The invasion of Taliban guerrilla troops in Afghanistan, following the departure of the international mission and coalition military troops, has been largely exploited by creators and distributors of fake news to increase their activity.
World agencies have confirmed a number of false claims published on social media, related to the entry of Taliban forces into the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The department of the British news agency, Reuters, has managed to fact-check some of these claims, which were made as a result of editing and altering authentic images.
Hibrid.info will present some of the false claims that have been fact-checked:
Altered photo showing the Taliban flag at the presidential palace in Kabul
Social media users are sharing a photo of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, which has been tampered with to present a false reality, such as replacing the Afghan flag with the Taliban flag.
Examples of these posts:
https://www.facebook.com/stephen.mcmullan.39/posts/10159346198061718
https://www.facebook.com/belinda.kapaun/posts/10217537446862266
The content of one of these posts states: "This is a photo of the Taliban flag raised over Kabul, Afghanistan tonight. So much death, blood, time and money wasted, and thousands of families destroyed. For what? Tragic."
The authentic photo, which with facts shows the Taliban flag at the presidential palace in Kabul, i.e. it has not been replaced with the Taliban flag. (see here)
(You can find the full fact-checked article at Reuters)
The viral image of CNN's news report on Afghanistan has been digitally altered
An image purportedly taken from a CNN news report from Afghanistan after the Taliban entered the capital, Kabul, on August 15 has been digitally altered.
The image shows a reporter in front of a photo of a helicopter flying over the US embassy in Kabul with a caption that reads: "Violent but largely peaceful transfer of power."
Examples of posts with this false content:
https://www.facebook.com/246976735508369/posts/1774804022725625
https://www.facebook.com/1646874365530472/posts/3125204761030751
https://www.facebook.com/100063719049528/posts/224066889727278
https://www.facebook.com/100322081553816/posts/364016898517665
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSmpl3VpPCE/
One of the comments reads: "When you thought they couldn't come up with a more idiotic title than that."
Another says: "Is this a real headline? I don't watch CNN, but the headlines I see tell me what to expect, that's why I'm asking. Is this real?"
The screenshot appears to have been altered, however, with a fake caption and an image superimposed on an image showing the CNN journalist in a report that aired in August 2020. A CNN spokesperson also confirmed to Reuters that the screenshot was not real. (For the full fact-checked article, see Reuters)