Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

We started today working our way through a wave of misinformation following the US seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro this weekend.

Click here to see how we debunked false claims that US forces struck the mausoleum of the former president Hugo Chavez, or read our analysis of the viral AI fake video claiming to show celebrations on the streets here.

We’ve also been working with BBC Persian to analyse over 100 videos of anti-government protests across Iran - the biggest threat to the clerical establishment for at least three years. You can read our full piece here.

And Greenland’s future is back in the spotlight. A senior White House official has questioned Denmark’s right to control the territory, but experts have told BBC Verify the US has no legal right to take over.

BBC Verify Live will be back tomorrow morning, so please do check in again for more.

Tom Edgington
BBC Verify senior journalist

Greenland was given the name “Green land” by Viking explorer Erik the Red, who is believed to have landed there in 982. The island was named to make it more attractive to settlers, who arrived a few years later.

It became part of Denmark when it was colonised by the Danes about 300 years ago, external.

In 1933 an international court - a predecessor to the International Court of Justice - ruled that Greenland belonged to Denmark, rejecting a claim from Norway, external.

Since then it’s been an official part of the Kingdom of Denmark - which is made up of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Greenland has had home rule since 1979 when it was able to start setting its own laws and elect its own prime minister. These powers were expanded in 2009 when Greenlandic was also recognised as its official language.

Matt Murphy and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify senior journalists

Protests have broken out in at least 17 of Iran's 31 provinces, presenting the biggest threat to the clerical establishment since demonstrations rocked the country in 2022.

The BBC's analysis of protests includes only those for which we have verified video footage and the true number is almost certainly far higher. There are reports of protests in a further 11 provinces, external.

Footage from the last 10 days shows evidence of anti-government demonstrations in more than 50 towns and cities across Iran, sparked by a sharp devaluation in the country's currency. Protests have been recorded in cities like Qom and Mashhad, which are usually perceived as being extremely loyal to the Islamic Republic.

While security forces initially responded with some degree of restraint, confirmed footage from recent days has shown officers opening fire on protestors in several violent incidents.

Verified footage from Fasa in the south-western Fars province showed security forces wearing military clothing and riot gear firing towards a group of demonstrators on a busy street.

Foreign-based human rights group HRANA says at least 35 people have so far been killed in the protests, including two affiliated with security forces.

You can read our full piece here.

Phil Leake
BBC Verify data journalist

We’ve had a look at the latest figures on older drivers ahead of the publication of the government’s new road safety strategy on Wednesday, which will require over-70s to have eye tests every three years.

Statistics from the Department for Transport show that 24% of drivers killed on British roads in 2024 were aged 70 or older, that’s 115 people out of 479.

As the population ages, the number of older drivers is increasing.

According to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), drivers aged 70 and over made up nearly 15% of all licence holders in Great Britain at the end of last year, up from just over 10% in 2012.

The rates of drivers being killed or seriously injured are highest among the oldest and the youngest age groups.

In 2024, men and women aged over 85 recorded the most deaths and serious injuries by miles driven, ahead of women aged 81 to 85 and men aged under 25.

Rates for men and women generally fall until people reach their mid 50s, at which point they begin to rise before picking up sharply after the age of 70, particularly among women.

Kayleen Devlin and Tom Edgington
BBC Verify senior journalists

Image source, Reuters

Greenland’s future is back in the spotlight following the US seizure of Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro.

President Trump says America needs Greenland “very badly” and has repeatedly said he wants to acquire the island, while senior White House official Stephen Miller questioned Denmark’s right to control the territory.

Greenland is a self-governing part of Denmark, which is internationally recognised. Denmark’s prime minister says the US “has no right” to acquire the island, which has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1953.

Experts told BBC Verify that the US has no legal right to take over Greenland.

“It would be against the international law”, said Marc Jacobsen from the Royal Danish Defence College. “It would be a breach to our sovereignty [and show] no respect of our territorial integrity”.

Timo Koivurova, a research professor at the Arctic Centre, agreed. He said any claim from the US would not be compatible with international law.

“There are no valid legal arguments for annexing Greenland”, he said. “The people of Greenland have self-determination so it’s up to them to decide this”.

Kayleen Devlin
BBC Verify senior journalist

Last week we reported a tanker pursued by the US Coast Guard off the coast of Venezuela had been renamed and re-registered under Russia. The vessel, Bella 1, now sailing as Marinera, switched to a Russian flag after previously falsely claiming registration in Guyana. It was last reported in the north Atlantic this morning.

Since the USseized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife BBC Verify has identified three US-sanctioned oil tankers that have switched to Russian registries. Multiple sanctioned tankers have done the same in recent weeks.

Among them is Hyperion, a vessel we tracked entering Venezuelan waters on December 16 - just one day before President Donald Trump announced a ship blockade around Venezuela.

