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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.

12,749 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYPolitics & government

Photo of Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior during the recent meeting at the White House

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a photo circulated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington in December 2022. It was presented as showing US President Joe Biden grabbing Zelenskyy by the posterior while they posed at the White House. FACTLY examined whether that image depicted the alleged contact. The review reports finding a similar image in a post by First Lady Jill Biden dated 22 December 2022. It says the original shows Biden placing his hand on Zelenskyy’s back, rather than grabbing his posterior, and that the circulated version had been edited. As additional visual corroboration, the review points to news videos of Biden and Jill Biden receiving Zelenskyy at the White House. It says those videos also do not show the alleged grab. Taken together, the original image comparison and the described video check support the review’s conclusion that the circulated photo was altered.

DoğrulaPolitics & government

Biden’ın Zelenski’nin kalçasına dokunduğunu gösteren fotoğrafın gerçek olduğu iddiası

Publisher’s rating: Yanlış

The claim concerns a photograph circulated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the United States. It was presented as showing U.S. President Joe Biden touching Zelensky inappropriately. Doğrula reports that the image had been digitally altered, and that in the original photograph Biden’s hand was on Zelensky’s back. The review says the image circulated widely on social media after the visit: “Joe Biden, eşi Jill Biden ve Zelenski’nin çekildiği öne sürülen bir fotoğraf sosyal medyada kısa sürede viral hale geldi.” To investigate the image’s original appearance, the review says it used reverse image search. Its account reports that a search through Google Images led to the original photograph, which had been shared from Jill Biden’s official Twitter account: “Google Görseller üzerinden kısa bir araştırma yaptığımızda, fotoğrafın orijinal halinin Joe Biden’ın eşi Jill Biden’ın resmi Twitter hesabından paylaşılmış olduğunu görüyoruz.” Comparing the circulated image with that original, the review concludes that Biden’s hand was on Zelensky’s back, not in the position alleged. Its account therefore identifies the circulated image as digitally altered: “İşbu fotoğrafın orijinal halinde Joe Biden’ın elinin iddia edilenin aksine Zelenski’nin sırtında olduğunu görüyoruz. Dolayısıyla fotoğraf, dijital müdahale ile değiştirilmiş.”

dpaPolitics & government

Dit zijn authentieke foto's van Macron en Trudeau.

Publisher’s rating: De foto van Macron en Trudeau die elkaar verliefd in de ogen kijken is het resultaat van fotoshop, en is dus niet authentiek.

The review examines three images of French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau shared in a Facebook post, which suggested the leaders had a romantic relationship. It does not find that all the images are genuine: it reports that two are authentic, while the image showing them with their heads touching and gazing at one another was manipulated. The two genuine photographs were taken at the Élysée in Paris on 16 May and 7 June 2019. The review describes visual clues in the disputed image: the boundary between the leaders’ hair looks unnatural, and Macron’s forehead appears indented. It also traces elements of the composite to other photographs. The plant in the foreground was cut from a picture of the two leaders in Sicily; Trudeau’s expression, facial shadow, hair and shirt folds match a 2016 photo of him with his wife, Sophie Grégoire. The review says the apparent source of the composite was a Tumblr account that posted it on 9 July 2017, using the hashtags “fanart” and “alternative reality.” Taken together, its findings support the conclusion that the particular romantic-looking image is not authentic, while the other two images in the post are authentic.