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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.

5,848 published reviews in this topic

Fact CrescendoWar & conflict

Claim: false video being shared as footage of Israel Palestine battle

Publisher’s rating: False

Fact Crescendo examined a video shared on social media as showing fighting between Israel and Palestine, including a May 16, 2021 post from the Facebook page Happie Weddings. The review reports that the clip initially looked like real combat, but says close inspection raised questions: explosions appeared to cause no visible disturbance or damage, while the camera continued operating, and a distant aircraft appeared to drop bombs and move across the sky. The investigators say they searched using reverse-image methods and different keywords, then found a YouTube upload by the channel Compared Combat. According to the review, the channel described its clip as fictional and intended to demonstrate the C-RAM weapon system countering attacking aircraft. The reviewers also found that the described “Arm A3” was ARMA 3, a video game made by Bohemia Interactive. The review further says the channel had posted another fictional combat scene and that its caption disclosed use of Bohemia Interactive content. On that basis, Fact Crescendo concluded that the viral clip was gameplay footage presented as real Israel–Palestine fighting. The excerpt does not identify the person who first created or shared the gameplay recording beyond the cited channel and Facebook post.

Fact CrescendoWar & conflict

Claim: Israel not launched a new fighter jet in kerala nurse soumya name

Publisher’s rating: Altered

The review examined a social-media image presented as showing that Israel had named a new fighter aircraft after Soumya, a nurse from Kerala who was killed in a rocket attack. The post described the supposed naming as a tribute to her. The review’s conclusion was that the image was altered, not evidence of an Israeli aircraft named for her. To assess the image, the review says it identified the aircraft as belonging to China’s military. It reports that the pictured aircraft was a Chengdu J-10, and that Chengdu Aircraft Corporation makes and supplies these aircraft for China’s military. The review therefore identifies the image as a Chinese fighter-aircraft photograph edited to add the name “Soumya.”

Fact CrescendoWar & conflict

Claim: Misinformation that Indian nurse died in Israel attack

Publisher’s rating: False

The review investigated news cards shared on social media that attributed the death of Kerala nurse Soumya Santhosh to an Israeli attack. It traced the claim to cards saying a nurse was killed in a Gaza attack, and to an ABP Nadu card whose wording said a Kerala woman died “in an Israel attack.” The review says these formulations led people to understand that Israel had carried out the attack that killed her. [S1: “காசாவில் இஸ்ரேல் நடத்திய தாக்குதலில் கேரளாவைச் சேர்ந்த செவிலியர் உயிரிழந்தார் என்று சில நியூஸ் கார்டுகள் சமூக ஊடகங்களில் பகிரப்பட்டு வருகின்றன. அவை பற்றி ஆய்வு செய்தோம்.”; “இஸ்ரேல் தாக்குதல் என்றால் இஸ்ரேல் மீது நடத்தப்பட்ட தாக்குதல் என்று அவர்களாக அர்த்தம் கொண்டார்களா என்று தெரியவில்லை. இஸ்ரேல் தாக்குதல் என்றால் அது இஸ்ரேல் நடத்திய தாக்குதல் என்றே அர்த்தம் கொள்ள முடிகிறது.”] The review’s account instead places Santhosh’s death in Ashkelon, an Israeli city near Gaza, and attributes the fatal attack to Hamas. It says she was caring for an elderly woman there, and that the woman also died. The review describes examining news reports and statements, including the Israeli ambassador’s message expressing condolences to Santhosh’s family and identifying her as a victim of a Hamas strike. [S1: “இதில் அஷ்கிலான் என்ற நகரில் முதிய பெண்மணி வருவருக்கு பராமரிப்பு சேவை வழங்கி வந்த செவிலியர் சௌமியா உயிரிழந்தார். அந்த மூதாட்டியும் இந்த தாக்குதலில் உயிரிழந்தார் என்று செய்திகள் கிடைத்தன.”; “ஹமாஸ் பயங்கரவாதிகள் நடத்திய தாக்குதலில் உயிரிழந்த செளமியாவின் குடும்பத்தினருக்கு ஆறுதல் கூறினேன்”] To trace how the misleading version circulated, Fact Crescendo says it checked the Sun News card and its post history. The review reports that the card was first posted at 9:11 a.m. on May 12 with wording that placed the death in a Gaza attack; it was changed at 12:11 p.m. to say the death occurred in an attack in Israel. By then, the earlier card had been downloaded and shared. It also says the ABP Nadu post linked to an article that correctly attributed the death to Hamas, while its card wording was misleading. [S1: “முதலில் மே 12ம் தேதி காலை 9.11க்கு ‘காசா தாக்குதலில் இந்திய பெண் பலி’ என்று முதலில் பதிவிடப்பட்டிருப்பது தெரிந்தது. பிறகு உண்மை தெரிந்த பிறகு பிற்பகல் 12.11க்கு ‘இஸ்ரேலில் நடந்த தாக்குதலில் இந்திய பெண் பலி’ என்று மாற்றியிருப்பது தெரிந்தது.”; “அந்த பதிவில் ஒரு செய்தி லிங்க் கொடுக்கப்பட்டு இருந்தது. அதில் பார்த்தபோது ஹமாஸ் அமைப்பினர் நடத்திய தாக்குதலில் இந்திய செவிலியர் பலியானர் என்று குறிப்பிடப்பட்டு இருந்தது. ஆனால், நியூஸ் கார்டில் மட்டும் தவறாகக் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டிருப்பது தெரிந்தது.”]

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaWar & conflict

FACT CHECK: පලස්තීනය වෙත ගුවන් ප්‍රහාර එල්ල කිරීමට සැරසෙන ඊශ්‍රායල් ගුවන් යානා පෙළක ඡායාරුපයක් ද?

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerned a widely shared photograph presented as showing Israeli aircraft preparing to strike Palestine amid renewed fighting in Gaza. Fact Crescendo says the image circulated on Facebook with that description, including in posts by the Nava page and by a user named Kanishka Silva. Its investigation concludes that the image does not show an Israeli operation; it shows U.S. F-16s in South Korea during a military exercise in 2012. [S1]