Fake news watch: Armageddon and bogus books

Reports on social media of an asteroid collision at the beginning of February have been dismissed as rumors. (Shutterstock/NASA)
Updated 24 January 2019
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Fake news watch: Armageddon and bogus books

  • The Union of Egyptian Publishers has stated that a viral social media post showing a book cover with an inappropriate title is unreal
  • Alleged reports on social media platforms claiming that an asteroid collision will take place at the beginning of February are mere rumors

1 A post showing a book with a title deemed offensive by some went viral in Egypt. It was apparently published by a fake publishing house.
The Union of Egyptian Publishers has stated that a viral social media post showing a book cover with an inappropriate title is unreal.
A post showing a book cover by a fake publishing house named “Al-Mohazaboon” aka “The Polite,” went viral in Egypt.
The union, headed by Saeed Abdou, denied that such a book exists and that no publishing house was registered at the union under this name.
He added that news about unveiling the book at Egypt’s upcoming international book fair was unfounded.
“We’ve seen on social media posts about this book being the book fair’s upcoming surprise...”
“After looking into the matter we found that no publishing house with this name is registered at the union ... and that we’ve never heard of it.”

2 Reports of end of world greatly exaggerated.
The head of the Jeddah Astronomy Society, Eng. Majid Abu Zahra, said alleged reports on social media platforms claiming that an asteroid collision will take place at the beginning of February are mere rumors.
The rumors claimed that the collision of asteroid NT7 2002 with Earth will take place on Feb. 1, 2019 and cause a “global catastrophe.”
According to the Saudi Sabq website, Abu Zahra added that asteroid NT7 2002 was discovered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on July 9, 2002, and it was observed that, unlike most asteroids orbiting the Sun at the same planetary level, in every 2.29 years, the asteroid sweeps through the inner part of our solar system, not far from Earth’s orbit.
NASA has announced that the asteroid is not considered a danger by the space agency since Aug. 1, 2002. However, conspiracy theorists who remain unconvinced continue publishing online content claiming that the world will end on Feb. 1, 2019.


Eurovision Sport, Camb.ai to provide live subtitling for Paralympic Winter Games

Updated 06 March 2026
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Eurovision Sport, Camb.ai to provide live subtitling for Paralympic Winter Games

  • Partnership aims to increase accessibility for all audiences
  • Milano Cortina Games run from Friday to March 15

LONDON: Eurovision Sport, the European Broadcasting Union’s free-to-air streaming platform, will provide live and on-demand subtitling for coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in partnership with AI language company Camb.ai

The service will run across all competition days, allowing viewers to stream all six Paralympic Winter Games sports on Eurovision Sport with real-time subtitles. The Games open on Friday and run through March 15.

Camb.ai will supply contextual speech-to-text transcription for both live and catch-up coverage, which the organizers said would support accessibility without altering the editorial integrity of broadcasts.

Eurovision Sport Managing Director Alan Fagan said the aim was to make the Games available to “the widest possible audience,” by scaling up digital accessibility across every event on the platform.

The initiative forms part of the EBU’s most extensive digital coverage of a Paralympic Winter Games to date and complements member broadcasters’ linear output.

It also reflects a wider industry push to make live sport easier to follow for viewers watching without sound, people with hearing impairments and audiences consuming content on demand.

Camb.ai’s Chief Technology Officer Akshat Prakash said the company was proud to deepen its partnership with Eurovision Sport, describing the platform as a leader in applying new technology to sports coverage.

The two organizations began working together in 2024, when they delivered what they described as Europe’s first AI-powered real-time translated sports commentary during European Athletics events.