A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week.
None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:
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CLAIM: Food aid for Venezuela being held in Colombian border town is contaminated
THE FACTS: Food aid for Venezuela warehoused at the Colombian border town of Cucuta is not contaminated, despite false claims circulating on social media. In one instance, a webpage made to look like La Opinion, a daily newspaper in Cucuta, Colombia, falsely claimed that 14 people had been sickened from the emergency food. La Opinion said on its website that the webpage was fabricated. Venezuelan state media also suggested that U.S. food delivered as aid contained harmful preservatives, including sulfur dioxide, which is a commonly used preservative for dried fruits. Cathy Davies, chief executive officer of The Food Industry Employment Program, a for-profit organization that focuses on food safety compliance, told The Associated Press that it has rarely made anyone ill and is not known to cause cancer or have carcinogenic effects. Officials in the U.S. and Colombia told the AP that there have been no reports of contamination in the aid shipments and no reports of illness. Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called the U.S. aid a “rotten gift” and a ploy by the U.S. to remove him from power. The Trump administration along with dozens of other countries have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president of the country, which has been struggling with hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine for years.