A summary of the most popular but untrue stories and footage of the week. None of this is legal, although it has been widely shared on social media. Associated Press checked them. Here are the facts:
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Troops looking away from the Biden motorway guarded security threats
CLAIM: Troops in Washington are turning their backs on President Joe Biden’s car while on its way to its inauguration at the US Capitol.
THE FACTS: In accordance with security protocols, some members of the National Guard were positioned with their backs to Biden’s freeway as it moved through Washington to the U.S. capital. But social media users falsely suggest that a video shot by an ABC reporter shows Guard members turning their backs on Biden in a tone of contempt. “Many of the military turned their backs on Biden’s motorcade,” claims one tweet with more than 3,000 likes sharing the footage. Another video that makes the false claim has had more than 100,000 views on YouTube. Taken a step further, some social media users captured a photo of the video and showed it in posts along with photos of members of the Guard enthusiastically greeting former President Donald Trump during an unspecified event. The video with the false claim was reinforced by accounts that Trump supported and promoted misinformation in the past. ABC reporter Ines de La Cuetara uploaded the video to Twitter around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The video shows some Guard members facing the cars driving down the street while others turn their backs near Robert A. Taft Memorial in Constitution Avenue. More than 26,000 guards from across the country have been brought in to promote security for the inauguration following the violent riots at the Capitol. The AP confirmed with the National Guard Bureau that Guard members had turned their backs on monitoring all possible threats, in accordance with the security protocol. During Trump’s inauguration, authorities could be seen, both with their backs to the highway. “These national guards were on duty with a mission to protect the president from possible threats. “Some are pointing outwards to ensure the safety of all,” said Darla Torres, a spokeswoman for the National Guard Bureau.
Associated Press author Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.
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Kamala Harris rested on Bibles during oath, not a purse
CLAIM: When Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in on Wednesday, she placed a black clutch bag on top of the Bible so she would not have to touch the holy book.
THE FACTS: Harris rests her hand on a Bible laid on another Bible while being sworn in office. But on Thursday, social media users shared a photo of the inauguration ceremony Wednesday, along with false allegations that Harris did not touch the Bible during the oath. The photo shows Harris resting with her right hand and her left hand on an unidentified black item and reciting her oath of office. The black object rested on top of a thick Bible, both held by Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff. “She could not even bring herself to touch that Bible,” reads one Facebook post that has been viewed more than 35,000 times. “Do you all need it spelled out for you?” read another widely shared post. A believer in Christ could not wait to keep that Bible … A Satanist can not touch it! Note he has gloves … She has her clutch bag on top! ‘But the black object on top of the larger Bible was a different Bible, as photos from a different angle confirmed. Associated Press reported that Harris used two Bibles during her oath. One belongs to Regina Shelton, a family friend whose Bible was sworn by Harris when he became attorney general of California and later senator. The other belongs to Thurgood Marshall, the first Supreme Court justice in African America.
Associated Press author Ali Swenson in Semora, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
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Band did not play ‘Hit the Road Jack’ outside the White House
CLAIM: A video shows a military band playing the song “Hit the Road Jack” outside the White House before Donald Trump said goodbye to Washington.
THE FACTS: The sound in the video of the rehearsal of the army orchestra before the inauguration has been changed. CNN correspondent Jim Acosta posted this the original video Monday on Twitter, showing that the band is actually playing ‘National Emblem’, an American march compiled in 1902 and published in 1906. “Preps for Biden inauguration … you can hear the band playing on WH grounds,” Acosta tweeted and shared. a grip of the band’s rehearsal. The video was manipulated to insert the song “Hit the Road Jack” and was widely shared on social media. An audio search with the Shazam music program affiliated with the Ohio State University Marching Band the performance of the song. “It just so happens. Military Band rehearses ‘Hit The Road Jack’ right outside the WH! ”, Wrote a Twitter user who shared the edited video on Monday. The clip was viewed 3 million times. Another Twitter user shared the manipulated video on Tuesday with the comment: “Perfect. Trump’s last day. The Military Orchestra Right Outside the White House – ‘Hit The Road Jack.’ ‘The post had more than 25,000 retweets. The edited video also spread on Facebook. Shaunteh D. Kelly, a military spokesman, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that the “Army Army has practiced the ‘National Emblem’ as part of the Army’s precision, teamwork and commitment to ceremonial excellence.”
Associated Press writer Arijeta Lajka in New York contributed to this report.
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Trump did not forgive Joe Exotic
CLAIM: Donald Trump pardoned “Tiger King” star Joe Exotic before leaving office as President of the United States.
