Skip to main content

PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Elections & voting fact checks

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

5,415 published reviews in this topic

Deutsche Presse-AgenturElections & voting

Es ist eine der eher kuriosen Geschichten von den Landtagswahlen in Sachsen und Brandenburg: Ein AfD-Politiker addiert einfach die Ergebnisse seiner Partei in beiden Bundesländern und behauptet damit, die Rechtspopulisten seien mit 51 Prozent «die stärkste Kraft» geworden. Der Politiker selbst spricht auf Nachfrage von einem Spaß, andere Accounts in den sozialen Medien folgen aber seiner Rechnung

Publisher’s rating: In der Mathematik kann man nicht einfach Prozentangaben addieren, um zu einem solchen Schluss zu kommen. Richtig ist, dass die AfD in beiden Ländern zusammen die meisten Stimmen erhalten hat - aber eben nicht mehr als 50 Prozent.

The claim concerned AfD politician René Jentzsch’s social-media calculation after the 1 September 2019 state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg. He added his party’s reported shares—27.5 percent in Saxony and 23.5 percent in Brandenburg—and presented the total as 51 percent, claiming the AfD had received more than half the votes across the two states. The review reports that Jentzsch later said he had made the posts as a joke and had wanted to attract attention through deliberately incorrect arithmetic.

The New York TimesElections & voting

"Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election."

Publisher’s rating: This lacks evidence.

Related reporting quotes Donald Trump amplifying the allegation that Google had manipulated millions of votes for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. The excerpt says this appeared in an August 2019 post and frames it as part of Natalie Harp’s history of sharing Trump’s election denial. It does not provide evidence that Google changed votes, describe an investigation into vote totals, or assess the allegation’s accuracy. Thus, this excerpt establishes that the claim circulated; it does not substantiate the claim itself.

DUBAWAElections & voting

A Claim that INEC boss pleaded with Nigerians.

Publisher’s rating: False.

The claim concerns a headline stating that INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu had learned lessons and was begging Nigerians after the 2019 elections. DUBAWA examined the Post Nigeria article behind that headline, which attributed remarks to Yakubu about improving future elections. The review found that the article’s headline did not match the remarks reported in its body. [S1] To check the attribution, DUBAWA says it searched INEC’s official Twitter handle for information relevant to the claim. It identified a video of Yakubu addressing Resident Electoral Commissioners at the 12th post-election meeting in Ikeja, Lagos, on July 11. The remarks in that video concerned a review of the 2019 elections, consultations, and planning for future elections; the review reports that none of the quoted words attributed to him in the Post Nigeria story appeared in the video. [S1] The review also says it found no evidence that Yakubu begged Nigerians or admitted to a bad or manipulated election. Its account supports the distinction between the official remarks about learning from the election and the more emotional claim made in the headline. [S1]

Deutsche Presse-AgenturElections & voting

In den sozialen Medien kursieren angebliche Umfragewerte, die ein Twitter-Nutzer namens «PrognosUmfragen» verbreitet. Laut Twitter-Kurzvita liefert der Account «beste Wahlprojektionen», ohne anzugeben, wie diese erstellt werden.

Publisher’s rating: ei den angeblichen Umfrageergebnissen des Twitter-Nutzers «PrognosUmfragen» wird nicht klar, ob und wie er sie erhoben hat. «PrognosUmfragen» erfüllt nicht die Mindeststandards der Meinungsforschungs-Branche an Transparenz und ist damit als unseriös anzusehen.