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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

BBC Reality CheckElections & voting

"[There] were thousands and thousands of ballots in a box that was not an official or a sealed box."

Publisher’s rating: This is misleading. The president is referring to a video of a counting station in Georgia but officials who reviewed the footage have said it shows nothing untoward. An official investigation found "the entire security footage revealed there were no mystery ballots that were brought in from an unknown location and hidden under tables as has been reported by some".

Fact CrescendoElections & voting

Claim: Kanimozhi not commented on Nadar community votes

Publisher’s rating: False

The review investigates a social-media card bearing the News18 Tamil Nadu name. The card attributed to Kanimozhi the statement that she was not contesting from Thoothukudi relying on Nadar community votes. The review says the card circulated during the 2019 election period and continued to be shared as genuine: “2019ம் ஆண்டில் பகிரப்பட்டுள்ள இந்த நியூஸ்கார்டை இன்னமும் பலர் உண்மை என நம்பி ஃபேஸ்புக்கில் ஷேர் செய்து வருகின்றனர்.” The article places the claim in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when Kanimozhi stood for the DMK in Thoothukudi. It says the results were declared on May 23, 2019, and she won by a majority: “கடந்த 2019ம் ஆண்டில் நடைபெற்ற மக்களவைத் தேர்தலில் திமுக சார்பாக, கனிமொழி தூத்துக்குடி தொகுதியில் போட்டியிட்டார். இதற்கான தேர்தல் முடிவுகள் 2019 மே 23ம் தேதி வெளியாகின. இதில், அவர் பெரும்பான்மை ஓட்டுகளுடன் வெற்றி பெற்றார்.” For its check, Fact Crescendo says it contacted News18 Tamil Nadu’s editorial team to establish whether the outlet had published the card. The team told the reviewers it was a fake card and that the outlet had not published it: “இது அப்பட்டமான போலி நியூஸ் கார்டு. இப்படி நாங்கள் எதுவும் வெளியிடவில்லை,” என்று தெரிவித்தனர். The review therefore concludes that the card circulating as a News18 report was fabricated; its evidence addresses the card’s provenance, rather than documenting a separate direct recording or interview with Kanimozhi.

Fact CrescendoElections & voting

Claim: BJP National Vice President Abdulla Kutty not contested in Kerala local election

Publisher’s rating: False

The review investigates a social-media post asserting that BJP National Vice President Abdulla Kutty received only 20 votes in Kerala’s local election. The post did not specify where he supposedly stood or which office he sought. The review reports that its searches for news of Kutty contesting the election found no such report, and that the biographical information it checked described his earlier roles as a member of Parliament and a state legislator. It also notes that he joined the BJP in 2019 and had been given a national vice-president role. The decisive evidence identifies a different candidate: Kutty’s brother, A. P. Sarafudheen, contested in Narath gram panchayat in Kannur district and lost with 20 votes. The review says Indian Express reported that result and that Mathrubhumi also identified the brother as the candidate who received 20 votes. It further reports that One India Malayalam covered his filing of nomination papers. These reports explain how the social-media post could associate the 20-vote result with Kutty while omitting the family relationship that distinguishes the two men. The review says its Malayalam-language team separately confirmed that Abdulla Kutty did not contest and that his brother stood in ward 17 of Narath panchayat and lost. Thus, the evidence addresses the specific claim by distinguishing the BJP leader from the actual candidate, rather than merely showing that a similar result occurred elsewhere.