PeakMetrics / Fact Checks
Crime & justice fact checks
Explore claims publishers have checked about crime & justice. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.
Search fact checks
Search by text or image6,854 published reviews in this topic
Amit Shah said that there has been no rise in lynchings under the BJP government.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
Se supone que las balas de goma estaban prohibidas en Cataluña
Publisher’s rating: Verdad a medias
The claim concerns Pablo Iglesias’s remarks after meeting Pedro Sánchez during the unrest in Catalonia following the procés judgment. Iglesias said his party opposed rubber bullets, adding that they were supposedly prohibited in Catalonia. Newtral checked what he meant by that reference: Podemos confirmed to the outlet that he was referring specifically to rubber bullets, rather than another type of crowd-control material. The decisive distinction is which police force the restriction covered. The review reports that Catalonia’s Parliament approved ending the use of rubber bullets from 30 April 2014, but says this applied only to the Mossos d’Esquadra, the regional police. The Mossos told Newtral that they had since used foam rounds. The restriction did not make rubber bullets illegal across Catalonia: the review says the National Police and Civil Guard could still use them, and Interior Ministry sources acknowledged that the National Police had used them occasionally during that week’s unrest. Thus, the statement reflected a real restriction on the regional force but overstated its scope if understood as a general prohibition throughout Catalonia.
Imagen de manifestantes ayudando a la Policía a esposar en 2019
Publisher’s rating: Falso
The claim concerns a photo circulated in 2019 as showing demonstrators helping police handcuff someone during protests in Catalonia. Newtral says it found the same image online well before those protests: TinEye’s reverse-image search found it published in April 2014, and a Google search located the photo on Twitter in March 2014, in connection with the Marches of Dignity in Madrid. That earlier provenance contradicts the claim that the image was taken in 2019 in Catalonia. [S1: “La publicación se mueve estos días por las redes sociales en el contexto de las manifestaciones en Cataluña contra la sentencia del Tribunal Supremo. Sin embargo, no es actual: la encontramos desde el año 2014 en la red.”] [S1: “El motor de búsqueda inversa TinEye encuentra que la imagen fue publicada por primera vez en abril de 2014. Pero a través de una búsqueda en Google, encontramos la misma foto también en Twitter, publicada en marzo de 2014 en el contexto de las Marchas de la Dignidad contra los recortes y el Gobierno del Partido Popular.”] The review also traced the image to a YouTube video uploaded in 2016, where it appears as a young man recounts his arrest during the 2014 Madrid protests. The account connects the image to Emilio Cao, but Newtral explicitly says it cannot confirm that the person pictured is Cao. That qualification limits what the investigation establishes about the person in the photo; it does not change its evidence that the image predates the 2019 Catalonia demonstrations. [S1: “En el vídeo, Emilio Cao – un joven orensano acusado de agredir un agente durante las manifestaciones del 2014 en Madrid- narra cuando fue detenido en las protestas. La imagen en cuestión aparece en el vídeo.”] [S1: “Desde Newtral.es, no podemos asegurar que el joven de la foto es Emilio Cao pero sí podemos afirmar que la imagen no ha sido tomada estos últimos días en el contexto de las manifestaciones de Cataluña.”]
Se supone que las balas de goma estaban prohibidas en Cataluña
Publisher’s rating: Verdad a medias
El manifestante atropellado en Tarragona por un furgón de los Mossos está muerto
Publisher’s rating: Falso
The claim concerned a young man struck by a Mossos d’Esquadra van in Tarragona during protests over the procés verdict. Newtral reports that a message on Twitter said he had died. The review says it contacted Hospital Sant Joan XXIII in Tarragona, where staff reported that at 11:00 on Thursday his condition was less serious than when he was admitted with a traumatic brain injury. The review also cites the Catalan Emergency Medical System’s tally for the previous day’s protests and police actions: it recorded 96 medical attendances and no deaths. Its cited breakdown lists two attendances in Tarragona, including one person with a head injury at Hospital Joan XXIII. Together, the hospital update and the tally contradict the message’s assertion that the injured young man had died.
