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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Culture & entertainment fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about culture & entertainment. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

3,169 published reviews in this topic

dpaCulture & entertainment

Des oeuvres à caractère pédophile et cannibale ont été exposées en début d'année au Parlement européen à Bruxelles.

Publisher’s rating: Une seule peinture de Lena Cronqvist est actuellement exposée dans les bureaux du Parlement européen à Bruxelles, a clarifié le service de presse de ce dernier auprès de la dpa. Elle montre trois enfants faisant des grimaces, assis côte à côte sur un fond de carreaux bleus et blancs. Les autres tableaux qui suscitent l’indignation des internautes ne s’y trouvent pas.

The claim arose from social-media posts alleging that several paintings by Swedish artist Lena Cronqvist, accused online of promoting child abuse and cannibalism, were displayed in the European Parliament’s Brussels premises. The review checked whether those particular works were actually there, rather than assessing the artistic content of the paintings. It reports that the Parliament’s press service told dpa that only one Cronqvist painting was on display: “Wry faces,” showing three children against a blue-and-white tiled background. The other paintings circulating in the posts were not displayed there. (S1: “Les œuvres en question, réalisées par l'artiste suédoise Lena Cronqvist, sont accusées de promouvoir la pédocriminalité et le cannibalisme.”; “Une seule peinture de Lena Cronqvist est actuellement exposée dans les bureaux du Parlement européen à Bruxelles, a clarifié le service de presse de ce dernier auprès de la dpa.”; “Les autres tableaux qui suscitent l’indignation des internautes ne s’y trouvent pas.”) The review describes several checks supporting that distinction. It compared the social-media images: only the photograph of “Wry faces” showed the contours of a painting with a temporary-art-exhibition label and the Parliament’s logo beneath it. It also consulted the Parliament’s press service and an exhibition catalogue relayed by that service. The press service identified “Wry faces” as the sole Cronqvist painting displayed by Parliament’s services. (S1: “Une seule photo montre les contours du tableau – celui avec les trois enfants.”; “Sous l'œuvre est indiquée la mention « exposition d'art temporaire », avec le logo du Parlement européen. Cela n’apparaît pas sous les autres peintures dénoncées par les internautes.”; “« Il s'agit du seul tableau de Lena Cronquist qui a été exposé par les services du Parlement européen », a souligné le service de presse.”) The painting was shown from early 2023 on the third floor of the Paul-Henri Spaak building in Brussels, as a loan for Sweden’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. A January 2023 Catalan television report also showed “Wry faces”; the review says none of the paintings shared in the posts appeared alongside it. The image most often shared online, “Operation II,” depicts two girls cutting dolls, dates from 2001, and had been exhibited at Oslo’s Munch Museum, but not at the European Parliament. (S1: “« Wry faces » est visible depuis le début de l'année 2023 au troisième étage du bâtiment Paul-Henri Spaak, qui abrite les bureaux du Parlement européen à Bruxelles.”; “Il s'agit d'un prêt, affiché au Parlement européen à l'occasion de la présidence suédoise du Conseil de l'Union européenne.”; “Le tableau qui revient le plus sur les réseaux sociaux, celui avec deux petites filles en train de découper des poupées, s’intitule « Operation II » (voir la deuxième photo en tête de l'article), et date de 2001.”)

Factcrescendo ThailandCulture & entertainment

Meryl Streep riding Subway after failing an audition for "King Kong"

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The post combines a real story about Meryl Streep’s early career with a photograph and a quotation that the review says are not accurately presented. It claims the photograph shows Streep going home after she was rejected for the female lead in King Kong because she was “too ugly,” and attributes a lengthy, defiant response to her. The review concludes that the photograph does not document that audition and that the accompanying quotation is not hers as claimed. To trace the image, the review says it used reverse image search and found the photograph on the LIFE website. Its caption identifies the photographer as Ted Thai and dates the image to 1981. King Kong was released in 1976, so the photograph was taken years after the film’s release, not at the time of the audition. The review does not establish the photograph’s precise location beyond describing the post’s subway claim; its evidence is the image’s documented date and provenance. The audition itself has a separate basis: the review recounts Streep’s January 2015 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, where she described auditioning for the female lead in the 1976 film. According to the review’s account, producer Dino De Laurentiis insulted her appearance in Italian, and Streep replied in Italian. This supports the existence of an insulting exchange, but not the social-media post’s extended quotation. The review also notes that the post’s claim of 18 Oscar nominations is outdated: it says Streep had 20 nominations and three wins. Thus, the post is built around a genuine audition anecdote but attaches it to a later photograph and adds details the review does not validate.

dpaCulture & entertainment

Deze schilderijen hangen in het Europees Parlement in Brussel.

Publisher’s rating: De schilderijen die in de berichten worden gedeeld hangen niet allemaal in het Europees Parlement in Brussel. Er hangt één schilderij van Lena Cronqvist in het Paul-Henri Spaakgebouw. Dit werk toont drie kinderen op een achtergrond van blauwe en witte blokjes. De andere schilderijen die veel boosheid opwekken, hangen er niet.

The claim that the paintings shared in the posts hang in the European Parliament in Brussels is too broad. The investigation identifies the works as paintings by Swedish artist Lena Cronqvist, including images circulated with claims that they showed the Parliament promoting “satanistic art.” It distinguishes the one Cronqvist painting on display at the Parliament from the other works depicted in the posts, which it says are not in the building. [S1: “In de berichten wordt naar verschillende schilderijen verwezen (hier, hier en hier), maar wel telkens van dezelfde kunstenares: de Zweedse Lena Cronqvist.”; “De werken waarop kinderen te zien zijn die bijvoorbeeld benen van miniatuurfiguren afsnijden, zouden tonen hoe het Europees Parlement ‘satanistische kunst promoot’.”; “De andere schilderijen die veel boosheid opwekken, hangen er niet.”] The Parliament’s press service told dpa that no Cronqvist work is in its permanent collection, but that it has one of her paintings on loan: *Wry faces*. The review identifies it as the painting showing three children against blue and white blocks, displayed on the third floor of the Paul-Henri Spaak building in Brussels as part of a temporary exhibition for Sweden’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. [S1: “De persdienst van het Europees Parlement laat desgevraagd aan Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) weten dat er geen werk van Lena Cronqvist in de permanente collectie van het EP zit. Eén schilderij van de kunstenares heeft het EP wel te leen: 'Wry faces'. Dat is het schilderij met drie kinderen op een blauw en witte achtergrond.”; “Het schilderij is te zien in het Paul-Henri Spaakgebouw in Brussel, op de derde etage.”] The evidence therefore supports a limited distinction: one Cronqvist painting was on display, but the other works that prompted the posts were not. The review also notes that a parliamentary question cited by some posts claimed that several Cronqvist works hung in the Parliament’s corridors, but did not specify which works. [S1: “Zij stelt dat er meerdere stukken van Cronqvist in de gangen van het Europees Parlement in Brussel hangen en noemt deze ‘extreem discutabel’. Zij specificeert niet over welke werken zij het heeft.”]