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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

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Joe biden not ignored modi in quad summit 2022 I 2022 குவாட் உச்சி மாநாட்டில் மோடியை புறக்கணித்தாரா அமெரிக்க அதிபர் ஜோ பைடன்?

Publisher’s rating: Missing Context

The review investigates a video circulated on social media as showing U.S. President Joe Biden ignoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2022 Quad summit in Japan. It says the shared clip was incomplete and compares it with a fuller video posted on Twitter by Naveen Razik, identified in the review as working for Australia’s SBS News. In the fuller footage, Modi brings Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the group-photo area; Biden gestures toward Modi while making a joke about Albanese, then speaks with Albanese and also converses casually with Modi. This sequence supplies context absent from the circulated clip and does not show Biden simply disregarding Modi. The review further notes that Albanese had become Australia’s prime minister only hours earlier and was attending the Quad summit as prime minister for the first time. It presents this as context for Biden’s apparent surprise at seeing him. The review also points to prior meetings between Biden and Modi: after Biden became U.S. president in 2021, and earlier when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration. On that basis, it rejects the interpretation that Biden failed to recognize Modi. The excerpts do not provide independent verification of the video’s provenance or a detailed account of how the social-media edit was made, so the conclusion here rests on the fuller footage as described in the review and its stated chronology.

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaPolitics & government

ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතිඥ සංගමයේ සභාපති සාලිය පීරිස් මහතා සමග දුරකතන සංවාදයක් ද?

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerned a phone recording circulated alongside a photograph of Saliya Peiris, president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). Posts presented the recording as a conversation between a lawyer and the friend of someone arrested during protests, and implied Peiris was the lawyer. The investigation examined whether the voice and call were actually his, rather than treating the photograph or the post’s attribution as proof. The article describes the call as involving a request for legal representation and a discussion of fees, and says the caller later referred to the friend’s arrest in connection with attacks on homes. (S1) The publisher reports that it contacted Peiris by phone. He said the call was not one he had received and that he had not gone to the Homagama Magistrate’s Court or the police station mentioned in the recording. He also said the BASL had made no collective decision requiring lawyers to represent clients without charge; whether to charge fees was an individual lawyer’s decision. The review separately reports that Peiris had represented a person arrested during protests at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, but says that person had not been arrested and that this was not the call described in the recording. (S1) The review also describes technical comparison of speech-signal patterns in the circulating clip and a recording of Peiris speaking on an Ada Derana programme, reporting differences between them. It says BASL executive member Priyani Ratnayake and former BASL president Kalinga Indatissa also said the voice was not Peiris’s. These checks, together with Peiris’s denial and the distinction between his reported court representation and the call’s alleged circumstances, support the conclusion that the recording was misattributed. The excerpt does not identify the actual speaker. (S1)

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaPolitics & government

වැලිගම ප්‍රාදේශිය සභාව නියෝජනය කරන ජ.වි.පෙ මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙක් ද? (PHOTO)

