Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

Thanks for joining us today on our first BBC Verify Live of 2026. Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve covered today.

After at least 40 people were killed when a fire broke out at a nightclub in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana we’ve verified two pictures showing how lit sparklers attached to bottles were used inside the club. The authorities say they believe the fire may have been caused by these items coming too close to the ceiling.

As deadly protests over the soaring cost of living in Iran continue we’ve verified footage that appears to show Iranian security forces firing on protestors. We also debunked an AI-manipulated picture of the protests.

Plus here in the UK, our tracker shows how hospitals near you are coping with the pressures of winter. We also looked at how 2025 ranked in terms of the number of small boats crossing the Channel.

BBC Verify Live will be back on Monday.

Richard Irvine-Brown
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, YouTube

We have verified a video posted in 2024 showing people carrying lit sparklers attached to champagne bottles inside Le Constellation nightclub, Switzerland. At least 40 people were killed in a fire there on New Year’s Day.

We previously verified two still images - said to have been taken on New Year’s Eve - showing people holding Champagne bottles with lit sparklers.

The video we’ve been looking at was uploaded to YouTube on 25 May 2024 from an account named @ConstellationCransMontana.

The name does not match the other known social media handle for the nightclub (LeConstellation on Facebook).

The footage - which appears to be a promotional video - is set to music and shows women wearing crash helmets and carrying bottles with lit sparklers attached walking around a bar area.

Features in this video match interior details seen in other images of the nightclub - such as a neon sign saying Le Constel.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

We’re keen to hear what you think the BBC Verify team should be looking into.

We're interested in investigating claims you may've seen online in your social feeds. We're also keen to know if you've think an image may have been made using artificial intelligence to spread disinformation.

You can also get in touch with BBC Verify if you've got a question about how we verify video posted online or work with satellite imagery.

You can send your suggestions to the team here.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

A viral video claiming to show leaders of the US-Somali community apologising following allegations of fraud in the state of Minnesota has been made using artificial intelligence.

The video was first posted in mid-December but has continued to spread to millions online after a conservative YouTuber alleged this week that several childcare centres run by Somali migrants were taking public money without providing care.

State officials have pushed back against the allegations, but the White House said it has frozen childcare payments for Minnesota.

The AI video is made up of eight clips of about 10 seconds each which appears to show different male Somali leaders holding news conferences. The use of short clips edited together is a red flag because most AI text-to-video generators limit the length of any single shot to between eight and 15 seconds.

Many of the clips share common features - such as a podium, a US flag and a number of people standing behind the speaker - which suggests a similar text prompt was used to create each of them.

While the TikTok account that first posted the video has now been deleted, it appears to have been republished by the creator on a new account called The Right Thing which describes itself as “AI art imagining a world where people say The Right Thing.”

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The first figures for small boat crossings in 2026 have been published, with the Home Office reporting zero arrivals across the English Channel on 1 January.

The provisional total for 2025 stands at 41,472 crossings, a 13% increase on 2024 (36,816), but still below the record set in 2022 (45,755). The 2025 number may change slightly if the figure is revised.

Boats carried an average of 62 people last year, more than double the figure for 2021. Experts say increased overcrowding makes the journeys more dangerous. At least 23 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2025, according to the United Nations.

In November, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a series of measures, external aimed at reducing what the government called “pull factors” behind small boat crossings.

They include:

• Removing the legal obligation to provide accommodation and other support to all asylum seekers, giving officials more discretion
• Tightening refugee status rules, including increasing the time before permanent settlement from five to 20 years
• Expanding enforcement, including more illegal working raids, employer checks, and the introduction of digital IDs

You can read more about migration to the UK in our migration tracker.

Christine Jeavans
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, PA

The latest weekly flu stats show a drop in the number of hospital patients in England, with 2,676 people in hospital with the virus last week, down from just over 3,000 the week before.

This means that 2.6% of available hospital beds in England are occupied by flu patients, down from 2.9%. In some areas, like Hillingdon and Croydon in London, the figure is much higher - more than 10% - but still down on the previous week.

Different data on people testing positive for flu already showed a fall before Christmas so it could be possible that this winter’s flu season has peaked earlier than usual. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have reported similar trends.

However health experts warn the virus could return in the coming weeks.

You can check how the flu outbreak is affecting hospitals near you with our tracker.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian

BBC Persian’s journalists are not allowed to work inside Iran so footage being posted online helps us get a sense of what is happening in the country.

During the last six days, I’ve used verified footage posted on X and Telegram to confirm protests in several parts of the country, including in south-western Fars Province, western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province and in the capital Tehran, where the protests started.

To verify these videos, I carried out reverse-image searches to make sure they are new - as sometimes old footage is reposted claiming to show something happening now.

I also look for things like banners and the names of shops in written in Persian so that I can check resources like Google Maps to make sure that they were filmed in the location that were claimed.

