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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

Factcrescendo Sri LankaPolitics & government

සමගි ජන බලවේගයේ සහකාර ලේකම් ධුරයෙන් හේෂා විතානගේ ඉල්ලා අස්වුණා ද ?

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerned SJB MP Hesha Vithanage: posts said he had resigned as the party’s assistant secretary and handed a resignation letter to general secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara. Those posts also attributed the resignation to dissatisfaction with the party and the lack of suitable roles for capable young activists. The review identifies these as social-media claims, rather than reporting an independently established resignation.

FACTLYPolitics & government

UP MLA Mukesh Verma recently quit BJP and claimed that 20 MLAs are willing to resign from BJP and join the Samajwadi Party

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The post presented a TV9 Bharatvarsh bulletin as recent, claiming that Uttar Pradesh MLA Mukesh Verma had quit the BJP and that 20 other MLAs were about to resign and join the Samajwadi Party. The review identifies the report as footage from January 2022, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections: “The video shared in the post shows a news report telecast by ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ in January 2022.” The review says Verma, then the Shikohabad MLA, did resign from the BJP and join the Samajwadi Party in January 2022. It also reports that he said 20 other MLAs were going to resign and join the SP along with Swami Prasad Mourya. Thus, the report supports that the underlying events and remarks occurred, but contradicts the post’s presentation of them as recent. To check the footage’s timing, the review describes searching online with relevant keywords and finding the same video on TV9 Bharatvarsh’s YouTube channel, published on 14 January 2022. It also points to other news websites’ January 2022 coverage of Verma’s resignation. The key distinction is the date of the footage: the claim recirculated an old report as a current development.

dpaPolitics & government

John F. Kennedy wollte Geld drucken, um so die Macht der Federal Reserve Bank brechen, und Marilyn Monroe wurde getötet, weil sie von Kennedy über die Existenz von Außerirdischen erfahren hatte.

Publisher’s rating: Die Behauptung über Kennedy und die Notenbank ist nachweislich falsch. Für die Behauptung über Monroe und ihr Wissen um «unidentifizierte Flugobjekte» (Ufos) von Außerirdischen gibt es keine belastbare Quelle.

The review examines two linked conspiracy claims: that John F. Kennedy signed an executive order to take power away from the Federal Reserve, and that Marilyn Monroe was killed after learning from him about extraterrestrials. It finds that the order was real, but the alleged purpose of weakening the Fed does not fit the document’s described provisions or the historical context. The order, signed on June 4, 1963, supplemented an earlier delegation of presidential authority to the Treasury secretary and authorized the secretary to issue silver certificates in exchange for silver. The review explains that this provision supplied a temporary legal basis for printing certificates during a transition; it was not a means for Kennedy to bypass the Federal Reserve and print money to break its power. (S1: “In der «Executive Order 11110» wurde mitgeteilt, dass ergänzend zu den bisherigen Übertragungen von Befugnissen der Finanzminister auch ermächtigt wurde, Silberzertifikate gegen Silberbarren, Silber oder Silberdollars auszugeben.”; “Wegen der Aufhebung dieses Gesetzes wurde es nötig, für die Übergangszeit eine neue Rechtsgrundlage für den Finanzminister zu schaffen, um für eine Übergangszeit Banknoten («Silver Certificate») drucken zu können.”) The review places the order in the context of Kennedy’s effort to end the link between the dollar and silver. It says the price of silver had risen, and that Kennedy had already argued in a 1962 economic report to Congress that the dollar’s value should be separated from silver. The review cites a 1996 Congressional Research Service report, which said the order strengthened rather than restricted the Federal Reserve’s power, and a 2008 German Bundestag research paper, which noted that an executive order could not change or repeal the law governing the Fed. (S1: “Kennedy hatte bereits im Januar 1962 in seinem Wirtschaftsbericht für den Kongress gefordert, den Dollar-Wert vom Silber zu lösen.”; “Von einer Entmachtung der «Fed» könne keine Rede sein, heißt es in dem Papier des wissenschaftlichen Dienstes des US-Kongresses: «Wenn überhaupt, dann hat Executive Order 11110 die Macht der Federal Reserve gestärkt und in keiner Weise eingeschränkt.»”) On Monroe, the review distinguishes her reported relationships with John and Robert Kennedy from the unsupported allegation that she was murdered to suppress knowledge about extraterrestrials. It reports that Monroe was found dead at her Los Angeles home on August 5, 1962, and that the coroner determined the death was a probable suicide, citing her psychological problems and the quantity of sedatives and sleeping pills found in her blood. The review says the extraterrestrial story was revived in a 2021 book but that its author provided no proof. (S1: “Monroe (36) wurde am 5. August 1962 in ihrem Haus in Los Angeles tot gefunden. Der Gerichtsmediziner stellte einen «wahrscheinlichen Selbstmord» fest.”; “Auch er bleibt einen Beweis für die Behauptung jedoch schuldig.”)

