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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

War & conflict fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about war & conflict. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

5,840 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYWar & conflict

Latest news report of the ‘Republic Bharat’ channel informing the possibility of a ‘Dirty Bomb’ attack in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim was that a Republic Bharat video was a latest report about the possibility of a “Dirty Bomb” attack in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. FACTLY’s review says the video discussed Russia’s allegation that Ukraine planned to use a dirty bomb and the possibility of a nuclear attack; its conclusion turns on the video’s age, not on whether the video existed or whether it covered that topic. To check the video’s provenance, FACTLY reports searching the internet with relevant keywords and finding a video with similar visuals published by Republic Bharat on 26 October 2022. It says an extended version showed a Republic Bharat debate about the possibility of a nuclear attack in the war. The review also places the segment in the context of Russia’s October 2022 allegation and the channel’s reporting of Russia informing Chinese and Indian defence ministers about the alleged plan. The decisive point is that the circulated video was not a current update: FACTLY dates its publication to 26 October 2022 and describes it as two months old. It says the footage did not discuss recent updates in the conflict. Thus, the review’s evidence supports identifying the clip as an older report presented as recent, rather than a latest news report.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Visuals of a recent incident where the Taliban executed a captive Pakistani soldier

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerned a video shared as showing a recent Taliban execution of a Pakistani soldier captured in Afghanistan. FACTLY’s investigation concluded that the video was old: it said the footage dated to 2015 and reportedly showed the Pakistani Taliban executing an ISI officer, not a recent execution as the post claimed. The review identifies the victim as Bashir Ahmad Khan, described in the cited reporting as having served in an army air-defence unit before being recruited by Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, the ISI. [S1]

فکت‌نامهWar & conflict

آیا شب ۴ آبان در شیراز بمب‌گذاری شده؟

Publisher’s rating: این ابهامات به علاوه سابقه طولانی جمهوری اسلامی در ضبط و انتشار مصاحبه‌های اجباری از متهمان برای اعتراف دروغ، اعتبار روایت حکومت درباره «بمب‌گذاری» در شیراز را زیر سوال می‌برد و این احتمال را تقویت می‌کند که آنچه ادعا شده سناریویی متناقض و مبهم، ساخته و پرداخته ماموران امنیتی جمهوری اسلامی است.

YouturnWar & conflict

Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army.

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

Related reporting identifies a December 2022 clash at Yangtse, where it says Indian troops pushed back a People’s Liberation Army attempt to change the status quo. But it describes the area as remaining volatile and also reports frequent Chinese transgressions in Yangtse and other locations. This evidence supports the claim that Indian forces resisted an incursion; it does not establish that the area became “fully secured” or that adequate deployment ensured lasting security. The article is later reporting about the wider India–China boundary dispute, not a direct assessment of the claim’s wording or a contemporaneous account establishing conditions across the Yangtse area. The supplied excerpt gives no details about troop numbers, the extent of any secured area, or subsequent on-the-ground conditions. Its evidence therefore qualifies the claim but cannot verify the asserted complete security.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Recent picture that shows Indian soldiers being captured by the Chinese troops in the Tawang sector

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The post presented the image as a recent picture of Indian soldiers captured by Chinese troops during the December 2022 scuffle in the Tawang sector. It also claimed that China had killed more than 300 Indian soldiers in that incident. The review investigated whether the image actually came from that event, rather than treating the picture’s appearance in a Tawang-related post as proof of its date or setting. The review describes using reverse image search and says it found the same photo in a November 7, 2021 tweet by Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei. The tweet described the pictures as showing Indian soldiers captured during the previous June’s Galwan clash. The review also found Chinese news articles reporting the same photo as showing troops captured during the 2020 Galwan confrontation. This establishes that the image circulated before the Tawang scuffle and was associated with a different border event; it does not establish that the image depicts Tawang. For the December 2022 incident, the review cites Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s account to Parliament: on December 9, Chinese troops tried to cross the Line of Actual Control in the Yangtse area of Tawang, Indian troops contested the attempt, and the ensuing physical scuffle injured personnel on both sides. Singh said there were no Indian fatalities or serious casualties. The review concludes that the older image was unrelated to this incident. It also expressly qualifies its finding: although it could establish that the photo was old, it could not independently verify the authenticity of the older photos themselves.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Pictures of an Indian army soldier who was recently martyred in Kashmir

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The post described in the review claimed that a collage showed an Indian army soldier named Shakthi Singh who had recently been martyred in Kashmir, reportedly ten days after his marriage. The review identifies the man in the pictures as Shakti Singh Shekhawat and says he died in a road accident near Chomu, Rajasthan, in November 2018—not while fighting terrorists in Kashmir. The review reports that reverse image searches found the same pictures in social-media posts from 2018 identifying Shekhawat. It also cites a condolence tweet by Rajasthan Congress leader Rukshmanii Kumari and reports from Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar. The newspaper clipping says Shekhawat was struck by a bus on the Singod Khurd–Chomu highway on 28 November 2018. According to the review, he had married on 19 November, ten days before his death. The review distinguishes Shekhawat from another Indian army soldier named Shakti Singh, who was martyred in a 2016 terrorist attack in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. It says that earlier death was unrelated to the pictures in the post. The evidence presented therefore points to old funeral pictures being recirculated with a false account of the pictured soldier’s death and its location.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Videos related to India-China fight at Tawang sector on 09 December 2022

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns videos circulated as showing the India-China soldiers’ scuffle at Tawang on 09 December 2022. FACTLY’s review says the videos it examined were old and not connected to that event. Its account distinguishes two videos and assesses each against the Tawang attribution. For Video 1, FACTLY reports that the full video had already been uploaded to CGTN’s YouTube channel on 20 February 2021. The review says the title and description identify it as showing a Chinese soldier injured during the Galwan clash in June 2020. For Video 2, it says the same video had been available online since at least May 2020; although the review could not establish its precise context or location, it concluded that it was not footage of the December 2022 Tawang scuffle. Thus, the review’s conclusion is about the videos’ attribution, not a determination of the unknown details of Video 2.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Photo of a girl who saw the Hiroshima nuclear bomb blast in Japan in 1945

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a photo shared as showing a girl who witnessed the 1945 Hiroshima nuclear blast. FACTLY reports that it used a reverse image search, which led to auction listings crediting Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm, and then found the same image on his official website. The decisive caption there identifies it as “The Blind Girl- Hiroshima 1963.” That provenance dates the photograph to 1963, not 1945, so the image cannot show the girl witnessing the blast at the time it occurred. The photo was taken in Hiroshima, but that location does not establish the viral caption’s claim about when the girl saw the bombing. FACTLY says the post misrepresents the image as depicting a child who had seen the blast. Its account supports correcting that identification and timing; it does not establish what caused the girl’s blindness.