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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Elections & voting fact checks

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

5,414 published reviews in this topic

Vishvas NewsElections & voting

जर वोट नाही केले तर अकाउंट मधून 350 रुपये कटतील.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a viral newspaper clipping saying that people who did not vote would lose 350 rupees from their bank accounts. Vishvas News reports that the clipping was being shared as genuine, including in a post by Facebook user Mahendra Bisht on 29 November. Its investigation found that the clipping reproduced a humorous item, rather than a real election rule: the report says it located the same text on Navbharat Times’ website and describes it as a Holi joke that carried a disclaimer saying it was not factual. The review traces the item to a Navbharat Times publication on 28 March 2019. It also reports finding an Election Commission spokesperson’s tweet dated 29 November 2021 describing the viral clipping as fake, and an earlier Navbharat Times clarification posted on 23 March 2019. According to the review, that clarification said the newspaper had printed a humorous front-page item for Holi on 21 March and regretted that readers might have mistaken the joke about deducting money from non-voters’ accounts for real news. Vishvas News also says it contacted Election Commission spokesperson Shefali Saran, who told the outlet the viral post was false. Taken together, the matching text’s appearance as a clearly humorous Holi item, the newspaper’s reported clarification, and the spokesperson’s response show why the clipping does not substantiate an actual deduction policy. The viral claim removed the joke from that context and presented it as a real announcement.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturElections & voting

Beim Referendum am 28. November 2021 wird über die aufgezählten Regelungen abgestimmt.

Publisher’s rating: Die Behauptungen sind irreführend, da bei der Abstimmung am 28. November 2021 lediglich über die vom Parlament vorgenommenen Gesetzesänderungen vom März entschieden wird. Die Artikel des Covid-Gesetzes, die bis ins Jahr 2031 gelten, sind nicht darunter.

The claim groups several powers under a Swiss referendum on the Covid-19 Act scheduled for 28 November 2021. The dpa review says that vote was limited to amendments made by Parliament in March 2021; it was not a vote on every provision in the Act. The provisions said to last until 2031 were not among the amendments being put to voters. The review identifies those older provisions as already in force since 19 December 2020, with no referendum launched against them. It adds that rejecting the March amendments would not remove the older provisions. [S1] That distinction is central to the claim’s framing: the review does not say the listed powers were all newly created or would all be decided in this referendum. It says the Act gives the Federal Council authority to take necessary pandemic measures within legal limits, subject to proportionality, and requires regular information to Parliament and relevant committees. Insolvency measures, it says, could be taken only within the legal framework and for the purpose of preventing mass bankruptcies. [S1] The review also separates the certificate-related provision from the November vote. Article 6(a), which provided the legal basis for the Covid certificate through the March amendments, was distinct from the rules governing how certificates were used. The review says those rules were set by a separate ordinance based on the Epidemics Act, and that the certificate requirement expanded in September was time-limited until 24 January 2022, with the possibility of earlier removal depending on the epidemiological situation. [S1]

Vishvas NewsElections & voting

BJP’s verified twitter profile announces the party’s alliance with AIMIM in upcoming WB elections

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a picture of a supposed announcement from the BJP’s verified Twitter profile that the party had formed an alliance with AIMIM for the upcoming West Bengal elections. The image circulated in a Facebook post by Anil Sharma on November 21. Vishvas News reported that its investigation found no evidence that BJP had made the announcement and concluded the image was fake. The review says it searched the internet for reports about an Owaisi–BJP alliance and found none. It then checked BJP’s official Twitter handle, BJP4India, for the pictured announcement and reported that it was not there. The review did find a November 20 tweet by BJP president JP Nadda describing Owaisi’s party as a “social breaker”; that tweet was not the alleged alliance announcement. As further checks, Vishvas News contacted BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, who said there was no truth to the viral tweet. The review also describes contemporary reporting about a different proposed political arrangement: Owaisi had offered a pre-poll alliance to Mamata Banerjee and said AIMIM would help the Trinamool Congress defeat the BJP. That account concerns an offer involving Mamata Banerjee’s party, not an alliance between AIMIM and BJP, and does not authenticate the viral image.

FACTLYElections & voting

Photo of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hoarding that promises Goa people a caste/religion based division

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a photograph circulating ahead of the 2022 Goa Assembly elections. It was presented as an Aam Aadmi Party hoarding showing Arvind Kejriwal and promising “Caste/Religion wise division of Goa.” The review says the image was altered, rather than a genuine photograph of a billboard bearing that message. To check the image, the review reports using reverse image search. That led to a similar billboard photograph in an article by The Goan, which the review says was published on 18 October 2021. The wording on that billboard was about a different promise: “Kejriwal’s 2nd Guarantee Unemployed in mining, tourism? ₹ 5,000/ month till it starts”. The review places it at the northern entrance to Fatroda, described as the commercial capital, and says the allowance was for unemployed young people in Goa’s mining and tourism sectors. The review also points to Kejriwal’s list of seven guarantees for Goa’s youth, posted on X on September 21, 2021. That list includes monthly allowances for unemployed people affected by COVID-19 in tourism and by the mining ban. This supports the account that the authentic billboard promoted an employment-related allowance, not the caste- or religion-based division shown in the circulated image.