skyscraper. The other shows flames burning through a Hong Kong housing complex in November 2025. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Massive crowds gathered in Tehran to mourn Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but this clip does not show the ceremony. The footage does not match visuals of the Iranian capital, and detection software indicates it was generated using AI u.afp.com/SKaN
This thread now contains more than 30 fact-checks, and only represents a fraction of the debunking and verification work our global @factcheck.afp.com team has done around World Cup misinformation.
Bill McCarthy@billmccarthy.bsky.social · 2mo agoTHREAD: Misinformation about the World Cup is already spreading online. That includes this video widely claimed to show South Koreans unfurling a giant Palestinian flag at the tournament. The clip is in fact from a 2024 qualifier vs Palestine in Seoul. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
