Facts Matter: iPhone feature won't share info without consent
Several posts circulating recently on social media claim iPhone users have a new feature that can discreetly take information from a different iPhone, without permission.
"Stay alert," written in large yellow letters, begins a Nov. 30 Instagram post. "The new iPhone update automatically enables 'NameDrop.' If anyone places their iPhone near your iPhone or child's iPhone, it will automatically receive their contact information including a photo, phone number, email, address, and more."
But that's not quite how it works, according to PolitiFact.
The NameDrop feature was introduced by Apple in the summer, enabling two users with newer operating systems on their iPhones or Apple Watches to quickly share contact information "with only their intended recipients," according to a June 5 news release from Apple.
To share the information, two users hold the tops of their phones close together, click on the contact info, decide what information they want to exchange, tap "share" and then tap "done." The feature can also be disabled by the user.
"It was wrongly reported that iPhones would send the information automatically," Johannes Ullrich, dean of research for SANS Technology Institute, told PolitiFact. "Physical interaction with the device - pressing an approve button - is required."
When the feature was first available, many law enforcement agencies issued false warnings, some that have since been deleted, that NameDrop could gain information without consent.
Post includes wrong photo
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd, was stabbed about 22 times by fellow inmate John Turscak on Nov. 24 at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
A post purportedly showing Turscak, 52, recently showed up on social media.
"THIS GUY stabbed derek chauvin 22 times? dude got got by the kindest sweetest looking man," read posts on Facebook and X that included a photo of an older bald man with a white beard.
But those posts are miscaptioned, according to Reuters. The image included doesn't show Turscak. It's actually a photo of John "Shelby" Amos II, who died on Nov. 30 at the age of 71.
Amos was a former board member for the insurance company Aflac. The photo that was wrongly identified as Turscak was taken from a story about Amos's death that was broadcast by Georgia-based news channel WTVM. The photo was flipped horizontally before it was added to the false post.
Aflac spokesperson Jon Sullivan confirmed the photo in the post about Chauvin was Amos.
"The photo is of John Shelby Amos II, former member of the Aflac Board of Directors, who passed away on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023," he told Reuters.
Chauvin is expected to survive the attack.
Yachts in Ukraine are still for sale
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been dealing with the Russia-Ukraine war for nearly two years, was the subject of social media posts claiming he purchased two luxury yachts.
"Ukrainian President Zelensky uses proxies to hide ownership of two yachts worth $75.000.000. This man will go down in history as the person who destroyed his own country for fame and fortune," read one post on X.
But that claim is false, according to The Associated Press. The yachts still are for sale.
The posts cite a story in the online publication The Islander that claims Zelenskyy "is now ensnared in a scandal involving the alleged purchase of two luxury yachts, 'Lucky Me' and 'My Legacy,' worth a combined $75 million." The report claims Lucky Me was sold on Oct. 18 for $24.9 million to Zelenskyy associate Boris Shefir and My Legacy was sold a week later for $49.75 million to Shefir's brother Serhiy Shefir.
But a spokesperson for the luxury yacht company BehneMar told the AP that Lucky Me "has not been sold and is still for sale with BehneMar as the exclusive listing company." As for the other boat, Nicci Perides, a spokesperson for the luxury yacht company Burgess, told the AP, "We can confirm that the yacht has not been sold and therefore remains for sale."
Image of Springsteen shirt was altered
A post on X earlier this month appears to show singer Bruce Springsteen making a political statement from the stage.
"The Boss has a message for the ex-boss," reads the text on the post which features a photo of Springsteen wearing a dark T-shirt with the message, "KEEP AMERICA TRUMPLESS."
But this wasn't Springsteen's message, according to Reuters. The photo has been altered and the words, along with an image of a continental U.S.-shaped American flag, were added to his shirt. In the actual photo, his T-shirt is blank, without any message.
The photo originally was taken in 2017 by photographer Kevin Mazur for Getty Images. The caption reads, "Bruce Springsteen performs onstage during 'Springsteen On Broadway' at Walter Kerr Theatre on Oct. 12, 2017 in New York City."
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.