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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

DoğrulaDisasters & emergencies

Videonun 20 Şubat’ta gerçekleşen Hatay depreminde kaydedildiği iddiası

Publisher’s rating: Yanlış

The claim concerned a video shared in connection with the 20 February earthquake in Hatay, which the review describes as a 6.4-magnitude quake. The investigation concluded that the footage was not from that event: it had been recorded during the earthquake on 6 February. The review says it took a screenshot from the video and ran a reverse-image search; it found that the footage had been used by Turkish and foreign sources since 6 February.

Factcrescendo Sri LankaDisasters & emergencies

A Dog That Got Disfigured While Trying To Rescue His Owner From A Fire!(PHOTO)

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerns an image-based social-media story that a dog was disfigured while rescuing its owner from a fire. The investigation identifies the dog shown in the viral material as Phoenix, a street dog taken in by Skiatook Paws and Claws Animal Rescue (SPCAR) in Skiatook, Oklahoma. The rescue occurred in 2019, but the rescue team did not know the dog’s background or where it had come from. The review says it used keyword and reverse-image searches to identify Phoenix and trace the story. It reports that an SPCAR Facebook post in 2020 described Phoenix’s health condition and attributed his disfigurement to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), a rare autoimmune disease. The quoted rescue-group statement says the disease causes the dog’s own body to attack itself and that his condition was being managed with veterinary help. The fire-rescue explanation is not supported by the evidence described in the review: it says no credible reports established that Phoenix was disfigured while trying to save an owner from a fire. Instead, the review connects his appearance to the autoimmune illness reported by SPCAR. The excerpt does not establish Phoenix’s later status; it says the review had contacted SPCAR and would update the article based on its response.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Lijst van landen die hun leidende ambassadeurs 24 uur voordat de aardbeving toesloeg uit Turkije hebben teruggetrokken.

Publisher’s rating: Er is geen enkele reden om aan te nemen dat een van de ambassadeurs van deze landen 24 uur voor de aardbeving in Turkije werd teruggeroepen. Dpa kreeg bevestiging dat dit voor de ambassadeurs van België, Nederland, Duitsland, Frankrijk en Italië niet het geval was.

The claim concerned a circulating list alleging that ten countries had withdrawn their ambassadors from Turkey 24 hours before the first earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023. The review examined whether the ambassadors had actually been recalled, rather than treating the online list itself as proof. It reports that the agency contacted the Turkish embassies of all ten countries named on the list; five had responded by the time of writing. The replies it describes directly contradict the allegation for Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Belgian officials said their ambassador had not been evacuated 24 hours before the earthquakes; Germany said its ambassador was in Ankara during the earthquake; France said its ambassador remained at post; and Italy’s ambassador was in Ankara. The Dutch embassy said its ambassador had not left Turkey since the start of 2023. For the other five countries—the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Denmark—the review says it had received no response, so it did not report equivalent direct confirmations for them. It also found no news reports of any of those five recalling an ambassador from Turkey on 5 February. The review distinguishes these alleged ambassador withdrawals from temporary consulate closures in Istanbul. It says some countries closed consulates in early February after security warnings connected to the diplomatic dispute following a Quran-burning incident in Stockholm on 21 January. Those closures occurred well before the earthquake, and, according to the review, did not mean that ambassadors had been recalled. Thus, the evidence includes direct denials for five named countries and a separate explanation for the consulate closures; it does not present responses from all ten countries.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Différents ambassadeurs ont quitté la Turquie 24 heures avant les séismes.

Publisher’s rating: Il n'existe aucune preuve soutenant cette affirmation. Cinq ambassades des pays concernés ont démenti la rumeur. Quelques jours avant le premier tremblement de terre, certains consulats ont décidé de fermer leurs portes au public temporairement pour des raisons de vigilance contre d'éventuelles attaques terroristes.

The claim concerned a list circulating online that said ambassadors from several countries had been evacuated from Turkey 24 hours before the February 6, 2023, earthquakes. The investigation contacted the embassies named in the list; five responded, and each denied that its ambassador had been evacuated the day before the earthquakes. The French embassy said its ambassador was present during the earthquakes, Belgium’s foreign ministry said its ambassador had not been evacuated, and Italy’s embassy said its ambassador was in Ankara. The German foreign ministry also said its ambassador was in Turkey. The Netherlands said its ambassador was at home in Ankara during the first quake and at the embassy during the second. (S1: “Toutes les ambassades mentionnées dans cette liste, parmi lesquelles figureraient notamment la Belgique, la France, l'Allemagne ou encore les Pays-Bas, ont été contactées par la dpa. Cinq d'entre elles ont répondu, et ce, dans le même sens : leur ambassadeur n'a pas été évacué 24 heures avant les séismes.”; “L'ambassade de France en Turquie a assuré la présence de son ambassadeur lors des tremblements de terre. Idem du côté belge, où le Service Public Fédéral (SPF) Affaires étrangères a aussi confirmé que l'ambassadeur n'a pas été évacué du pays la veille des séismes. Même élément de réponse de la part de l'ambassade d'Italie en Turquie : l'ambassadeur se trouvait à Ankara.”; “Une porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères allemand a aussi indiqué que leur ambassadeur était en Turquie lors des tremblements de terre. Du côté des Pays-Bas, leur ambassadeur se trouvait chez lui, à Ankara, pendant le premier tremblement de terre et à l'ambassade durant le second séisme, a-t-on précisé.”) The review says a separate event may have caused confusion: some Western consulates in Istanbul temporarily closed to the public amid security concerns, not because their ambassadors had left Turkey ahead of the earthquakes. It traces those concerns to a January 27 U.S. embassy security alert warning about possible terrorist attacks, after the Quran burning in Stockholm and ensuing protests. Nine Western consulates in Istanbul then closed temporarily; the review notes that several countries on the evacuation rumor’s list were among them. (S1: “Une fermeture temporaire de certains consulats à Istanbul quelques jours avant les tremblements de terre pourrait expliquer une potentielle confusion.”; “À la suite de ces événements, une alerte de sécurité a été émise le 27 janvier par l'ambassade américaine en Turquie pour avertir quant au risque d'actes terroristes contre des lieux de culte ou des endroits fréquentés par les Occidentaux.”; “Neuf consulats occidentaux à Istanbul ont alors choisi de fermer leurs portes par vigilance contre ces potentielles attaques terroristes.”)