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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.

6,853 published reviews in this topic

Deutsche Presse-AgenturCrime & justice

Im Internet kursiert die Behauptung, in einer Kindertagesstätte in Koblenz sei ein Mädchen sexuell missbraucht worden (hier archiviert). Als Beleg wird ein Video verbreitet, in dem eine Frau sich als Mutter des Mädchens vorstellt und über die vermeintliche Tat berichtet.

Publisher’s rating: Im Internet kursiert die Behauptung, in einer Kindertagesstätte in Koblenz sei ein Mädchen sexuell missbraucht worden (hier archiviert). Als Beleg wird ein Video verbreitet, in dem eine Frau sich als Mutter des Mädchens vorstellt und über die vermeintliche Tat berichtet.

FACTLYCrime & justice

Video of a woman getting arrested for not wearing a mask in Singapore

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The post said a video showed a woman arrested in Singapore for not wearing a mask. FACTLY’s review addresses that specific video and claim, rather than mask enforcement in general. It reports that a search for “Singapore woman arrest for not wearing mask” led to a news article with images similar to those in the video. The review says that article described the woman being arrested after an incident at Novena Square, Singapore. According to the review, the reported conduct was pouring soup on a stranger, biting him and spitting at him. It adds that police confirmed the same account. FACTLY therefore distinguishes the arrest from the mask-related explanation circulated with the video: its account says the woman was arrested over the assaultive conduct, not for failing to wear a mask. The review also says it consulted other news articles reporting the same incident, though the supplied excerpt does not name those outlets or provide their text. The evidence described in the review thus ties the arrest to the Novena Square incident through matching images and reporting that it says was confirmed by police. On that basis, the video may show an arrest in Singapore, but the post’s stated reason for the arrest does not match the explanation given in the review.

BBC Reality CheckCrime & justice

"We commuted over 1,000 people's sentences...the federal prison system was reduced by 38,000 people under our administration"

Publisher’s rating: He's right about the number of commutations during the Obama administration, but not about the federal prison reduction.

The BBC review examined Joe Biden’s claim during the 2020 presidential debate that his administration had commuted more than 1,000 sentences and reduced the federal prison system by 38,000 people. It treated the commutations and the prison-population comparison as separate claims, and found support for the first but not the second as stated. For commutations, the review reported that President Obama changed the sentences of about 1,700 inmates; it separately noted that 212 others received pardons. These figures support Biden’s claim that more than 1,000 sentences were commuted, while distinguishing commutations from pardons. For the prison population, the review compared the last year of the Obama-Biden administration, 2016, with 2009. It reported 16,500 fewer inmates in the federal system in 2016—not a reduction of 38,000. The evidence therefore supports the commutation figure but does not support Biden’s stated size of the federal prison reduction under the comparison given.

FACTLYCrime & justice

A 15-year-old boy arrested for stealing bread and butter in a store

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a social-media post that identified a boy in a photograph as a 15-year-old arrested for taking bread and butter from a store. The post also alleged that a judge fined the store’s administration for treating him cruelly. FACTLY says the boy pictured was instead Christian Fernandez, who was arrested on a murder charge. The review’s opening description also refers to bread and cheese, but its stated claim and conclusion address the bread-and-butter version. [S1: “The photo of a boy convicted in a judicial court is being shared on social media claiming him as the 15-year-old boy who was caught while stealing bread and cheese for his mother from a store.”; “Fact: The boy in the photo was arrested on the charges of murder, not on the charges of robbery.”] To check the photograph’s identity, the review reports using reverse image search. It says a similar photo appeared in a Florida Times-Union article dated 3 January 2012, which identified the boy as 12-year-old Christian Juan Fernandez and reported that he was accused of first-degree murder in the killing of his two-year-old half-brother. The review identifies the location as Jacksonville and says the child died in 2011. [S1: “On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in an article published by the ‘Florida Times-Union’ news website on ‘03 January 2012’.”; “In the article, they mentioned this boy as the 12-year-old Christian Juan Fernandez who was accused in the first-order murder charges on killing his 2-year-old half-brother.”] FACTLY also describes finding a Fox News video with similar visuals, which it says identifies Fernandez as a 12-year-old charged as an adult for his brother’s murder in Jacksonville. For later chronology, the review says News4JAX reported that Fernandez was released on 15 January 2018, after prosecutors and a circuit judge agreed to temporarily suspend special probation conditions. These details support the review’s distinction between the boy in the photograph and the story told in the post; they do not establish the post’s separate allegation about a fine on the store. [S1: “On searching for more information using these keywords, a video showing similar visuals was found in an article published by ‘Fox News’ news website on ‘19 October 2011’.”; “According to the article published by ‘News4JAX’ news website, Christian Fernandez was released from jail on ‘15 January 2018’ after being in the custody since 2013.”]

FACTLYCrime & justice

Nigerian people protesting in support of justice for Sushant Singh Rajput

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a photo shared as showing Nigerians protesting in support of justice for Sushant Singh Rajput. FACTLY reports that its investigation found the circulated image had been altered: the people pictured were not holding the Sushant-related placards in the original photograph. The review says it used a reverse image search to find an earlier version of the photo. (S1: “A photo of Nigerian people holding ‘Justice for Sushant’ placards is being shared on social media claiming that Nigerian people are protesting in support of justice for Sushant Singh Rajput.”; “On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the original version of the photo was found”) In that original version, the placards referred to police reform and SARS, including “Reform Police and Disband SARS” and “SARS Authorized Criminals.” FACTLY says an article accompanying the image described it as a photo taken during protests against Nigeria’s Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS). This makes the placards and the image’s original context inconsistent with the claim that the pictured crowd was holding signs for Sushant Singh Rajput. (S1: “In the original photo, these people can be seen holding the ‘Reform Police and Disband SARS’ and ‘SARS Authorized Criminals’ placards.”; “In the article, it is mentioned as a photo taken while they were protesting against the controversial Nigerian special squad ‘SARS’.”) The review also reports finding the same original photo in CNN coverage dated 13 October 2020, which described protests against SARS under the hashtag #EndSARS. The evidence described in the review therefore identifies the image as a modified version of a photograph associated with protests against the Nigerian police unit, rather than as an authentic image of the claimed Sushant-related protest. (S1: “On searching for more information using these keywords, the same original photo was found in an article published by ‘CNN’ news channel on ‘13 October 2020’.”; “It is mentioned in the article that the Nigerians and celebrities are protesting against the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) using the hashtag #EndSARS.”)