00:03The World Cup quarter-finals are underway, and as the pressure for each team ramps up,
00:08so too has the misinformation targeting the tournament.
00:12AI-generated images, false claims, and fake news reports have all sprung up online over the past couple of weeks,
00:19many with racist overtones aimed at European teams that have already been knocked out of the competition.
00:25For example, this video on TikTok allegedly shows the Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman
00:30go on a racist run after Morocco knocked his team out on penalties on the 30th of June.
00:35It amassed more than 3 million views and tens of thousands of shares and likes,
00:40but it was posted by an account that clearly labels itself as an AI football account.
00:44The video itself also contains a tag saying that it was artificially generated.
00:49Elsewhere, Post emerged online claiming that German fans have started a petition
00:54to ban African and Muslim players from their national team
00:57after Germany was knocked out by Paraguay on the 29th of June, also in a penalty shootout.
01:03The Post cite German news outlet Deutsche Welle as the source of the story
01:06and take particular aim at Jonathan Tarr, the centre-back who missed his penalty to send Germany out of the
01:12cup.
01:12But there's no evidence of this petition anywhere by any reputable news outlets,
01:17and there is no mention of it anywhere on Deutsche Welle's platforms.
01:21That being said, stories of racism at the World Cup are a very real phenomenon.
01:26Perhaps one of the most talked about incidents emerging on social media
01:30is the spat between French football star Kylian Mbappé and Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla.
01:36She falsely claimed that he was a colonised Cameroonian trying to pass himself off as French.
01:41Mbappé hit back that Amarilla was a despicable woman who did not represent Paraguay.
01:46Indeed, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself posted on Exla
01:50that it rejected Amarilla's statements.
01:53French prosecutors are now investigating the matter.
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