The daily check-in

Trending, checked.

Twice a day we pull the posts going viral on TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook and run them through the record. Each entry is a published verdict — what we found, why, and the sources behind it.

5 checks

Did Bill Gates say one billion people will die by 2027?

Facebook · Full Fact (12 Oct): video 'shared thousands of times on Facebook'; reel og:title shows '5K reactions | Bill Gates Says 1Billion...' (fetched 2026-10-13)

False

The video is a deepfake: Bill Gates did not say one billion people would die by 2027 or promote the 'United States Water Reserve.' Fact-checkers (Full Fact, IBTimes) found the audio was synthetic and the footage edited; the original CNBC interview discussed AI, not water shortages or that prediction.

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Did Dodger Stadium flood due to Hurricane Rachel?

X · X post: 1.2K likes (syndication, 2026-10-13). The Weather Channel/Yahoo debunk on 12 Oct says the clip is circulating again, as it did during Hilary in 2023 (it shows wet, empty parking lots). Autocomplete shows heavy search interest.

Misleading

Aerial footage in the post is likely genuine but the caption’s claim that Dodger Stadium was surrounded by floodwaters is misleading: weather reporting and visual-analysis conclude the stadium did not actually flood and the scene is an optical/lighting effect amplified by standing water nearby.

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Did the Iraqi Environment Minister say blood from AIDS patients is in fish?

X · Minister's TV remark spread as 'Tigris fish contaminated with AIDS'; covered by RT Arabic, Masrawy, Al-Araby, Al Jazeera Net (12 Oct); Iraqi environment and health ministries issued clarifications/denials

True But

Regional and Iraqi news outlets report that Environment Minister Sarwa Abdulwahid said she was hesitant to eat fish after learning hospitals had been dumping untreated medical waste, including blood, into the Tigris; ministries later clarified the comment and health authorities emphasise that HIV is not transmitted through eating fish or via river water.

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Is a video showing ocean waves flooding a parking lot near Huntington Beach authentic?

X · 19,064 likes (X syndication, 2026-10-10); Hindustan Times 'Huntington Beach hit by tsunami waves? Truth behind viral video' (Google News, 10 Oct); TV Azteca, Minuto60

True But

The video plausibly shows high surf overtopping the shoreline and flooding a beachfront parking lot near Huntington Beach; the footage appears authentic and matches contemporaneous reporting of strong swell along Southern California in 2026, but the exact original upload/date for this specific clip was not located.

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Did Elon Musk say a billion people could die in 2027?

Facebook · Full Fact: video 'shared thousands of times on Facebook'; og:title of primary shows 11K reactions; ends with plug for 'USWR' (United States Water Reserve) crypto token

False

The post is false. The clip purporting to show Elon Musk saying '1 billion people could die in 2027' uses generated audio and lip-sync manipulation; fact-checkers (Full Fact) found the statement is fabricated and did not appear in the original interview footage.

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