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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

Demagog.czElections & voting

Žádný zákaz kroužkování, jak psala některá média, samozřejmě není. Je to standardní koaliční smlouva, která má klauzuli, že žádné strany nepovedou pro své členy kroužkovací kampaň.

Publisher’s rating: Pravda

The statement concerned the Piráti–STAN coalition agreement for the 2021 Chamber of Deputies election. It disputed reports that the agreement barred voters from using preference votes, arguing instead that the agreement restricted coalition candidates from urging voters to give them such votes. The review examined the agreement’s campaign code and compared its wording with how media reports described the restriction. The agreement required candidates to refrain from “any appeal,” whether direct or indirect, public or personal, to give preference votes. It also allowed candidates to run personal campaigns, while separately ruling out appeals to voters to give preference votes. That distinction supports the statement’s central point: the clause restricted campaigning for preference votes, not the act of casting them. The review describes how some coverage initially presented the provision as a general ban on preference voting. It notes that the Seznam Zprávy headline explicitly referred to a ban, although the article clarified that the restriction concerned appeals to voters. It also says Parlamentní listy initially reported that preference votes were prohibited before subsequently specifying that the issue was calls for such votes. The review therefore treats the broader-ban interpretation as an inaccurate initial presentation, while noting that the claim that this was a “standard” agreement is subjective. It identifies a similar provision in an earlier STAN–KDU-ČSL agreement as evidence that the arrangement was not without precedent.

Demagog.czElections & voting

Celostátní lídr jde často přirozeně do Středočeského kraje, posledně jsem odtud kandidátku vedl. Je tam ale silný STAN, kde bude Vít Rakušan.

Publisher’s rating: Pravda

The statement concerns the choice of electoral region for a national party leader: the speaker said that leaders often naturally run in Central Bohemia, that he had led a party list there at the previous election, and that STAN was strong there ahead of Vít Rakušan’s planned candidacy. The review checks these points against parliamentary and regional election results, comparing where the leaders of parties elected to the Chamber of Deputies stood in 2017, 2013 and 2010, and comparing STAN’s regional results with those of the Pirates. In 2017, four of the nine parties elected to parliament had their national leaders standing in Central Bohemia: ANO’s Andrej Babiš, TOP 09’s Miroslav Kalousek, SPD’s Tomio Okamura and the Pirates’ Ivan Bartoš. The review therefore establishes that Bartoš did lead the Pirates’ list there and that the region had the largest concentration of elected parties’ leaders in that election. It also notes a limit to any broader reading of “often”: in 2013, Prague had the largest concentration, while no leader of a party elected to parliament stood in Central Bohemia in 2010. The review also checks the claim about STAN’s regional strength using results from the 2016 and 2020 regional elections. In 2020 STAN won Central Bohemia with 22.2% of the vote, ahead of the Pirates’ 14.4%; in 2016 STAN placed second with 18.4%, while the Pirates received 3.5%. It reports that Rakušan was expected to stand in Central Bohemia in the upcoming election. The evidence supports the specific 2017 precedent and the claim of STAN’s strength, while showing that Central Bohemia was not the most common location for national leaders in every earlier election examined.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturElections & voting

Clint Eastwood soll eine Grussbotschaft mit dem Titel «Mein Lebensabend im Alter von 90 Jahren» verbreitet und sich dabei zu den US-Wahlen im November 2020 geäussert haben, wie in einem Video (hier archiviert) auf Facebook zu sehen ist. Unter anderem sollen folgende Sätze angeblich von Eastwood stammen: «Ich habe gegen Biden gestimmt. Diesen inkompetenten, wahnsinnigen, lügnerischen, unberechenbaren, unaufrichtigen, doppelmoralischen, radikalen, sozialistischen Terroristen, der die USA auf verräterische Weise an China ausverkauft hat.»

Publisher’s rating: Das Statement stammt nicht von Clint Eastwood und er hat entsprechend auch nicht darum gebeten, das Statement zu verbreiten.

The claim concerns a Facebook video presenting a supposed farewell message from Clint Eastwood, aged 90, that attacks Joe Biden and refers to the November 2020 US election. The investigation reports that Warner Bros. marketing executive Suzanne Fritz confirmed to Keystone-SDA that the statement did not come from Eastwood. It also says Fritz stated that Eastwood supported neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden in the presidential election on November 3, 2020. The review describes two checks: it sought confirmation from Eastwood’s studio, and it compared the wording with similar versions circulating online. Its account says similar English-language statements appeared in 2020 and in earlier years, with older versions placing Eastwood at age 84. That history supports the investigation’s conclusion that the message was being attributed to him in changing forms, rather than establishing it as an authentic statement. The wording also changed over time: the review notes that a 2016 version referred to “this woman” rather than Biden, and suggests this might mean Hillary Clinton. The supplied review does not provide the archived video’s production history or identify who created it, so those details cannot be established from this evidence.

Demagog.czElections & voting

Volební komise rozhodla, že hlasy Čechů ze zahraničí budou připočítávány v Ústeckém kraji.

Publisher’s rating: Pravda

The claim concerns the State Election Commission’s choice of the region used to allocate votes cast abroad in the upcoming Czech Chamber of Deputies election. The review says the commission selected Ústecký kraj by lot, so the claim’s central description of the decision and its result matches the account in the review. (S1: “Státní volební komise losem určila Ústecký kraj jako kraj, v němž se v nadcházejících volbách do Poslanecké sněmovny budou kandidátům započítávat hlasy českých občanů, kteří budou hlasovat ze zahraničí.”) The review places the selection within the election timetable: it says the president announced the election in a message on 26 December 2020, the decision setting the election dates was published in the Collection of Laws on 31 December, and the commission conducted the draw on 7 January 2021. It also states that the draw had to take place within seven days of the presidential election decision’s publication. (S1: “Miloš Zeman ve vánočním poselství 26. prosince 2020 oznámil”; “Rozhodnutí prezidenta o termínu voleb konajících se 8. a 9. října 2021 vyšlo ve Sbírce zákonů 31. prosince 2020.”; “Losování o určení kraje, ze kterého budou čeští občané žijící v zahraničí vybírat kandidáty, se musí provést do sedmi dnů od vyhlášení voleb prezidentem republiky ve Sbírce zákonů. Státní volební komise 7. ledna 2021 losem určila Ústecký kraj”)

The Dispatch Fact CheckElections & voting

Vice President Mike Pence has the power to decertify the electoral votes in a joint session of Congress.

Publisher’s rating: false

The claim concerned Vice President Mike Pence’s role in the joint session of Congress scheduled to open and count electoral votes. The review describes the claim as one President Trump made in tweets, including the assertion that Pence could reject electoral-vote results. It distinguishes presiding over the session from deciding whether to accept or reject votes: Pence led the session where votes were opened and counted, but the review says he did not have authority to reject them. The review therefore concludes that the claim was false.