BBC Persian is also looking into reports that protesters have been killed in Iran. Human rights group Hengaw and the semi-official Fars News Agency said yesterday that two people had been killed in clashes in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran.

While Hengaw said the dead were protesters, Fars did not report whether they were members of the public or from the security forces.

Fars also reported that three people were killed in Azna and another in Kouhdasht - cities in the west of the country.

BBC Persian is gathering tributes to the dead being posted on social media as well as videos of funerals being held for those killed during the protests.

Kayleen Devlin
BBC Verify senior journalist

A tanker the White House says is being pursued by the US Coast Guard has been renamed and is now registered in Russia, according to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, external.

The US began pursuing Bella 1 - which is now called Marinera - off the coast of Venezuela having put sanctions on it late last year, for allegedly transporting Iranian oil.

The US has previously seized two tankers in the southern Caribbean as it puts pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

AIS tracking data for the tanker, which can be spoofed - faked, was last updated today and suggests the tanker is in the North Atlantic approximately 2,000km (1,200 miles) west of continental Europe.

Under international law, vessels flying a country’s flag are under the protection of that nation. But Dimitris Ampatzidis, senior risk and compliance analyst at maritime intelligence firm Kpler, told BBC Verify changing the ship’s name and flag may not change much.

“US action is driven by the vessel’s underlying identity (IMO number), ownership/control networks, and sanctions history, not by its painted markings or flag claim,” he said.

Ampatzidis added that changing to the Russian registry may cause “diplomatic friction” but would not stop any US enforcement action.

Thomas Copeland, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Verify and BBC Persian

BBC Verify has been working to collate and authenticate footage from the deadly protests that have taken place across Iran in recent days.

In one video that we geolocated yesterday to the southern city of Fasa, we can see what appears to be two police officers shooting at protestors. The footage was taken on a main street in the centre of the city and shows the officers firing seven times in total using what looks like pump-action shotguns.

Image source, X

More than 700km (400 miles) away in the western city of Kuhdasht, we verified similar footage on Thursday showing multiple shots being fired by what appears to be a group of riot police.

Image source, X

In a third video posted yesterday that we’ve geolocated to the city of Lordegan, we can see a crowd of protestors wearing masks outside a government-affiliated building. Two loud explosions can be heard in the background as a man shouts “they’re shooting”.

Reverse-image searches suggest none of these videos have appeared online before this week.

Image source, X

Richard Irvine-Brown
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, X

BBC Verify has verified two photos showing lit sparklers attached to bottles inside Le Constellation nightclub in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana.

The images are being shared online with claims they were taken before a fire broke out at the club on New Year’s Eve, killing at least 40 people. One image shows people holding several bottles in the air with lit sparklers attached and what appears to be flames in the ceiling.

We searched for previous versions of this image online and no copies existed before yesterday. There are several details in the photograph which match older photos of the interior of the nightclub, including the bar, the wall decoration and the pipework.

We ran the photo through four artificial intelligence-detection tools, none of which reported any AI-manipulation although one said the image had been edited.

The second image we looked at shows someone in a sleeveless black dress and crash helmet holding a bottle with a lit sparkler attached. We searched for previous versions online and no copies existed before yesterday.

Image source, X

Parts of a neon sign for Le Constel can be seen in the background, consistent with older photos from the club.

Checks using three AI-detection tools came back clear for AI-manipulation - but one said the photo was edited. Running it through a digital manipulation tool showed no evidence of manipulation.

Thomas Copeland and Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Verify and BBC Persian

We’ve been verifying footage of cost-of-living protests across Iran during the last week which are reported to have claimed the lives of at least six people yesterday.

We’ve also seen some images of real incidents during the protests which appear to have been manipulated using AI being shared online.

One picture shared yesterday by the Israeli foreign ministry’s Persian-language account on X appears to show a police officer spraying water at two men standing close by. Google’s SynthID AI-watermark detector said the image was generated or edited using Google AI.

This picture is based on real, verified footage from the Iranian city of Hamadan showing a police water cannon vehicle spraying protesters in the street.

In the AI-manipulated version a police officer is seen spraying the two men directly from a hose at close range.

We’ve contacted the Israeli foreign ministry for comment.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning - welcome to BBC Verify Live.

BBC Verify has been checking footage posted online of the protests taking place across Iran where at least six people have been killed. We’re continuing to work with BBC Persian to monitor and verify videos showing the unrest that has spread across the country.

Among the real images being shared we’re also seeing footage that has been faked or enhanced using artificial intelligence. Some of these images are being shared widely - we’ll bring you more on how we’re checking for signs of AI use as part of our verification work.

Our team is also checking on new images and footage emerging after a nightclub fire in Switzerland killed at least 40 people. Among those is a picture circulating online that claims to show the moment the blaze started. There’s full coverage on this BBC News live page.

And we’re expecting the latest stats today on how the health service in England is coping this winter including A&E waiting times, bed occupancy and ambulance handovers.