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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.

7,093 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYEconomy & business

US Government is giving out $185,000 to US homeowners through a secret stimulus program and users need to enter their details in the accompanying website to get the money

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY examined a social-media post claiming that the U.S. government offered homeowners $185,000 through a secret stimulus program, payable after they entered their details on an accompanying website. The review reports that it visited the website and checked its disclaimer. That disclaimer described the page as an advertorial for a loan service, not a government program or government aid; the review also says the site sought personal information such as names, addresses, credit scores and property details. The review distinguishes that website from an actual federal assistance program. It says the American Rescue Plan, signed into law in March 2021, provided nearly $10 billion for the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF). The fund was intended to help homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020, and could support specified costs including mortgage payments, homeowners’ insurance and utilities. The review notes that states and territories developed their own programs, so availability depended partly on where a person lived. Thus, the review’s evidence does not support the advertised secret $185,000 payment: the site itself disclaimed government affiliation and sought personal information, while the separate HAF was a state- or territory-administered assistance program with specified purposes. The excerpt advises against giving personal details to unknown websites and points readers to program eligibility information, but does not provide the eligibility criteria themselves.

dpaEconomy & business

Door het maandmaximum in het prijsplafond zit je in de zomermaanden alleen bij het gebruik van je koelkast al aan het maximale verbruik. 'Overgebleven' stroom mag je niet meenemen naar de volgende maand.

Publisher’s rating: Vanaf 1 januari 2023 geldt het prijsplafond voor een jaarverbruik van in totaal 1200 kuub gas en 2900 kWh stroom. Het verschilt per koelkast hoeveel stroom deze verbruikt, maar dit is ook met de meest energieslurpende modellen niet 160 kWh per maand. De bewering dat de koelkast je al aan het plafond brengt, is dus onjuist. Bij de meeste mensen vervalt hun energiecontract niet precies op 1 januari. Voor het grootste deel van de maanden kun je de energie die je in die maand hebt bespaard, wél meenemen naar de volgende maand. Dat kan alleen niet in de maand dat je energiecontract afloopt en je aan een nieuw jaarcontract begint.

dpa FaktencheckEconomy & business

Dies ist eine Kampage von Coop.

Publisher’s rating: Coop distanziert sich von der vermeintlichen «Coop Wohngenossenschaft»-Kampagne, welche keinerlei Verbindung zum Detailhändler hat. Die Initianten der Fake-Kampagne wollen nach eigenen Angaben auf die Zürcher Wohnungsnot aufmerksam machen und an die Verantwortlichen appellieren, mehr dagegen zu unternehmen.

The claim that the campaign was run by Coop is not supported by the review. It concerns a Zürich initiative promoting a supposed housing cooperative and a plan for 1,000 apartments on the Swissmill site. Although the campaign used Coop’s logo and visual style, the review reports that the project was fabricated and that Coop said it had no connection to the people behind it. The review describes several pieces of evidence for that distinction. Coop publicly distanced itself from the campaign and its website; a Coop spokesperson told dpa that the company had no connection with the initiators and had filed a criminal complaint over unfair competition and intellectual-property infringement. The campaign’s own initiators also stated on their website that they were not connected to Coop and had used its brand to draw attention to the shortage of affordable housing in Zürich. Thus, the use of Coop branding did not establish that Coop organized or endorsed the campaign. According to the review, the initiators’ stated purpose was to draw attention to housing affordability and urge those responsible to act.

dpaEconomy & business

Het prijsplafond geldt tot 647 kuub gas en 1047 kWh stroom, daarna ga je meer betalen.

Publisher’s rating: Vanaf 1 januari 2023 geldt het prijsplafond voor een jaarverbruik van in totaal 1200 kuub gas en 2900 kWh electriciteit. Omdat bij de meeste mensen hun jaarafrekening niet precies op 1 januari valt, wordt er gerekend met dag- en maandmaxima om de jaarlijkse energieafrekeningen van de energieleveranciers en de nieuwe beleidsmaatregel op hetzelfde spoor te krijgen. Hoe die verdeelt wordt over jaarafrekeningen, hangt ervan af op welke datum het energiecontract afgesloten is.

dpaEconomy & business

Dies ist ein seriöses Rossmann-Gewinnspiel.

Publisher’s rating: Nein, die Weihnachtsaktionen sind unseriös. Die vermeintlichen Angebote stammen nicht von der Dirk Rossmann GmbH.

The claim concerns Facebook promotions presented as Rossmann giveaways: one promised vouchers to people who guessed a number in a puzzle, while another offered a gift box in exchange for sharing a post and commenting “Fertig.” Both pages used the name “Rossmann Fans.” The review checked whether these promotions were genuine Rossmann offers, rather than whether Rossmann runs giveaways in general. [S1: “Kurz vor dem Weihnachtsfest noch einen Einkaufsgutschein oder eine Geschenkbox abstauben? Das versprechen Gewinnspiele bei Facebook, die angeblich von der Drogeriekette Rossmann stammen.”] The review compared the promotions with Rossmann’s own overview of current official giveaways and reports that neither Facebook promotion appeared there. It also says Rossmann identifies its own promotions as being advertised only through its official page and the official Rossmann Babywelt account. [S1: “Auf der Übersichtsseite sind die beiden angeblichen Facebook-Gewinnspiele nicht erwähnt.”] [S1: “Wie Rossmann erklärt, werden originale Gewinnspiele des Unternehmens auch nur über diese Seite sowie den offiziellen Account der Rossmann Babywelt beworben.”] The review also pointed to differences between the “Rossmann Fans” pages and Rossmann’s established Facebook presence: the two pages had 3 and 140 followers, were created in 2022, and lacked an imprint, while the genuine Rossmann page had about 1.74 million followers and dated to 2010. Taken together with the absence of the promotions from Rossmann’s official giveaway overview, these findings support the review’s conclusion that the advertised offers did not come from Dirk Rossmann GmbH. [S1: “So folgen der ersten Seite mit dem Suchbild-Post lediglich 3 Nutzer, bei der zweiten Seite mit den Geschenkboxen sind es 140 Follower.”] [S1: “Die erste Seite wurde laut dem «Seitentransparenz»-Bereich erst am 12. Dezember 2022, die andere am 15. Oktober 2022 erstellt.”] [S1: “Im Gegensatz dazu zählt die echte Seite von Rossmann etwa 1,74 Millionen folgende Profile und wurde bereits 2010 erstellt.”]