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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Immigration fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about immigration. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

1,620 published reviews in this topic

Fact CrescendoImmigration

मैं इस विरोध को लेकर उत्सुक हूं, यदि कुकी विदेशी हैं और मेइतेई शरणार्थी हैं, तो वास्तविक स्वदेशी लोग कौन हैं? अनपढ़ जनता को क्यों भड़कायें जब उन्हें स्थिति और परिस्थितियों का पता ही नहीं

Publisher’s rating: False

dpaImmigration

In der Zossener Straße im Berliner Ortsteil Hellersdorf dürfen Asylbewerber in dort gebauten Geflüchtetenwohnungen kostenlos und bis ans Lebensende leben.

Publisher’s rating: Irreführend. Wenn Flüchtlinge ein Einkommen haben, müssen sie einen gewissen Eigenanteil der Mietkosten tragen. Außerdem hat das Landesamt für Flüchtlingsfragen mit dem Eigentümer zunächst einen Mietvertrag für wenige Jahre geschlossen, Flüchtlinge können also nach derzeitigem Stand nicht über Jahrzehnte darin leben.

FACTLYImmigration

Kuki tribes living in Manipur came from the Burma (Myanmar) as refugees and were later granted ST (Scheduled Tribe) quota in India in 1968

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a widely shared image of a letter dated 1968. It says that Kuki tribes living in Manipur came from Burma (now Myanmar) as refugees and were granted Scheduled Tribe status in India in 1968. FACTLY’s review distinguishes the refugees mentioned in the letter from the much broader Kuki population in Manipur: it concludes that the letter does not describe all Kukis in the state as refugees. To assess the letter’s meaning, the review refers to earlier letters associated with it and reports about those documents. It says those materials indicate that the District Commissioner of Manipur was implementing Indian Government humanitarian aid for Kukis from Myanmar who fled to Manipur in 1967 during Myanmar’s Khadawmi operation. That account supports the presence of Kuki refugees at the time, but does not establish that all Kukis living in Manipur came as refugees. The review also challenges the claim’s date for Scheduled Tribe recognition. It says Kuki tribes received ST status in Assam in 1950, citing the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, and notes that this was before Manipur became a state in 1972. It further cites historical references to Kuki presence in the region from centuries earlier. These points counter the claim that Kukis generally arrived as refugees and were first granted ST status in 1968; the review’s narrower conclusion is that the letter refers to refugees from Myanmar who belonged to the Kuki community, not the entire Kuki community in Manipur.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturImmigration

Das Video zeigt Szenen am Grenzzaun zwischen den USA und Mexiko.

Publisher’s rating: Das Video wurde im März 2022 an der Grenze der spanischen Exklave Melilla auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent aufgenommen. Es zeigt nicht die USA.

The claim attached to the clip places it at the U.S.–Mexico border. The review says the footage instead came from Melilla, the Spanish enclave on the African continent, and dates the recording to March 2022. Its account links the video to a mass crossing by migrants from African countries at the Morocco–Melilla border in early March that year. To investigate, the review reports using reverse-image searches on frames from the clip. Those searches led to media reports about the March 2022 crossing and to footage published by the Moroccan outlet Le1. The review says the clip’s first section, showing people in front of a high fence, appears in a Le1 video, although it could not verify that section’s precise location. The second section, filmed from a car, also appears in Le1 footage and in a video published by the Spanish newspaper El Periodico. The review locates that section along the ML-300 road in Melilla, citing visible features behind the fence: a low, flat-roofed building, its windows, and a cube-shaped structure on the roof. It also notes that green metal doors at the base of the fence match the appearance of other images of the Melilla border fence. Together, the footage’s media provenance and identifiable Melilla setting contradict the U.S.–Mexico location claim, while the review qualifies that the first section’s exact location could not be confirmed.

dpaImmigration

400.000 asielzoekers zijn in 2022 Nederland binnengekomen.

Publisher’s rating: Nee, onder de ruim 403.000 immigranten in 2022 bevonden zich slechts 27.600 asielmigranten. De grootste groep immigranten bestond uit EU-burgers, die voornamelijk naar Nederland kwamen voor werk. Ook arriveerden veel Oekraïense vluchtelingen, die geen asiel hoeven aan te vragen en dus geen asielzoeker zijn.

The claim concerns whether 400,000 asylum seekers entered the Netherlands in 2022. The review distinguishes asylum seekers from the much broader category of immigrants, using final figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and figures from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). It reports 403,108 immigrants that year, but says only about 27,600 were asylum migrants registered in the population register.

dpaImmigration

Dieses Video ist im Juni 2023 ("gestern", "vorgestern") aufgenommen worden und zeigt Einwanderer in Spanien.

Publisher’s rating: Das Video ist von 2021. Die Menschen sind im Juli 2021 in Spanien angekommen und nicht «vorgestern».

