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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Crime & justice fact checks

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

6,836 published reviews in this topic

Boatos.orgCrime & justice

Nós vigilantes estamos proibidos de usar calibre  38

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim was that Decree 11,615/2023 made it illegal for vigilantes to use .38-caliber revolvers. Boatos.org says the claim spread in alarmist messages, including assertions that vigilantes carrying .38s would be committing a crime. Its review says the Federal Police addressed the confusion and stated that the decree, published on July 21, 2023, did not change the work of security guards. The review cites the law governing vigilantes as remaining in force and quotes its provision allowing a vigilante, while on duty, to carry a .32- or .38-caliber revolver. The review distinguishes that permission from a separate issue: it says some .38-caliber firearm models exceed the decree’s 407-joule threshold and would, in theory, be restricted to security forces. But it also notes that adjustments still needed to be aligned and regulated. Thus, the review’s evidence does not support the viral claim of a blanket prohibition on vigilantes using .38s; it describes continuing authorization under the cited vigilante rules alongside unresolved regulation concerning some firearm models.

Fact Crescendo CambodiaCrime & justice

បុរស​ម្នាក់​ត្រូវ​បាន​សមត្ថកិច្ច​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​ក្រោយ​ទទួល​បាន​លុយ​ពី​មេ​បក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​នៅ​ក្រៅ​ប្រទេស​ ដើម្បី​ញុះញង់ បង្ក​ចលាចល និង​ប្រមាថ​ព្រះ​មហាក្សត្រ។

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerned Svay Sophat, a villager in Kampong Speu province, and alleged that he had received money from opposition leader Sam Rainsy to stir unrest and insult King Norodom Sihamoni. The review says the allegation circulated after the national election and used photos of the man and money as purported evidence. Its account of the arrest is different: “Svay Sophat – the man in the photos – was arrested by Kampong Speu police after he said in a video live on his personal Facebook account.” The report says those remarks were regarded as an insult to the King. To check the circulated photos, the investigators used Google Reverse Image Search. They report that it traced the images to a CEN news report from the day before the election, rather than establishing the claim that the money came from Sam Rainsy. The review also describes a police account of the arrest: “Kampong Speu police also shared this news on its Facebook page, saying the man was suspected of incitement causing social turbulence, and insulting the King.” It identifies that police post as dated July 22, 2023. The claimed payment was not substantiated in the evidence described. Kampong Speu police chief Sam Samuon dismissed the claim when asked by the fact-checkers. The person who said he owned the Facebook account that made the allegation, Nhuong Saroeun, told them he did not know where the money came from and had relied on unverifiable sources. The review concludes that Sophat was arrested over his video, while “No clear evidence proves that he got money from the opposition network.”