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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

FACTLYPolitics & government

Hong Kong approved a new map that includes China-occupied regions under India’s territory

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a social-media post purporting to show Hong Kong approving a map that placed Aksai Chin, Thag La ridge, Khinzemane and Tibet Autonomous Region within India’s Union Territory of Ladakh. FACTLY reports that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council had not approved such a map. Its account says the photographs accompanying the post were instead from Carrie Lam Cheng signing Hong Kong’s National Anthem Ordinance; that ordinance concerned China’s national anthem, not India’s borders. The review describes two checks. A search for information about the alleged map found no approval by the Legislative Council. A reverse-image search located similar photographs in a Hong Kong Government press release titled “CE signs National Anthem Ordinance.” FACTLY says the ordinance was introduced to promote and protect China’s national anthem in Hong Kong, and that it contained nothing about India’s map. These findings identify the images’ actual context rather than treating them as evidence of the alleged approval. The post’s apparent attribution was also challenged: FACTLY says the tweet was not from Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng, but from a fake account using her name. The review notes that Lam had no official Twitter account and cites the official chief executive website’s links to her Facebook and Instagram accounts. Taken together, the review’s account supports its conclusion that neither the images nor the purported tweet established that Hong Kong approved the claimed map.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Sitaram Yechury addressed Xi Jinping as his ‘Boss’ in a tweet posted on 20 October 2015

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a screenshot presented as a tweet by Sitaram Yechury calling China’s President Xi Jinping his “Boss,” supposedly posted on 20 October 2015. FACTLY’s review says the date shown on the screenshot is nine days before Yechury joined Twitter, on 29 October 2015, making the screenshot’s attribution and date incompatible with that chronology. The review also reports that a search using Twitter Advanced Search found no such tweet on Yechury’s official account. It notes that the screenshot’s text and profile-picture alignment differs from the format of a normal tweet, and that the CPI(M)’s official Twitter account clarified that the tweet was fake and that Yechury joined Twitter after the date shown. Taken together, the reported chronology, account search, visual comparison and party clarification support the conclusion that the screenshot was not an authentic tweet by Yechury.

Pagella PoliticaPolitics & government

«Matteo Salvini (...) nel mese di maggio ha superato chiunque e raccolto una percentuale di apparizioni televisive pari quasi al doppio di quelle del Presidente Conte»

Publisher’s rating: Pinocchio andante

The claim was made by Giulia Grillo, who said Salvini had appeared on television more than anyone else in May and for nearly twice as long as Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The review identifies the claim’s immediate context: Grillo’s Facebook post referred to an article in Il Fatto Quotidiano, whose calculation considered only part of the available data. The review says Grillo’s claim included no qualification limiting which channels or programmes were counted. [S1: “Il 22 giugno l’ex ministra della Salute e deputata del M5s Giulia Grillo ha scritto su Facebook che a maggio Salvini avrebbe raccolto una percentuale di apparizioni televisive superiore a quella di chiunque altro e addirittura quasi doppia rispetto a quella del presidente del Consiglio Giuseppe Conte.”; “L’articolo del quotidiano fa però dei calcoli parziali sulla base del più recente rapporto Agcom, prendendo in considerazione solo parte dei dati a disposizione.”] To check the comparison, the review used the communications regulator Agcom’s report covering 1–31 May. That report included both news bulletins and other programmes on Rai, Mediaset, La7 and Sky. The review says it recalculated the totals using all the available data, rather than the partial selection in the newspaper article. [S1: “I dati sulle apparizioni televisive di maggio sono contenuti nel rapporto dell’Agcom, l’Autorità per le garanzie nelle comunicazioni, ‘Pluralismo politico-istituzionale in televisione 1-31 maggio’, che prende in considerazione i telegiornali e i programmi extra-tg dei canali Rai, Mediaset, La7 e Sky.”; “Dalla nostra analisi (qui sono consultabili i calcoli) risulta che Conte sia stato complessivamente in tv – come detto tra tg e programmi extra-tg delle reti Rai, Mediaset, La7 e Sky –”] On that full-set comparison, Conte’s total was 16 hours, 41 minutes and 1 second, against Salvini’s 12 hours, 45 minutes and 46 seconds. The review also reports that Conte led in news bulletins, while Salvini led only narrowly in non-news programmes. Thus, the overall figures contradict both the assertion that Salvini had the greatest total and the claim that he appeared for nearly twice as long as Conte. [S1: “Conte sia stato complessivamente in tv – come detto tra tg e programmi extra-tg delle reti Rai, Mediaset, La7 e Sky – per 16 ore, 41 minuti e 1 secondo. Salvini invece è stato in tv per 12 ore, 45 minuti e 46 secondi: quasi 4 ore in meno rispetto al presidente del Consiglio.”; “Conte risulta ampiamente primo in quella dei telegiornali, con più di 7 ore e mezza contro le tre ore e pochi minuti di Salvini, mentre Salvini vince – ma di poco – la sfida nei programmi extra-tg, con 9 ore e 41 minuti contro le 9 ore e 9 minuti di Conte.”]

