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.

Checks from

October 5, 2026

11 checks · 1 morning · 10 afternoon

Morning run

1 check

Did Anak Krakatau Volcano Erupt in September 2026?

Facebook · Spread by Indian social media accounts with AI-generated images claiming to show SSG insignia; disputed by Pakistan military (DG ISPR)

True But

The underlying event is real — Anak Krakatau did erupt in early September 2026 with ash reported up to about 50,000 ft — but the viral visual attached to this post is not authentic: independent fact-checkers have analysed the clip posted by Jagoron and concluded it was AI-generated and does not show genuine footage of that eruption.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Afternoon run

10 checks

Is Riyadh Airport Out of Service After Houthi Attacks?

X · Same claim posted by at least 3 X accounts plus YouTube copies during the Houthi-Saudi escalation; Saudi-led coalition publicly denied Houthi claims of hitting Riyadh

True But

Video shows a fire at night near Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sept 19, 2026; news agencies and flight-tracking data confirm a Houthi-claimed strike that produced a fuel-depot blaze and temporary disruptions. The post’s wording that the airport is 'out of service' overstates the reporting, which documents significant but not permanent closure.

ConflictView details→

Did five hospitals close due to a plague outbreak in Siberia?

X · Google Trends RSS ES 'rusia peste neumónica' 2000+ and FR 'russie peste' 2000+; Bluesky trending 'Plague death reported in Siberia'; also trending in TR; Euronews, Newsweek, Al Jazeera pickup

True But

There is independent, credible reporting that a laboratory technician linked to the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died and that regional authorities placed hospital wards and roughly 189–197 contacts under observation. However, authorities have not publicly confirmed that Yersinia pestis (plague) caused the death or that a broken test tube containing live plague bacteria was definitively the source.

HealthScienceView details→

Is the DOJ sending 1,000 monitors to the polls?

X · Clip of Blanche's Fox interview rebutting claims of armed agents at polls; MEAWW coverage; strong autocomplete demand

True But

The video is an authentic Fox News Sunday interview in which Attorney General Todd Blanche repeats the Justice Department's plan to deploy roughly 1,000 election monitors and denies the claim they will be armed. Independent reporting (e.g., CBS News, Washington Post) confirms the DOJ announced plans to field about 1,000 monitors for the November 2026 midterms; the actual deployments and any on-the-ground details will only be verifiable once they occur.

PoliticsView details→

Did Yemeni forces target Dammam in Saudi Arabia?

X · Identical caption posted by 5+ accounts between 3 Oct 21:35Z and 4 Oct 05:04Z, including map/news account NofouzMap

False

The video is authentic footage of a large industrial fire but has been republished with a false caption claiming it shows a new Yemeni attack on Dammam. Fact-checking links the clip to an earlier Dammam factory fire (March 2023); there is no credible evidence this video shows a recent Houthi strike on Dammam.

ConflictView details→

Did Trump speak at a rally in Ohio about data centers?

YouTube · MeidasTouch video narrated by Ben Meiselas; Daily Beast story on the 'slumped over' images and viewer reaction

True But

The rally at Butler High School in Vandalia (Dayton) on Oct. 3, 2026 is real and widely reported; several concrete moments the podcast highlights (Trump's data-centers/aspirin remarks, Vivek Ramaswamy's awkward child-lift, heckling/protester interruption) are corroborated. The podcast's characterization that Trump 'returned wrecked' and definitively 'fell asleep standing up' relies on interpretive readings of brief clips and is not fully corroborated by independent reporting.

PoliticsHealthView details→

Did a Muslim group report John Cleese to the UK government's Prevent program?

X · Cleese replied publicly ('I can't wait to be arrested'); The Blaze coverage; 'john cleese prevent' is top autocomplete

Can't Verify

There is corroborated reporting that a Prevent referral concerning John Cleese was submitted and published by 5Pillars (referral dated Sept 22, 2026). The post's headline correctly reports a Prevent referral over incendiary posts, but it overstates the provenance by saying a 'Muslim group' reported him — the published referral is described as submitted by 'a member of the public' and it is not clearly attributable to a named Muslim organisation.

PoliticsCelebrityView details→

Did Trump claim his IQ is 1775?

X · IBTimes UK story; Irish Star coverage of Trump's IQ boasts; strong claim-matching autocomplete

True

The video is authentic rally footage and does show Donald Trump saying he is "a high IQ person" and referencing '1,775' as an IQ; that part of the post is true and confirmed. The numeric IQ claim is misleading and implausible because modern IQ scores are normed (mean ~100, SD ~15) and there is no evidence of a test result of 1,775.

PoliticsView details→

Did Patriot interceptor missiles fall onto Saudi Aramco facilities in Dammam?

X · Pushed by NofouzMap 90 min later and by 3 Facebook reels cited by Misbar

False

The video likely shows real falling burning debris (consistent with interceptor fragments) but fact-checkers and reporting show this specific clip is older and has been misattributed. The post's claim that Patriot interceptors recently malfunctioned and fell on Aramco facilities in Dammam is false.

ConflictTechnologyView details→

Did 125 million people vote in India's presidential election?

X · Covered by Newsweek, Daily Beast, Yahoo, Business Standard, India TV; Trump later edited 'India' to 'Brazil'; post also claims US results take weeks

False

The post is an authentic screenshot of a Trump Truth Social post, but its factual core is false: India did not hold a popular presidential vote of 125 million people — the president is elected by an electoral college — and the 125 million figure instead matches Brazil's 4 October 2026 presidential first round, so the post confuses Brazil with India.

PoliticsView details→

Is there a fire on the East–West pipeline near Riyadh?

X · Same caption copy-pasted by at least 5 accounts within 2h on 4 Oct

False

The video itself is authentic footage but was recorded earlier (published Nov 2025 of a South Korean warehouse fire) and does not show a current fire on the Saudi East–West pipeline near Riyadh; the post's caption claiming 'happening now' at the pipeline is false/misleading.

ConflictEconomyView details→