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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.

12,741 published reviews in this topic

dpaPolitics & government

De ontslagen Minister van Corruptie van Oekraïne Reznikov hangt al rond op een jacht aan de Cote d'Azur, waar hij ook een villa voor zijn dochter kocht.

Publisher’s rating: De foto komt uit 2020, en is genomen op de Bosporus in Istanbul. Daar vroeg Reznikov in februari van dat jaar zijn huidige vrouw ten huwelijk. Reznikov kocht geen villa aan de Côte d'Azur voor zijn dochter.

The claim links two allegations about former Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov: that a photo showed him relaxing on a yacht on the Côte d'Azur shortly after his dismissal, and that he had bought a costly villa there for his daughter. The review says social-media users circulated the photo in that setting, but the image’s provenance points elsewhere. [S1: “Gebruikers spreken er schande van dat hij zich, kort na zijn ontslag door corruptieschandalen binnen zijn ministerie, doodleuk lachend laat fotograferen op een jacht aan de Côte d'Azur. Dat is ook nog eens de kust waar hij eerder ook al een peperdure villa voor zijn dochter zou hebben gekocht.”] The review describes a reverse-image search that surfaced a 2020 Ukrainian article about Reznikov’s marriage to Yulia Zoriy. That article reported that he proposed during a cruise in Istanbul in February 2020. The review also says the original image appeared on Reznikov’s verified Facebook profile, where he wrote that he proposed to Zoriy on Valentine’s Day 2020. These details place the photograph years earlier than the claim suggests. [S1: “Bij een reverse image search van de foto komt onder andere dit Oekraïense artikel uit 2020 naar boven over het huwelijk tussen Reznikov en zijn vrouw Yulia Zoriy. Daaruit blijkt dat Reznikov in februari van dat jaar zijn vrouw ten huwelijk vroeg tijdens een cruise in Istanboel.”] [S1: “De originele versie van de afbeelding is ook op het door Facebook geverifieerde profiel van Reznikov terug te vinden. Daar laat hij weten dat hij op Valentijnsdag 2020 voor Zoriy op de knieën ging.”] The setting in the original image also contradicts the Côte d’Azur attribution: the review identifies the boat as being on the Bosporus in Istanbul, in front of Rumeli Castle. It separately rejects the villa allegation, stating that Reznikov did not buy a villa on the Côte d’Azur for his daughter. [S1: “Ook de locatie van de foto komt overeen met het verhaal: de twee staan op een boot, voor het kasteel van Roemelië in aan de Bosporus in Istanboel.”] [S1: “Net zo min als dat Reznikov aldaar een villa voor zijn dochter heeft gekocht.”]

Soch Fact CheckPolitics & government

Pakistan’s interim prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, took a selfie inside the UNGA hall on his state trip to New York.

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The claim concerns a photo circulated on 20 September 2023 as showing Pakistan’s interim prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar taking a selfie during his New York trip for the UN General Assembly. The investigation distinguishes the photo’s authenticity from the timing attached to it: it reports that the selfie was genuine, but that it was not taken during Kakar’s caretaker premiership. The article says he was in New York for the 78th UN General Assembly, while the post presenting the image as current prompted objections that it was from 2019. [S1: “On 20 September 2023, Facebook user ‘Sadiq Kakar’ posted a picture (archive) showing Pakistan’s interim prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, taking a selfie at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) hall.”] [S1: “The selfie, while authentic, was taken in 2019 when Kakar was a senator. It’s unrelated to his tenure as caretaker prime minister.”] To check the image’s history, Soch Fact Check says it reverse-searched the photo and found Kakar’s own earlier post. That post, dated 27 September 2019, placed the image in the period when he was a senator and had accompanied then-prime minister Imran Khan to the 74th UN General Assembly. This earlier provenance establishes why an authentic image did not substantiate the claim about Kakar’s 2023 state trip. [S1: “Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image and found that Kakar himself posted it back in 2019 when he had accompanied the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and the then-prime minister, Imran Khan, to the 74th UNGA session.”] The review also provides the text accompanying Kakar’s 2019 post, which praised Khan after his UN address. That contemporaneous post ties the selfie to the earlier assembly session, rather than the 2023 visit described in the claim. [S1: “Kakar — who posted the picture on X on 27 September 2019 when he was a senator — wrote (archive), ‘@ImranKhanPTI you made everyone proud, Pakistani rest of ummah and above all emerging as true statesman who desire peace & showed leadership that he will resist til last man if imposed war by any jingoistic RSS goon.’”]