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The review examines a photo circulated in connection with a May 21 incident at the Weligama IOC fuel station. Social-media posts identified the helmeted young man in the image as a JVP member of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha who tried to prevent a diesel tanker from unloading. The review says the incident involved customers asking for petrol and blocking the tanker, after which police took charge of it; it also notes that the crowd later blocked the Weligama–Matara road. The review’s account of the news footage says a police officer did not identify the young man as a local councillor. [S1: “පසුගිය 21 වන දා වැලිගම IOC ඉන්ධන පිරවුම් හලේ සිටි පාරිභෝගිකයන් පිරිසක් පෙට්‍රල් ලබා දෙන ලෙස ඉල්ලමින් එම අවස්ථාවේ පැමිණි ඩීසල් බවුසරයක් ගොඩ බෑමට ඉඩ ලබා නොදුන් බවත්, ඉන් අනතුරුව පොලීසිය එම බවුසරය සිය භාරයට ගත් බවයි.”; “එම පිරිස වැලිගම-මාතර මාර්ගය අවහිර කළ ආකාරයත් එහි පෙන්වා දෙනු ලබනවා.”; “පොලිස් නිලධාරියා විසින්, වීඩියෝවේ දැක්වෙන තැනැත්තා, වැලිගම ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙකු හෝ වැලිගම නගර මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙකු ලෙස හඳුන්වා දීමක් සිදු කරන්නේ ද නැහැ.”] To check the identification, the investigators contacted the Pradeshiya Sabha. It confirmed that its three JVP members were Soma Gamage, Siripala Rajapaksha and Ajith Priyantha; the review says comparison with their photographs showed that the young man was none of them. The municipal council separately named its three JVP councillors as T.W. Shanika Rajeev, P.B. Wasantha Neelamani and Serasinghe Vidanage Nihal. [S1: “වැලිගම ප්‍රාදේශිය සභාවේ, ජ.වි.පෙ. මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් තිදෙනෙකු සිටින බව තහවුරු කළ අතර ඔවුන්, සෝමා ගමගේ මහත්මිය, සිරිපාල රාජපක්ෂ මහතා සහ අජිත් ප්‍රියන්ත මහතා වේ.”; “මෙම ඡායාරුප , සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ හුවමාරු වන දර්ශනවල සිටි තරුණයාගේ ඡායාරුප සමඟ සංසන්දන කිරීමේ දී ඔහු ඉහත දැක්වෙන මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් කිසිවෙකු නොවන බව දැක ගන්නට ලැබுகிறது.”; “වැලිගම නගර සභையෙන් ද අප කළ විමසීමේදී அவர்கள் සඳහන් කළේ, ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ නාගරික මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් තිදෙනා වන්නේ, ටී.ඩබ් ශානික රජීව මහතා පී.බී වසන්තා නීලමනී මහත්මිය සහ සේරසිංහ විදානගේ නිහාල් මහතා බවයි.”] The review further reports that Shanika Rajeev said he was a municipal councillor who had intervened to resolve the dispute, but that he was not the person shown in the circulating image. The Weligama police station chief also told the investigators that the helmeted young man was not a Pradeshiya Sabha councillor and that the councillor was elsewhere. The review’s conclusion is specifically about the pictured young man: it says he was not a JVP member of either the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha or the municipal council. [S1: “මන්ත්‍රීවරයා සඳහන් කළේ, එම පුද්ගලයා තමන් නොවන බවත්, තමන් වැලිගම නගර සභා මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙකු බවත් එම අවස්ථාවේ ගැටලුව විසඳා ගැනීමට පමණක් තමන් මැදිහත් වූ බවයි.”; “හෙල්මටයක් පැළඳ සිටි තරුණයා ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්‍රීවරයකු නොවන බවත් මන්ත්‍රීවරයා (ටී.ඩබ්. ශානික රජීව මහතා) වෙනම ස්ථානයක සිටි බවයි.”; “ඡායාරූපයේ හා වීඩියෝවේ පෙන්වා දුන් තරුණයා, ජවිපෙ වැලිගම ප්‍රාදේශිය සභාවේ හෝ නගර සභාවේ මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙකු නොවන බවයි.”]

Vishvas NewsPolitics & government

विश्वास न्यूज च्या तपासात व्हायरल दावा दिशाभूल करणारा निघाला. हिंदूंनी आयोजित केलेल्या कार्यक्रमादरम्यान ऑस्ट्रेलियाचे पंतप्रधान अँथनी अल्बानीज यांचा हा व्हायरल फोटो आहे. जो आता दिशाभूल करणारा दावा करून शेअर केला जात आहे.

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The viral post claimed that Anthony Albanese wore a saffron scarf while taking the oath as Australia’s new prime minister. Vishvas News examined the image behind that claim and found that it was not taken at his swearing-in. The review says it shows Albanese at an event organized by Hindus in Parramatta, where he was still opposition leader, before becoming prime minister. The review describes using Google reverse-image search to trace the photograph. It reports finding related coverage published by The Guardian on May 14, 2022, and says that both this reporting and coverage by ABC News placed the image at a Hindu-organized event in Parramatta. It also cites a May 7 post by the Hindu Council of Australia and says the council had shared a video of the event on Facebook. Albanese’s own May 6 post shared photographs from Parramatta and described meeting leaders from Hindu and subcontinental communities. To check the separate claim about the oath-taking, the review says it examined a video uploaded by 9 News Australia on May 23, 2022, which it describes as showing that Albanese did not wear a saffron scarf. The review also reports consulting an Australian independent journalist, who said the photograph predated Albanese becoming prime minister and was taken when he attended the earlier Hindu-organized event. These details support the review’s conclusion that the image was shared with a misleading description: it depicts an earlier event, not the swearing-in.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Visuals showing US President Joe Biden snubbing Modi at the QUAD summit in Japan

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a video from the QUAD summit in Japan that appeared to show US President Joe Biden ignoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while talking with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. FACTLY says the clip was being shared as evidence that Biden snubbed Modi, but concludes that the portrayal left out what happened next. To check the clip, the review says a Google search led it to a news video showing the same scene from a different angle. That footage shows Biden speaking with Modi after finishing his conversation with Albanese. FACTLY also examined a lengthier version of the viral video, which it says likewise shows Biden interacting with Modi immediately afterward. The review therefore describes the viral clip as edited: it cut out Biden’s interaction with Modi, making the brief exchange with Albanese appear to show that Modi was being ignored. It also reports that Biden praised Modi for handling the COVID-19 situation in India. Taken together, the additional footage contradicts the claim that Biden snubbed Modi at the summit.