網傳新聞影片「暴徒快閃募捐 實則打劫逼人交過路費」？
Publisher’s rating: 錯誤
The claim concerns a video of Hong Kong protesters speaking with the occupants of a red car. Its accompanying headline suggests that apparent fundraising was actually a robbery in which drivers were forced to pay a road toll; related allegations said a child was crying in the car and protesters were checking drivers’ phones. The review traced the clip to Hong Kong outlet Dot News (《點新聞》), which published it online on October 8, 2019, with the footage described as sourced from the internet. The clip was also uploaded that day to Dot Video’s YouTube account. To test what the video showed, the fact-check center examined it frame by frame and compared its narration with the images. It reported that the driver’s hand movements and the exchange with a protester showed no money being taken out or passed, and that no banknotes or coins were visible. The reviewer also found no footage of the car being smashed or of a child crying, despite those claims in the narration. The recorded conversation between the driver, passengers, and protester was not intelligible, so the review did not establish what they said to one another. The review also checked whether the wider claims were independently substantiated. It found three Hong Kong outlets using the same images and alleging that protesters set up roadblocks, collected tolls, and inspected phones, but the report said these stories lacked specific sourcing. It compared those allegations with Hong Kong police statements issued on October 6 and 8, 2019: the statements mentioned roadblocks and vehicle checks, but not robbery, toll collection, or phone inspections. The available footage and cited records therefore do not substantiate the specific allegations in the viral headline.
Los CDR han quemado una furgoneta en un aparcamiento de Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Girona)
Publisher’s rating: Falso
The claim is that CDR members deliberately burned a van in a car park in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Girona. Newtral examined a widely shared video of a white van burning and rolling forward, which viewers associated with CDRs and the town. The review reports that the video was posted on social media on 16 October, two days after the Supreme Court’s procés ruling became known, and that comments identifying the location as Sant Feliu de Guíxols helped spread the attribution. To check the allegation, Newtral says it consulted the town council’s official Facebook page, which shared an image of the incident alongside a statement from the van’s owner, Muebles Vilanova. The company identified the van as its own and said the fire began with an internal electrical short circuit. It explained that the resulting fire disabled the brakes, causing the van to roll a short distance without control. The account therefore addresses both the vehicle shown and why it moved; it does not support the claim that CDRs set it alight. The company said the incident occurred on 16 October and damaged five vehicles, including a police patrol car. It also explicitly rejected the circulating allegation of a deliberate fire by an activist group, describing the event instead as an unforeseen vehicle fault. The review’s account thus distinguishes the real fire and damage from the unsupported attribution of responsibility.
ਇਹ ਉਹ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਹੈ ਜਿਸਨੇ ਮੁਰਸ਼ੀਦਾਬਾਦ ਦੇ ਆਰਐਸਐਸ ਦਲ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਕੁੰਨ ਦਾ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਸਮੇਤ ਕਤਲ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ।
Publisher’s rating: False
Christian couple in UP set on fire by RSS men
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerned a video circulating online that appeared to show a badly burned couple. Posts described them as Christians in Uttar Pradesh who had been set on fire by RSS members after resisting an attempt to occupy their land. The review identifies the footage instead as showing a couple who set themselves ablaze at Surir police station in Mathura district. It says they did so after failing to obtain action on a complaint about harassment by a neighbour. (The review’s own conclusion is quoted in the rating reference.)
Ein gewalttätiger Streit zweier Gruppen überschattet Mitte Oktober 2019 die Kirmes in Marburg: Es fallen zwei Schüsse aus einer Schreckschusspistole, ein 16-Jähriger wird mit einem Schnitt am Hals verletzt. Die Internetseite «Truth24.net» dramatisiert die Vorfälle und schreibt: «Asylantenhorden beschießen sich - Bub (16) Kehle aufgeschlitzt». Es wird behauptet, der Junge kämpfe um sein Leben. Zudem sieht die Website in dem Vorfall einen weiteren Beweis dafür, dass Deutsche «immer wieder Mordopfer» von Messerattacken würden.