The claim concerned a Facebook post from late June 2023 presenting footage of men running along a street in Spain as showing people who had arrived “the day before yesterday.” The dpa review examined that specific video, not merely a similar scene of migration. It places the footage in Melilla, Spain’s North African exclave, and says the people shown were already inside the city rather than at a border crossing: “Es stimmt, dass das Video in Spanien aufgenommen wurde - in der bekannten spanischen Nordafrika-Exklave Melilla, etwas entfernt von einem Grenzübergang. Das Video ist aber nicht aktuell, sondern stammt vom Juli 2021.” The review dates the events depicted to July 2021. It reports that on Thursday, 22 July, more than 200 migrants crossed Melilla’s border fence in the morning and entered EU territory. Its account therefore distinguishes the video’s Spanish location from the post’s misleading implication that the footage documented a recent arrival in 2023. The review says the video shows the migrants already in Melilla: “Am Donnerstag, 22. Juli 2021, waren Berichten zufolge mehr als 200 Migranten aus Afrika in der Früh über den Grenzzaun von Melilla geklettert und waren so auf Boden der Europäischen Union gelangt. In dem Video ist zu sehen, wie die Migranten bereits in der Stadt von Melilla sind.” For the footage’s earlier provenance, dpa notes that several media outlets reported on the 2021 events and showed the video at the time. Nearly two years later, the same footage was presented as current. The excerpt also lists an archived video and a geolocation link among the review’s supporting materials, but does not describe the geolocation procedure in detail: “Darüber haben mehrere Medien damals berichtet und das Video gezeigt, was knapp zwei Jahre später als vermeintlich aktuelles Video verkauft wird - was es nicht ist.”

FACTLYImmigration

France has implemented a ban on citizens from 57 Muslim countries while exclusively permitting entry for Indian citizens in response to the recent riots

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned an alleged French entry ban on citizens from 57 Muslim countries, with Indian citizens supposedly exempted, amid riots following a fatal police shooting. The review says the riots followed “the shooting of a youngster by a policeman for a traffic violation” and describes the social-media post as claiming France “has banned entry for citizens from 57 Muslim countries but only allows Indian citizens.” To check whether a ban had been announced, the investigators examined France’s official visa website and websites of several Middle Eastern countries’ embassies in France. They report finding no announcement on the French visa site and no mention of such a ban on the embassy sites. They also report finding no credible media coverage that France was considering a ban, and say the visa application process shown on the official site appeared to be operating normally, without restrictions. The review adds a qualification about separate, unsubstantiated reports: amid Prime Minister Modi’s visit to France on 14 July 2023, some reports claimed Pakistani journalists had said Pakistani citizens were barred from entering. The review says there was no official announcement of that separate restriction and that French authorities had been contacted for clarification. It does not present those reports as evidence of the claimed ban on citizens from 57 Muslim countries. Its conclusion is that the investigation found no evidence that France had implemented that broader ban.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturImmigration

Alle Fremden bekommen Rente und Bürgergeld. Die Witwenrente wird abgeschafft.

Publisher’s rating: Bürgergeld und Rente stehen zwar zum Teil auch ausländischen Staatsbürgern zu - aber längst nicht allen. Beide Sozialleistungen sind an bestimmte Voraussetzungen geknüpft. Auch die Abschaffung der Witwenrente wurde zwar kürzlich viel diskutiert, soll aber voraussichtlich nicht erfolgen.

The post discussed in the review claimed that “all foreigners” receive pensions and Bürgergeld while Germany plans to abolish the widows’ pension. The review finds the claim misleading on both points: eligibility for the benefits is conditional, and the government had said abolition of survivors’ pensions was not planned. For Bürgergeld, the review describes requirements including need, ability to work, being at least 15 and below retirement age, and having a permanent residence in Germany. It gives seasonal workers without a permanent German residence as an example of people excluded. Asylum seekers generally qualify only after recognition as refugees or when they have a work permit; while their asylum cases are pending, they receive benefits under a separate law. The review notes an exception for Ukrainians fleeing the war, who could apply for Bürgergeld from their first day under the rules described. For pensions, the review says foreign nationals, like German citizens, must have contributed to the pension insurance system. It states that a pension claim generally requires at least five years of contributions and reaching the legally prescribed retirement age, while some insurance periods in EU countries and specified partner countries can also count. On widows’ pensions, it reports that the government had clarified that abolition of survivors’ pensions was not planned. The review therefore does not support the post’s sweeping claim that all foreigners qualify or that abolition was going ahead.

dpaImmigration

Klaus Schwab a chargé le gouvernement néerlandais de saisir 3.000 fermes pour faire de la place aux migrants.

Publisher’s rating: Le gouvernement néerlandais et les agriculteurs s'écharpent depuis 2019 sur un projet de réduction drastique des émissions d'azote, en vertu d'engagements européens. Si le plan gouvernemental concerne bien 3.000 exploitations agricoles et entreprises polluantes, rien ne prouve que Klaus Schwab soit à la manoeuvre, ni que l’objectif de l'exécutif soit de reloger des migrants.

The allegation links three elements: Klaus Schwab, a Dutch government plan affecting roughly 3,000 sites, and land supposedly being taken to house migrants. The review says the dispute between farmers and the government is instead about reducing nitrogen emissions, following European environmental commitments. It reports that the conflict dates to 2019, when the Dutch Council of State ruled that the country was not meeting the EU habitats directive and required stronger efforts to cut nitrogen emissions. The review describes the government’s response as targeting agricultural holdings and intensive livestock operations because their fertilizers and manure contribute to nitrogen pollution. It says about 3,000 sites near Natura 2000 areas were identified, including farms and particularly polluting industries. Their owners were offered choices—make activities more sustainable, relocate, or stop operating in return for compensation. That account does not describe a blanket seizure of farms or a plan to use them for migrant housing. On Schwab’s alleged role, the review reports that searches of the World Economic Forum website and the Twitter accounts of the WEF and Schwab produced no conclusive evidence linking him to the plan. It also says the dispute was unrelated to migration policy. The review places farmers’ renewed anger and expected protests in the separate context of failed negotiations over an agreement about the future of the agricultural sector, which broke down in late June after opposition from the country’s largest farmers’ union, LTO.