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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.

12,752 published reviews in this topic

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: 2020 dated news being narrated on DMK govt account

Publisher’s rating: Missing Context

The claim concerned news cards saying Tamil Nadu could not provide school meal eggs to students because of social-distancing requirements, while also reporting that the High Court questioned why liquor shops could open. The Fact Crescendo review says readers had sent it a screenshot and that the cards were being shared as a current statement by the DMK government. It checked the dates printed on the cards and found they were from 2020; one also described the lockdown as being on its 132nd day. That timing is central to the review’s conclusion. It says the story belonged to the first COVID-19 lockdown, not the DMK government that was in office when the claim circulated. The review places the change of government after the May 2, 2021 election, and says the egg-related court proceedings occurred under the previous AIADMK government. It also points to reports of the same 2020 story from News 7 Tamil and other outlets. On that evidence, the cards were old news presented as current, creating a misleading impression about which government was responsible. The review does not say the 2020 news itself was fabricated. Its finding is that attributing it to the then-current DMK government omitted the crucial date and political context. The article’s stated conclusion is that the claim was not reliable as presented.

Vishvas NewsPolitics & government

Delhi CM make this announcement on ads in paid TV channels

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The viral Tamil-language meme claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that paid TV channels must not carry advertisements, supposedly limiting broadcasters’ earnings from both subscribers and advertisers. The review says this was not an announcement by Kejriwal: an Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson denied that he had made one, and the review found no authentic news reports confirming such an announcement. The investigation describes two checks. Vishvas News searched online for reports of an announcement, noting that similar claims had circulated since 2019, and contacted AAP spokesperson Surel Tilve for verification. Tilve said the viral claim was fake and that the chief minister had made no such announcement. The review also distinguishes the claim from TRAI’s television-channel subscription rules: it cites a December 2018 notification under which viewers could select channels and pay according to the broadcasters’ set prices. That existing subscription system does not substantiate the meme’s allegation of a Kejriwal announcement. The review further states that a state government authority was not entitled to make the kind of announcement described, citing the central government’s powers over TRAI under the TRAI Act. Its conclusion rests on the spokesperson’s direct denial and the lack of authentic reporting it found, alongside this distinction between TRAI’s channel-choice rules and the alleged policy announcement.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Video of US President Joe Biden sleeping during his meeting with PM of Israel

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a clip said to show US President Joe Biden sleeping while meeting Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. FACTLY identifies the underlying event as their 27 August 2021 meeting in the White House Oval Office. Its account says Biden briefly lowered his head while Bennett was speaking, but concludes that the short clip gives a misleading impression of what happened in the meeting. FACTLY describes two checks on the clip. First, it says reverse image searches of screenshots led to a longer video on the Official White House YouTube channel, titled “President Biden Holds a Bilateral Meeting with Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel.” The review reports that the viral 32-second clip came from 12:17 of that video, which runs for more than 13 minutes. In the longer footage, Biden responds immediately after Bennett finishes speaking, at 12:49. The review also points to Biden’s thumbs moving while his head was down as evidence that he was not asleep. Taken together, the longer footage and the hand movement support the review’s conclusion that the clip captures a brief moment taken out of its fuller context, rather than demonstrating that Biden slept through the meeting.