Publisher’s rating: Ja, es gab einen blutigen Streit in Marburg. Die Schüsse gab der 16-jährige Flüchtling selbst ab. Lebensgefahr hat nach Polizeiangaben für ihn nie bestanden. Die Staatsanwaltschaft ermittelt wegen versuchten Totschlags, es könnte sich aber genauso gut um Notwehr gehandelt haben.
The claim concerns a violent dispute at a fair in Marburg in mid-October 2019 and Truth24.net’s account of it. The dpa review reports that the 16-year-old was injured by a stab wound to the neck on October 11 and taken to hospital. It says he was discharged that evening, rather than being in a life-threatening condition. The article’s claim that he was fighting for his life was therefore false according to the information cited in the review. [S1: “Bei einem Streit auf einer Kirmes im mittelhessischen Marburg ist am 11. Oktober 2019 ein 16-Jähriger durch einen Stich in den Hals verletzt und in ein Krankenhaus gebracht worden. Der Junge wurde noch am selben Abend wieder aus der Klinik entlassen”] The review’s account also complicates the site’s framing of the shots: according to initial investigations, the teenager fired two shots from a blank-firing pistol at a group of four men. During a scuffle, two men took the weapon from him and he was injured in the neck. Investigators had not established who caused the cut, why the teenager fired, or whether the men had acted in self-defence. Thus, the review does not present those questions as settled. [S1: “Ersten Ermittlungen zufolge hatte er bei dem Streit mit einer Schreckschusspistole zwei Schüsse auf eine Gruppe von vier Männern abgefeuert. Bei einer Rangelei nahmen ihm zwei der Männer (23 und 29) die Waffe ab und verletzten ihn am Hals.”] [S1: “Ob die Männergruppe in Notwehr handelte, wer dem 16-Jährigen die Schnittverletzung zufügte und warum dieser die Schüsse überhaupt abgab, ist noch Gegenstand der Ermittlungen.”] The review says Truth24.net’s October 12 article used inflammatory language and falsely portrayed the teenager as near death. It also says the site cast the incident as an example of deadly knife attacks by Muslims or Arabs, although the dpa review states that this was not what happened in Marburg. Its reported account supports the core facts of a bloody dispute and two shots, but not the article’s claims of a life-threatening injury or the broader ethnicized narrative. [S1: “In dem Artikel auf der Internetseite «Truth24.net» vom 12. Oktober (http://dpaq.de/Vpld9) wird der Vorfall in rassistischer Weise aufgebauscht.”] [S1: “Der Fall wird als weiteres Beispiel für «Messerattacken» angeführt, bei denen Deutsche «immer wieder Mordopfer» von «Moslems oder Arabern» würden. Das alles aber war in Marburg gar nicht der Fall.”]
Man set up his car ablaze as his car was issued a challan of Rs 35,000.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
FACTLY examined a social-media post about a video showing a car burning, a man and a woman holding pistols, and children nearby. The post alleged that the man had set the car on fire after receiving a Rs 35,000 traffic challan. The review identifies the people in the video as Shubham Choudhary and Anjula Sharma and reports a different reason for the fire: they set the car ablaze to attract media coverage and announce their marriage. It says the children were Choudhary’s sister’s children, not his own children being made to sit on the road as the claim suggested. The review describes how it traced the video’s context. It noticed the ABP Ganga logo in the social-media clip and searched YouTube for the corresponding news video. That report, aired on September 25, 2019, gave no firm account of the incident at the time. FACTLY then searched for reports about a man setting a car ablaze in Mathura and found a News18 article. According to FACTLY, that article reported that Mathura Police had arrested Choudhary and Sharma and that they had explained their motive as seeking media coverage and getting married in the road. As further corroboration, FACTLY says Mathura Police publicly rejected the viral claim as baseless and false. Taken together, the review’s account of the police-reported explanation and the identities and relationships of the people in the video contradicts the post’s stated challan motive and its description of the children.
