Disinformation wars on social media have been on the rise the past few years and 2023 was no exception. The FRANCE 24 Observers team select a fact-check that has marked each month of this year.
In 2023 our fact-checking journalists have written 197 articles verifying information. Their efforts come amid a backdrop of an ever-increasing disinformation war on social media.
The war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas have left their mark on 2023 and have been the main targets of our fact-checks over the last twelve months, with 102 articles about Ukraine and 19 about Israel and Hamas.
But apart from these major events of the year, other subjects such as the rise of artificial intelligence, natural disasters, immigration and protests caught our eye, as fake images and videos taken out of context circulated widely online.
Here's a look back at the fake news stories that marked 2023 for us.
January: Are there ruins of a lost civilisation in Antarctica?
Sometimes the disinformation isn’t tied to a current event, but a historical one. In January 2023, images started circulating online claiming that an ancient civilisation had thrived in Antarctica. But the interesting part of these images? They were generated by AI. This was the first fact-check on AI-generated images in 2023, but certainly not the last.
February: How one year of disinformation has shaped the narrative of the Ukraine war online
We’ll go more in-depth on the fact-checks about Ukraine that we looked at this year, but here’s one article that wrapped up what one year of disinformation taught us about false narratives in Ukraine.
On the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, we looked back at the 115 fact-checks we carried out over one year of war. Click here to see what we learned.
March: An AI-generated image of the riots in Paris?
A photo of a young French protester in the hands of riot police went viral on X, with strong suspicions it was AI-generated – but in a role reversal, it was actually a real photo. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to photographers who were at the protest to verify – including the person behind the lens themselves.
April: These three videos have nothing to do with the clashes in Sudan
Fighting between the army and paramilitary forces has wracked Sudan since April 15, 2023 resulting in civilian casualties due to bombings, gunfire, and other forms of deadly violence. In the midst of this crisis, various social media posts claimed to document events in Sudan using videos as evidence.
But these videos were taken out of context.
May: Turkish elections targeted by misinformation
The Turkish presidential elections on May 14, which pitted incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Kemil Kiliçdaroglu, the "National Alliance" candidate, were the target of a host of misinformation. During the campaign, images that had been manipulated or taken out of context, as well as deep fakes, were posted online.
We worked with Turkish verification media Teyit to decipher the disinformation mechanisms that affected this election campaign.
June: No, these videos do not show 500,000 migrants 'getting ready to invade Italy'
In late May and June, an Italian far-right account shared images of a so-called "army" of illegal migrants, said to be on their way to Italy from Libya. This was just one of many fact-checks on migration to Europe that we covered this year.
And it turns out the photos were taken out of context.
July: Misinformation spread to discredit protesters, French immigration policies
The images of the riots that followed the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed on June 27 by a police officer during a roadside check, went around the world. On social networks, some anti-migrant or far-right accounts posted false information about the riots to discredit French immigration policies.
The FRANCE 24 Observers team analysed this disinformation, published by English-speaking, Hindu and pro-Russian accounts.
August: These videos don't show foreign troops in Niger post-coup
After the July 26 military coup in Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued an ultimatum demanding a return to constitutional order.
Amid fears of imminent military intervention after the ultimatum expired, people posted videos online, claiming they showed foreign troops at Niger's borders. But they were all false.
September: A flood of disinformation about migrants in Lampedusa
The arrival of thousands of people, the majority of them from sub-Saharan Africa, on the Italian island of Lampedusa in September triggered a flood od false claims. The accounts that publish these videos on social networks reopened the debate on the management of illegal immigration by the European Union and European states.
Images purporting to show migrants who were violent, or who were dancing with members of NGOs... The FRANCE 24 Observers team debunked three misleading videos that denigrated migrants.
October: Malian army's Kidal offensive sparks disinformation on both sides
After the Malian armed forces (FAMA) launched an offensive to reconquer the territories occupied by the armed groups of the Permanent Strategic Framework (PSF), both camps began disinformation campaigns targeting the other on social networks.
Both sides manipulated old images and even television reports to make people believe their version of the situation in North Mali.
November: This photo does not show Israeli weapons in a cargo ship seized by Houthis
On November 19, Yemen's Houthi rebels hijacked an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Red Sea, taking 25 of its crew members hostage. Some social media users are sharing a photo purportedly showing that the cargo ship was carrying weapons. But the photo was old and taken out of context.
December: No, Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t buy a villa in Florida
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky buy a house in Florida? And did he get American citizenship? This is just the latest example of fake news stories implying that Ukrainian officials are using international aid money for personal purposes.
