What is circulating vs the facts

What is circulating

“Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu urged civil servants to start growing cannabis at home in response to tensions in West Asia.”

Claimed by Social media post · social media

The facts

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security called the post a malicious fabrication and digital manipulation and reported it to MCMC on 14 April 2026. In March 2026 Mohamad had urged civil servants with land to grow vegetables to strengthen food supply if the West Asia conflict continued; the fake replaced vegetables with cannabis.

Fact check: The Vibes

What is circulating

“Cambodia asked Thailand to open a checkpoint in the Chanthaburi and Trat area to move equipment for a school under royal patronage.”

Claimed by Facebook page Isan Banna Fanpage · social media

The facts

The Royal Thai Navy called the rumour fake on 14 April 2026, Prime Minister Anutin said on 15 April that no checkpoint had opened and no coordination had taken place, and Cambodia's Defence Ministry denied making any request. The two royal-patronage technical institutes in Cambodia are real, which Thai PBS Verify said was used to make the invented request look credible.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“Prime Minister Anutin urged Thais to stop using harsh language against Cambodians and to respect Cambodia.”

Claimed by Facebook post · social media

The facts

The quote distorts a Thai PBS interview of 3 November 2025 in which Anutin discussed troop withdrawal and mine clearance and asked not to use the word 'obstructive'; he did not address how the public speaks about Cambodians. The photo of him shaking hands with Hun Manet dates from 23 October 2024, when he was interior minister, and the government's fact page called the post recycled and untrue.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“Prime Minister Anutin announced that 15 million senior citizens would automatically receive a 10,000 baht payment in April 2026.”

Claimed by YouTube channel Perd Lok Khao · social media

The facts

The Department of Older Persons said no such payment exists; the only official benefit is the monthly allowance of 600 to 1,000 baht depending on age. Hive Moderation rated the video's audio 98.4 percent likely AI-generated, and the footage was taken from Anutin's press conference of 7 September 2025. The video reached about 600,000 views.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“In a Channel Nine interview, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said: "The coalition went to the 2025 election promising higher debt and deficits." Prime Minister Albanese and Environment Minister Murray Watt made similar claims.”

Claimed by Jim Chalmers, Treasurer of Australia · news report

The facts

AAP FactCheck rated the claim a Mixture. Parliamentary Budget Office costings show the coalition's policies would have cut deficits by $6.6 billion over the four years to 2028/29 and net debt by a cumulative $49.9 billion. Beyond that, the policies would have worsened the budget, with deficits $162.4 billion larger from 2031/32 to 2035/36.

Fact check: AAP FactCheck

What is circulating

“At a Senate hearing on 22 April 2026, Sanders said: "As a result of the 'Big Beautiful Bill' 15 million Americans have been thrown off the healthcare that they need."”

Claimed by Bernie Sanders · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Mostly False. The Congressional Budget Office projected the 2025 law would increase the uninsured by 10 million through 2034, and the 15 million figure added about 4 million expected to lose coverage from expiring ACA tax credits, a separate change. Those losses are projections; ACA enrollment for 2026 was 23.1 million, about 1 million below 2025.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on 22 April 2026 about drug price cuts, Kennedy said "there's two ways of calculating percentage" and that cutting a $600 drug to $10 is "a 600% reduction."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Pants on Fire. Cutting a $600 drug to $10 is a $590 reduction, or 98.3 percent, and a price decrease cannot exceed 100 percent without the seller paying the buyer. Percentage increases can exceed 100 percent, but the same arithmetic does not apply to decreases.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“A video shows Prabowo admitting that his promises in the 2024 presidential campaign were lies: "If I promise this and that, I am lying to the people."”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

The quote is genuine but dates from a Kompas TV interview on 21 November 2018, when Prabowo denied promising to raise teachers' pay to Rp20 million if elected in 2019 and said he did not want to lie with campaign promises. It is not about the 2024 campaign and contains no admission of lying.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“The state budget (APBN) is only enough to last three months and the rupiah could weaken to Rp20,000 per dollar.”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

The Finance Ministry's communications chief Deni Surjantono said on 24 April 2026 that both claims were untrue and the budget remained sound. The rupiah had weakened to about Rp17,300 per dollar on 23 April 2026, a 3.54 percent year-to-date fall that Bank Indonesia said was in line with regional currencies.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“A video shared on Facebook claimed to show President Trump being taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, with captions such as "BREAKING: There are some reports Trump has been taken to Walter Reed Hospital."”

Claimed by Facebook posts · social media

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim False. The video was AI generated: Walter Reed said its logo and signage did not match the footage, the sign text was gibberish, and Google's SynthID detector found an AI watermark. The White House also called the video fake.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul authorised an 'unlimited refuelling policy', starting in Buriram.”

