Facts matter: Pope is not planning to fact check the Bible
A post that showed up on social media the day after Christmas claims the pope is planning to have the World Economic Forum, or WEF, fact check and update the Bible.
The Dec. 26 Facebook post includes a screenshot of what appears to be Pope Francis in front of a burning book, set behind an X post supposedly from the pope, which reads, “Misinformation in The Holy Bible must be fact checked and erased.”
Topping the post is a website headline that reads, “Pope Francis Authorizes WEF to Rewrite ‘Fact Checked’ Holy Bible.” That article claims a WEF insider said the pope wants a “new ‘fact-checked’ version of the Bible to be far more political, with a central place for the primacy of nature, and far less about God.”
But that article and the claim are false, according to USA Today. There are no credible reports that the leader of the Catholic Church is planning to change the Bible.
"I can confirm that these claims are fake," WEF spokesperson Yann Zopf told USA Today.
Although the fake screenshot of the purported X post from Pope Francis is similar to his official account, it is missing a timestamp and virality data and there is a blue check mark next to the user name. The pope’s actual account has a gray check mark, which means the user is a verified government or multilateral organization or official.
Photo of Epstein doctored
Jeffrey Epstein, accused of running a sex-trafficking ring for himself and his friends, killed himself in a New York jail in 2019. Due to a civil case brought against his longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell, the names of more than 150 people associated with Epstein are being unsealed and made public this month.
That release has prompted an old photo that purportedly shows Vice President Kamala Harris posing with Epstein to circulate on social media. That post is topped with the comment, “Maybe this is why we can’t see those flight logs,” referring to lists of passengers who flew on Epstein’s private plane.
But this post, the photo and the claim are false, according to FactCheck.org. The photo has been altered and hundreds of pages of those flight logs already have been released.
The original photo used in the fake post is from 2015 and shows Harris with her husband, Douglas Emhoff, from when they attended the opening of an art museum in Los Angeles. An image of Epstein, taken from his mugshot when he was booked on solicitation charges in 2006, was transposed over Emhoff’s head.
There is no evidence to suggest Harris had an association with Epstein.
Carson didn’t endorse gummies
A Facebook post last month appears to show former Housing and Urban Development secretary Dr. Ben Carson endorsing CBD gummies to treat high blood pressure.
The claim, which also promises other benefits, appears above a screenshot of a supposed CNN article about the product that includes a photo of Carson.
But the post is fake, according to PolitiFact. A search can’t find this article on the actual CNN website. A Carson spokesperson told the website Lead Stories that the retired neurosurgeon has not heard of the product or endorsed it.
The photo of Carson used in the fake post actually was taken in 2016 at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.
Map not evidence of flat Earth
An image titled “The world beyond the ice wall,” showing countries on Earth surrounded by ice walls, has been posted on social media as evidence the planet is flat.
“I've been asked many times ‘what's beyond the ice wall?’ Nobody can be sure what lies beyond, as only the chosen few have ever seen it. Here is a depiction, based on information gathered from secret sources,” reads a Dec. 28 Facebook post showing the image.
But this image does not show an actual flat Earth, according to Reuters. It’s an art piece.
The image is from a 2020 online art community forum called DeviantArt. It’s part of a series titled “The World Beyond the Ice Wall.” The piece is described as a “fictional setting” inspired by “world building,” which refers to fictional worlds linked to science fiction and fantasy.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.