THE FACTS: Social media posts that were widely circulated on Wednesday falsely claimed that the eccentric zookeeper in Oklahoma who appeared in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” in the last hours as president of Donald Trump has been forgiven. “Joe Exotic’s team thanks Donald Trump for his pardon signature and will be released from prison in Ft Worth, TX,” read a tweet shared hundreds of times Wednesday. But Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was not on Trump’s final forgiveness list, according to the report by the AP. Maldonado-Passage is serving a 22-year sentence in a federal prison in Texas for violating wildlife legislation and for the murder of his main rival, the founder of Carole Baskin, in Florida. Baskin was not harmed. Maldonado-Passage maintained his innocence and asked for forgiveness in September. His team was so confident this week that they prepared a festive limousine for the occasion. When the news broke that he would not be released on Wednesday, Maldonado-Passage fans – who call themselves “Team Tiger” – issued a statement expressing their disappointment. “140 million Joe Exotic fans got out of bed with difficulty this morning,” the statement said.
– Ali Swenson
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Reports call Pelosi falsely responsible for security during the Capitol uprising
CLAIM: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is in charge of overseeing Capitol police, is responsible for the failure of security that made the January 6 uprising in the U.S. Capitol possible.
THE FACTS: Pelosi does not oversee the day-to-day operations of the Capitol Police. But after the deadly riot at the Capitol, users on social media began sharing posts that blamed Pelosi for security shortages that violated the building. “It was the Capitol police who let the intruders in, and it was the Capitol police who killed an innocent woman who was across the door from the officer for whom we do not yet know the name,” said one tweet with more than. 2,000 likes. “Nancy Pelosi is in charge of Capitol Police NOT Trump.” The Capitol Police are responsible for security on the grounds of the Capitol and the protection of Congress, along with the arms of the House and Senate. “No one oversees USCP – the oversight apparatus includes representation from the Capitol Architect, the Sergeants at Arms of the House, as well as committees from both Houses of Congress,” said Bee Barnett, director of communications and programs for the United States. . Capitol Historical Society, said in an email. Although the budget of the Capitol Police is approved by both chambers of Congress, Pelosi does not control the day-to-day operations or officer assignments. The storming of the Capitol, which took place when Congress met to confirm the votes of the Electoral College confirming that Joe Biden had won the election, killed five people, including Brian Sicknick, a Capitol police officer. who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. The building was locked and members of Congress were forced to hide. Three top security officials resigned following pressure from congressional leaders, including Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Senate Sergeant Michael Stenger and longtime House Sergeant Paul Irving. Pelosi called the events a “failure of leadership at the top” and asked Sund to resign. Irving had already resigned when she asked for Sund to resign. Sund was appointed in 2019 by a board of three members consisting of the two sergeants of the House and the Senate, as well as the Architect of the Capitol.
– Beatrice Dupuy, with additional reporting from Associated Press author Matthew Daly in Washington.
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Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not create the Telegram channel
CLAIM: Air Force General John Hyten, Vice President of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, created a channel in the popular Telegram messaging program and posted it several dozen times, sharing videos, images and phrases such as “nothing can stop what’s coming” and ” THE TRUTH WILL SHOCK THE WORLD. ”
THE FACTS: Hyten’s spokesman, Maj. Trisha Guillebeau, confirmed to the AP that the general does not have a Telegram account and that the creator of the channel is posing as him. The Telegram channel entitled “General Hyten” was created on Monday. By the next day, it had dozens of posts and more than 200,000 subscribers. Reports that apparently came from Hyten in the channel encouraged users not to give up and ‘have faith’. Some reports contain videos or images of former President Donald Trump. The reports pointed to threatening news and the possible use of an emergency broadcasting system, reflecting a false theory that President Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20 would be interrupted by emergency broadcasts or Trump appealing to the Insurrection Act. Several posts in the channel also have terms such as ‘big awakening’, ‘storm’ and ‘nothing can stop what’s coming’, which is frequently used by supporters of QAnon, a false conspiracy theory rooted in the unfounded belief that Trump is deeply fight state enemies and a cabal of satan-worshiping cannibals who engage in child sex trafficking. The person who shared the reports used an image of Hyten and claimed that he was, and even wrote: ‘The account is kept by me. -genhyten. However, Guillebeau confirmed to the AP that an impersonator was behind the bill. “This Telegram account is fake,” Guillebeau said in a telephone interview. “General Hyten has no professional or personal social media accounts.” According to Marc-Andre Argentino, a doctoral candidate at Concordia University who studies the QAnon movement, the channel was named against hundreds of other Telegram channels populated by QAnon supporters. Telegram did not respond to a request for comment from the AP, but it appears to have affixed a warning label to the channel on Tuesday.
– Ali Swenson
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