CAIRO: A weekly roundup of bogus reports and phony facts in the mainstream and social media...
1. Egyptian-British surgeon Magdi Yacoub puts the record straight
Egyptian-British cardiothoracic surgeon, Sir Magdi Yacoub, has denied reports claiming that he had been dubbed “the world’s legend of medicine” at a Chicago conference.
In statements to Egyptian news website Masrawy, Yacoub denied social media reports that the American Heart Association has given him the title.
“I don’t know where they get such things from,” he said.
Yacoub was giving a speech in front of 12,000 cardio surgeons at the conference.
2. Cold truth about Jordan’s ‘harshest winter in 100 years.’
News reports claiming that Jordan is undergoing the harshest winter in a century have been denied by a private weather company based in Amman. The reports were widely circulated on social media, with the claim attributed to British Meteorology.
But ArabiaWeather, which provides weather services in the Arab world, said on its website that the reports are merely rumors that get spread every year. The claims were “baseless,” it said. ArabiaWeather is based in Amman, Jordan, and has offices in Dubai.
