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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

myth detectorPolitics & government

The post involves a drawing with Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti Region marked in red and portrayed as part of Armenia. The drawing is accompanied by English-language and Georgian-language captions containing disinformation: “Akhalkalaki is Armenia. Akhaltsikhe is Armenia. ახალქალაქი არის სომხეთი. ახალციხე არის სომხეთი.”

Publisher’s rating: The post containing disinformation and portraying two cities of Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti Region as part of Armenia, in light of escalation of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, aims at fomenting strife in the society.

YouturnPolitics & government

பா.ஜ.க அலுவலகத்தில் தரையில் அமர வைக்கப்பட்ட நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர். இளம்பெண் பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை செய்து கொல்லப்பட்ட உத்தரப்பிரதேச மாநிலம் ஹத்ராஸ் தொகுதி மக்களவை உறுப்பினர் ரஜ்வீர் சிங் தில்வார், தனது தொகுதியில் உள்ள பாஜக அலுவலகத்தில் கலந்தாய்வு நடத்திய போது அவர் தரையில் அமரவைக்கப்பட்டு கையில் பிளாஸ்டிக் குவளையில் தேநீர் கொடுக்கப்பட்டது. இருக்கையில் அமர்ந்திருப்பவர் அப்பகுதியில் உள்ள உயர்சாதி பாஜக பிரமுகர்.

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

Vishvas NewsPolitics & government

పానిపట్‌లో తరలివచ్చిన ఈ రైతుల వరద.. బీజేపీకి అంతిమ నిమజ్జనానికి సమయం ఆసన్నమైందని.. మరికొద్ది సేపట్లో ఢిల్లీ వైపు పాదయాత్ర చేస్తాం, ప్రభుత్వం ఎంత దౌర్జన్యం చేసినా ఆగేది లేదని చెబుతోంది.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The viral post presented a photograph of a large farmers’ rally as showing an event in Panipat. Its caption said the rally signaled that the BJP’s final days were near and that the farmers would go to Delhi. The review found that this was not a photograph of the claimed Panipat gathering: it traced the image to a 2018 farmers’ protest in Maharashtra. The review describes the post as referring to the image as having been taken during a current Panipat movement: “2018 ఏప్రిల్‌లో మహారాష్ట్రలో రైతుల ఆందోళన సందర్భంగా తీసిన ఫోటోను ఇప్పుడు కొంతమంది పానిపట్‌లో జరిగినట్లు ప్రస్తావిస్తూ వైరల్ చేస్తున్నారు.” (S1) To investigate the image’s origin, the publisher says it uploaded the photograph to Google’s reverse-image search. It found the image on YourStory, where it had been uploaded on March 13, 2018; that article described farmers marching to Mumbai and thousands attending the protest. The review reports that this was the oldest image it found in its search: “శోధన సమయంలో, Yourstory అనే వెబ్‌సైట్‌లో ఈ ఫోటోను మేము కనుగొన్నాము. ఇది 13 మార్చి 2018లో అప్‌లోడ్ చేశారు. ఈ వెబ్‌సైట్‌లో మేము కనుగొన్న అతి పురాతన చిత్రం ఇదే.” (S1) The review also reports finding another angle of the same scene on the Indian Express website. It says yellow road dividers visible in that image matched those in the viral photograph. Separately, the publisher consulted Ravi Dhawan, identified as the Panipat bureau chief for Dainik Jagran, who said the image was not from Panipat and that the city did not have roads like those shown. Together, the image-search history and the reported visual and local checks support the conclusion that the photograph was misattributed, rather than evidence of the claimed Panipat rally: “పానిపట్‌లో అలాంటి రోడ్లు లేవని, వైరల్ పోస్ట్ తప్పు అని నిర్ధారించారు.” (S1)

Les SurligneursPolitics & government

Emmanuel Macron promet que “l’obligation de neutralité sera étendue aux salariés des entreprises délégataires (de services publics), ce qui n’était pas clairement le cas jusqu’alors”

Publisher’s rating: L’obligation de neutralité, notamment religieuse, des employés des entreprises privées qui gèrent un service public (gestion des eaux, transports, etc.) est en réalité très clairement affirmée par le juge.

The review assesses Emmanuel Macron’s statement that neutrality requirements would be extended to employees of companies delegated to operate public services, “which was not clearly the case until then.” It distinguishes between making the requirement more explicit in legislation and whether such employees were already bound by it. The review’s central finding is that the legal obligation already applied to employees performing public-service duties, even when their employer was a private company. To support that conclusion, the review cites a 2013 Court of Cassation decision stating that neutrality applies to all public services, including those operated by private-law organizations. It applies that principle to employees of private contractors such as transport operators, water distributors and catering providers, and says staff in contact with users must observe neutrality. The review further explains that this duty is not limited to employees with public-sector status: what matters is their role in carrying out a public service. The review identifies a qualification behind Macron’s promise: a new law could restate an existing rule and make it easier to apply, even if the judge had already affirmed it. It also says the relevant case law may not be readily accessible, which could help explain why the requirement was presented as unclear. Thus, the distinction is between the obligation’s prior legal existence and the possible practical value of clarifying it in legislation.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturPolitics & government

Pläne für eine Rentenreform haben in Frankreich über Monate hinweg für Streit und Proteste gesorgt. Nun wird in einem Beitrag auf Facebook (hier archiviert) verbreitet, das Volk habe «gewonnen» - das Renteneintrittsalter für Männer liege bei 62 und für Frauen bei 58 Jahren.

