PeakMetrics / Fact Checks
Culture & entertainment fact checks
Explore claims publishers have checked about culture & entertainment. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.
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Search by text or image3,169 published reviews in this topic
Claim: Fake news that Iron Man actor Robert John Downey celebrated Krishna Jayanti with his family I அயன் மேன் கதாநாயகன் குடும்பத்துடன் கிருஷ்ணஜெயந்தி கொண்டாடினாரா?
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerned a video of a family singing and dancing to Hare Krishna and Hare Rama, shared with a caption identifying the man as Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. and saying he was celebrating Krishna Jayanti with his children. The review says the video was shared on Facebook by Usha Venugopal Iyengar on July 18, 2021, and that the man shown did not resemble Downey. The publisher also reports finding no news or video confirming that Downey had celebrated the festival with his family.
Claim: Raja Ravi Varma not drawn this picture
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The review investigated a social-media image presented as a painting by Raja Ravi Varma. It says the accompanying claim described Indians as praising the Mona Lisa while failing to respect a Ravi Varma painting. The key issue was the image’s provenance: whether it showed an original painting by Ravi Varma or something else. The investigators first noticed that the woman pictured resembled Swathi Reddy, an actress in the film *Subramaniapuram*. To check that impression, they say they uploaded the image to Google for a reverse-image search. They report finding information about the photograph on Pinterest, identifying the woman as Swathi and the image as a recreation based on one of Ravi Varma’s paintings, rather than a painting by him. The review also attributes the photograph to @sruvamstudios and says it was shared by the Instagram account @bridesofhyderabad. On that basis, it concludes that a photograph recreating a Ravi Varma painting was circulated with the misleading description that it was itself painted by him.
Claim: This picture is not taken from Coimbatore KG cinemas
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerned a particular photograph circulating with the assertion that beds had replaced seats inside KG Cinemas in Coimbatore. The review says it investigated the reliability of that social-media claim and notes that commenters were also treating it as true. Its conclusion addresses the photograph’s location, rather than whether other cinemas offer beds: “கோவை கே.ஜி.சினிமாஸ் உள்ளே எடுக்கப்பட்ட புகைப்படம், சீட்டுக்குப் பதிலாக படுக்கைகள் நிறுவியுள்ளனர்,” என்று கூறி சமூக வலைதளங்களில் பகிரப்படும் தகவல் ஒன்றை காண நேரிட்டது. இதன் நம்பகத்தன்மை பற்றி ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்டோம். தகவலின் விவரம்: இந்த பதிவின் கமெண்ட் பகுதியில் கூட பலரும் இதனை உண்மை என நம்பி, கருத்து பகிர்வதைக் கண்டோம். The review describes its method as a reverse-image search: it uploaded the specific picture to Google and searched for matching images. It reports that this led to information identifying the interior as a theatre in Switzerland, Cinema Pathé, where films are shown with bed seating: “குறிப்பிட்ட புகைப்படத்தை கூகுளில் பதிவேற்றி ரிவர்ஸ் இமேஜ் தேடல் செய்தபோது, அது ஸ்விட்சர்லாந்தில் உள்ள ஒரு தியேட்டரின் உள் புகைப்படம் என்று விவரம் கிடைத்தது. இதன்படி, ஸ்விட்சர்லாந்தில் செயல்படும் Cinema Pathe` எனும் தியேட்டரில் படுக்கை வசதியுடன் சினிமா ஒளிபரப்பு செய்யப்படுகிறது.” The review therefore says the image was taken from the Swiss cinema and was reused to suggest that cultural standards had declined in Coimbatore. It distinguishes that venue from KG Cinemas, but the excerpt does not provide further details about the search results or independently document the image’s earlier publication: “அந்த புகைப்படத்தை எடுத்து, கோவையில் கலாச்சாரம் கெட்டுவிட்டதாகக் கூறி வதந்தி பரப்பியுள்ளனர் என்று தெளிவாகிறது. அதேசமயம், கோவையில் செயல்படும் கேஜி சினிமாஸ் வேறு ஒன்றாகும்.”
Auf der Titelseite des Wiesbadener Kuriers stand "Benjamin Blümchen tötet wieder".
Publisher’s rating: Bei dem Bild handelt es sich um eine Manipulation einer echten Zeitungsseite. Anstelle von «tötet» steht im Originaltext «trötet».