Folha de S.PauloPolitics & government

Postagens em redes sociais e vídeos que afirmam que, por causa da publicação do Decreto Federal 11.273/2022, as Forças Armadas poderão ter controle dos órgãos estaduais de segurança pública e que, a partir da atualização do decreto 8.903/2016, o Brasil estaria em Estado de Guerra. Os posts investigados também dizem que o decreto permite que o presidente da República administre as polícias civis e militares e as guardas municipais.

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The posts at issue claimed that Federal Decree 11.273/2022 would let the Armed Forces or the president control state and municipal police, and that updating Decree 8.903/2016 had put Brazil in a state of war. The review examined those specific claims. It describes Decree 11.273/2022 as an update to the 2016 measure, which established the Integrated Border Protection Program (PPIF), and says both organize federal administrative units rather than transfer control of state security agencies to the federal government. [S1: “O decreto é uma atualização do decreto 8.903/2016, que institui o PPIF (Programa de Proteção Integrada de Fronteira) e, assim como o anterior, apenas organiza a atuação de unidades da administração pública federal.”] The review reports that constitutional-law specialists Vladimir França and Vera Chemim explained the decree’s scope as border-related coordination and action against cross-border crime, not a change in who commands police forces. It also notes that the Constitution’s Article 144 defines the respective responsibilities of the Union, states and municipalities, and that changing those responsibilities would require a constitutional amendment. The decree, the review says, does not alter police coordination or give the president new powers over those agencies. [S1: “O texto do decreto não evoca qualquer mudança na coordenação das forças policiais, algo que só pode ser feito por emenda constitucional, pois as atribuições entre União, estados e municípios estão definidas no artigo 144 da Constituição.”] The separate claim that Brazil entered a state of war because of the decree is also rejected. The review explains that the decree concerns border-program administration, whereas a state-of-war scenario involves different grounds and procedures. It reports that, in the circumstances described by the article, the president would need to seek congressional authorization to decree a state of siege; it also describes a narrow exception involving a surprise foreign attack during a congressional recess. [S1: “Para que o Brasil entre em estado de guerra, o presidente da República teria que pedir autorização ao Congresso Nacional para decretar o chamado estado de sítio primeiramente.”]

FACTLYPolitics & government

Aam Aadmi Party will not get the National Party status if its MLAs in Gujarat switch sides

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned speculation that AAP’s five newly elected Gujarat MLAs might join the BJP, and a social-media post said such defections would prevent AAP from obtaining National Party recognition. FACTLY examined how the Election Commission’s recognition rules treat electoral performance and whether MLAs changing parties after an election would alter that performance.

Folha de S.PauloPolitics & government

Vídeo no Facebook em que uma pessoa não identificada diz ter recebido documento assinado pelo presidente Jair Bolsonaro (PL). O conteúdo mostra o suposto texto do “Ato Institucional nº 1, de 9 de dezembro de 2022”, pausadamente. Em determinado trecho, explica estar em curso uma “nova revolução”, que “destitui o governo anterior e tem a capacidade de constituir um novo governo”.

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a Facebook video presenting a purported “Ato Institucional nº 1” dated December 9, 2022, as a document signed by then-president Jair Bolsonaro. The document allegedly called for new presidential elections. The investigation says it found no such act or decree in the Official Gazette of the Union from December 9 onward, and no extraordinary edition of the Gazette was published that day. The Gazette’s December 9 entries included four dispatches dated the day before; only one was signed by Bolsonaro, and it concerned a request for information to the Supreme Federal Court. The December 12 edition carried two dispatches signed on December 9, concerning information for a court case and the accreditation or removal of companies—not the alleged act. The article also describes its document and records checks: it searched for Bolsonaro with the term “Ato Institucional número 1,” consulted the Official Gazette, and checked the Planalto legislation portal. The portal’s only reference to institutional acts was in its historical legislation section, summarizing acts issued between 1964 and 1969. The report notes that the video’s document resembled the 1964 AI-1, which altered the legal order and provided for measures including indirect presidential elections and suspension of political rights. That resemblance is historical context, not evidence that Bolsonaro issued a new act in 2022. The report says the purported document had spelling errors, including repeated lowercase spelling of “República.” It also records the video’s provenance: Eduardo Picanço, whose profile appeared in it, told the outlet that he had received, posted, and deleted the content on December 10, about 30 minutes after posting, after seeing it had not been published anywhere. He said someone may have saved and reshared it. The investigation therefore found no official publication supporting the video’s claim and documented that the document’s resemblance to a historical act did not make it an authentic 2022 presidential act.

FACTLYPolitics & government

PM Modi pushes Eknath Shinde to get a photo without him

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY examined a viral clip that appeared to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde so he would not be in the frame for a photograph. The review says the footage came from the flagging-off ceremony for the Vande Bharat Express connecting Nagpur and Bilaspur, rather than establishing that the interaction was a push to remove Shinde from a picture. It concludes that the clip was being shared with a misleading interpretation.