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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.

5,821 published reviews in this topic

Factcrescendo Sri LankaWar & conflict

The picture depicts “19 Yazidi girls in Mosul who refused to convert to Islam, paraded around the city by ISIS before being burned alive in a cage.”

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The image shows Egyptian female protesters in Abu El Matamir in December 2013, staging a symbolic protest in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi—not Yazidi girls or an ISIS parade. The review also says the specific report of 19 Yazidi women burned alive in cages was never independently verified.

يوب يوبWar & conflict

نشرت حسابات على منصتي فيسبوك وإكس صورة زُعم أنها لمقاتل يحمل الجنسية الإماراتية تم رصده في غزة، فيما ادعى آخرون أن الجندي المذكور قُتل في غزة.

Publisher’s rating: مضلل

The review says the image shows Bezalel Yaakov, an Israeli national who posted it on Facebook in February 2024, and reports that he was alive. It also says that in a video dated August 18, 2025, he identified himself as Jewish of Ethiopian origin, born in Jerusalem, and denied being killed.

Deutsche WelleWar & conflict

A widely shared postaccuses Time Magazine of publishing a staged image. It compares Time’s photo to another published by the German tabloid Bild, suggesting the scene was orchestrated. The images show people in Gaza waiting for food with empty pots. The official Israeli Instagram account of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted both images side-by-side, claiming: "One photo was staged. The other debunked it." The post, shared thousands of times, added, "Manufactured emotion. Media complicity. Truth discarded."

Publisher’s rating: DW Fact check: False The two photos do not depict the same scene. We analyzed the images on various levels. First, just a simple look at the content of the images: A side-by-side comparison reveals different individuals and containers: in Time's image, many people hold plastic containers, while in the other, most hold metal pots. So, Time's image does not show the image taken by the photographer shown in the other photograph. We also looked at the metadata and licensing of the two images. Time's photo was licensed via Getty Imagesand credited to photographer Ali Jadallah of Anadolu/Getty. It was posted on Time's Instagram account and appears in Getty's databasedated July 22, 2025. The second photo, published by Bild, appears on the German agency Picture Alliance’s website. It shows photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha, but was taken by Khames Alrefi (not pictured), as noted in the credit. It was distributed via the Turkish news agency Anadolu.The agency categorically denied the allegations of staging the picture in its response to DW’s query. It's also important to note the dates: The image used by Bild is dated July 24, two days after the Time photo. While both were taken in Gaza, and at the same food kitchen, they do not show the same scene, as they were shot on different days. We reviewed hundreds of images in online databases from picture agencies. Many were taken at the same location on different days, both before and during aid distributions. This leads to the conclusion that this is a genuine food kitchen where Gazans come regularly. In the screenshot below from Anadolu, several images show photographer Fteiha at the same distribution point.

Deutsche WelleWar & conflict

"This Gaza photographer stages Hamas propaganda," reads the headline of Bild’s article, accompanied by an image of Fteiha filming a crowd in Gaza. The article accuses him of staging the scene.

Publisher’s rating: DW Fact check: False The image in question was taken in Gaza and shows people waiting with empty pots before food distribution at the food kitchen—consistent with a pre-distribution moment seen in other images. It is dated July 24, 2025, by the agency. DW’s research found that Anadolu was documenting Fteiha’s work on the same day. The agency’s database includes several portrait images (including the one used by Bild) and an 11-minute video of him working in Gaza. The video caption states: "Palestinian journalists continue to report from Gaza under extreme conditions... Among them is Anadolu freelance cameraman Anas Zeyad Fteha (Fteiha), who has documented the dire situation firsthand." The film shows Fteiha working on location and visiting the food distribution site. It also documents the process itself, making it clear that there is a short barrier between the crowd and the point where the food was handed out. All the pictures and the video are available in the public domain. The Anadolu Agency told DW that the agency stands firmly by its photographer Z.M. Fetaiha (Fteiha) and that the photographs reflect the humanitarian crisis they witness in Gaza "in its starkest form."