A whole host of fake news stories went viral in 2024 – everything from the Eiffel tower apparently being set on fire, to the London Eye being dismantled.
More than 800,000 posts on TikTok include the hashtag #fakenews and with the continued rise and popularity of AI and deepfakes, it’s becoming easier to trick people into believing something that isn’t true.
So, here’s a heads up to some of the biggest stories that have already gone viral that are NOT going to happen in 2025.
Is TikTok getting banned in the UK?
It’s one of the most popular social media apps in the world, so this story about TikTok being banned was bound to go viral. However, this claim really gained traction on socials after US President Joe Biden approved a law in April that could see TikTok being banned in America.
One of the posts that added fuel to the fire was shared on X by an American finance influencer and said "TikTok’s last day is January 19, 2025". This news spread quickly with others sharing it on X including one post which received more than 142,000 views.
In 2023, the UK government restricted TikTok on government devices due to cybersecurity concerns. There is no information that TikTok is going to be banned in the UK but it could happen in the US soon.
Is Shrek 5 being released in 2025?
In a summer 2024 interview, actor and comedian Eddie Murphy was asked about future Shrek movies following the success of the new Puss in Boots and Kung Fu Panda 4 films. Murphy said “I started to record Shrek and I think that's coming out in 2025 and we are doing a Donkey one next”. Of course, this sent the rumour mill into overdrive.
In July, DreamWorks Animation released the news Shrek 5 has started production, but also confirmed in a post on X, which received 17 million views, that the film would be in theatres in 2026 rather than 2025.
Is Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes in 2025?
A post on X in March, said that Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen was the "most prominent candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes”. This received more than 570,000 views and left fans questioning whether he would break his contract.
Max Verstappen is currently in a contract with Red Bull until 2028, so it’s unlikely that we’ll see him as part of the Mercedes team in 2025.
Do your research
Before sharing stories you see on social media, do your research and check your facts. When deciding if a source is reliable or not, have a look at where its come from. Work that has been published by established journalists that is backed up by facts or includes quotes from the subject, is more likely to be factual.
When finding on news online, check the bio and the caption. Some add hashtags such as #AI or #fakenews to let users know the information is fake and platforms such as Instagram and TikTok also include features which let you know if posts are AI generated or not fact-checked.
This article was published in December 2024.
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