Video of Kim Jong Un speech includes fake translation
A video showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blaming President Joe Biden for the Israel-Hamas war has been making the rounds on social media, receiving more than 200,000 likes on TikTok.
In the clip, Kim is speaking as English subtitles are displayed across the screen.
"Under the Biden administration, conflicts erupt yearly," the captions read. "This year a war begins between Israel and Palestine. I'm afraid that if the Biden admin does not cease to exist in the next election, World War 3 may begin. Who knows what next year's war will be. I support Donald Trump for President in 2024. Good Luck to Mr. Trump."
That video is real, although it's three years old, according to the Associated Press. But the captions are fake.
The video was taken from an October 2020 new report of a speech by the North Korean leader. In that speech, Kim commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Korean Workers' Party. There is no mention of the U.S. presidential election or the current conflict in the Middle East.
"Greeting the 75th founding anniversary of our great Party," Kim actually said during the speech, according to a translation by the National Committee on North Korea, "I, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, extend heartfelt congratulations to all those who have glorified this October holiday with great honor and pride."
WSJ didn't report on American bomb
An Oct. 17 bombing at a hospital in Gaza left hundreds of people dead, while Israelis and Palestinians have blamed each other for the strike.
Social media users are sharing a claim that the Wall Street Journal reported the bomb came from the U.S.
"American Wall Street Journal: 'The bomb that was dropped on Baptist Hospital was an American-made MK-84,'" read a recent post on X, which was viewed nearly 600,000 times.
But this post is false, according to Reuters. There is no evidence of this claim on archived or current versions of the Journal's website.
A Wall Street Journal spokesperson told Reuters the claim was made up.
"The Wall Street Journal has not reported that an American MK-84 was deployed in the Gaza hospital blast Tuesday," the spokesperson said.
Social media user wasn't jailed
A recent post claims a social media user was put in prison for making memes.
"BREAKING: Twitter user Douglass Mackey sentenced to 7 months in prison after being found guilty of election interference for making memes disparaging Hillary Clinton," read the Instagram post, which included a link to a story published by Post Millennial, a Canadian news site.
But this claim is wrong, according to USA Today. Posting memes about politicians isn't illegal. Mackey was convicted of conspiracy against voting rights.
In an Oct. 18 news release, the United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of New York said Mackey, 34, was sentenced for "his role in a conspiracy to interfere with potential voters' right to vote in the 2016 election for the Office of the President of the United States."
Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Mackey posted instructions on social media encouraging supporters of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to vote for her by sending a text message to the number 59925. Thousands of people texted "Hillary or some derivative" to that number, provided by Mackey, the release said.
University of California - Los Angeles law professor Eugene Volokh told USA Today that Mackey's conviction had nothing to do with his political beliefs.
"He was prosecuted not for criticizing Hillary Clinton but for deliberately conveying false information about how one can vote for Hillary Clinton in a way the jury concluded was intended to try to keep people from going to the polling places," Volokh said.
Thunberg didn't back vegan hand grenades
An Instagram post claims Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg encouraged people to use vegan hand grenades so that no animals would be killed. The post includes video supposedly showing Thunberg talking about a book called "Vegan Wars."
"War is always bad, specifically for the planet," Thunberg appears to say in the Oct. 23 post. She goes on to suggest battery-powered fighter jets, biodegradable missiles and blocking the roads to gardens and farms.
"Hand grenades - very important. If you use hand grenades, please use vegan grenades. No animals should have to give their life for all this mayhem and chaos."
But Thunberg didn't say any of those things, according to PolitiFact. The video has been altered.
The original clip is from a November 2022 interview Thunberg did on the BBC, promoting her book "The Climate Book."
The altered video appears to have been created by the German website Snicklink, which publishes satirical content.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.