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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.

12,754 published reviews in this topic

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Nandhini Anandan not protested against DMK government

Publisher’s rating: Altered

The review investigates two related claims circulating in May 2021: that activist Nandhini Anandan had stopped speaking out against liquor sales after the DMK came to power, and that a photograph showed her demanding the DMK government resign. It reports that the image was edited. The original poster, published by Anandan in 2020, called on the AIADMK government to resign—not the DMK government. The review says the text was changed from “AIADMK” to “DMK” before the image was shared as a current protest against the new government. (The English party names here are translations of the source’s Tamil.)

FACTLYPolitics & government

Photo of Delhi-based businessman Navneet Kalra posing with Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a collage of photographs said to show Delhi businessman Navneet Kalra posing with Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. FACTLY examined the pictures in the context of the oxygen-concentrator case involving Kalra, whose restaurants in Delhi were searched by police. Its investigation identifies the person in the photographs as Augusto Cabrera, a chef and managing partner at Town Hall, rather than Kalra. The investigation traced the collage to a similar image on Kalra’s Facebook page. In the caption, Kalra tagged Cabrera and said the image was taken on 23 January 2015 at Town Hall restaurant in Delhi. FACTLY also checked Town Hall’s website and Cabrera’s Facebook profile, and compared photos of Kalra with the person in the collage. The article says those profile images, along with the comparison, confirm that the person pictured with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi is Cabrera. The restaurant connection helps explain the misleading identification: Town Hall was owned by Kalra, and Cabrera worked there. The article’s evidence supports identifying the pictured man as Cabrera; it does not establish that Kalra was present in the photographs.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Misinformation that Kiran Bedi has been appointed as governor of Tamil Nadu

Publisher’s rating: False

The review investigates a social-media post claiming that Kiran Bedi had been appointed Tamil Nadu’s new governor. It says the post, published by GD Dinakar on May 2, 2021, used Bedi’s photograph and congratulated her on becoming the state’s governor. The review distinguishes the claim of an appointment already made from speculation that she might be appointed: its focus is whether an appointment had actually been announced. To check this, the publisher reports looking for an announcement from the central government and checking the President of India’s official website for a notice. It also reports that a news outlet contacted Bedi, who said she had no knowledge of reports that she was being appointed. The review further quotes a senior Tamil Nadu BJP functionary describing the social-media reports as rumors and saying the incumbent governor, Banwarilal Purohit, had more than a year left in his term. The review’s conclusion rests on the absence of an official announcement in the checks it describes, together with Bedi’s reported response that she knew of no appointment. It therefore finds no support for the post’s assertion that she had already been appointed. The article notes that the central government could appoint a person of its choosing as governor; that possibility does not establish that Bedi had been appointed.

dpaPolitics & government

Italianen betogen over heel het land op de snelweg door ze te blokkeren

Publisher’s rating: Het bericht mist context en heeft een foute tijdsaanduiding. De foto's tonen geen blokkades over heel Italië. Het gaat om verschillende, aparte betogingen op 6 april, 13 april en 19 april.

The post presented photographs of highway protests as evidence of a countrywide action against coronavirus measures. The review investigated whether the pictures showed one nationwide protest, and whether their timing supported that account. It identifies the original post as coming from the Facebook page “BULLET NEWS,” which described itself as sharing “all the news,” including hidden news. The review says the post’s information did not match what its investigation found. [S1] To trace the images, the review reports using a Google search and comparing the photos with local reporting. It identifies separate demonstrations on Italy’s A1 motorway: one on 6 April between Naples and Milan; another on 13 April near San Nicola La Strada, on the stretch between Milan and Naples; and a third on 19 April near Incisa, close to Florence. The first photo was linked to the 6 April protest, while the second and fifth—and also the fourth—were linked to the 19 April action. The third photo was linked to the 13 April event. [S1] The review also distinguishes the organizers and causes of these events from a single national campaign. It says the first two demonstrations were organized by ANA-ugl Caserta, a group representing market vendors, and the 19 April demonstration by TNI Italia, a hospitality-industry association. It concludes that the photos document separate, locally organized actions, rather than a nationwide blockade as the post implied. [S1]