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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

YouturnPolitics & government

“தமிழர் என்பதும் தமிழர் கழகம் என்பதும் தமிழரசுக் கட்சி என்பதும் தமிழர் ராச்சியம் என்பதும், தமிழ்நாடு தமிழருக்கே என்பதும் நமது முயற்சியைக் கெடுக்கும் சூழ்ச்சிகள். தமிழ் தமிழர் என்போர் பித்தலாட்டக்காரர்கள். கருங்காலிகள்.” – விடுதலை 11.04.1947.

Publisher’s rating: Fake

Factcrescendo Sri LankaPolitics & government

විදෙස් සංචාරය අතරතුර ජනපති රනිල්ට හූ කියා එලවූ සිදුවීමක්?

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The review investigates social-media posts claiming that Sri Lankan migrant workers abroad hooted at and chased President Ranil Wickremesinghe during his recent foreign visits. It identifies the trips under discussion as visits to the United Kingdom to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II, Japan to pay respects to former prime minister Shinzo Abe, and the Philippines for an Asian Development Bank summit. The review says the posts presented the alleged incident as breaking news. To check the claim, the publisher says it followed the YouTube link shared in the post and looked for footage of a protest or people hooting at the president. It found no such video: the linked material instead showed someone calling for demonstrations against Wickremesinghe and urging Sri Lankans abroad to protest during his visits. The review also says it checked whether mainstream media had reported him being hooted at and chased away, and whether video of such an event existed; it found neither. The review distinguishes those unsupported details from protests that did take place. It reports that a small group protested outside the hotel where Wickremesinghe was staying during his UK visit, and that protests also occurred in Japan. But it says there was no indication that he passed by those protests or was hooted at and chased away. A presidential media division spokesperson also told the publisher that reports of him being chased away in this manner during the recent trips were false. The review concludes that the posts were misleading: protests occurred, but the claimed encounter was not established.

Vishvas NewsPolitics & government

સોશિયલ મીડિયાના વિભિન્ન પ્લેટફોર્મ પર ફરી એકવાર કોંગ્રેસ નેતા પ્રિયંકા ગાંધી વાડ્રા વિરુદ્ધ દુષ્પ્રચારની ઈચ્છા સાથે એક પોસ્ટ વાયરલ થઈ રહી છે. તેમાં દાવો કરવામાં આવી રહ્યો છે કે પ્રિયંકા ગાંધીના નિકાહ એક મૌલવીએ કરાવ્યા હતા.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

dpaPolitics & government

Deze foto toont Klaus Schwab.

Publisher’s rating: De bewering dat de man op de foto Klaus Schwab zou zijn is onjuist. Het gaat hier om iemand anders. Die man is vrijwel zeker Max Schwab, een inwoner van Key West in Florida, die vaak in excentrieke outfits in het openbaar verschijnt. Er zijn geen aanwijzingen dat hij familie is van de oprichter van het WEF.

The claim concerns a particular beach photo of a nearly naked man wearing fishnet stockings, leather straps and angel wings, shared with the caption “Klaus Schwab op het strand.” The review says the image circulated on Facebook and prompted reactions from people who believed it showed Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum. Its investigation identifies the pictured man instead as Max Schwab, a resident of Key West, Florida, known for appearing in eccentric outfits. To check the identification, the review describes comparing the beach image with photographs of a man called Max Schwab in Key West Facebook groups. It notes similarities in distinctive clothing: fishnet stockings and long gloves in some pictures, and white leather straps and angel wings in another. It also points to a tattoo on the left upper arm that appears in both the beach image and a photo of the man identified as Max. In a separate image, the man’s build and clothing style are described as similar as well. The review also traces the photo’s earlier circulation: it appeared on the cover of the Greek tabloid Makeleio on 25 May 2021, which also identified the man as Klaus Schwab. The review reports that Greek fact-checker Ellinika Hoaxes instead identified him as Max Schwab, and that comments on Key West group photos refer to the man as Max. The review says it found no information establishing a family relationship between Max and Klaus Schwab.

dpaPolitics & government

Une vidéo qui montre des manifestants italiens retirer le drapeau européen à Rome après les menaces d'Ursula von der Leyen.

Publisher’s rating: La vidéo en question remonte à 2013, et montre une action du groupe néo-fasciste CasaPound Italia. Elle n’est donc pas liée au contexte actuel.

The claim links footage of people removing an EU flag from a building in Rome to a response to Ursula von der Leyen’s comments around Italy’s September 2022 parliamentary election. The review describes the video as showing dozens of people carrying Italian flags while a man climbs to a balcony and takes down the EU flag. It says the footage was being recirculated with the claim that this was a reaction to von der Leyen’s remarks, but identifies the video as dating from 2013 and depicting an action by CasaPound Italia. The review explains how it traced the footage: a reverse-image search led to a longer version published on YouTube by Italian outlet Meridiana Notizie on December 15, 2013. The segment later recirculated was visible from 2:28 in that version. The video description identified the event as CasaPound Italia’s action outside the European Commission offices in Rome, and the review says the same images could also be found on CasaPound Italia’s YouTube channel. The review dates the event itself to December 14, 2013, and says it was reported in the press at the time in French and English. It distinguishes that event from the later political context: von der Leyen’s comments concerned the 2022 election, while the footage documents an event years earlier. It therefore finds no link between the video and her remarks.

dpaPolitics & government

Deze video toont Italianen die de EU-vlag vervangen na bedreigingen van Ursula von der Leyen

Publisher’s rating: Deze video komt uit 2013 en laat een actie zien van de extreemrechtse actiegroep CasaPound.

The claim links footage of a group replacing the EU flag with Ursula von der Leyen’s remarks about Italy’s 2022 election, suggesting the action was a recent response to those remarks. The review finds that the footage is old: it says the flag was indeed taken down, but “dat is al jaren geleden” and was “niet gelinkt aan de recente verkiezingen in Italië.” [S1: “De vlag werd inderdaad eens naar beneden gehaald, maar dat is al jaren geleden en niet gelinkt aan de recente verkiezingen in Italië.”] The review describes how it checked the video’s provenance. A reverse image search led to a YouTube video with a French title dated 17 December 2013, showing the full action and the subsequent clash with police. The review says the footage was also posted on CasaPound Italia’s YouTube channel. [S1: “Een reverse image search leidt naar een YouTubevideo met een Franse titel, van 17 december 2013. Hierop is de hele actie en de gevolgde botsing met politie te zien. Het protest was een actie van de extreemrechtse groep CasaPound Italia. De beelden staan ook op hun YouTubekanaal.”] The review places the action at the European Commission’s representation in Rome and says Italian media reported on it in 2013, identifying 14 December as the date of the incident. It therefore distinguishes the real location and flag action from the unsupported claim that they were triggered by von der Leyen’s later election-related remarks. [S1: “Verschillende Italiaanse media berichtten in 2013 over deze ‘blitz’ van gemaskerde mannen op 14 december van dat jaar.”] [S1: “De locatie klopt overigens wel. De actie vond plaats bij de Italiaanse vertegenwoordiging van de Europese Commissie, in Rome. Het was alleen geen reactie op een recente opmerking van Ursula von der Leyen of op Meloni’s overwinning tijdens de Italiaanse verkiezingen in 2022.”]