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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

US ambassador Julie Chung visited Wasantha Mudalige with dried meat and bottle of honey!!

Publisher’s rating: Satire

The claim concerns a purported tweet saying US Ambassador Julie Chung visited detained student-union convener Wasantha Mudalige and brought him dried meat and a bottle of honey. The review identifies that message as a satirical, Sinhala-language post: its account says Mudalige looked pale because he was not receiving a nutritious diet, and that he accepted the food. The claim is therefore about an alleged visit and gift presented in a tweet, not evidence in the review that such a visit occurred. The review says it checked Chung’s official Twitter account and Twitter archives but found no such tweet. It also reports that a US Embassy in Colombo spokesman confirmed Chung had not posted the purported messages. The review further states that there was no report of Chung visiting Mudalige. Together, these checks address the central elements of the claim: the alleged social-media source was not an authentic Chung tweet, and the review found no reporting of the visit. The article places the post amid other sarcastically edited screenshots attributed to Chung, including a separate one about Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and a bookshop. It reports that Chung had expressed concern about people’s rights to express their views in a tweet after Mudalige and others were detained, and that she later warned publicly that fake tweets mimicking her account were circulating. The article presents those real statements as context for the imitation campaign, not as confirmation of the alleged visit or food delivery.

dpa Deutsche Presse-AgenturPolitics & government

In einem ihrer Artikel fordert die «Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung» ein Ende der Sanktionen gegen Russland.

Publisher’s rating: Der Artikel ist gefälscht und stammt nicht von der «FAZ». Die Aufmachung der Original-Website wurde kopiert.

The claim concerns an article presented as coming from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) that supposedly called for abolishing Western sanctions against Russia. The review says the article was not published on FAZ’s official website or in its print archive: it appeared on a lookalike site with the address “faz.ltd,” whose copied design and links to genuine FAZ sections and an imprint could make it appear authentic. The review concludes that the article was fabricated and that the original website’s appearance had been copied. [S1: “Der Artikel ist weder auf der offiziellen Seite «faz.net» zu finden noch im gedruckten Archiv der «FAZ».”; “Dieser steht nicht auf der offiziellen Webpräsenz «faz.net», sondern auf einer nachgemachten Seite mit einer anderen Endung: «faz.ltd».”; “Durch das kopierte Layout wird der Eindruck erweckt, es handle sich um die echte «FAZ»-Website.”] The review also traces the alleged article’s content to a Tagesspiegel article. It reports that a link presented as leading to a Spiegel comparison table instead led to the Tagesspiegel, and that the fake FAZ page used a rewritten version of the Tagesspiegel article and copied its table. Crucially, the review says the Tagesspiegel text itself did not call for ending sanctions. It also reports that cited expert Timo Wollmershäuser told dpa in writing that he had made the quoted statements only to the Tagesspiegel. [S1: “Bei einem genaueren Blick wird deutlich, dass der gefälschte Artikel auf «faz.ltd» eine umgeschriebene Version des «Tagesspiegel»-Artikels ist.”; “Im Text des «Tagesspiegel» selbst ist allerdings genauso wenig die Forderung zu finden, dass die Sanktionen gegen Russland eingestellt werden sollten.”; “Timo Wollmershäuser vom Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (Ifo) bestätigte der Deutschen Presse-Agentur (dpa) schriftlich, dass er diese Sätze nur dem «Tagesspiegel» gesagt habe.”] The review further notes that the fake article attributed its information to AFP, although the review says it did not come from that agency. Together, the false web address, copied presentation and material, and unsupported attribution underpin the finding that the article was not a genuine FAZ article. [S1: “Auch die Quellenangabe des gefälschten «FAZ»-Artikels ist nicht korrekt. Die Informationen stammen nicht von der französischen Nachrichtenagentur AFP.”]

FACTLYPolitics & government

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath said ‘Islam Zindabad’ during his speech

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a viral video that appears to show Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying “Islam Zindabad” during a speech. FACTLY reports that it traced the footage to his speech at the ‘Gareeb Kalyan Sabha’ event on 8 June 2022 and compared details visible in the viral clip with the event video. The review says the background, microphones and a speaker box matched, helping it identify the source footage: “Evidently, the background, microphones and speaker match the viral video.” FACTLY describes searching online for the source using those visual details and reviewing videos of Adityanath’s speeches. It says the matching footage was a livestream on his official Facebook page, from the event held on 8 June 2022. The viral clip uses a section from 0:10 to 0:15 of that livestream, according to the review. The decisive comparison is what the review says is audible in the original footage: Adityanath calls out “Bharath Mata Ki,” to which the audience responds “Jai,” and then “Vande,” followed by the audience shouting “Mataram.” FACTLY concludes that the “Islam Zindabad” voice was added to the event footage. Its account therefore identifies the viral audio as an alteration, rather than a statement made by Adityanath in the original speech.