RSS తో సంబంధం ఉంది కాబట్టే బంధుపాల్ కుటుంబం హత్య కాబడింది.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
Claim man burns his car due to traffic challan charges
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
Imagen de manifestantes ayudando a la Policía a esposar 2019
Publisher’s rating: Falso
http://www.truth24.net/quickborn-sozialmigrant-versucht-minderjaehrige-15-zu-vergewaltigen/
Publisher’s rating: Die Polizei sucht nach den Angaben des Opfers einen Mann mit «europäischem Erscheinungsbild». Es gibt derzeit keinen Beleg, dass der Verdächtige etwa aus Afrika oder dem Nahen Osten stammt. Weitere Angaben zur vermuteten Herkunft machte die Polizei nicht.
The claim arose from a Truth24 headline describing the suspect in a reported attempted assault in Quickborn as a “social migrant.” The dpa review says the case concerned an alleged February 2019 incident involving a 15-year-old girl: the suspect reportedly tried to undress and indecently touch her, and she escaped when a witness arrived. The police made a public search appeal on 14 October 2019, after the girl reported the incident later because of psychological distress. The review identifies the Truth24 article as dated 14 October and says it reproduced much of the police notice but added the headline’s implication that the suspect was a refugee. [S1: “Seit 14. Oktober 2019 fahndet die Polizei Bad Segeberg öffentlich nach dem Täter” / “Er soll im Februar im schleswig-holsteinischen Quickborn versucht haben, ein 15-jähriges Mädchen «zu entkleiden und unsittlich zu berühren».” / “In dem Artikel auf der Internetseite «Truth24.net» vom 14. Oktober ... wird die Pressemitteilung der Polizei fast wortgleich übernommen.”] The account of the suspect’s background in the headline was not supported by the information the review reports. The police description said he was about 45, had dark hair and a short dark beard on his cheeks, and had a “European appearance.” The dpa review says it asked a police spokesperson about the case on 16 October; the spokesperson said nationality and ancestry were not then known. The review therefore distinguishes the appearance-based description from established facts about nationality or origin. [S1: “Er ist etwa 45 Jahre alt, hat ein europäisches Erscheinungsbild, dunkle Haare und einen leichten, dunklen Bart an den Wangen.” / “Auf Nachfrage der Deutschen Presse-Agentur erklärte ein Polizeisprecher am 16. Oktober, dass derzeit weder Nationalität noch Abstammung des Tatverdächtigen klar seien.”] The review also notes that Truth24 added language about Islamization, “rape refugees” and “pedophile Arabs,” while the police appeal itself offered a suspect description rather than evidence for those assertions. It says there was no evidence for the article’s claims linking the suspect to those categories. Thus, the police information and the spokesperson’s response do not establish that the suspect was a migrant, refugee, or from Africa or the Middle East. [S1: “Begriffe wie «Islamisierung», «Rapefugees», «pädophile Araber» oder der Satz «Moslems vergewaltigen gern kleine Kinder» sollen diesen Eindruck wohl unterstreichen. Für diese Behauptungen gibt es derzeit aber keinerlei Belege.”]
Man who killed a family in Murshidabad.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim attached to the shared image identified the man in a white kurta and skull cap as involved in the October 2019 killings of a schoolteacher, his wife and their six-year-old child in Murshidabad, West Bengal. The review says the picture was being circulated as showing an accused person in that case. It concludes that the identification was false: the man pictured in a blue kurta was Mehedi Hasan Rasel, linked instead to the murder of student Abrar Fahad in Bangladesh, and the other man was Rasel’s father. To trace the image, the review reports that a reverse-image search of the full image produced no relevant results. Cropping the man in the blue kurta and searching that image led to a Bangladesh news article about the expulsion of student-group members over their alleged involvement in Fahad’s murder. Because that article did not identify the people in its photographs, the review says it then consulted a Daily Star article showing students accused in the Bangladesh case; it identified the man in the original image as Rasel, also spelled Russel in an earlier article. The review further reports finding the same two-men photograph on Rasel’s Facebook account, posted on 10 June 2019 with a Bangla caption translated as “Inspiration… Father.” That provenance supports the identification of the accompanying man as Rasel’s father and shows the image existed before the Murshidabad killings. The review says the image was subsequently recirculated after West Bengal Police announced detentions in the Murshidabad case, falsely linking the Bangladesh photograph to that investigation.