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: Has actor Sivakarthikeyan divorced his wife
Publisher’s rating: FALSE HEADLINE
Fact Crescendo examined a viral headline that suggested Sivakarthikeyan had divorced his wife. The review says the headline could leave readers with that impression, but argues that the article’s body described something different: a media interview in which the actor reportedly recalled that a divorce rumor had circulated while his wife was pregnant. The review presents this as a past rumor, not as a report that the couple actually divorced. The review’s stated basis is the mismatch between the headline and the article’s content. It says that reading the article revealed the different account and concludes that the headline was misleading and used to attract attention. The excerpt does not describe independent confirmation of the interview or provide further evidence about the couple’s relationship; its conclusion is specifically about what the viral headline implied compared with what the article said.
Claim: Arjun Sampath drinking liquor
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The review examined a social-media image presented as showing Arjun Sampath drinking liquor. It described the image as showing Sampath with others in a room, bottles on a table, and a person seated on a bed holding a glass. The review said the image was shared by the Facebook page Troll 420 on February 19, 2020, and circulated by others. The review reported that visual inspection raised suspicion that the image had been edited, including that the glass held by the person on the bed appeared added. It then used FotoForensics to inspect the image and reported color differences around the bottles and glass, which it treated as evidence those elements had been inserted. A reverse-image search did not locate the original image, and the review said it found no corresponding image on Sampath’s Facebook page. The decisive comparison came from Kishore K. Swamy’s Facebook page: the review said it found the original photograph there, with no liquor bottles. It concluded that the circulated image had been edited to add the bottles and glass, rather than showing the scene as claimed.
బాలీవుడ్ నటుడు ఆమీర్ ఖాన్ టర్కీ అధ్యక్షుడు ఎర్డోగాన్ ని తాజాగా ఆయన అధ్యక్ష భవనంలో కలిసాడు
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
American government has printed the image of Shivaji on USD 100 note. Also, it has declared ‘19 February’ as the ‘World Chatrapati Day’
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerned a circulated image said to show Chhatrapati Shivaji on a U.S. $100 bill, alongside the claim that the American government had declared February 19 “World Chhatrapati Day.” FACTLY checked both assertions, rather than merely discussing Shivaji or commemorative days in general. It reported that the $100 bill bears Benjamin Franklin’s image and that the U.S. government had not printed another person’s image on that denomination. To check the banknote assertion, the review says it searched for information about U.S. currency and found the Currency Education Program’s website. According to FACTLY’s account of that information, the $100 bill’s design had changed four times, but each version retained Franklin’s image. The review also noted that websites let users replace the picture on a $100-note image; it compared the circulated image with an Obama-edited note and observed that both had the same code. This supports the review’s explanation that the Shivaji image could have been created by editing a note image, rather than being an official design. For the holiday assertion, FACTLY reports that its search found no news of a U.S. government declaration and that a list of commemorative days observed in America did not include “World Chhatrapati Day.” It separately says Maharashtra’s government holiday list identifies February 19 as Shivaji’s birth anniversary. That local observance does not establish the claimed U.S. designation.
Claim: Actor Ajith praises BJP
Publisher’s rating: False
Fact Crescendo examined a social-media news card attributed to News 7 Tamil that said actor Ajith had called the BJP the only party safe for Hinduism. The review identifies the card as dated January 21, 2019, and says it was being shared again in 2020. Its question was whether Ajith had actually made the statement, not whether the BJP protects Hinduism. The review explicitly limited its inquiry to “இந்த கருத்தை அஜித் கூறினாரா இல்லையா என்று மட்டுமே ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்டோம்” (“we investigated only whether Ajith said this or not”). To check the attribution, the reviewers say they located a statement Ajith issued on January 21, 2019, and examined whether it contained support for the BJP. They report finding no such comment: “அதில் எந்த இடத்திலாவது பா.ஜ.க-வுக்கு ஆதரவு தெரிவித்து கருத்து கூறியுள்ளாரா என்று பார்த்தோம். அப்படி எந்த ஒரு கருத்தும் அதில் இல்லை.” The review also says it sent the card to News 7 Tamil’s online division, which replied that it was fake: “அதற்கு அவர்கள் இது போலியானது என்று பதில் அளித்தனர்.” The review places the card amid other fabricated or recycled claims about Ajith and the BJP. It describes an earlier viral card falsely attributing to him a statement that his genuine fans would not join the BJP, and says a similar card was edited and shared again. On the evidence it reports—Ajith’s statement did not contain the claimed endorsement, and News 7 Tamil said the card was fake—Fact Crescendo concluded that the card was fabricated and the Facebook post was false.
فیلم چترباز مراسم ۲۲بهمن که تراکم کم جمعیت در میدان آزادی را نشان میدهد.
Publisher’s rating: نیمهدرست- مربوط به سال ۹۵ است
சிலப்பதிகாரத்தின் நான்காவது அத்தியாயத்தில், மூன்றாவது பந்தியில் கண்ணகி பாண்டிய மன்னனிடம் கேட்கும் கேள்வி.. "தட்டையான் மூக்குடையான் வெட்டுவான் விடமாவான் கட்டுடல் மேனியவன் காயமற்று வீற்றிருக்க மற்றவன் கொற்றவன் வித்துடல் ஆகி நிற்க சாசில்லை மேசில்லை கோரானான் வை ராசா என் செய்வாய் என் ராசா?" இதன் அர்த்தம் "தட்டை மூக்குடையவன்(சீனன்) விஷமுள்ள பாம்பினை வெட்டுவான். அப்போது நோய் எதிர்ப்பு அதிகமுள்ள கட்டுடல் கொண்டவர்களைத் தவிர ஏனையோர் எல்லோரும் இறந்து கிடப்பார்கள். அது சார்ஸ் (SAR) வைரசும் இல்லை, மேர்ஸ் (MERS) வைரசும் இல்லை, ஆனால் அது கொரோனா வைரசே. அப்போது நீ என்ன செய்ய முடியும் மன்னனே?"
