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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.

7,095 published reviews in this topic

dpaEconomy & business

Deze kaart toont schepen die gestrand zijn voor de haven van Shanghai. Door de strenge lockdown kunnen ze niet laden en lossen.

Publisher’s rating: Sinds eind maart is er inderdaad een zeer strikte lockdown gaande in Shanghai, maar de haven is nog steeds open, zij het op een gereduceerde capaciteit. Er zijn wel degelijk vertragingen, maar daar is deze kaart geen bewijs voor. De screenshot van de kaart toont àlle boten in de buurt van Shanghai op een gegeven moment: niet enkel de cargoschepen die wachten om de haven binnen te gaan.

Fact CrescendoEconomy & business

Claim: nanayam vikatan posted a misleading about centre and state govts taxation on petrol

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examined a social-media news card presented as a Nanayam Vikatan graphic about central and state taxes on petrol. It said the card listed the central government’s tax as ₹22.54. The review’s conclusion was that the card was misleading: Nanayam Vikatan had initially published incorrect information, then corrected it, but an Instagram post retaining the earlier figure remained available and was shared as if accurate. To check the card’s provenance, the review compared it with posts on Vikatan’s and Nanayam Vikatan’s social-media accounts. It reported that Vikatan’s comparable graphic, and Nanayam Vikatan’s other Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts, listed central tax as ₹27.90. It also described an Instagram post showing ₹22.54 and a reader exchange in which the earlier figure was acknowledged as incorrect. The review therefore concluded that the card was not fabricated, but did contain erroneous information. The review also checked government figures for the tax amounts. It reported central petrol taxes of ₹27.90 and described Tamil Nadu’s tax as 13% plus a fixed ₹11.52, amounting to ₹22.9 on the stated current base price. Its conclusion rejected the card’s presentation that the central and Tamil Nadu governments each received ₹22.54. The review further cautioned that the incorrect card was being shared to support claims that state governments were responsible for petrol-price increases.

RMIT ABC Fact CheckEconomy & business

"People know that debt has never been higher, deficits have never been higher."

Publisher’s rating: Wrong

The claim concerns Anthony Albanese’s assertion, during the 2022 election campaign, that Australia’s debt and deficits had never been higher. RMIT ABC Fact Check assessed those claims by comparing debt and deficits relative to GDP, rather than relying on nominal amounts. The review says this accounts for the economy’s size and is the measure economists use to make comparisons over time: “It is this measure economists use to make comparisons over time for debt and deficit, rather than nominal figures, which do not take into account the size of the economy.” For debt, the review used gross-debt data supplied by Treasury, including historical figures from a 2009 Treasury paper, and compared it with budget-paper figures for 2020–21. The historical figures put gross debt at about 120 per cent of GDP in 1945, versus 39.5 per cent in 2020–21. The review notes a series break prevents a fully consistent comparison, but says debt was above 39.5 per cent on 34 occasions since federation. Its account of the historical data states: “Gross Australian government debt increased from around 40 per cent of GDP in 1939 to around 120 per cent of GDP in 1945.” For deficits, the review reports a 50-year high of 6.5 per cent of GDP in 2020–21, while noting that the longer historical record is less complete. Treasury did not have a complete verified series back to federation, so the review relied chiefly on a 2013 research paper and expert opinion for earlier years. That evidence indicated deficits exceeded 10 per cent of GDP during World War I and 20 per cent during World War II. The review therefore concluded that, measured against GDP, debt and deficits had been higher in the years following the world wars—not that recent nominal totals were necessarily smaller. It also notes that the 2020–21 deficit reflected COVID-19 spending and quotes an economist cautioning that government performance should be judged by whether spending was appropriate and effective.

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaEconomy & business

ගිනි පෙට්ටියක නව මිල රු. 40 ක් දක්වා ඉහළ දැමුවා ද ?

Publisher’s rating: False

The review examined social-media posts claiming that the new price of a matchbox in Sri Lanka had risen to Rs. 40. To check the claim, the publisher first looked for reports in mainstream media and then contacted several matchbox companies. The excerpt says it found no mainstream-media report of such a price rise; the company responses provided more direct evidence about prices and any changes. Sunmatch, which makes Soorya matches, told the publisher that Rs. 40 was not the price and that its matchboxes had not been raised to that amount. It reported a then-current selling price of Rs. 9 and said a shortage of raw materials had led to a new price of Rs. 12. The company also said the price was printed on the back of the box and rejected reports that customers had bought one for Rs. 40. The publisher separately asked the company responsible for Delma, Star and Singha matches. It said their current market price was Rs. 10 and that discussions about a price increase were ongoing, with no decision yet. It also said a rise to Rs. 40 would not occur, and described a possible increase as Rs. 15 or less. The review additionally reports that Diamond Match Company’s official Facebook account listed a new price of Rs. 12 for Diamond matches. Taken together, the cited company statements and listed price point to increases for some brands, but not to the claimed Rs. 40 price.

FACTLYEconomy & business

‘గత 8 ఏళ్ళల్లో పెట్రోల్ మరియు డీజిల్‌పై 27 లక్షల కోట్లు ఎక్సైజ్ డ్యూటీ రూపంలో వసూలైతే అందులో 16లక్షల కోట్లు రాష్ట్రాలకు కేటాయించగా, కేవలం 7 లక్షల కోట్లు మాత్రమే కేంద్రం తీసుకుంది.’

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLYEconomy & business

Video of public responding to PM Modi’s questions about petrol and diesel prices

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a video presented as showing members of the public responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s questions about petrol and diesel prices. FACTLY says the footage instead shows a Congress protest against rising fuel prices in Dhule, Maharashtra. It reports that Congress workers used megaphones in an agitation led by Kunal Patil, a Congress MLA from Dhule Rural, and that Modi’s earlier remarks about lower fuel prices were played over loudspeakers while protesters shouted that prices had not declined. The review describes two checks on the footage: it notes Congress flags and the word “Dhule” on megaphones visible in the video, then says reverse-image searches of video screenshots found the same footage in a tweet by Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. The review attributes the footage to an agitation by Dhule Congress workers against rising inflation. This provenance and the reported audio context point to a protest video, not a recording of the public answering Modi’s questions.