CAIRO: A weekly roundup of bogus reports and phony facts in the mainstream and social media.
1. Palestinian police deny abduction claims
Palestinian police have reportedly denied news circulated on Facebook claiming that a group of strangers are abducting children in the West Bank city of Nablus.
Several local news websites, including Donia Al-Watan, have carried statements disputing the rumors.
Louay Azriqat, Palestinian police spokesman, was quoted saying that reports claiming that there are individuals who are kidnapping children in Nablus are “false news.”
He also appealed to social media users to look into the accuracy of the news they are sharing.
2. Qatari media accused of fake news
Sudan’s intelligence chief has denied news reports by Qatar-backed media that he met the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last month.
The report — first carried in the Qatari-funded, London-based website Middle East Eye — claimed that Salah Gosh, pictured, was meeting the Israeli official to plan his ascension to the country’s leadership.
Khartoum’s intelligence service said that the news was “bare of truth” and “lacked professionalism,” according to a report by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
3. No vaccine for rumors in Egypt
Egyptian officials have denied rumors circulated on social media claiming that vaccinations designed to combat anemia, dwarfism and obesity among Egypt’s pre-adolescent children are responsible for causing an outbreak of diseases.
Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population denied that the vaccinations cause any diseases, Masrawy reported.
Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed added that the campaign vaccinations are safe and conform to all international health standards.