According to earlier records in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) database, Hyperion was falsely registered under the Gambian flag. It then re-registered under a Russian flag on December 24 and now appears to have escaped the blockade as itsAIS location data suggests it is far from Venezuela in the central North Atlantic Ocean.

According to maritime intelligence firm Lloyd’s List, Maduro’s deposition has accelerated the movement of shadow fleet vessels into the protection of the Russian flag. Lloyd’s List defines shadow fleet vessels as ships that engage in deceptive shipping practices linked to the transport of sanctioned oil cargoes from Iran, Russia or Venezuela.

Lloyd’s List says 17 sanctioned tankers re-registered under Russia last month. Under international law, vessels sailing under a nation’s flag fall under that country’s protection.

Donald Trump has said the US built the oil industry in Venezuela, who then “stole it through force”. Energy experts have told BBC Verify there is no legal basis for Trump’s remarks. Our correspondent Ben Chu has been digging into the detail.

Jake Horton
BBC Verify

Tensions remain high in Caracas where gunshots were reported overnight near the presidential palace.

Yesterday Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president, but the security situation still remains unclear after the US seized President Nicolás Maduro and said it would run the country.

Several videos posted on social media overnight show armed men on the streets as apparent gunshots are heard ringing out.

We’ve verified one video filmed near Miraflores Palace in which you can hear gunshots, but it’s not immediately clear what they were in response to.

We’ve located another video to a plaza about 650 metres from the palace, in which you can hear someone ask in Spanish, “What happened?”

A man who appears to be a security official replies: “Drones, drones”.

This suggests that the gunshots may have been in response to a drone sighting, although we can’t independently confirm this was the case.

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify senior journalist

We previously looked at a number of misleading videos claiming to show mass celebrations inside Venezuela following the US seizure of President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. As we’ve explained, the footage was either old or taken in places like Florida or Panama City.

But we’ve also seen a number of AI-generated videos used for the same purpose - to falsely claim there have been large celebrations inside Venezuela over Maduro’s deposition - that have been widely shared online.

One video shared by Elon Musk, which has been viewed more than five million times on his platform X, features close ups of four apparent Venezuelans crying and thanking President Donald Trump while people celebrate and wave flags in the background.

We noticed multiple anomalies in the video, including unnatural movements and skin tones, wrong flag patterns, an odd car number plate and out of place side mirror, and disappearing objects. The same video gained two million views on TikTok before being removed.

Professor Hany Farid from the cybersecurity firm GetReal Security told us that there are enough anomalies consistent with AI generation in the video to cast significant doubt on its authenticity.

Jacobo Castellanos, an AI expert at human rights organisation Witness, added: "Through our regional experts we have confirmation this is not what it has looked like on the ground since Maduro's incarceration,” and said there have instead been the prevalence of armed groups in the streets.

Here's our correspondent Merlyn Thomas explaining how we proved that some videos claiming to show people celebrating inside Venezuela after the US seized President Nicolás Maduro were either old or filmed outside the country.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

False claims that US forces struck the mausoleum of the former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez during its military operation in Caracas have spread widely online, and have even been shared by Colombian president Gustavo Petro. , external

The tomb is housed inside a military base and museum called the Cuartel de la Montaña 4F. False images showing the tomb semi-destroyed in a bomb attack on Saturday with flames and plumes of smoke coming from it have been shared widely, with one post gathering almost 10 million views on X.

Image source, x

One image claiming to show the tomb actually shows the aftermath of a real US strike on the nearby Cagigal Observatory. The observatory is reportedly used by the General Command of the Bolivarian Militia branch of the Venezuelan military.

We’ve also seen a viral image claiming to show extensive damage to the mausoleum but this appears to be an an AI-manipulated version of a real picture of the building published in 2013.

The angle of the two pictures are identical and so are features of all of the buildings in the foreground, despite the fake image claiming to have been taken more than a decade later.

Plus, the Hugo Chavez Foundation posted its own videos on Monday to show people the tomb was intact and called on people in Venezuela not to spread speculation.The videos displayed Monday’s date on a phone before zooming in on the Cuartel de la Montaña 4F to show there was no visible damage to the building.

Adam Durbin
BBC Verify Live senior journalist

We’re monitoring the situation in Venezuela and verifying overnight footage of apparent gunshots heard near the presidential palace. We’re also debunking AI-generated and misleading videos shared on social media claiming to be from the US attack, including false claims of an attack on former president Hugo Chavez’s tomb.

Our fact-checkers are assessing the ongoing dispute over who has claims to Greenland, and why, after key figures in the Trump administration again suggested the US should control Denmark’s Arctic territory.

And we’re putting together a map of verified videos from the recent protests Iran that have now spread to dozens of towns and cities. At least 11 people have been killed during the demonstrations in the last week.