Publisher’s rating: Fake
Eine deutsche Webseite behauptet, Prinz Andrew sei gestorben.
Publisher’s rating: Die Behauptung stimmt nicht. Es handelt sich dabei um Fakenews
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), as part of the restoration, has replaced the sculptures on the Konark Temple with plain stones.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerns a social-media collage labelled “Konark then” and “Konark now.” It alleges that, during restoration, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) removed sculptures at Konark Temple and replaced them with plain stones. FACTLY’s review says the comparison is misleading because the two photographs show different parts of the temple, rather than the same location at different times. It identifies the sculpted area as Natya Mandapa and the plain stonework as the plinth of Jagmohana, the main temple. That difference in location means the images do not establish that sculptures were replaced.
ரஜினியை நேருக்கு நேராக பார்த்து #சங்கி என்று அழைத்த ரசிகர்...அசிங்க பட்டான் ஆட்டோகாரன்
Publisher’s rating: Fake
Eduardo Casanova cobró un millón de euros en ayudas públicas para hacer su película ‘Pieles’
Publisher’s rating: Falso
Eduardo Casanova cobró 1 millón de euros en ayudas públicas para hacer su película ‘Pieles’
Publisher’s rating: Falso
The claim concerned Eduardo Casanova’s film Pieles and circulated after he spoke at the Goya 2020 event in Málaga about the importance of public funding for Spanish cinema. Posts alleged that the film had received €1 million in public money and earned only about €82,000 at the Spanish box office. Newtral distinguishes the film’s budget from public aid: it reports that the €1 million figure was the production budget, funded by private investment from the two production companies, not a grant to Casanova. The review says the only public subsidy received for Pieles was €12,000 to support its screening at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. It cites the 2017 report on cinematographic aid from Spain’s Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), and says one of the film’s production companies, Nadie es Perfecto PC, confirmed to Newtral that Pieles did not receive public aid for its production. Thus, the reported festival-participation support does not substantiate the alleged €1 million production subsidy. The box-office figure in the posts was substantially accurate but incomplete: the review gives €82,430 for Spanish cinemas, based on the Ministry of Culture’s database, and explains that this counts only the Spanish theatrical run. It adds that an international agreement with Netflix enabled the film to be watched worldwide through the service before its Spanish cinema release. The review also says other public funds received by the production companies that year went to different projects or festival participation, not to Pieles’ production.
Dem österreichischen Schriftsteller Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868) wird gelegentlich ein Gedicht zugeschrieben, in dem es unter anderem heißt: "Denn Heimatraub ist mehr als Mord, den kann kein Gott verzeihen."
Publisher’s rating: Diese Zeilen stammen nicht von Adalbert Stifter, sondern höchstwahrscheinlich aus der sudetendeutschen Publizistik nach 1945. Sie wurden also erst rund 80 Jahre nach Stifters Tod gedichtet. Die Gedichtzeilen werden unter anderem von Rechtsextremisten verwendet.
The review investigates lines including “Denn Heimatraub ist mehr als Mord, den kann kein Gott verzeihen,” which the AfD attributed to Stifter in a poem printed on the back of the second issue of its “Blaue Post Berlin” in May 2019. The publication gave no precise source for the poem or date of first publication, and the AfD did not answer a question from dpa about it. The attribution is therefore not supported by the publication’s own citation.
Auf einem Foto, das in sozialen Netzwerken verbreitet wird, ist ein Sänger in einem Riemen-Outfit zu sehen. Im Text dazu heißt es, "Leipziger Linksextremisten" würden ein "Konzert gegen Rechts" erwarten. Angeblich "musikalisch begleitet von "Feine Sahne Fischfilet"". Dem Bild wurde ein Logo mit einer roten Fahne und dem Schriftzug "Antifaschistische Aktion" hinzugefügt
Publisher’s rating: Der Auftritt, der auf diesem Foto abgebildet ist, hat keinerlei Bezug zu Leipzig oder der Band Feine Sahne Fischfilet. Vielmehr handelt es sich um den Auftritt der italienischen Gruppe Hard Ton beim Straßenfestival Folsom Street Fair 2011 in San Francisco.
The post presents a performer in a harness outfit as part of a supposed Leipzig “concert against the right,” allegedly featuring Feine Sahne Fischfilet, and adds an Antifascist Action logo. The investigation identifies the image instead as a performance by Italian duo Hard Ton at the 2011 Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, with no connection to Leipzig or the band. To trace the image, the report says the unaltered photograph was uploaded to Flickr by photographer Peretz Partensky. Its caption places the picture at the Folsom Street Fair, and camera EXIF data places the shot at about 4:50 p.m. local time. The event’s 2011 program listed Hard Ton performing from 4:10 p.m., matching the photo’s location and timing. The report also describes Hard Ton as DJ Wawashi (Mauro Copeta) and singer Max (Massimo Bastasi). It notes that Correctiv had previously concluded that a person in a similar image was not Feine Sahne Fischfilet’s singer; the central identification here, however, is supported by the original photo’s provenance, caption, metadata, and the event schedule.
Claim: Rajinikanth helped Velu Prabakaran to release Periyar movie
Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: False
صدا و سیما و اخبار جعلی درباره «انتقام سخت»
Publisher’s rating: نگاهی به شش خبر جعلی درباره تلفات حمله موشکی ایران به پایگاه آمریکایی
