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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Economy & business fact checks

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

7,091 published reviews in this topic

Factcrescendo Sri LankaEconomy & business

McLarens Is The Local Representative Of Sinopec Fuel Operations In Sri Lanka!

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim was that McLarens had become Sinopec’s local representative for fuel sales and distribution in Sri Lanka, allegedly because of a prospective marriage between Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera and McLarens managing director Shehara De Silva. The review says that online posts linked the alleged marriage to McLarens being chosen as Sinopec’s distribution partner. It reports that McLarens, Sinopec and the minister all rejected the claims relevant to that alleged arrangement. The review describes two direct checks: it asked McLarens’ CEO whether the company had signed, or planned to sign, a contract to represent Sinopec, and asked the minister about the claims. McLarens’ CEO said neither the group nor its subsidiaries were Sinopec agents and that they had not received fuel-station concessions. The minister said McLarens was not involved in the selection and identified Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka Company as Sinopec’s representative in Sri Lanka. The review also reports that Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka said no agency or third party had been contracted for its fuel-station operations or related business. The account identifies Sinopec Oil Lanka Private Limited, in Hambantota, as Sinopec’s local unit and representative. It concludes that McLarens had no connection with Sinopec’s oil distribution in Sri Lanka. The evidence described therefore addresses the central claim directly: the company identified as Sinopec’s local representative was Sinopec’s own local unit, while both McLarens and Sinopec denied a third-party arrangement involving McLarens.

Factcrescendo Sri LankaEconomy & business

Brandix and Hirdaramani are leaving Sri Lanka !!

Publisher’s rating: False

The review examined viral claims that Brandix and Hirdaramani were leaving Sri Lanka and shifting operations to Bangladesh. It says the claims were prompted by reports of factory closures and spread through social media. The investigation looked for mainstream-media reports and statements on the companies’ official social-media accounts, and sought responses from Brandix and Hirdaramani; it does not describe those searches as proof by themselves, but reports the companies’ direct responses as central evidence. Brandix’s spokesperson said the company had not decided to wind down Sri Lankan operations or leave for Bangladesh. Some closures or mergers had occurred as strategic responses to conditions in the global apparel industry, but the spokesperson said several factories named in viral posts remained operational, including those at Katunayake, Habaraduwa and Avissawella; Brandix did not have a factory in Rakwana. The spokesperson acknowledged that the Welisara factory had closed in March 2023, while saying this was a long-planned closure accelerated by market conditions. Thus, a real closure did not establish the broader claim that Brandix was exiting Sri Lanka. For Hirdaramani, the review reports that the group confirmed the closure of its Meepe factory but said it had no intention of reducing its overall Sri Lankan capacity and remained committed to investing and expanding in the country. The review’s conclusion distinguishes these specific closures from the claim that either company was departing: it says neither company had decided to end Sri Lankan operations or move them to Bangladesh.

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaEconomy & business

ජූනි මාසයේ සිට මත්පැන් මිල පහත හෙළන බවට පළ වූ සටහන් අසත්‍යයි!

Publisher’s rating: Explainer

The review examined social-media posts circulating in Sri Lanka that claimed alcohol prices would be reduced from June. It says those posts drew on reports about discussions of possible tax changes and the possibility of lowering prices if excise taxes were reduced. But discussion of a possibility was not evidence that the government had decided to cut prices: the review reports that some media coverage used a misleading headline suggesting a June reduction was coming. To check whether a decision had actually been made, the publisher says it contacted the media unit of State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. The response was that tax reductions had been discussed, but no decision had been taken. The review also reports Siyambalapitiya’s statement in Parliament on May 23 that the government had made no decision to reduce alcohol prices and that social-media claims to the contrary were false. The review further says it asked the Excise Department’s media spokesperson, Kapila Kumarasinghe, who likewise confirmed that the government had not decided to reduce alcohol or beer prices. On the evidence described, the posts turned exploratory discussions and proposals into an announcement of a settled June price cut; the review concludes that the claim was false.

FACTLYEconomy & business

ఇటీవల కర్ణాటకలో జరిగిన ఎన్నికల్లో గెలిచిన కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ ఎన్నికల ముందు ఇచ్చిన మాట ప్రకారం రాష్ట్రంలో పెట్రోల్ రూ.60, డీజిల్ రూ.40 మరియు గ్యాస్ రూ. 450కే అందించనుందని ప్రకటించింది

Publisher’s rating: FALSE