Skip to main content

PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Politics & government fact checks

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

12,746 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYPolitics & government

Using Rs. 28 crores of government money, former minister A.K. Antony bought paintings from his wife

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a social-media post showing Elizabeth Antony beside a painting. The post alleged that her husband, former Defence Minister A.K. Antony, bought paintings worth Rs. 28 crores from her with government money. FACTLY’s review distinguishes that allegation from reports that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had bought paintings from Elizabeth Antony; it says it found no reports that A.K. Antony himself purchased paintings using government funds. The review describes a specific document check: an associate of Elizabeth Antony filed an RTI seeking details of the alleged purchase and transaction, and she later shared AAI’s response. According to the review, that response said AAI bought two paintings from her Navoothan Charitable Foundation for a total of Rs. 2.5 lakhs, for display in the arrival and departure lounges of Trivandrum airport. AAI said the purchase was made under powers delegated through its DOP. Those details do not support the post’s Rs. 28-crore allegation or its claim that Antony made the purchase. The review also reports that Elizabeth Antony had earlier disputed the allegation: a 2012 Facebook post described an exhibition at India Habitat Center with 24 exhibits and total painting sales of Rs. 16 lakhs; in 2018, she told BOOM that Air India had never bought anything from her. These are distinct claims and figures, not evidence that A.K. Antony bought paintings with government money. On the evidence presented, the review concludes that the social-media claim is false.