Publisher’s rating: Tatsächlich hat die französische Regierung Pläne verworfen, das standardmäßige Renteneintrittsalter von 62 auf 64 Jahre zu erhöhen. Es gibt jedoch keinen Unterschied von vier Jahren zwischen Frauen und Männern. Zudem gibt es weitere Besonderheiten: So sind etwa Abschläge geplant, wenn Franzosen mit 62 Jahren in Rente gehen wollen.

The Facebook post claimed that French men could retire at 62 while women had to retire at 58, presenting the difference as a victory for the public. The review distinguishes the government’s abandoned proposal to raise the standard retirement age from that separate claim about women’s age. It reports that the statutory age was 62 and that the European Commission described this age as applying equally to people born from 1955 onward. To check whether women’s age was lower, the review cites the European Commission and French authorities on the statutory rule, and OECD figures on actual retirement timing. Those figures do not support a four-year gap: for 2016, French women in fact retired three to four months later than men on average. The review also notes that men’s average effective retirement age was 60, distinguishing observed retirement behavior from the statutory threshold. The post also leaves out the status and qualifications of the reform plans. The government had abandoned the proposed increase from 62 to 64, but the review says the associated early-retirement reductions were still plans, not implemented measures. The reform was later postponed, and special rules meant some occupations had different retirement arrangements.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Woman protesting against the BJP government in the wake of the atrocities against women by wearing a dress made out of chains

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a photograph circulated as showing a woman protesting against the BJP government over atrocities against women, in the wake of the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. FACTLY’s review says posts with this claim were being shared in that setting, but identifies the woman in the image as Sri Lankan, not as a protester in India. The article describes her clothing as Osariya-style attire, rather than a dress made from chains for a protest. To investigate the image, FACTLY reports conducting a reverse image search. That search led to a website showing the same woman in the same attire from another angle; the website identified her as Sri Lankan and described the attire as Osariya, with origins in the Palk Straits. The review also reports finding a Sri Lankan YouTube video containing the same visuals. These image matches and the video’s Sri Lankan provenance contradict the post’s description of the photograph as a protest against the BJP government. The review therefore distinguishes the image’s actual subject and setting from the political context attached to it when it circulated. Its account supports the conclusion that the photograph does not show the protest described in the claim; it does not establish that the events in Hathras or the broader issue of violence against women did not occur.

USA TODAYPolitics & government

Joe Biden is ancient, showing pretty severe signs of dementia, doesn’t believe in legalizing weed, wrote a bill that is a huge contributor to our mass incarceration problem, oh yeah, and he’s a creepy rapist.

Publisher’s rating: Partly False

USA TODAY examined a social-media post by Instagram user _thepeachfuzz, who listed four criticisms of Joe Biden while also saying she would vote for him because “he’s not Trump.” The review assessed the accusations separately rather than treating them as one factual assertion. It noted that the post did not provide evidence for its allegations. (S1: “The Instagram user called _thepeachfuzz, from San Francisco, says her four complaints against Biden don't matter in the voting booth because of one reason: ‘He's not Trump.’” and “In listing her accusations, the Instagram user does not attempt to back them up.”) On age, the review said Biden was 77 and would have been the oldest person to assume the presidency if elected, while explaining that “ancient” is subjective. On dementia, it reported that the condition must be determined by medical tests and said it found no evidence linking Biden to it. The article therefore distinguished a documented age from the post’s unsupported medical allegation. (S1: “Biden 77, would be the oldest person to assume the presidency if elected.” and “Dementia is a condition that must be determined by medical tests and there is no evidence linking Biden to it.”) The review found that Biden supported decriminalizing cannabis, but not legalizing it. On the 1994 crime bill, it compared prison-population growth before and after the bill: the article reports that the population more than doubled per capita from 1980 to 1994, while the increase from 1994 to 1995 was 6.7%, and says annual increases then declined for six years. On the rape allegation, it distinguished reports of unwanted or overly familiar behavior from a rape accusation, stating that Biden had never been accused of rape. Overall, the article concluded that the claims were false, unprovable, or—on marijuana legalization—accurate. (S1: “Biden's position would liberalize laws governing marijuana but would stop short of legalizing it.”; “From 1980-94, the nation's prison population more than doubled on a per capita basis”; “By contrast, from 1994 — the year the crime bill was passed — to 1995, the inmate population increased by 6.7%.”; “he has never been accused of being a rapist.”; “Our research finds that the issues raised in the attack are either false, unprovable, or in the case of marijuana legalization, accurate.”)