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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.

6,837 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYCrime & justice

Video of a man in police uniform applying Vaseline to an ATM card wrapped with silver foil and inserting the card in ATM to withdraw cash

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim presents the video of a man using a Vaseline-applied, silver-foil-wrapped card at an ATM as a real incident. FACTLY reports that a reverse image search of keyframes from the viral clip led to a full-length version on the Facebook page of ‘Adley’, uploaded on 11 March 2022. The review says the uploader described the video as scripted and intended for entertainment, rather than as footage of a genuine ATM incident. That description is decisive context: although the video depicts the claimed ATM activity, the original upload identifies it as staged entertainment. FACTLY therefore concludes that sharing it as a real event is misleading.

YouturnCrime & justice

காஞ்சிபுரம்:கோவில் குளத்தை மூடிவிட்டு, ‘கார் பார்க்கிங்’ அமைக்க எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்த, காஞ்சிபுரம் உலகளந்த பெருமாள் கோவில் அர்ச்சகருக்கு கொலை மிரட்டல் விடுத்த மர்ம நபர்கள். அவரை சரமாரியாக தாக்கி விட்டு தப்பினர்- தினமலர் !

Publisher’s rating: Fake

Factcrescendo Sri LankaCrime & justice

Maxwell Visited Dhanushka In Prison To Offer His Support!

Publisher’s rating: False

The review examined social media posts claiming that Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell visited Dhanushka Gunathilaka in jail in Sydney to show support after Gunathilaka’s arrest on sexual-assault allegations. The posts also claimed Maxwell had tried to apologise and reconcile the incident. The publisher concluded the visit and offer of support were fabricated, rather than reporting that such a visit had occurred. To check the claim, the publisher looked for reports of Maxwell’s supposed visit in international and Australian mainstream media, checked Maxwell’s official social-media channels for a statement, and contacted Sri Lankan journalist Azam Amin, who was in Australia covering the 2022 T20 World Cup. The review says no international or Australian mainstream outlet had reported the visit, Maxwell had published no such note, video, or information, and Amin confirmed the social-media story was false and that the incident had not happened. The review places the rumour amid Gunathilaka’s arrest in Sydney. It reports that Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed the arrest on November 6, 2022, and that NSW police said a joint investigation began on November 5 following reports of an alleged sexual assault in Rose Bay. Those details establish the setting of the claim; they are not evidence that Maxwell visited Gunathilaka. The review’s conclusion rests on its reported media and social-channel checks and Amin’s confirmation.

dpaCrime & justice

Nancy Pelosi is gearresteerd.

Publisher’s rating: Deze claims zijn fout. Nancy Pelosi is niet gearresteerd. De video die dit moet bewijzen, toont alleen hoe zij haar huis in San Francisco verlaat, een paar dagen na een aanval op haar man.

The claim concerned rumours that Nancy Pelosi had been arrested after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked at their San Francisco home on 28 October 2022. The video circulated as proof shows Pelosi getting into a black car. The review says the footage instead shows her leaving her home under security, and that she was not arrested. S1 states: “Een video waarin zij in een zwarte auto stapt, zou dat moeten aantonen.” It also reports that “De voorzitter van het Huis van Afgevaardigden verlaat haar huis in San Francisco, duidelijk onder strenge beveiliging.” The review traces the clip to local broadcaster NBC Bay Area, which posted it online on 30 October, two days after the attack. It notes that the people visible had no recognizable police or government-service logos and that the blonde woman beside Pelosi carried a takeaway cup—details the review presents as inconsistent with the arrest interpretation. These are observations about the footage, not proof on their own; the review also gives a broader timeline. S1 says: “Het fragment waarin Nancy Pelosi onder begeleiding in een auto stapt, komt van de lokale nieuwszender NBC Bay Area. Het verscheen online op 30 oktober, twee dagen na de aanval.” The review reports that Pelosi was seen leaving the same home on 2 and 4 November, again under security, and that she gave CNN an interview before the U.S. midterm elections on 8 November. Its account of the interview introduction says Pelosi had returned to Washington after spending several days in California with her husband. Together, these reported appearances and the video’s context contradict the claim that the clip depicts an arrest. S1 states: “In de inleiding wordt hierbij bovendien gezegd dat Pelosi weer terug is in Washington, na een aantal dagen in Californië bij haar man te zijn geweest.”

FACTLYCrime & justice

Video of Muslim boys eve-teasing Hindu girls and assaulting a girl’s parent in front of a women’s college in Tamil Nadu

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examined a video circulated with the claim that Muslim boys were harassing Hindu girls and attacking a parent outside a women’s college in Tamil Nadu. It found that the video combined footage of two separate incidents near Lady Doak College and Sri Meenakshi Government Arts College in Madurai. The review reports that Madurai Police arrested the youths involved in both incidents and that none of those arrested was Muslim. For the first clip, the review traced similar footage to a Thanthi TV video published on 3 November 2022, then compared it with reporting about an incident at Lady Doak College. The incident took place on 30 October, when youths forcibly entered the college and harassed students. The review also cites a Madurai Police Facebook post about the arrests; it reports that police named ten accused in this incident. The second clip showed a student’s father being attacked outside Sri Meenakshi Government Arts College. The review says the father had come to pick up his daughter and was assaulted after questioning the youths’ behaviour toward girls as they followed a funeral procession. Police arrested six people in connection with this incident, which took place on 4 November 2022. The review’s account identifies the two clips as footage of separate local incidents, rather than evidence for the communal identities asserted in the post.