FACTLYPolitics & government

Video of Telangana CM KCR announcing new curfew timings from tomorrow

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a video circulating in June 2020 that appeared to show Telangana Chief Minister KCR announcing new curfew timings effective the next day, with shops open from 9 AM to 6 PM. FACTLY’s review identifies the post’s precise allegation and says it checked whether the video showed a new announcement: “A press meet video of Telangana Chief Minister KCR is being shared widely on social media with a claim that he has announced new curfew timings in Telangana from tomorrow (23 June 2020) and that shops will be open from 9 AM to 6 PM.” The review traced the footage to an earlier press meet, rather than a new announcement. It reports that a recording of KCR’s 24 March 2020 press meet was available on the Telangana CMO’s official Facebook page and that the circulating clip could be watched in that recording between 18:10 and 19:20. The review also says the same video was available on YouTube. Its conclusion is that the post reused footage from the March event: “So, the posted video was clipped from the CM KCR’s press meet on 24 March 2020.” To assess whether the timings had been newly announced, FACTLY says it searched for the stated hours and checked the government’s COVID-19 circulars and orders. It reports that the matching timings had been announced at the March press meet, and that the government had not made the claimed new decision. The review also notes that KCR’s last COVID-19 press meet was on 18 May and says the applicable night curfew remained 9 PM to 5 AM until further notice. It therefore concludes that the video was old and did not establish a new curfew schedule for the following day.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Photos of CPI (M) leaders protest against the Indian army in support of China

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned photos presented as showing CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat protesting against the Indian army in support of China. The review says the images circulated in the context of the India–China border clash in Galwan Valley, Ladakh. Its investigation found that the photos were altered versions of images from a CPI(M) protest in New Delhi on 16 June 2020, which concerned government policies rather than support for China.

NewtralPolitics & government

Alemania nos veta recomendando no viajar a España

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review examines a claim made by Vox deputy Patricia Rueda Perelló in Spain’s Congress on June 10, 2020: that Germany was recommending that people not travel to Spain. It distinguishes that alleged recommendation from Germany’s temporary travel warning while Spain’s borders remained closed and its state of alarm was still in force. The German embassy in Madrid told Newtral that the warning reflected those restrictions, not a specific recommendation to avoid Spain.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturPolitics & government

Une publication diffusée dans un groupe belge sur Facebook veut faire croire que la chancelière allemande a été « arrêtée ». Des images d'Angela Merkel, escortée jusqu'à un van VW, accompagnent la publication. Ce van est, à première vue, semblable à celui qui peut être utilisé pour le transfert de certains détenus.

Publisher’s rating: La Chancelière allemande n’a pas été arrêtée. Les images ont été prises après son discours devant le Bundestag. Le grand véhicule VW est utilisé pour garantir la distanciation physique en période de coronavirus.

The Facebook post used a video of Angela Merkel entering a VW van to suggest she had been arrested, apparently around June 15. The investigation instead places the footage after her appearance at the Bundestag on April 23. It says that location clues in Google Street View—matching steps and trees—support the identification of the setting. The report also notes that Merkel continued working, including a discussion with business and union representatives on April 24 and a meeting with members of her party on June 15. The van’s resemblance to a prisoner-transport vehicle did not establish that it was one. The review compared the vehicle in the video with a VW T6 used to transport detainees, describing a distinctive outward-opening grille beneath the sliding side doors on the prisoner vehicle. It reports that this feature was absent from the van carrying Merkel. Citing RTL, it identifies her van as a means of maintaining safe distances during the COVID-19 period. Taken together, the reported timing and location, the vehicle comparison, and the stated reason for using the van contradict the post’s arrest implication. The review also places the rumor in the context of QAnon claims, but that context does not itself establish what happened in the footage.