Video shows demonstration, not a military operation
A social media post this month claimed to show the moment U.S. military personnel descended on a Venezuela-linked oil tanker which had displayed the Russian flag.
“#BREAKING Despite Russia deploying a submarine to protect the tanker Bella 1 in the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. airborne forces began helicopter landings on the tanker minutes ago. An operation is currently underway to seize the tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet,” read the text on the Jan. 7 post.
The post includes a video showing soldiers rappelling down a rope from a hovering helicopter and landing on the ship’s deck, as another helicopter hovers above. The clip is dramatic, but it doesn’t show a military operation, according to Reuters. It shows a military exercise.
U.S. Coast Guard and military forces apprehended a tanker on Jan. 7 in the Atlantic Ocean, but this video was first posted months before.
The video actually shows an October military demonstration on the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S. Navy.
Margo Martin, an assistant to President Donald Trump, posted the same video on Oct. 5. And a different clip of the same event was posted Oct. 5 by U.S. Defense Department media.
A Reuters photo published Oct. 5 shows Trump and first lady Melania Trump on board the USS George H.W. Bush watching the demonstration.
Photos of unmasked agent created using AI
Photos showing the face of an ICE agent, who allegedly shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minn., have been circulating this month on social media.
“Hey Folks! This is the ICE Nazi Agent who killed Renee Nicole Good in cold blood in Minneapolis! Has anyone seen this guy?” read the post showing a federal agent.
But this image is fake, according to LeadStories. All the posted photos have shown the agent wearing a mask. This image was created using the artificial intelligence, or AI, tool Grok.
The photo in this post appears to be taken from a screenshot image of an agent that was broadcast on some news channels. The image shows an agent in the same position, making the same kind of gesture, but he is wearing a mask.
One post that included the fake image, appeared to admit the photo was manipulated using AI.
“I asked Grok to remove his mask. This is what they came up with,” the user wrote.
Ad for child actors is a prank
Officials have recently been investigating a series of alleged fraud at day care centers in Minnesota. Some social media users are sharing an ad for actors as proof of the fraud.
“BREAKING — A Craigslist ad seeking child actors for a daycare in Minneapolis’ Hennepin County has been discovered, with the poster requesting 20 children to act as clients while the state observes them to determine whether it’s a legitimate daycare,” read a post which included a screenshot of the ad.
The ad, headlined “Daycare hiring child actors for 3 day contract,” claims the facility is looking for child actors and will pay up to $1,500 per day.
But this ad is fake, according to The Associated Press. It’s part of a prank.
The false ad, posted Jan. 1 in Craigslist’s Hennepin County, Minnesota, section for general labor jobs, was created for an online prank show called “Goofcon1.” It’s co-hosted by Joey LaFleur.
“The show’s called Goofcon1 and it is a funny show,” LaFleur told the AP. “We do pranks and stuff like that.”
LaFleur said they have received a “ton of responses” to the ad and on the show they planned to call people who answered the ad.
Trump not banning alcohol
A screenshot of a post supposedly shows President Donald Trump thinking about a return to Prohibition.
The screenshot, which appears to include a Truth Social post from the president, partially reads, “A very disturbing thing is happening all across our once great country. RAGING ALCOHOLICS everywhere … If this continues, maybe it's time to seriously look at the 18th Amendment Prohibition, to ban alcohol permanently … We don't need hangovers — we need GREATNESS. LET'S MAKE AMERICA SOBER AGAIN!
One post sharing the screenshot was topped with, “Do it Trump. I can a get behind this. lol, His supporters would go crazy.”
But this post is fake, according to Snopes. It’s not an actual Truth Social post from Trump.
This comment doesn’t appear in any of the archived Truth Social posts from Trump, and there are no legitimate reports that the president posted this, or was even thinking about it.
Although the screenshot was supposed to look like a post from the president, there were several differences between this post and an actual Trump post, Snopes said.
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• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.