The claim concerns an image circulated as the Wiesbadener Kurier’s front page, supposedly bearing the headline «Benjamin Blümchen tötet wieder». The dpa review says the image is a manipulation of a real newspaper page, rather than an authentic page with that wording. In the original text, the verb was «trötet»—the sound associated with Benjamin Blümchen—not «tötet».
ಕ್ಯೂಬಾ ಪ್ರಜೆಗಳು ಚೆಗುವೆರಾ ಚಿತ್ರಪಟವನ್ನು ಕಸದ ರಾಶಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಸೆದ ಪೋಟೋ.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
Claim: Jackie Chan not wore Ambedkar image printed shirt
Publisher’s rating: Altered
Fact Crescendo investigated a photo circulated as showing Jackie Chan wearing a shirt printed with Ambedkar’s image. The review says a reader submitted the image for verification and that it was also being shared on Facebook. Its account focuses on whether the shirt image could be authenticated, rather than identifying when or where the photo was taken. (S1: “அம்பேத்கர் உருவப் படம் கொண்ட டிசர்ட்டை ஜாக்கி அணிந்து, போஸ் கொடுப்பதாகக் கூறி சமூக வலைதளங்களில் பகிரப்பட்டு வரும் புகைப்படம் ஒன்றை கண்டோம்.”; “இதனை வாசகர் ஒருவர் +91 9049044263 என்ற நமது வாட்சாப் எண்ணிற்கு அனுப்பி, உண்மைத்தன்மை பற்றி ஆய்வு செய்யும்படி கேட்டுக் கொண்டார். இதனை ஃபேஸ்புக்கிலும் பலர் ஷேர் செய்வதைக் கண்டோம்.”) The review reports that a reverse-image search found the underlying photo of Chan in a plain white sleeveless shirt had circulated online for years. It says people had edited that image to add different well-known faces, including Gintama, Michael Jackson, and Salman Khan; it also notes that the review found an image of Chan beside a Michael Jackson picture with no image printed on his shirt. These comparisons suggest that versions showing a printed portrait may have been altered, but the review does not establish the provenance or date of the original white-shirt photo. (S1: “குறிப்பிட்ட புகைப்படத்தை நாம் கூகுளில் பதிவேற்றி ரிவர்ஸ் இமேஜ் தேடல் செய்தபோது, இது பல ஆண்டுகளாக இணையத்தில் சுற்றில் உள்ள புகைப்படம் என தெரியவந்தது.”; “ஜாக்கி சானின் வெள்ளை நிற பனியன் அணிந்த இந்த புகைப்படத்தை எடுத்து, பலரும் அவரவர் விருப்பம்போல, அதில், யாரேனும் பிரபலமானவரின் புகைப்படத்தை சேர்த்து, எடிட் செய்த பகிர்ந்து வருகின்றனர்.”; “ஆனால் இதில், எந்த உருவப்படமும் அச்சிடப்படவில்லை.”) The review’s conclusion is cautious: it says it could not find reliable evidence that the shirt had a printed portrait, and describes the image-based claim as not reliable. It therefore supports treating the circulating Ambedkar-shirt image as unverified and likely edited, rather than proving exactly how or when that particular version was made. (S1: “அவரது டிசர்ட்டில் உருவப்படம் எதுவும் அச்சிடப்பட்டதா என்பதற்கான உறுதிகரமான ஆதாரங்களும் கிடைக்கவில்லை.”; “உரிய ஆதாரங்களின் அடிப்படையில் நாம் ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்ட தகவல் நம்பகமானது இல்லை என்று ஃபேக்ட் கிரஸண்டோ தமிழ் நிரூபித்துள்ளது.”)
Claim: This is not the title of Narappa tamil dubbed version
Publisher’s rating: False
The claim concerns social-media posts saying that Narappa, the Telugu remake of the Tamil film Asuran, had been dubbed into Tamil under the titles “நான்தாண்டா அரக்கன்” and “என் பையன் ஒரு கிறுக்கன்.” Fact Crescendo reports that a reader submitted the claim for checking and that commenters on a Facebook post had also called it fake. The review says Narappa stars Venkatesh Daggubati and was scheduled to release on Amazon Prime on July 20. It notes that the production company had said the film would release on Amazon, and that the Telugu original had not yet been released at the time. The review also reports looking for confirmation on Hotstar’s website and Vijay TV’s Twitter page, but finding no information about a Tamil version there. On that basis, the review concludes that the purported Tamil titles were made up as a joke and then shared as genuine. The evidence described is the absence of a Tamil-dub announcement on the named platforms, alongside the reported release plan for the Telugu original; the excerpt does not describe a separate confirmation from the platforms that no dub would ever be made.
