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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

BBC Reality CheckPolitics & government

Biden once called African-Americans "super-predators"

Publisher’s rating: That's not right. He did use the word "predators" but did not use this to refer to African-Americans.

The BBC review examined Trump’s debate claim that Biden had once called African-Americans “super-predators.” It concluded that Biden did use the word “predators,” but not to refer to African-Americans. The distinction matters: the review does not deny that Biden used the word; it rejects the claim about whom he applied it to. [S1]

FACTLYPolitics & government

President’s rule is never imposed during Modi’s tenure as PM, while the same was imposed 39 times during Indira Gandhi’s tenure as PM

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The post compared the use of President’s rule under two Prime Ministers, claiming there were no such instances during Narendra Modi’s tenure and 39 during Indira Gandhi’s. FACTLY checked the claim against information it said was available in the Parliament library and information obtained through RTI queries. The evidence it reports directly contradicts the claim that there were no instances under Modi. The review says the Parliament-library information records three instances between 2014 and 2016 after Modi became Prime Minister: Maharashtra on 28 September 2014, Arunachal Pradesh on 26 January 2016, and Uttarakhand on 27 March 2016. It also cites RTI information for later cases: Jammu and Kashmir on 19 December 2018, subsequently revoked on 31 October 2019, and Maharashtra on 12 November 2019, revoked on 23 November 2019. These examples alone disprove the claim of zero instances. The review also disputes the comparison’s count for Indira Gandhi: it reports 48 occasions during her tenure, not 39. It concludes that President’s rule had been imposed under several Prime Ministers, including Modi, and that Indira Gandhi had the highest total in the account it cites. Thus, both the “never” assertion and the stated count for Indira Gandhi conflict with the review’s reported evidence.

USA TODAYPolitics & government

Sen. Chuck Schumer said Amy Coney Barrett is 'wildly out of the mainstream' because she’s Catholic and Christian

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim arose from a Facebook meme during Amy Coney Barrett’s 2020 Supreme Court nomination. It attributed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer the phrase “wildly out of the mainstream” about Barrett, and said he opposed her because she is Catholic and Christian. The meme used that alleged statement to argue that Democrats oppose Christians and Catholics.

Telemundo-PolitifactPolitics & government

"Tengo Florida, tengo Texas, tengo, discúlpeme, Portland. El Sheriff acaba de salir a decir que apoya al presidente Trump"

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review addresses Donald Trump’s claim that the sheriff had just come out in support of him, made alongside his references to Florida, Texas, and Portland. It identifies the relevant official as Mike Reese, sheriff of Multnomah County, where Portland is located. The decisive evidence cited is Reese’s own public statement on Twitter. The review reports that he said he had never supported Trump and never would. That direct denial contradicts Trump’s description of the sheriff as a supporter. The excerpt does not describe additional interviews or independently detail how the tweet was authenticated; it says the statement was reported by PolitiFact.

FACTLYPolitics & government

OSD to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray breaks down during a press meet referring to the pathetic handling of COVID-19 by the government. He also heads the medical assistance cell

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The post claimed that Om Prakash Shete was Uddhav Thackeray’s serving Officer on Special Duty (OSD), headed the medical assistance cell, and broke down at a press meet while discussing Maharashtra’s handling of COVID-19. The review examined reporting about the man in the video and his official roles, rather than disputing that the press conference took place. It says Lokmat’s tweet about the conference described Shete as the “former head of the Chief Minister’s Medical Assistance Cell,” and that a local news-channel video of the press meet also identified him as the former head of the medical aid cell. The review also reports checking a news article about a petition Shete filed seeking coverage under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana for all COVID-19 patients, not just those on ventilators. That report likewise called him the former head of the Chief Minister’s Medical Assistance Cell. Separately, a report about the press meet identified him as OSD to former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and the “about” section of Shete’s Facebook account described him as a former OSD and former chief of the CM medical assistance cell. Taken together, those references support the review’s conclusion that Shete’s past association with the medical assistance cell and a former chief minister was being presented as a current role under Uddhav Thackeray. The review therefore rated the claim false: it concluded that Shete was not OSD to the current chief minister. The evidence described addresses the identity and roles of the man at the press meet; it does not establish that the post’s characterization of the government’s COVID-19 handling was itself accurate.

Telemundo-PolitifactPolitics & government

"Trump dijo que 'había gente muy buena en ambos lados', incluyendo a grupos de supremacistas blancos"

Publisher’s rating: Falta contexto

The claim concerns Joe Biden’s account, during the first presidential debate, of Donald Trump’s remarks after the 2017 Charlottesville protests. The review says Biden was recalling clashes between white supremacist groups and anti-racism demonstrators. It treats Biden’s statement as true, while noting that it leaves out relevant context: Trump made the remarks at a press conference after the protests, when a reporter was speaking about neo-Nazis who had come to Charlottesville to protest. In the excerpt of Trump’s response reproduced by the review, he said there were “very bad people” in the group, but also “very good” people “on both sides.” The review adds a qualification from that same press conference: Trump also said neo-Nazis and white nationalists should be condemned. Thus, the review’s assessment turns on the combination of his quoted remarks, not on a claim that he did not say there were good people on both sides.

USA TODAYPolitics & government

Former Vice President Joe Biden called troops 'stupid bastards.'

Publisher’s rating: MISSING CONTEXT

The claim concerns a real remark by Joe Biden during a March 7, 2016, visit to troops at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi. USA TODAY reports that video shows Biden telling the audience, “Clap for that, you stupid bastards,” after he said he had appointed Airwoman Lt. Karen Johnson to “the academy.” Johnson had introduced him to the troops, and Biden was encouraging them to applaud her. The investigation describes the footage as real, rather than disputing that he used the words. [S1: “The footage of the moment is real. It was from a trip to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 7, 2016, and he was speaking with troops stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base.”; “After that remark, expecting applause, Biden encouraged the troops to clap for Johnson in part by calling them ‘stupid bastards.’”] The review’s account places the remark within a longer speech and cites Biden’s campaign spokesperson, Andrew Bates, who said Biden was jokingly encouraging applause for Johnson. The article reports that service members could be seen laughing and smiling, and that Bates said Biden had praised their sacrifices shortly before the remark. These details provide the surrounding context; they do not change the fact that Biden said the phrase. [S1: “Vice President Biden was jokingly encouraging the audience to clap for an airwoman on the stage, and a number of service members can be seen laughing and smiling at the comment. Seconds before, he praised them for ‘the incredible sacrifices (they) make for our country,’” Bates told The Daily Beast.] USA TODAY also notes that Biden thanked the troops and their families and, near the close, called them “the finest generation of warriors the world has ever, ever known.” The review’s conclusion is thus based on both the authentic remark and the speech’s surrounding praise, not on a finding that the video was fabricated or that the words were not spoken. [S1: “He thanked them for their patriotism and courage throughout, and closed his remarks by saying, ‘You’re the finest generation of warriors the world has ever, ever known’ — receiving an enthusiastic ovation,” Bates added.]