Claimed by Facebook page · social media

The facts

The Buriram Provincial Energy Office called the rumour baseless and said purchase limits remained in place; some stations only raised caps from 500 to 1,000 baht for cars. Thai PBS Verify found no statement, document or interview in which Anutin announced such a policy. The national guidance proposed on 14 March 2026 kept caps of 500 baht for four-wheel vehicles.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“The Philippine government will give 150,000 pesos in aid to overseas Filipino workers returning home because of the 2026 war in the Middle East.”

Claimed by Facebook video uploader · social media

The facts

The clip came from a BusinessWorld report of 19 June 2025, when repatriated workers received 150,000 pesos (75,000 each from the Department of Migrant Workers and OWWA) during the earlier Israel-Iran conflict. OWWA said on 5 March 2026 that the new claim was not true. The recycled video passed 571,000 views.

Fact check: VERA Files

What is circulating

“Giving evidence to Parliament's Liaison Committee on 23 March 2026, Starmer said: "we will spend £270 billion more than we would otherwise have done on defence" in this Parliament.”

Claimed by Keir Starmer, then UK Prime Minister · official statement

The facts

Full Fact found the claim incorrect. The £270 billion is roughly the Ministry of Defence's total planned spending from 2025/26 to 2028/29, which adds up to £272.2 billion, not the increase. The defence budget rose by £1.9 billion in 2025/26 and is set to rise by £3.3 billion the following year.

Fact check: Full Fact

What is circulating

“As the Senate began debating the SAVE America Act on 17 March 2026, Schumer said the bill "would force Americans to register (to vote) only in person, something only 5% of Americans do today."”

Claimed by Chuck Schumer, Senate Democratic leader · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Half True. The bill would require documentary proof of citizenship presented in person, but the 5 percent figure comes from a 2022 survey counting only election offices. The 2024 Election Assistance Commission survey puts in-person registration at 11.2 percent to as much as 42 percent if motor vehicle agency visits are included.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“In a Senate floor speech on 3 March 2026, Warren said: "In the modern era, no American president has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries" as Donald Trump.”

Claimed by Elizabeth Warren · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim True. Trump has ordered strikes on 10 countries across his two terms, compared with seven for Obama and five each for Biden and George W. Bush. The Washington Post reported Trump authorized almost as many air and drone strikes in 2025 as Biden's 694 over four years, though Obama and Bush deployed far more ground troops.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Police chief Listyo Sigit said 30 kg of seized crystal meth evaporated into the air because of extreme weather, with losses sometimes reaching 5 to 6 tonnes.”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

Targeted searches of Listyo's public statements found no such remark, and no credible outlet reported it. The post, shared on 3 March 2026, cited no source.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa was removed from the Senate after four months of absences.”

Claimed by Facebook posts · social media

The facts

VERA Files found no Senate announcement of any removal. Dela Rosa has been absent since November after reports of an ICC arrest warrant and was replaced on two committees, but expelling a senator requires a vote of at least 16 senators and none was reported.

Fact check: VERA Files

What is circulating

“The Home Affairs Minister deliberately gave incomplete answers in Parliament about two Singaporeans allegedly serving in the Israel Defense Forces, and the government could identify them but chose not to act to protect ties with Israel.”

Claimed by The Online Citizen (Terry Xu) and Heidoh.com · news report

The facts

The government says it had no substantiated information that any Singaporean served in the IDF, and that the 11 February 2026 Declassified UK report it was asked about gave no identifying details. It had sought clarification from Israel and received no reply. A POFMA Correction Direction, including a print notice in The Straits Times, was issued on 26 March 2026.

Fact check: Factually (Government of Singapore)

What is circulating

“Attorney-General Lucien Wong had not recused himself from matters on the compulsory acquisition of 38 Oxley Road, and the Prime Minister appointed him until age 75 despite a constitutional retirement age of 60.”

Claimed by The Online Citizen (Terry Xu) website and social media pages · news report

The facts

The Singapore government says Wong recused himself from all 38 Oxley Road matters and so did not act on them, including the compulsory acquisition. Under Article 35(4) of the Constitution the age 60 limit does not apply to fixed-term appointments, and it is the President, acting on the Prime Minister's advice after consulting the Council of Presidential Advisers, who re-appointed Wong. A POFMA Correction Direction was issued over the 9 March 2026 article on 23 March 2026.

Fact check: Factually (Government of Singapore)

What is circulating

“Prabowo and Puan agreed to hand land damaged by the disasters over to China to manage, and Puan signed a cooperation deal.”

Claimed by Facebook posts · social media

The facts

There is no evidence of any such agreement or deal. Kompas rated the posts, which circulated in March 2026, a hoax.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta