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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 Rahul Gandhi carrying a woman in his arms

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review addresses a specific social-media claim: that a photo of a man carrying a woman in his arms shows Rahul Gandhi. It concludes that neither person in the image is Gandhi or the woman implied by the claim: the man is actor Jamie Dornan, and the woman is actress Dakota Johnson. The review says the image is connected to a scene in the film “Fifty Shades Freed.” To investigate, the fact-checkers ran the photo through Google Reverse Image Search. They report finding the same image on Alamy, where its description identifies Dornan and Johnson as their characters Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in “Fifty Shades Freed,” and dates the film to 2018. This provides an identifiable source and film context for the image, rather than relying only on a visual resemblance to Gandhi. The review also says the same photo appears in several articles about the film. Taken together, the reverse-image-search result, Alamy’s description and the reported appearances in film-related articles support the conclusion that the photo depicts Dornan and Johnson, not Rahul Gandhi. The supplied excerpt does not name those other articles or provide further details about how the image circulated on social media.

APA - Austrian Presse AgenturPolitics & government

Der Präsident der Ukraine Wolodymyr Selenskyj, der als Schauspieler berühmt wurde, hat ein Vermögen von 850 Millionen Dollar.

Publisher’s rating: Das exakte Vermögen des ukrainischen Präsidenten ist nicht bekannt. Realistische Schätzungen gehen von unter 30 Millionen US-Dollar aus. Unklar ist, ob Selenskyj darüber hinaus durch mögliche Beteiligungen an Offshore-Firmen auf größere Geldmengen zugreifen kann. Die genannte Zahl von 850 Millionen US-Dollar Gesamtvermögen ist allerdings durch keine seriöse Quelle belegbar und unrealistisch.

The claim concerns an alleged $850 million fortune belonging to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had a career as an actor and comedian before entering politics. The APA review says the exact value of his wealth is unknown, but explains that the $850 million figure is unsupported by credible sources and is inconsistent with the estimates it discusses. Those estimates put his wealth below $30 million; Forbes Ukraine valued his Kvartal 95 stake at about $11 million in April 2022 and estimated his overall wealth at $20 million.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Mohan Bhagwat’s tweet – Modi works for 15-16 hours a day, even at the age of 67

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY investigated a social-media post sharing a screenshot said to show RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for working 15–16 hours a day at age 67. The review’s conclusion was that the tweet was not Bhagwat’s: it came from a fan account. It says the account handle differed from Bhagwat’s official one and that the viral post was unverified. (S1: “The official twitter handle of Mohan Bhagwat is different from the viral one.”; “The official twitter handle of Bhagwat carries a verified symbol, whereas the viral tweet does not carry any such symbol.”) The review also checked the tweet’s timing against Bhagwat’s Twitter history. It reports that the post dated to 11 March 2019, before Bhagwat joined Twitter on 13 May 2019, and says he had made no tweets. That chronology directly contradicts attributing this earlier post to his account. (S1: “Moreover, the viral tweet dates back to 11 March 2019. As per the information, Mohan Bhagwat joined twitter on 13 May 2019 and most importantly, he has made zero tweets till date.”) The age in the circulating tweet was another indication that the screenshot was old: the review notes that Modi turned 71 on 17 September 2021, while the post described him as 67. FACTLY further says it found no reports of Bhagwat praising Modi specifically for his working hours. Taken together, the account discrepancy and chronology undermine the attribution to Bhagwat; the post’s wording alone does not establish who authored it. (S1: “The viral tweet highlights the age of Modi as 67, whereas Modi turned 71 on 17 September 2021.”; “Further, there are no reports about RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat lauding Modi for his working hours.”)

dpa FaktencheckPolitics & government

Bundesministerin Svenja Schulze trägt einen Great-Reset-Sticker.

Publisher’s rating: Die Brosche, die Schulze manchmal trägt, steht für die 17 Nachhaltigkeitsziele der Agenda 2030 der Vereinten Nationen. Das offizielle UN-Symbol ist älter als die «Great Reset»-Initiative des Weltwirtschaftsforums.

The dpa review addresses the specific claim that the colorful brooch Svenja Schulze sometimes wears signifies the Great Reset. It identifies the circular design as the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 logo, representing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, rather than as a symbol originating with the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset initiative. The review says the colors on Schulze’s pin match the sequence shown on official UN pages. The chronology is central to the distinction: the UN member states adopted Agenda 2030 in 2015, while the review dates the WEF’s Great Reset initiative to 2020. It reports that the goals logo was already visible on websites in 2015, before that initiative. The review also notes that the Great Reset initiative itself aims to advance implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a connection that may help explain why the two subjects are conflated but does not make the brooch a Great Reset symbol. The article distinguishes that WEF initiative from a conspiracy narrative that uses the phrase “Great Reset” to allege that undefined elites plan a “New World Order.” Its account therefore identifies the brooch by its design and chronology, while placing the Great Reset reference in the context of a separate initiative and a related conspiracy myth.

FACTLYPolitics & government

BJP leader and former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb has criticised Narendra Modi’s leadership hours after his resignation

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns Biplab Kumar Deb’s response after resigning as Tripura chief minister: that he criticized Narendra Modi’s leadership and said the country was being ruined under Modi. FACTLY reports that it searched for such a statement and found no news report of one. Its account instead describes Deb speaking to the media after his resignation and expressing support for the party and Modi.