המשרוקית של גלובסPolitics & government

נשיא ארה"ב ג'ו ביידן נרדם בפגישה עם ראש הממשלה נפתלי בנט

Publisher’s rating: מטעה

The claim concerned a viral clip purporting to show U.S. President Joe Biden asleep while Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke at their meeting. The review describes the clip’s spread after the meeting, including its promotion by Israeli lawmaker Galit Distel-Atbaryan, and says fact-checkers at Reuters and CNN examined the footage. It reports that their checks found the circulating video had been edited and cut in a misleading way. [S1: “השיתופים הללו הביאו את בודקי העובדות של סוכנות הידיעות רויטרס ושל רשת CNN לבחון את הטענות. הבדיקה שלהם העלתה שהסרטון שפורסם ברחבי הרשת נערך ונחתך בצורה מגמתית ומטעה.”] The review says Reuters presented the longer recording, in which Biden responds to Bennett just after the viral excerpt ends. It also reports that CNN pointed to Biden moving his hands during the moment portrayed as sleep, and connected his lowered gaze to Bennett’s remarks about the difficult days Americans were experiencing in Afghanistan. The review’s account of the full footage is that Biden abruptly lowered his head while Bennett discussed the Afghanistan attack, continued moving his hands and head, and responded when Bennett finished. [S1: “ברויטרס הציגו את הקטע המלא, שבו נראה ביידן משיב לבנט מיד עם סיום דבריו, רגע אחרי שהקטע הערוך נחתך.”; “ב-CNN הראו גם כי הנשיא מזיז את ידיו בזמן שהוא כביכול נרדם, והסבירו כי ביידן השפיל את מבטו מיד לאחר שבנט החל לדבר על \"הימים הקשים\" שעוברים האמריקאים באפגניסטן, כנראה כאות כבוד לחיילים האמריקאים ההרוגים.”; “בחינה של הקטע המלא מפגישתם של ביידן ובנט מראה כי הנשיא לא נרדם, אלא משפיל בפתאומיות את ראשו בעת שבנט מדבר על פיגוע הטרור באפגניסטן. ביידן אף ממשיך להזיז את ידיו וראשו לאחר מכן. בנוסף, מיד עם סיום דבריו של בנט, הנשיא מגיב ומתייחס לדברים.”] The review also reports that two journalists who were in the room said they did not think Biden had fallen asleep; one suggested the appearance could be due to the camera angle. These accounts provide additional eyewitness context, while the review’s central rebuttal rests on the longer footage and the movements and response it says the full recording shows. [S1: “גם עיתונאים ישראלים ששהו בחדר בו נערכה הפגישה בין השניים התייחסו לטענות כאילו ביידן נרדם במהלך הפגישה ושללו אותן.”; “הייתי בחדר, הסתכלתי כל הזמן על בנט ועל ביידן, ולא התרשמתי שביידן נרדם. לדעתי זה עניין של זווית הצילום”]

המשרוקית של גלובסPolitics & government

המאבק של נתניהו [נגד הסכם הגרעין] הביא לכך שלאובמה לא היה רוב בקונגרס לתת גיבוי להחלטה הנשיאותית שלו על ההסכם... ולכן כשהגיע טראמפ הוא יכול היה לבטל את ההסכם הזה בלי שהוא נזקק לגיבוי מהקונגרס

Publisher’s rating: לא נכון

The Globes fact-check examined Hanegbi’s claim that Netanyahu’s campaign against the Iran nuclear deal deprived President Barack Obama of congressional backing, and that the absence of congressional approval later allowed President Donald Trump to cancel the deal without Congress. It distinguished the claim’s proposed causal link from the question of what the congressional process actually did. The review says it could not establish whether Netanyahu’s speech caused lawmakers’ opposition, but found that Obama did not seek congressional approval in the way Hanegbi described. The account places the dispute in the context of the Republican victories in the 2014 midterm elections, after which Republicans controlled both chambers. It explains that Obama’s administration said it did not need congressional approval and could proceed through presidential authority. Under a compromise, Congress could review the deal; Republicans could not overcome an expected presidential veto without a two-thirds majority. The Senate held no vote, while the House vote was symbolic and did not block implementation. The review also notes that Netanyahu’s speech was in March 2015, whereas the deal was presented to Congress in July and the House vote took place in September. The review rejects the further assertion that the lack of congressional approval enabled Trump to withdraw. The arrangement was not a signed treaty between states, but an undertaking among Iran and the P5+1, reflected in UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The fact-check says even congressional support would not have made it a ratified treaty; and, citing past presidential withdrawals from treaties and rejected court challenges, concludes that Trump could have withdrawn unilaterally and reimposed sanctions. Its bottom line is that Obama’s lack of a congressional majority did not mean he sought and failed to obtain approval, and that congressional approval was not a prerequisite for Trump’s withdrawal.

Fact Crescendo CambodiaPolitics & government

ជំនួប​រវាង​សម្ដេច ស ខេង និង​ឯកឧត្ដម សម រង្ស៊ី ថ្ងៃ​នេះ សម្រេច​ថា និង[នឹង]​បង្កើត​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​បណ្ដោះ​អាសន្ន​មួយ ដោយ​សម្ដេច ស ខេង ត្រូវទទួល​បន្ទុក​ក្នុង​ការ​បង្វឹក​កង​ទ័ព ចំណែក​​ឯឧត្ដម សម រង្ស៊ី ទទួល​ខុស​ត្រូវ​ក្នុង​ការ​ស្វែង​រក​ហិរញ្ញវត្ថុ។ ហើយ​ពលករ​ចំណាក​ស្រុក​មក​ធ្វើ​ការ​នៅ​ប្រទេស​ថៃ​រាប់​សែន​នាក់ ត្រៀម​ខ្លួន​រួច​ជាស្រេច​ក្នុង​ការ​ចូល​ធ្វើ​ជា​កង​ទ័ព​ស្ម័គ្រ​ចិត្ត​ក្នុង​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​បណ្ដោះ​​អាសន្ន​មួយ​នេះ ដើម្បី​ផ្ដួល​រំលំ​របប​ផ្ដាច់​ការ​អាយ៉ង់​យួន ហ៊ុន សែន

