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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

Factcrescendo Sri LankaEconomy & business

Over 50% Discounts On Maliban Chocolate Biscuits !!

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The claim concerned social media images advertising Maliban Chocolate Cream Biscuits at discounts exceeding 50%. One post showed a 400-gram packet for Rs.250 instead of Rs.600; another version claimed a price of Rs.300. The investigation says the images were altered, rather than evidence of genuine discounts at those prices. It reports that Maliban’s management confirmed the packet’s price remained Rs.600 and said the images circulating with roughly 50% discounts were visibly altered. (S1: “The below Facebook post indicated that Maliban Chocolate Cream Biscuit prices were reduced by more than 50%, with the selling price of a 400-gram packet being offered at Rs.250/- from the regular price of Rs.600/-”; “They pointed out that photos indicating around 50% discounts getting shared on social media were visibly altered images.”) The review also describes checking the images and contacting supermarket and biscuit-company representatives. It reports that Maliban said discounts could be offered through retailers and loyalty schemes, but had not reached the claimed 50% level. The article’s stated conclusion is that the viral images were altered and that ordinary, limited-period discounts did not exceed 30%. (S1: “We contacted a number of stakeholders to find out the authenticity of these viral social media posts related to mega price discounts for biscuits.”; “The top management of Maliban clarified that even though discounts are offered to major supermarkets as well as smaller departmental stores on many biscuit products from time to time, these discounts have never been up to 50% as claimed on social media posts.”; “these discounts do not exceed 30%”) A comparison with an earlier circulation of the same image provides further context: it displayed Rs.552 for the same 400-gram packet, which the review calculated as an 8% discount against the stated Rs.600 usual price. Thus, the image’s displayed prices and claimed discounts were not reliable evidence of an actual price reduction exceeding 50%. (S1: “However, in this photo, the price of a 400-gram Maliban Chocolate Cream Biscuit 400 grams pack is shown as Rs.552/-. Accordingly, the discount offered in this case is only 8% corresponding to the usual price of Rs.600/-”)

dpaEconomy & business

An der New Yorker Börse werden Geburtsurkunden gehandelt.

Publisher’s rating: Geburtsurkunden werden nicht an der Börse gehandelt. Sie sind kein Geld wert.

The review examines a social-media post claiming that a birth certificate has an average value of 19 million euros and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It places that assertion within a broader story circulating online: that each certificate is linked to a government “collateral account” and could represent money available to its holder. The article reports that these claims are promoted through conspiracy-oriented websites, including one whose slogan it identifies with the QAnon movement. The review’s central check is whether birth certificates are among the products traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It says that the exchange does trade various products, but not birth certificates, and reports finding no evidence or indication that certificates are traded on any exchange. It also notes that a cited birth-certificate service rejects the trading myth. This directly addresses the claim’s key premise; the excerpt does not describe a review of exchange transaction records or other specific investigative procedure. The article also examines supporting arguments used to make the supposed financial value seem plausible. It says that the cited 1871 law made the District of Columbia a municipal corporation, not the United States as a whole, and explains that the term refers to a municipality or city in this historical context. It further reports that the numbers on US birth certificates are registration numbers, not identifiers for associated bank accounts. These points undermine the surrounding account-and-collateral narrative, rather than merely disputing the claimed price.

dpaEconomy & business

Das ist ein Gewinnspiel von Kaufland.

Publisher’s rating: Das vermeintliche Gewinnspiel ist nicht seriös und stammt nicht von Kaufland.

The dpa review examined a Facebook post advertising a chance for 250 people to win a shopping voucher and presenting Kaufland as the organizer. The investigation compared the page behind the post with Kaufland’s official Facebook page and assessed whether the purported organizer showed signs of being genuine. The page promoting the giveaway had only three followers, while Kaufland’s genuine page had about 1.47 million at the time. The giveaway page had been created on August 28, 2022, and the review says it was not possible to identify who set it up. It also had no legal notice containing business and contact details, and used Kaufland’s logo without authorization. The review reports that the giveaway page lacked Facebook’s verification badge, had only the giveaway as a post, and contrasted with Kaufland’s official page, which had existed for more than twelve years and included a complete legal notice. Taken together, these page details indicate that the post was not a genuine Kaufland promotion. The excerpt also warns that dubious giveaways may collect personal information, but does not establish what happened to data submitted in this particular case.

dpaEconomy & business

Man bekommt Nutella-Produkte geschenkt, wenn man Nutella-Produkte testet.

Publisher’s rating: Die Seite ist nicht seriös. Interessierte werden auf eine Gewinnspielseite weitergeleitet, auf der sie persönliche Daten angeben sollen. Diese werden dann an Werbetreibende weitergeleitet.

The claim concerns an online offer on schokoladenbelohnung.com: people were invited to test Nutella products and supposedly keep the tested products for free. The dpa investigation examined that offer and a YouTube video promoting the site. Its central finding was that the apparent product-testing offer led participants toward a prize-draw page and a request for personal information, rather than a straightforward product-testing arrangement. [S1]

dpaEconomy & business

Das angebliche Gewinnspiel ist unseriös, dahinter steckt auch nicht der Internethändler About you.

Publisher’s rating: Das angebliche Gewinnspiel ist unseriös, es wird auch nicht vom Internethändler About You veranstaltet.

The review concerns a Facebook page promoting a supposed €500 voucher giveaway for the online fashion retailer About You. It identifies the question as whether that page and offer were genuine, rather than assessing About You’s real promotions generally. The review reports that the page had several signs of being inauthentic, including the absence of an imprint and a Facebook history that differed markedly from the retailer’s established official page. (S1: “Dieses vermeintliche Gewinnspiel verspricht einen Gutschein im Wert von 500 Euro beim Online-Versandhändler About You.”; “Es gibt mehrere Hinweise, die darauf hinweisen, dass diese vermeintliche Firmenseite von About You bei Facebook nicht echt ist.”) The review’s stated checks focus on Facebook page information. It says the suspected page had no imprint with a postal address or contact details, and that its transparency information showed it had been created on 8 June 2022. According to the review, the giveaway image was the only post published that day, with no subsequent posts. By contrast, it describes About You’s official Facebook page as having been created in 2014 and containing hundreds of posts. These comparisons support the review’s conclusion that the giveaway page was not the retailer’s official presence. (S1: “Dauerhaft gewerblich genutzte Seiten müssen laut Gesetz ein Impressum haben, das unter anderem eine Postadresse und Kontaktmöglichkeiten enthält. Doch auf dieser Seite ist nichts davon zu finden.”; “Die Facebook-Seite mit dem angeblichen Gewinnspiel besteht erst seit dem 8. Juni 2022.”; “Die echte Seite von About you enthält ein vollständiges Impressum und hat über 2,2 Millionen Follower und Followerinnen.”) The review also compares follower engagement: it reports eight likes for the suspected page, against more than 2.2 million followers for the official page. It cautions that personal information submitted to dubious giveaway offers may be misused. The evidence described is about the particular page’s attributes and history; it does not establish that every giveaway associated with About You is fraudulent. (S1: “Die angebliche Firmen-Seite hat nur acht Gefällt-mir-Angaben.”; “Verbraucherschützer und die Polizei warnen immer wieder davor, bei dubiosen Gewinnspiel-Angeboten die eigene E-Mail-Adresse oder sonstige persönliche Daten weiterzugeben, auch weil diese Daten missbraucht werden können.”)