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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Disasters & emergencies fact checks

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

3,259 published reviews in this topic

Annir InitiativeDisasters & emergencies

درنة الآن رد عليها السيل من جهة البحر الوضع يحتاج إلى الدعاء هذا هو السلاح الوحيد يا الله يا مغيث اغثنا

Publisher’s rating: مضلل

The claim said that floodwaters were again reaching Derna from the sea and called for prayer. The review reports that this message circulated on Facebook in the aftermath of Storm Daniel. It says the post was first observed on a Facebook page on September 12, 2023, and reproduces the message’s wording about a sea-side return of the floods. The review’s finding addresses that specific report, not the separate fact that Derna had experienced destructive flooding. To check the claim, Annir says it consulted the official Facebook page of the Vision Foundation, which it describes as an organization concerned with space science and weather. According to the review, that page issued a notice rejecting reports of unusually high sea waves affecting Derna. It stated that wave height was normal and no more than two metres, and also denied that a cyclone or heavy rain was expected that day or the next. The review further reports that the notice described conditions as moderate and stable, with skies mostly clear. On the evidence it cites, Annir concluded that the claim of a renewed flood reaching Derna from the sea was false. The excerpt does not provide independent wave measurements or other corroborating records, so the account of the check and its decisive evidence is the review’s report of the Foundation’s notice.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Un livre sur les incendies à Hawaï prouve qu'ils ont été planifiés.

Publisher’s rating: Ce texte n'est pas une preuve que les incendies à Maui ont été planifiés. N'importe qui peut publier un livre sur Amazon. Certains éléments de l'ouvrage, depuis disparu du site, indiquent que des passages ont été écrits par une intelligence artificielle (IA). Il n'existe par ailleurs aucune information concernant son auteur.

The claim concerned a specific book, *Fire and Fury: The History of the 2023 Maui Fire and its Implications for Climate Change*. It appeared on Amazon on August 10, 2023, two days after fires began on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The article describes social-media users treating that timing as evidence the fires had been planned. But a book appearing after an event does not, on its own, establish prior knowledge or coordination. The article reports that the book was 86 pages and that its author said it covered events from August 8 to 11—dates that include the day it was published. The investigation examined the book’s archived Amazon listing and author information. The listing attributed it to “Dr. Miles Stones,” but the article found no available information establishing who that person was; the Amazon profile did not add identifying details. It also reports that numerous other books were attributed to the same name, including this one and three biographies published within two months. That pattern raises questions about the author and production, but does not demonstrate that anyone planned the fires. The article describes two AI-content detectors applied to the book’s summary, which returned estimates of 99% to 100% likelihood of AI authorship. It also notes repetitive phrasing in that summary. These are reported indicators, not proof of who wrote the book or of the cause of the fires. The article further explains that Amazon permits self-publishing and that its review checks compliance with platform guidelines, not the truth of a book’s claims. Thus, neither rapid publication nor the book’s presence on Amazon substantiates the planning allegation.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Boek bewijst dat branden op Maui gepland waren.

Publisher’s rating: Er is geen bewijs dat de branden op Maui gepland waren door de overheid of kwaadwillende machten. Het boek is inmiddels verwijderd van Amazon, en verschillende aspecten zijn problematisch. Er is bijna niets bekend over de auteur en er zijn aanwijzingen dat het boek met AI werd geschreven. Ook staat er niets in wat niet al bekend was op de dag van publicatie. Boeken in eigen beheer publiceren op Amazon is voor iedereen mogelijk.