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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.

7,104 published reviews in this topic

Pagella PoliticaEconomy & business

In otto anni si è passati da 1,5 a 6 milioni di poveri

Publisher’s rating: Nì

The review examines Dario Galli’s claim that the number of poor people rose from 1.5 million to 6 million over eight years. It says the available data cover 2009–2017 and give a different comparison: about 3 million to 5 million, rather than the figures Galli cited. The review therefore describes the claim as exaggerated, while noting that the increase was still considerable. The excerpt does not describe the underlying data source or a checking method beyond identifying the years for which data were available. It adds that the increase appears to have particularly affected younger residents of Italy, while the situation improved slightly among older people. These qualifications indicate that the overall change did not affect every age group in the same way.

Pagella PoliticaEconomy & business

Lega e 5 Stelle hanno approvato un emendamento per cui se il lavoro offerto è inferiore a 858 euro puoi rifiutarlo e continuare a prendere per intero reddito di cittadinanza

Publisher’s rating: Vero

The review examines whether a beneficiary of the citizenship income could reject a job offer paying less than 858 euros a month without using one of the three chances to refuse an offer. It reports that an amendment approved by the majority made an offer below that pay level not “congrua” (suitable), so the beneficiary could refuse it without spending one of those chances. The review adds an important qualification: rules defining a suitable offer had already placed limits on pay since 2015. Thus, setting a pay threshold was not necessarily a new feature of the government’s measure. The review says it remained uncertain whether the citizenship income counted among the “indennità” (allowances) used as a comparison under the earlier law. If it did, the amendment may have lowered the threshold at which a job seeker would be expected to accept work, weakening the criticism that the change introduced a new protection.

FACTLYEconomy & business

In 2004, under the Manmohan government, there was no tax on income upto Rs. 50,000. In 2019, under the Modi government, there is no tax on income upto Rs. 5,00,000.

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The post compared a ₹50,000 income limit in 2004 with a ₹5 lakh limit in 2019, presenting both as the amount below which no income tax was payable. The review says the figures came from different kinds of limits: the 2004 figure was before applying a tax rebate, while the 2019 figure included one. According to the review, the 2004 tax rebate could extend the effective no-tax limit to ₹1 lakh. For 2019, it says the basic limit without the rebate was ₹2.5 lakh; the ₹5 lakh figure applied after the rebate. Thus the comparison juxtaposed a pre-rebate figure for 2004 with a post-rebate figure for 2019, rather than comparing like with like. The review also notes that the post selected the first year of the Manmohan Singh government and the last year of the Modi government, and did not account for inflation or economic growth. Its like-for-like comparison of the limits before rebate gives ₹2 lakh for the last year of the Manmohan government and ₹2.5 lakh for 2019 under the Modi government. The review concludes that the post’s headline figures were misleadingly compared, even though it describes the figures themselves as true.