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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

Deutsche Presse-AgenturPolitics & government

Um die Bezüge von Abgeordneten gibt es immer wieder Streit - zum Beispiel, weil die Parlamente in Deutschland selbst festlegen, wie hoch die sogenannten "Diäten" ihrer Mitglieder sind. Ein Facebook-Post unterstellt nun, die "Regierung" habe kürzlich die Diäten erhöht, während sie allgemein dazu mahne, "den Gürtel enger" zu schnallen

Publisher’s rating: Die Diäten der Bundestagsabgeordneten sind seit fast einem Jahr nicht erhöht worden. Zudem haben die Parlamentarier im Jahr 2020 für sich selbst eine Nullrunde geplant. Regierungsmitglieder können allerdings von Gehaltsänderungen aller Beamter in Deutschland profitieren.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Old video and picture being shared as Kim Jon Un Died

Publisher’s rating: False

The review investigated a video and photograph circulated on Facebook as showing Kim Jong-un’s death or funeral. It says the posts presented the material as an “அஞ்சலி நிகழ்வு” (a memorial event), amid speculation about Kim’s health after CNN reported on April 21 that he was on his deathbed. The review’s account distinguishes that death speculation from what the shared images actually showed. To check the images, the publisher says it conducted a reverse-image search and found their background, and says it also linked video evidence. It traced the material to footage of the funeral of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un’s father, rather than to an event concerning Kim Jong-un. The review states that Kim Jong-il died in 2011 and that Kim Jong-un became North Korea’s leader after his father’s death. The review further reports that a Facebook account named Kim Yo Jong shared the old video live on April 26, 2020. It says the video itself identified the event as Kim Jong-il’s funeral, but users subsequently shared it in multiple languages as though it showed Kim Jong-un’s funeral. On that basis, the review concludes that the photograph and video do not substantiate the claim that Kim Jong-un had died.

NewtralPolitics & government

El profesor que interviene en un acto con Maduro es un representante de Podemos de gira por Venezuela

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review examines posts presenting a video of an event with Nicolás Maduro as current and describing the man appearing with him as a Podemos representative on a trip through Venezuela. It says both the alleged Podemos connection and the suggestion that the event took place amid the coronavirus outbreak are false. The review identifies the man as Fernando Casado, a journalist of Spanish origin who was then living in Ecuador. It reports that Casado himself and Podemos both confirmed he had no relationship with the party. This directly addresses the central claim: the person in the video was not a Podemos representative. The excerpt also identifies a misleading element in how the video was shared: it was being presented as current, but the review says the encounter did not take place in the coronavirus context. It does not provide a date for the event or describe further checks into the video’s provenance, so those details cannot be established from the supplied text.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Photo of Modi bowing down to touch the feet of AIMIM leader MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The image under review was shared as a photograph of Narendra Modi bowing to touch AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi’s feet. FACTLY reports that its reverse-image search instead found a similar newspaper photograph showing Modi bowing to L. K. Advani at a rally in Bhopal in 2013. The review says the viral image was made by replacing Advani with Owaisi, so it did not show the event claimed. FACTLY also notes that the video related to the 2013 incident was available. Its account identifies the underlying photograph as the Advani image and describes the Owaisi version as one of multiple altered versions made by substituting other people into that image.

NewtralPolitics & government

El ayuntamiento de Tarragona ha enviado una carta explicando la distribución de las playas a partir de agosto

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerned an image shared on WhatsApp that appeared to be a letter from Tarragona City Council explaining how the city’s beaches would be distributed from August. The review says the document bore the council’s logo and the signature of mayor Pau Ricomà, and purported to allocate residents among the Miracle, Arrabassada and Playa Larga beaches. It described four-square-metre plots per household during August and included instructions about what to wear and using the municipal bus. The review reports that the council denied the communication on its website and social media. It also quotes the council urging residents to be cautious about information that did not come from official municipal sources, and says the council was considering whether criminal responsibility might follow. This denial directly addresses the purported letter and its alleged beach-allocation plan. The excerpt identifies the City of Tarragona as its source. It does not provide further detail about how the council established that the document was false, so the available evidence supports reporting the council’s denial, but not attributing any additional verification method to the review.

NewtralPolitics & government

El profesor que interviene en un acto con Maduro es un representante de Podemos de gira por Venezuela

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a video in which Nicolás Maduro gives a speaker the floor and the speaker praises Venezuela, calling it an inspiration for Spaniards. Newtral identifies the speaker as Fernando Casado, a Spanish-born journalist and professor living in Ecuador, rather than a Podemos representative on a visit to Venezuela. The article says the clip was recorded years earlier and describes the event as a meeting between Maduro and other members of the Venezuelan government of the time. [S1: “En el vídeo, grabado hace cuatro años, Nicolás Maduro, presidente de Venezuela, le otorga la palabra y este elogia su gestión y afirma que ