KARENA PHAN

Audience engagement editor

Phan is an engagement editor for The Associated Press, based in Los Angeles. She previously reported on viral misinformation for AP Fact Check.

Music Review: Waxahatchee’s alt-country soars, finds joy in simple things on ‘Tigers Blood’

The indie artist Waxahatchee, known for her gut-wrenching alt-country, demonstrates mastery of her craft on her sixth studio album, “Tigers Blood.”

Satirical post about bank foreclosing on Mar-a-Lago spreads as real

The satirical post circulated on multiple social media platforms, with many sharing it as real news.

Voluntary removal of popular cold-and-cough medications from store shelves fuels conspiracy theories

With the flu season off to an early start, posts on social media are raising suspicions around the removal of some common types of cough and cold medications from store shelves.

Biden did not fall down airplane stairs while disembarking from a flight in Poland

Biden arrived in Warsaw the evening of Feb. 20 after an unannounced trip to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and spent more than five hours in Kyiv.

A short film from Lebanon is being misrepresented to accuse Palestinians of staging injuries

In recent weeks, social media users have repeatedly misrepresented videos to falsely accuse Palestinians of being “crisis actors” in the war, as part of a conspiracy theory dubbed “Pallywood.”

A gas leak at a Kentucky polling place fuels false claims of election fraud

Social media users are questioning the incident that briefly paused voting at a polling place in Kentucky’s most populous county, insinuating that it was a ruse to give Beshear the votes he needed to win reelection.

No, Dior didn’t replace Bella Hadid with an Israeli model over her comments on the Israel-Hamas war

Social media users are sharing a baseless claim that Dior has ditched supermodel Bella Hadid due to recent comments on the latest Israel-Hamas war, and replaced her in a new campaign with Israeli model May Tager.

Airstrike scene from a video game is being misrepresented as real footage from the Israel-Hamas war

Even as real scenes of warfare have emerged online during the latest Israel-Hamas war, some social media users are also misrepresenting old and unrelated footage as video from the conflict.

A 2021 video shows Putin celebrating a WWII anniversary, not promising to aid Palestinians

Since the start of the conflict in October, social media users have repeatedly shared false claims about foreign leaders’ comments on the war.

British newspaper headline about a cease-fire is old and not related to the latest Israel-Hamas war

Social media users are sharing a screenshot of the 17-year-old front page, falsely suggesting it is related to the current conflict in the Middle East.

Video from 2013 protest in Cairo misrepresented to falsely claim Palestinians are staging deaths

As the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rises, social media users have shared posts making false accusations that “crisis actors” and “staged” events are being used to exaggerate the human toll being taken by the war.

Videos do not show a ‘crisis actor’ pretending to be a victim in Gaza. They show two different men

As tensions rise with the Israeli military’s announcement that its ground forces will expand their activities, videos are being shared to falsely claim an injured man is an actor playing a Palestinian victim.

Old video shows US Army arriving in Romania, not Marines landing in Israel

As Israel plans to launch a ground war in Gaza, social media users are sharing an old and unrelated clip to suggest that U.S. troops will be involved.

How a baseless claim about Putin’s health spread from an unreliable Telegram account to TV news

An unverified claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin had suffered a heart attack is being amplified by news outlets and social media around the globe this week.

Video of Kim Jong Un doesn’t reference the Israel-Hamas war. The clip is old and mistranslated

Social media users are sharing an old video of Kim giving a speech, featuring captions that falsely claim he weighed in on both U.S. politics and the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

A video from 2012 is being misrepresented as an attack on the Israel Embassy in Bahrain

A video showing protesters throwing what appear to be Molotov cocktails at a building is being misrepresented as an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Bahrain.

Video showing Las Vegas’ Sphere projecting the Israeli flag is altered

The fabricated video of Las Vegas’ new attraction is circulating widely on social media amid the latest Israel-Hamas war.

A widely circulating video of Lara Trump singing was manipulated to sound wildly off-key

Former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law recently released a cover of late rock musician Tom Petty’s 1989 song “I Won’t Back Down” and was asked to sing a few bars in an appearance last week on Sky News Australia.

Video doesn’t show Rep. Ocasio-Cortez crying on CNN, contrary to online claims

Social media users are sharing a misleading video to falsely claim Ocasio-Cortez was in tears on live television, after some Republicans threatened to expel Bowman for pulling the alarm while the House was in session and on the brink of a government shutdown.

Claim that NFL coaches banned ‘anthem kneeling’ is from a satire website

Social media users are sharing a screenshot of a headline falsely claiming that NFL coaches voted to ban players from kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a gesture that has been used by professional athletes to protest injustice.

Differing infant mortality rates in Japan and the US are not connected to vaccine policies

Social media users are sharing a post that compares the infant mortality rates in Japan and the U.S., drawing a false conclusion that they are different due to each country’s laws around vaccines.

Fabricated video spreads false report that a member of Ukraine’s UN delegation got into a bar fight

As the U.N. meets in New York this week, a video pushing a false story about Ukraine’s delegation is being shared by social media accounts, including one affiliated with the Russian government.

Posts mislead on Mayo Clinic’s hydroxychloroquine webpage

Anti-vaccine advocates have long touted the malaria drug as an effective treatment for COVID-19, even though health officials and experts say that’s not the case.

An 18-year-old MMA fighter’s death was unrelated to the COVID vaccine

The false claim has been circulating on social media since January, when Lee’s elder sister, fellow MMA fighter Angela Lee, shared the news of her Dec. 26 death on Instagram.

Claims that Stephen King’s book sales have plummeted originated as satire

Social media users in recent days shared an image that erroneously claims King’s book sales have plummeted due to his political beliefs.

Viral video shows flamethrower-wielding Missouri state senators burning empty boxes, not books

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False.

California bill does not make it illegal for employees to confront shoplifters

THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing posts falsely claiming a California bill requiring a workplace violence prevention plan would make it illegal for non-security personnel to address crime at their place of business.

Genetically modified mosquitoes aren’t being released from aircraft around the US

THE FACTS: A week after social media users misrepresented a video of a helicopter releasing black smoke as a swarm of malaria-carrying mosquitoes funded by the Microsoft co-founder, the same false claim is being applied to similar footage in other states.

No, a video does not show a helicopter dropping mosquitoes in Florida

THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing a video showing a helicopter circling while releasing a dark substance, falsely claiming the footage shows genetically modified mosquitoes being released to spread disease.

A post from a parody Trudeau account about a ‘Digital Existence Act’ is being misrepresented as real

THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing a screenshot of a post that purports to show Trudeau announcing new laws in response to the COVID-19 variant EG.5, which some online have nicknamed “Eris.”