Politics & government fact checks

جمعیت تظاهرات مدافعان حکومت در تهران، در روز ۲۲ دی ۱۴۰۴ «حدود ۳ میلیون نفر» بوده است.

Publisher’s rating: شاخ‌دار

The Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Act will come into effect only from the next parliament.

Publisher’s rating: False

Fact Crescendo says the bill provides that pension payments cease after it comes into effect, including for current MPs and people entitled to pensions under previous Parliaments. The bill still needed to pass Parliament and receive the Speaker’s approval to become law. [S1]

சாதித்து காட்டிய #நாம்தமிழர்கட்சி! அரசு போக்குவரத்து கழகம் என்று இருந்ததை ‘தமிழ்நாடு அரசு போக்குவரத்து கழகம்’ என மாற்றம்.

Publisher’s rating: false

فیلم فرار سران جمهوری اسلامی به روسیه

Publisher’s rating: نادرست

The UNP media division issued a statement on reports that Ranil Wickremesinghe left Sri Lanka to take over the presidency of Venezuela.

Publisher’s rating: False

Fact Crescendo reports that the UNP Media Unit confirmed it had not issued the alleged announcement. The review also says it found no such posts about Wickremesinghe leaving for Venezuela, concluding that the purported statement and the posts it supposedly addressed were non-existent.

The viral video shows Arnab Goswami saying that after six months Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to leave his home and that Indian youth will beat him with sticks if he does.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review says the viral clip was edited to remove the context that Goswami was quoting Rahul Gandhi, making it appear that Goswami made the remark himself. In the full debate, Goswami cited Gandhi’s earlier statement while responding to a Congress panellist.

“மோடி அரசாங்கம் தமிழை எதிர்ப்பதாக திமுக குற்றம் சாட்டுகிறது. ஆனால் தமிழை உயர்த்த மோடி பல முன்னெடுப்புகளை செய்துள்ளார்” - ஒன்றிய அமைச்சர் பியூஷ் கோயால்.

Publisher’s rating: false

The video shows a large pro-government rally in Iran.

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

FACTLY reports that the video shows the January 2020 funeral procession of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Ahvaz, not a recent pro-government rally. It notes that pro-government rallies were reported in Tehran in late December 2025, but says the viral video is unrelated to them.

உண்மையில் எடப்பாடி மனித நேயம் உள்ள நல்ல மனிதர் அதனால தான் உங்கப்பா கடல்கறையில் தூங்கி கொண்டு இருக்கிறார்!

Publisher’s rating: false

‘தமிழ்நாட்டின் முன்னாள் முதல்வரான காமராஜரின் மகள் மயூரி தவெகவில் இணைந்தார்’

Publisher’s rating: false

ベネズエラの人々が拘束されたマドゥーロ大統領の銅像を撤去する動画?

Publisher’s rating: 誤り

The video shows Venezuelan citizens tearing down posters of President Nicolás Maduro in celebration after he was captured by US forces.

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The video dates to July 2024 and shows protesters pulling down a poster of Nicolás Maduro during election-related protests, before his capture by US forces. The review says the footage has no connection to celebrations following his capture.

Alex Jones, a well-known US conspiracy theorist, claims in a post on X: "Millions of Venezuelans flooded the streets of Caracas and other major cities to celebrate the fall of communist dictator Nicolas Maduro."

Publisher’s rating: DW Fact check: False. The video is not related to current events. A Google reverse image search shows that the video is from 2024 (or even older). It was published, for example, on Facebook in summer 2024. The same video also appeared on various other accounts at the same time in 2024.

米国によるマドゥーロ大統領拘束を喜ぶ民衆?

Publisher’s rating: 誤り

The video was not filmed after Maduro’s detention by the United States: the review identifies it as footage from Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election. The source says matching footage was posted on July 30 and 31, 2024, and that one example identifies the location and date as Francisco de Miranda Avenue in Caracas on July 30. [S1]

A short video on Instagram that gained more than 4.5 million views supposedly shows Venezuelans in the streets celebrating Maduro's arrest.

Publisher’s rating: DW Fact check: Fake. The video is not real but AI-generated. The people in the video appear highly emotional: Some hug each other, others cry or scream, some stand still. On closer inspection, several inconsistencies typical of AI-generated videos become apparent. For example, the raised finger of a man flickers and disappears. Another man's hand appears deformed. Additionally, the jewelry of several people looks fragmented and incomplete.

"This is Caracas today. Huge crowds in support of President Maduro. You won't see this in mainstream media", a user on X writes, posting a video that supposedly shows demonstrators supporting Maduro.

Publisher’s rating: DW Fact check: False. The video is not current. A reverse image search shows that the video was already published in November 2025. The caption refers to a Youth Day in Caracas that took place that month.

ベネズエラの人々がトランプ大統領に感謝する動画?

Publisher’s rating: 生成AI

ابعاد حضور مردم آبدانان در اعتراضات ۱۶ دی ۱۴۰۴

Publisher’s rating: بر اساس آنچه در ویدیوی اعتراضات دیده می‌شود، طی یک ساعت، ۱۷ هزار و ۶۴۰ نفر از مقابل دوربین عبور می‌کنند. این عدد در مقیاس جمعیت شهر آبدانان نسبت قابل توجهی است.

Ein 15-sekündiges Video auf Instagram erreichte rund 4,5 Millionen Aufrufe. Es soll angeblich Venezolaner zeigen, die dicht gedrängt auf der Straße die Festnahme von Nicolás Maduro feiern.

Publisher’s rating: DW Faktencheck: Fake.Das Video ist nicht echt, sondern KI-generiert. Die dargestellten Personen wirken stark emotional: Einige umarmen sich, andere weinen oder schreien, manche stehen still. Beim genaueren Hinsehen fallen mehrere Unstimmigkeiten auf, die typisch für KI-generierte Videos sind. So flackert und verschwindet der Zeigefinger eines Mannes, der mit erhobener Hand schreit. Die Hand eines anderen Mannes wirkt deformiert. Außerdem erscheint der Schmuck mehrerer Personen fragmentiert und unvollständig. Ein anderer auffälliger Fehler im Bild: Ein Strommast im Hintergrund scheint direkt mit den Balkonen des Hauses verbunden zu sein – eine unrealistische Darstellung.

A CNN survey ranked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the fourth most corrupt political party in the world.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY reports that CNN did not conduct a survey ranking political parties by corruption and says the viral news clip was digitally edited and fabricated. It also says its searches and review of CNN’s official website and social media found no support for the claim.