Sun news has recruited an intelligent meme creator. Hs is approaching every news as a meme.
Publisher’s rating: Fake
പ്രകാശ് രാജ് പ്രകാശ് ആല്ബര്ട്ട് രാജാണ്
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
A video of Dilip Kumar's house in Peshawar,Pakisthan
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The review investigated a viral video of a mansion that social-media users identified as Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home in Peshawar, Pakistan. It reports that the building shown is Kapoor Haveli, not Kumar’s house. The investigation says it compared the video with images of Kumar’s house in Pakistan and found that they did not resemble the building in the video: “These pictures had no resemblance to the video shared in the viral post.” The review also says it compared the viral video with images of Kapoor Haveli and found a match: “We then checked the images of Kapoor Haveli and it matched it with the viral video.” It cites reporting that describes Kapoor Haveli as Rishi Kapoor’s ancestral home in Peshawar, including a report about plans to convert that house into a museum. On the basis of these comparisons, the review identifies the video’s building as Kapoor Haveli rather than Dilip Kumar’s house.
Claim: Misleading shared as actor Ramki passes away
Publisher’s rating: Misleading
The review investigated a social-media item presented under a headline saying that actor Ramki had died. It says the headline and accompanying image suggested that the well-known film actor Ramki had died, and notes that readers were confused about which Ramki the report meant. The article inside the shared item, however, identified the person who died as a television serial actor named Radhakrishnan—not the film actor Ramki. The review explains that the misleading impression came from the headline’s failure to identify the deceased as a television actor or clarify the name. It concludes that the report was framed in a way that could lead readers to believe the still-living film actor had died, and that the shared claim was misleading.
រូបថតបួនសន្លឹកបង្ហាញប្រាសាទបុរាណ ដែលត្រូវបានអ្នកប្រើប្រាស់បណ្ដាញសង្គមអះអាងថា ជាប្រាសាទអង្គរវត្តក្នុងឆ្នាំ១៩៣១។
Publisher’s rating: Misleading
अभिनेता दिलीप कुमार अका युसूफ खान यांच्या निधनापूर्वी त्यांनी ९८ कोटी ची प्रॉपर्टी वक्फ बोर्ड ला दान केली
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim circulated on social media after actor Dilip Kumar died on July 7, 2021, in Mumbai. It alleged that, before his death, he had donated property worth ₹98 crore to the Waqf Board. Vishvas News reports that its investigation found the claim false; the article does not present evidence that such a donation occurred. It says its news search found no report of the alleged transfer: “सर्च मध्ये आम्हाला कुठलीच अशी बातमी सापडली नाही ज्यात दिले असेल कि दिलीप कुमार यांनी मृत्यूच्या आधी आपल्या प्रॉपर्टी मधील ९८ कोटी रुपये वक्फ बोर्ड च्या नावाने दान केले.” The investigation then sought direct responses from two people connected to the matter. Kumar’s spokesperson, Faisal Farooqui, shared a message from SM Hoax Slayer saying the viral post was not true. Anis Sheikh, identified as the Maharashtra Waqf Board’s chief executive officer, told the outlet that Kumar had donated no property and that the Board had no information of such a donation: “त्यांनी पण स्पष्ट की कि दिलीप कुमार यांनी वक्फ बोर्ड ला कुठलीच प्रॉपर्टी दान केली नाही. अशी कुठलीच माहिती वक्फ बोर्ड कडे नाही.” The review’s conclusion rests on the absence of a report found in its search and, more decisively, the statements attributed to Kumar’s spokesperson and the Board’s CEO. The supplied article excerpt does not include property records or other documentary evidence, so the account of the investigation is based on those reported checks and responses.
అమెరికన్ టాలెంట్ షోలో భారతదేశ దేశభక్తి పాటకు డాన్స్ చేసిన వీడియో
Publisher’s rating: FALSE