Belarusian Investigative CenterPolitics & government

Анналена Бербок ежедневно тратит из бюджета 9 тысяч евро на услуги визажиста

Publisher’s rating: В действительности немецкие СМИ еще в апреле сообщали, что Анналена Бербок в прошлом году потратила на услуги визажистов 137 тысяч евро. Разделив эту сумму на количество рабочих дней получится около пятисот евро в день.

Belarusian Investigative CenterPolitics & government

Нынешний президент Экваториальной Гвинеи пришел к власти свергнув проамериканское правительство

Publisher’s rating: В 1979 году Мбасого совершил военный переворот, выступив против своего дяди — первого президента Экваториальной Гвинеи Франсиско Масиаса Нгемы. Во время своего правления тот разорвал дипломатические отношения с США. Нынешний президент, придя к власти, их сразу же восстановил.

Folha de S.PauloPolitics & government

Vídeo mostra o edifício Chrysler, em Nova York, com projeções que dizem “The world needs Lula” (o mundo precisa de Lula, em tradução livre). Sobre as imagens está escrito: “Agora os bolsominions vão pirar” e emojis de risada. Na legenda, o usuário que postou o conteúdo escreveu: “O velhinho tá on”, se referindo ao presidente.

Publisher’s rating: Enganoso

The video shows a real projection on New York’s Chrysler Building, but the investigation found that it was not connected to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s visit to the city in September 2023. The clip had circulated without its original date and setting, making an earlier political message appear current. The article identifies the event as unrelated to Lula’s participation in the opening of the UN General Assembly: “ela não tem relação com a visita de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) a Nova York nesta semana, onde participa da abertura da 78ª Assembleia Geral da ONU”. (S1) The reporting traces the image to a post by the portal ClimaInfo on X on October 29, 2022, the day before Brazil’s presidential election runoff. ClimaInfo told Estadão Verifica that the projection had been made on October 28, 2022, and lasted about half an hour. The article says the organizers were activists from Brazil, the United States and England, and that they asked not to be identified. (S1) Thus, the footage itself documents a past projection, not a message newly displayed during Lula’s 2023 visit. The article also notes that the recirculated post omitted the projection’s date and context, while users’ supportive reactions could reinforce the impression that it was a current tribute. The article does not establish who posted the recirculated version or independently identify the people behind the projection. (S1)

Folha de S.PauloPolitics & government

Postagens exibem um vídeo de Lula sendo abraçado por uma mulher não identificada. Na situação, ele estava acompanhado da primeira-dama, Janja, e da equipe de segurança. A legenda da publicação afirma que o presidente estava “completamente embriagado” e que ele “beija uma mulher na frente de todos”, inclusive de Janja.

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a video of President Lula with a woman while first lady Janja was present. The review says the posts’ allegations that he was “completely drunk” and grabbed the woman were false, and reports that the videos had been slowed down to make his movements appear sluggish. The unedited version was analyzed by Projeto Comprova. The footage shows Lula and Janja at the reception of the Atlante Plaza hotel in Recife, Pernambuco, when a supporter approaches. She first reaches out to greet him, then gets close enough to hug him. Lula signals to a security guard to wait as the guard tries to move her away; the interaction lasts about 15 seconds before Janja and a guard separate them. The review notes that the woman appears to kiss Lula’s cheek at points in the video, but says he turns his face during the interaction and finds no initiative by him to grab or kiss her. This distinction matters: the footage may show contact initiated by the woman, but it does not support the posts’ portrayal of Lula as grabbing or kissing her. The review’s rating is “Falso.”