MELISSA GOLDIN

News verification reporter/editor

Goldin debunks, analyzes and tracks misinformation for The Associated Press. She is based in New York.

Seeing is believing? Not necessarily when it comes to video clips of Biden and Trump

Republicans have shared a spate of lightly altered and out-of-context videos to fuel a narrative that President Joe Biden is mentally and physically unfit for office.

FACT FOCUS: Associated Press video manipulated to make it appear Slovak flags banned at soccer match

Manipulated video from an Associated Press report circulated on the eve of the match between Slovakia and Ukraine at this year’s European Championship, with the false claim that Slovak flags had been banned from all games because of their similarity to the Russian flag.

Video of 8-foot-tall barricades at the Supreme Court is from 2022, not this week

Social media users are misrepresenting the 2-year-old video as new, falsely claiming that the Supreme Court is anticipating activity that would require additional security measures.

FACT FOCUS: Biden’s pause as he left a star-studded LA fundraiser becomes a target for opponents

Video from a fundraiser in Los Angeles for President Joe Biden is circulating on social media with claims that he froze up onstage as he exited the event.

Banners from HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ are not flying on New York bridges as videos online suggest

Social media users are sharing the videos ahead of the season two premiere on Sunday, claiming that the banners are real.

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.

Video edited to make it appear Biden tried to sit down when there wasn’t a chair

As World War II veterans and world leaders gathered to honor the famed Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, social media users shared the short clip to further an ongoing narrative that Biden is infirm.

Anti-abortion activist convicted for blockading a reproductive health clinic, not for praying there

Social media users are misrepresenting Harlow’s crimes, alleging that she is being put behind bars because she chose to pray beside the clinic.

Posts spread image of satirical ‘Gayo’ condiment as real

As this year’s Pride Month kicked off on Saturday, the image spread out of context on social media, implying that “Gayo” is an actual product.

FACT FOCUS: Trump responds to guilty verdict with attacks and false claims

Former President Donald Trump on Friday sought to relitigate several aspects of his hush money trial, making several false and unsupported claims after being convicted on 34 felony charges by a New York jury.

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 will be able to vote in the 2024 election as long as he isn’t in prison after being convicted in his hush money trial.

Questions swirl around whether Trump can vote for himself in the 2024 election

After a New York jury on Thursday found Trump guilty of all 34 felony charges in his hush money trial, social media users claimed that the decision will prevent the former president from voting for himself in the upcoming election.

Posts misrepresent New York judge’s instructions to jury in Trump hush money trial

As jury deliberations began Wednesday in Trump’s trial, social media users spread false information about Merchan’s instructions to the seven men and five women who will determine the outcome in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

‘Statue of Liberty’ image was created using Photoshop, not ruins from the artist’s home

Social media posts are giving new life to yearsold claims that misrepresent the image using erroneous details about its origin and meaning.

Posts misrepresent Illinois bill rebranding some criminal offenders as ‘justice-impacted individuals’

Social media users are omitting details about the bill, implying that it would apply to anyone who has committed a crime.

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: New York Judge Juan M.

FACT FOCUS: Trump distorts use of ‘deadly force’ language in FBI document for Mar-a-Lago search

Former President Donald Trump has pointed to standard language used in an unsealed FBI document to baselessly claim the Biden administration wanted to kill him during a search for documents at his Florida estate in 2022.

Judge in Trump’s hush money trial did not bar campaign finance expert from testifying for defense

As the trial continued Tuesday, social media users misrepresented Merchan’s ruling, repeating a statement Trump made that Smith, a law professor and former Republican member of the Federal Election Commission, was not being allowed to take the stand.

A warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest was requested. But no decision was made about whether to issue it

Social media users are misrepresenting the warrants’ status, including that of Netanyahu, by claiming that they have already been approved by the ICC.

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.

JFK airport project misrepresented as not allowing bids from white, male-owned businesses

Social media users are falsely claiming that certain businesses will be excluded from JFK’s multibillion dollar redevelopment based on the race and gender of their owners.

Biden cites erroneous inflation statistic to make his case about the economy

Biden has twice cited this number, which is drawn from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, in the past week, first in a CNN interview on May 8 and again during an interview with Yahoo Finance on Tuesday.

Replacement of Milwaukee election official unrelated to 2020 election

With the 2024 election just six months away, social media users continue to promote erroneous claims of election-related fraud in 2020, most recently with a spotlight on Wisconsin.

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: France did not send troops to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Hackers did not project the Soviet Victory banner on Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate this week

Social media users shared photos and videos that made it appear the banner was being projected onto the Brandenburg Gate ahead of this week’s commemorative celebrations.

No, France did not deploy troops to fight with Ukraine against Russia

Social media users are pointing to the blog post as proof that French troops have been sent to fight Russia alongside Ukraine as the war continues in its third year.

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 video clip of actor Robert De Niro yelling in a crowd shows him rehearsing for a Netflix series, not confronting anti-Israel protesters in New York.

Posts share fake New York Post story saying a bill would make it illegal to question 9/11

Social media users are sharing the false image to erroneously allege that the U.S. government is considering limits on what people can say about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Video shows Robert De Niro rehearsing for a Netflix series, not yelling at anti-Israel protesters

As police crack down on college protests across the country, social media users are misrepresenting the video of De Niro, claiming that it shows him expressing support for Israel.

Posts misrepresent Green Party candidate’s comment on a Jewish homeland

As tensions rise on college campuses over protests about the Israel-Hamas war, social media users are misrepresenting what Stein said at the Ivy League university about a Jewish homeland.