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaPolitics & government

FACT CHECK: මංගල සමරවීර මහතාගේ මරණය සම්බන්ධයෙන් නලින්ද ජයතිස්ස මහතා සිදු කළ බව පැවසෙන ව්‍යාජ ප්‍රකාශයක් !

Publisher’s rating: False

The review examined a social-media post attributed to physician and JVP figure Nalinda Jayatissa. It presented a newspaper-style item alongside his photograph and claimed that Mangala Samaraweera had been killed by an insulin overdose. The review says it investigated whether a newspaper had published such a report after Samaraweera’s death, as well as whether Jayatissa had made the statement attributed to him. The investigators report checking the “Ada” newspaper, where the photograph of Jayatissa had previously been used, and other newspapers for the alleged item; they say they found no such publication. They also contacted Ruwan Ferdinandus, described as a close associate of Samaraweera, who called the post entirely fabricated and said he had informed Jayatissa about it. Jayatissa, when asked, denied making the statement. The review also points to Jayatissa’s own Facebook response. He challenged authorities to question him if he had made the statement, and said that since he had not, they should question the person who posted it. Its conclusion is that the attributed statement was not made and that the newspaper-style item had not appeared in a newspaper. The review adds that the image used in the post was one previously used in newspaper reporting about Jayatissa, rather than evidence that he made the claim.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Altered picture shared as Modi kissed Amit Shah in a public place

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

Fact Crescendo investigated a social-media image presented as showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi kissing Amit Shah on the lips in a public place. The review says the post was shared by the Facebook page Unofficial:பிஜேபி தொண்டர்கள் on August 13, 2021, and that the image appeared genuine at first glance. It notes, however, a difference in the red strip around Shah’s neck, prompting the investigation. The review reports that investigators uploaded the image to a reverse-image search. They say this led them to the original photograph, taken on April 23, 2019, when Modi visited Ahmedabad to vote in the parliamentary election. In that original, Modi was kissing Shah’s granddaughter on the cheek; the review says her image was removed through photo editing and the picture was altered to make it appear that Modi kissed Shah. On that comparison, the review concluded that the circulated image was edited and that the claimed kiss between Modi and Shah did not occur in the depicted photograph.

dpaPolitics & government

De spoedwet werd met twee jaar verlengd, tot september 2023.

Publisher’s rating: Het bericht klopt niet. De Tijdelijke wet COVID-19 Justitie en Veiligheid vervalt (vooralsnog) op 1 oktober 2021. De uiterste datum van 1 september 2023 heeft betrekking op twee bepalingen. Deze verlossen failliete ondernemingen van de verplichting om binnen twaalf maanden een jaarrekening te presenteren, indien zij hier door toedoen van COVID-19 niet aan kunnen voldoen. Deze bepalingen zijn niet verlengd, maar gelden al vanaf de invoering van de wet tot september 2023 en vormen daarmee een uitzondering op de voorlopige vervaldatum van 1 oktober.

The post under review showed a screenshot of the Tijdelijke wet COVID-19 Justitie en Veiligheid and claimed that the emergency law had been extended by two years because the displayed expiry date was 1 September 2023. The review distinguishes the law’s general expiry from the expiry date of two particular provisions: it says the law was, at that point, due to expire on 1 October 2021, while the September 2023 date applied only to those provisions. To check the dates, the review says it examined Article 35, which sets out when the law and its provisions expire. It cites Article 35(3), under which the law could be extended in periods of up to two months, and reports that the most recent extension had made it valid until 1 October 2021. It also quotes a Government Gazette notice setting that date, explicitly excluding Articles 15 and 22. The review explains that Article 35(6) set a separate expiry date—1 September 2023—for Articles 15 and 22. Those provisions concern public limited and private limited companies and provide an exception to the usual consequences of failing to publish annual accounts on time when the failure is due to COVID-19. The review says the exception had been part of the law since its introduction on 22 April 2020, rather than being added in a new two-year extension. The screenshot therefore conflated the expiry date of two provisions with the expiry of the law as a whole.