FACTLYPolitics & government

BJP MP Ravi Kishan featured Hotstar advertisement billboard in Uttar Pradesh

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a Hotstar billboard featuring Ravi Kishan that was shared as evidence of an advertisement placed in Uttar Pradesh. The review says it traced the pictured hoarding to Indore, Madhya Pradesh, rather than Uttar Pradesh, and found it was displayed before Kishan became the MP from Gorakhpur. The investigation’s conclusion is that the billboard does not establish that he featured in an advertisement placed in Uttar Pradesh. To identify the image’s location and timing, the review says it searched using relevant keywords and found social-media posts sharing the same photo in May 2019. One post, dated 13 May, described it as a hoarding in Ramachandra Nagar, Indore. The review also cites a report that located the hoarding near Holkar College in Indore. The chronology matters to the claim’s framing: the review states that Kishan was officially declared MP for Gorakhpur after the 2019 election results were announced on 23 May. The photo was already circulating in May, and the cited report places the billboard in Madhya Pradesh. Together, those details undercut the presentation of the image as a billboard placed in Uttar Pradesh after Kishan became an MP.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Photo of Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese with a saffron Hindu scarf during his oath-taking ceremony

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a photo of Anthony Albanese wearing a saffron Hindu scarf, said to show him at his oath-taking ceremony as Australia’s Prime Minister. FACTLY says the photo was not taken at that ceremony and that Albanese did not wear a saffron scarf during it. Instead, the image came from a Hindu Council Australia event in Parramatta, before Albanese became Prime Minister. To identify the photo’s setting, the review reports using Google Reverse Image Search. It says the search found the same photo in an ABC News article, captioned as showing Albanese wearing the scarf at a Hindu Council event in Parramatta earlier that month. The review also reports that Albanese posted similar photos on 6 May 2022, thanking the Hindu Council Australia for inviting him to an event in Parramatta that night. These details place the image at the community event, not at the oath-taking ceremony. The review further distinguishes the photo from the ceremony by noting that visuals of Albanese’s oath-taking ceremony show him without a saffron scarf. It also gives a relevant point of comparison: former Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended a separate, similar Hindu Council Australia event and wore a similar scarf. That comparison does not change the provenance of Albanese’s photo; the review identifies it as a pre-election event image, not a photograph from his swearing-in.

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaPolitics & government

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂගේ බයිසිකල් පැදීම සහ හෙලිකොප්ටරෙන් යාම ! (PHOTOS)

Publisher’s rating: Missing Context

The review investigates photographs shared as evidence that former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa cycled because fuel prices had risen and was using a helicopter for travel during the fuel crisis. It addresses the separate claims about the bicycle, the helicopter, and a photograph of the Netherlands’ ambassador cycling. The publisher’s conclusion is that the posts about Rajapaksa are misleading because they omit the photographs’ original circumstances: “අප විසින් සිදු කරන ලද කරුණු විමසීමේදී තහවුරු වූවේ පසුගිය යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව සමයේ දී ඉන්ධන මිල වැඩිවූ අවස්ථාවකදී, එයට එරෙහිව මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා බයිසිකල් පැද ඇති බවට පළවන සමාජ ජාලා සටහන් නොමග යවන සුලු ඒවා වන බවයි.” For the bicycle image, the review identifies it as showing Rajapaksa and opposition MPs cycling to Parliament in 2017. Their ride was a protest against a temporary fuel shortage, not a protest against a fuel-price increase: “ඔහු ඇතුළු එවකට විපක්ෂ පර්ලිම්නේතු මන්ත්‍රීවරු පිරිසක් 2017 වාසරේ දී පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට බයිසිකලයෙන් පැමිණියේ කෙටි කලකට ඉන්ධන හිගයක් ඇතිවූ අවස්ථාවක, එයට විරෝධය දැක්වීමටයි.” For the helicopter image, the review says reverse-image searching found the photograph online years earlier, and reports that an Air Force spokesperson identified it as a 28 October 2018 flight from Colombo to Kandy, when Rajapaksa became prime minister of the 52-day government. The article does not establish whether he used an aircraft on the later return journey from Trincomalee; the spokesperson said he was not aware. The review cautions that its finding concerns the circulated photograph, not proof that Rajapaksa never used a helicopter: “අප මෙම ලිපියෙන් කරුණු විමර්ශනය කරනු ලැබුවේ සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ සංසරණය වූ ඡායාරූප සම්බන්ධයෙන් පමණකි. හිටපු අගමැති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මැතක දී භාවිතා කරන ලද හෙලිකොප්ටරයක ඡායාරූපයක් නොවන බවට පමණක් අප මෙමගින් පෙන්වා දී තිබේ.”