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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Politics & government fact checks

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

12,740 published reviews in this topic

Folha de S.PauloPolitics & government

Áudio que circula nas redes sociais atribui ao ministro da Justiça e Segurança Pública, Flávio Dino (PSB), declarações segundo as quais os “objetivos“ do governo Lula seriam “arruinar a economia“, “aumentar o desemprego“ e controlar o Exército, entre outros. O autor do vídeo também afirma que os “piores inimigos“ são Dino e Lula (PT), que, por não poderem comprar as redes sociais, querem destruí-las.

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a viral recording presented as Flávio Dino admitting that the Lula government sought to damage the economy, increase unemployment, control the Army, and eliminate social networks. The review says the audio was not a genuine recording of Dino: it was part of a political-humor satire published on YouTube and was later circulated in social-media posts as a purported leak. The review describes the same audio being used to attribute statements to Dino about unemployment, the Army, and eliminating social networks, and says a Kwai post also claimed the government aimed to “arruinar a economia” and increase unemployment. (S1: “O áudio é, na realidade, parte de uma sátira publicada em um canal de vídeos de humor político no YouTube.”; “Uma outra publicação no Kwai também reproduz o mesmo áudio adulterado com a descrição”; “entre os objetivos do governo federal estariam ‘arruinar a economia’ e ‘aumentar o desemprego’.”) The investigation consulted audio expert Maurício de Cunto, who traced the recording to the YouTube satire channel Bastidores do Brasil. UFABC professor Mario Gazziro analyzed the audio and identified repeated silences and editing breaks; the report says these indicated that sections had been copied and pasted into the recording. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security also told the report that the audio was not genuine. (S1: “A reportagem procurou o perito Maurício de Cunto, que apontou que o áudio tem origem em um canal de sátira no YouTube chamado ‘Bastidores do Brasil’”; “constatou na montagem cinco trechos de silêncio com microfone por 31 vezes, o que sinaliza a existência de alterações na edição do áudio.”; “o Ministério da Justiça e da Segurança Pública, que disse que o áudio não é verdadeiro.”)

dpaPolitics & government

Während die Nato-Staaten Ukraine mit Steuergelder unterstützt, kauft sich der ukrainische Präsident Selensky zwei Yachten.

Publisher’s rating: Es gibt keine Belege dafür, dass Selenskyj die Luxusyachten gekauft hat. Beide Yachten stehen immer noch online zum Verkauf. Die angeblichen Kaufverträge sind unseriös und beweisen keine Verbindung zum ukrainischen Präsidenten.

The claim was that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy secretly bought two luxury yachts, “Lucky Me” and “My Legacy,” for a combined $75 million, allegedly using a false identity and intermediaries. The dpa review examined whether the yachts had in fact been sold and whether documents circulated to support the allegation established a connection to Zelenskyy. As of December 6, 2023, both yachts were still listed for sale on the SuperYacht Times website. dpa also asked the brokerages responsible for the yachts, Burgess and BehneMar, which confirmed that they remained for sale. Those checks contradict the claim that the two yachts had already been purchased as alleged. The allegation came from a YouTube video published on November 23, 2023, which presented supposed October 2023 purchase contracts and asserted that Zelenskyy had instructed Boris and Sergey Shefir to buy the yachts. The review says the video provided no evidence for that connection. It also noted a specific problem in the documents: on both contracts, the buyers’ signatures on the first two pages did not match the buyer’s signature on the final page. The review further identified the contracts as based on a standard yacht-broker association template that could be found and downloaded online. Taken together, the reported checks do not substantiate that Zelenskyy bought either yacht or that the documents link him to the supposed purchases.

dpaPolitics & government

Irland beschließt die sofortige Ausweisung des israelischen Botschafters

Publisher’s rating: Nein, Israels Botschafterin ist weiterhin in Irland. Die Rede stammt von der Vorsitzenden der irischen Oppositionspartei Sinn Féin. Ein entsprechender Antrag wurde im Parlament abgelehnt.

The claim was that Ireland had decided to immediately expel Israel’s ambassador. The review traces the video accompanying that claim to a speech by Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin’s leader, at the party’s annual conference in November 2023. It reports that the speech called on the Irish government to send the Israeli ambassador home, but was not an official government instruction: Sinn Féin was in opposition, while the government was a coalition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens. The review distinguishes that political demand from a decision by the state. In mid-November 2023, a motion seeking to expel Dana Ehrlich, Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, was put forward in the lower house of parliament, but it was rejected. A parliament spokesperson confirmed the outcome to dpa. The review also reports that politicians argued against the motion and that a government minister said expulsion would break off communication with Israel. As evidence that no expulsion had taken effect, the review notes that Ehrlich continued to appear publicly in her ambassadorial role in late November. Its account therefore distinguishes a speech advocating expulsion and a parliamentary motion from an adopted decision to expel the ambassador.

dpaPolitics & government

L'Irlande décide d'expulser immédiatement l'ambassadeur d'Israël de Dublin et accuse Israël devant la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) de génocide et de crimes de guerre.

Publisher’s rating: Non, l'expulsion de l'ambassadrice d'Israël en Irlande a été réclamée par la présidente du parti d'opposition irlandais Sinn Fein. Ses déclarations n'ont toutefois aucune valeur contraignante. L'ambassadrice est toujours en poste.

The viral posts combined two claims: that Ireland had decided to expel Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich and that it would pursue Israel before the International Criminal Court. The review traces the video shared with those posts to Sinn Fein’s annual conference on 11 November 2023. It identifies the speaker as party president Mary Lou McDonald, who called for the Irish government to expel the ambassador. Sinn Fein was not part of the government, so McDonald’s remarks were a political demand, not a government decision. The review also reports that, on 15 November, Sinn Fein introduced a parliamentary motion calling for Israel to be prosecuted before the ICC. Parliament rejected that motion, as well as a separate motion seeking the ambassador’s expulsion, introduced by the Social Democrats. These events show that the video concerned opposition proposals rather than Ireland having adopted either measure. The review adds that Prime Minister Leo Varadkar had ruled out expelling the ambassador in late October, saying communication channels should remain open, and that Dana Erlich was still in post according to social-media posts from late November. Its account therefore distinguishes the opposition’s demands and rejected motions from the Irish government’s actions.