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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.

6,849 published reviews in this topic

Fact CrescendoCrime & justice

តុលាការកម្ពុជា មិនបើកសវនៈការកាត់ក្ដីជំពួកមនុស្សឆ្កួតឡើយ..! បើមានអ្នកការពារមនុស្សឆ្កួតប្រហែលបរទេសនោះជាពេទ្យឆ្កួតដែរហើយ!ហាហាហា ។

Publisher’s rating: Altered

The Facebook post paired a caption mocking the Cambodian court proceedings with images of human-rights activist Seng Theary in an Apsara costume, apparently with a beard and mustache. Fact Crescendo’s review examined whether the images showed her that way. It reports that the claim circulated on Facebook on December 8, 2021, and that the image could appear genuine to Khmer-speaking users who shared and reacted to it. The review says its reverse-image search located the same underlying photograph on The Washington Post’s website. That report identified the scene as Theary arriving at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on December 7, 2021, to continue her trial. The review also cites a Facebook post from Theary dated December 12, 2021, which did not show her with facial hair. These comparisons support the review’s conclusion that the facial hair in the circulating image had been added: the original photograph did not show it. The finding is specifically about the photograph, not an assessment of the caption’s characterization of the court proceedings. The review concludes that the image had been edited before it was posted on social media; the underlying photo depicts Theary arriving at the courthouse, not the altered appearance presented in the Facebook post.

dpaCrime & justice

De politie arresteerde de kerstman op een Duitse kerstmarkt omdat hij geen mondmasker droeg.

Publisher’s rating: De man in de video nam deel aan een niet-aangegeven manifestatie tegen de coronamaatregelen. Hij werd aangehouden door de politie omdat hij weigerde zijn identiteit bekend te maken, niet omdat hij geen mondmasker droeg. Hij was niet ter plaatse om de rol van Kerstman op de kerstmarkt te spelen, maar om mee te lopen in de manifestatie.

The video shows a man dressed as Santa being detained by police at a Christmas market in Stralsund, Germany. The review says that the online claim—that police arrested him for not wearing a mask—misrepresents why he was there and why officers took him away. The market did require visitors to wear masks, but the review reports that this was not the reason for his arrest. [S1: “De beelden werden gemaakt in Stralsund, een stad in het noordoosten van Duitsland. De lokale kerstmarkt vereist inderdaad dat aanwezigen een mondmasker dragen. Maar in tegenstelling tot wat wordt gezegd online, is dat niet de reden waarom de man in kerstmankostuum werd gearresteerd.”] According to the review’s account of a Stralsund police press release and police statements on Twitter, an unauthorized protest against coronavirus measures took place by the market on December 13. About 65 people gathered at around 18:00. Police said they needed to establish the identities of those present to find the organizer. The man in the Santa costume was among the attendees and refused to give his identity; the review says officers then detained him and took him to a police vehicle. [S1: “Bij de kerstmarkt vond er op 13 december namelijk een manifestatie plaats die niet was aangegeven bij en goedgekeurd door de lokale autoriteiten. Rond 18 uur verzamelden ongeveer 65 personen zich om te protesteren tegen de coronamaatregelen.”] [S1: “Daarom moesten alle aanwezigen vastgesteld worden, om zo de organisator te vinden, liet de politie ook weten via Twitter.”] [S1: “Eén van die aanwezigen was de man in een kerstmankostuum en hij weigerde om zijn identiteit mee te delen. Daarop werd hij aangehouden en naar het politievoertuig gebracht.”] The review distinguishes his costume from his purpose: it says he was there as a protest participant dressed as Santa, not to play Santa at the market. It also reports that he was released after his identity had been established. [S1: “Hij was niet op de kerstmarkt in de rol van Kerstman, maar als manifestant die verkleed was als een Kerstman.”] [S1: “Nadat zijn identiteit was vastgesteld werd hij weer vrijgelaten.”]

FACTLYCrime & justice

Himachal Pradesh police recently detained a Muslim for creating fake accounts on Facebook and making derogatory comments on Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The post described in the review claimed that Himachal Pradesh Police had recently detained a Muslim man named Muhammed Ahmed for creating fake Facebook accounts and making derogatory comments about the Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita. The review traces that account to an arrest in September 2017, not a recent Himachal Pradesh detention. It says Hamirpur Police arrested Ahmed in Maudaha, in Hamirpur district, Uttar Pradesh, on allegations involving fake Facebook IDs and derogatory comments on Hindu goddesses and holy books. The review reports that it found a Jagran article describing a similar case. According to the review’s account of that report, Ahmed allegedly used a Facebook identity posing as Sundaram Singh to publish obscene videos and provocative comments. It also says Hamirpur police announced the arrest in a tweet on 27 September 2017. These details support the review’s central correction: the post misstates the location and timing of the arrest, while referring to an older case in Uttar Pradesh. The review separately checked the photograph attached to the post. It says the image showed California resident Zeeshan-ul-Hassan Usmani, not Ahmed, and reports finding the same photo on Usmani’s Facebook page, where he had shared it on 22 April 2015. The review therefore distinguishes the real 2017 arrest from the unrelated person depicted in the circulated image.