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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.

5,415 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYElections & voting

Massive crowd of over 10 lakh at Modi’s Siliguri meeting

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY investigated a Facebook image said to show more than 10 lakh people at Modi’s public meeting in Siliguri. Its conclusion was that the image was photoshopped and was not taken at that meeting. The review compared it with photographs of the Siliguri event on Modi’s official Twitter account, noting that Modi wore a white kurta there, unlike the brown kurta shown in the disputed image. [S1]

Fact CrescendoElections & voting

Claim: False headline on AMMK candidate Thanga Tamilselvan

Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: False headline

The review investigates a headline that presented Thanga Tamilselvan, an AMMK candidate for the Theni parliamentary constituency, as having been caught in a sex video. It says the headline and opening of a One India story on tamil.gizbot.com implied that two AMMK candidates were implicated. The review distinguishes that implication from what the story’s body actually described: a video involving another AMMK politician, Kathirgamau, and an allegation that Tamilselvan had threatened the woman.

FACTLYElections & voting

PARC Exit Poll survey of Phase 1 2019 General Elections in India

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a purported survey by PARC (Political Analysis & Research Center) predicting that YSRCP would win the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly elections, circulated after Phase 1 of India’s 2019 general elections. FACTLY examined both whether the poll could lawfully have been published at that time and whether the named organization and its contact details could be verified. The review reports that the Election Commission of India’s April 8, 2019 press note barred publication of exit polls during the specified election period, from 7 a.m. on April 11 until 6:30 p.m. on May 19. The review also says its searches found no organization named PARC at the address shown in the social-media post. It reports that the phone number on the poll document was not working, that calls received no response, and that an email sent to the listed address also went unanswered. These checks raise doubts about the poll’s provenance; the excerpt does not describe independent verification of the survey’s predicted result against election results. On the basis of the election-period restriction and its unsuccessful checks of the organization and contact details, the review concludes that the purported Phase 1 exit-poll results were not credible and labels the claim false. Its evidence addresses the reported poll’s permissibility and the apparent lack of verifiable organizational credentials, rather than establishing what the eventual election outcome was.

FACTLYElections & voting

Special Trains from Hyderabad for AP Elections 2019.

Publisher’s rating: TRUE

The Facebook post at issue claimed that special trains would run from Hyderabad to help people travel to Andhra Pradesh for the 2019 elections. FACTLY’s review says that Indian Railways provided special trains and additional coaches on existing trains to manage the election-related rush. Its finding therefore addresses the post’s central assertion: that extra rail services were arranged for travel connected with the Andhra Pradesh elections, rather than merely a general claim that special trains existed.

FACTLYElections & voting

Prashant Kishor: “All the hard work our team has been doing for past 2 years is now going in vain. Since Y.S. Jagan is not sure of magic figure, he has turned his back and bringing in all the commercials. Working with Jagan Reddy’s party will be a regret for a lifetime.”

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a post attributed to political strategist Prashant Kishor, alleging that he criticized Y.S. Jagan and said working with Jagan’s party would be a lifelong regret. FACTLY describes the post as claiming Kishor had tweeted against Jagan on election day, and reports that the post’s central allegation is false: Kishor did not publish the alleged criticism. The review’s conclusion is about whether the tweet was genuine, not whether the quoted political opinions would have been reasonable or accurate if someone had expressed them. FACTLY says it searched Kishor’s Twitter account for the alleged tweet and instead found a post from him addressing the circulating material. In that post, Kishor criticized the circulation of fake news and referred to the approaching close of polling in Andhra Pradesh. This is evidence that he publicly rejected the story, rather than evidence that he had made the statement about Jagan attributed to him in the viral post. The review also reports a separate check before Kishor’s public response: FACTLY contacted Brahma, identified as IPAC’s Digital Media Head. According to the review, Brahma said the tweet was fake and described it as a tactic by opposition parties on election day. Together, the review’s reported account search, Kishor’s response, and the clarification from the IPAC representative support its conclusion that the attributed statement was not a genuine Kishor tweet.