Dear Friend,
In the newsletter this week
But first....
There’s a well-known saying: a picture is worth a thousand words. These days, though, some pictures can be misleading. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), anyone can create an image in seconds.

What we saw this week

One image doing the rounds online shows what looks like a striking scene—fire raining down from the night sky. The caption reads: “This is not AI. This is Tel Aviv”. A version on X has been shared over 18,000 times.
An AI generated image claim to show missiles over Tel Aviv
But here’s the thing: the image is almost certainly created using AI. We even found what appears to be the original prompt—the exact words someone typed into the computer to make the picture.

How we know

There’s a tool called Google reverse image search that helps check where a picture comes from. In this case, it told us the image was made using Google’s own AI, although it didn’t provide further details, so we can’t say for sure what that’s based on.
Read more to discover why this is likely just made with AI.
Best wishes, 

Craig

P.S. We often say “likely” or “probably” made with AI because we like to make sure we have a definitive source before making a statement of fact.

FACT CHECKS

This was likely made using AI
A widely shared video claims to show Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv destroyed by an Iranian strike, but it doesn’t. The footage appears to be AI-generated and shows a scene that doesn’t match the airport’s real layout or location.

We traced the same video to an Instagram post dated 27 May, before the latest conflict began on 13 June. There’s also no evidence the airport has been damaged.
Read more...
More on the Israel-Iran conflict: For more context:

WATCH: John trusted the internet over his doctor, and it nearly cost him
John was prescribed statins by his doctor, and came across a lot of health advice online, much of it was misleading.

Over time, he began to trust what he saw on social media more than the advice from his doctor. He didn’t take his statins—medication that helps lower ‘bad cholesterol’ and reduce the risk of heart problems.  Instead he started taking cod liver oil. 

Two years later, John suffered a heart attack.
Read more about statins misinformation

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Remind me next week

The facts behind child poverty and benefits
Image courtesy of jatocreate Back in 2017, a rule was introduced to stop most families from claiming certain benefits for a third or extra child. It’s called the two-child benefit cap, and it’s now at the centre of a major political debate.

The government had previously said they were reluctant to scrap the cap but now it’s reported that the Prime Minister is keen to get rid of it.

In this article we explain how poverty is measured, and what scrapping the policy could mean.
Read more...

Government Tracker

Full Fact’s most recent updates to our tracker of government policy.

Friday 20 June

  • Is the government on track to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP? Is the government on track to ensure all young people caught with a knife are referred to a Youth Offending Team?

Also this week...
See more fact checks...
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Team Full Fact


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