AFP's fact-check service debunks misinformation spread online. Here are some of our recent fact-checks: An image was shared widely on Facebook alongside claims it shows a Syrian boy sleeping between the graves of his parents after they were killed in the country's civil war. But the photo was in fact taken in Saudi Arabia by a photographer who staged it for an art project about orphaned children. The boy featured in the photo is the artist's nephew. US President Donald Trump retweeted two deceptive videos in which his Democratic rival Joe Biden appears to admit that Trump will be re-elected. But the clips were edited to omit Biden subsequently saying that his prediction will only become a reality if Democrats target each other. "We can only re-elect Donald Trump if in fact we get engaged in this circular firing squad here," Biden said. An advisory about the novel coronavirus was shared repeatedly on Facebook and WhatsApp alongside a claim that it was released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The claim is false. UNICEF said that the agency did not release the information, much of which is contrary to health experts' advice. An old hoax about refugees drowning in the Mediterranean resurfaced this week on social media in North America. The posts, most of which circulated in Facebook groups based in Canada, claimed a viral photo of refugees wearing life jackets in the sea was staged. The posts were shared during increasing unrest at the Greece-Turkey border. But the photo is authentic. It was taken after a ship sank off the Turkish coast in 2015. A photo of a police officer throwing an object was shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts which claim it shows a policeman participating in sectarian violence in Delhi, India in February 2020. In fact, the image is an AFP photo taken in Lucknow, a major city in north India, in December 2019. It shows a police officer confronting anti-citizenship law protesters. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Afp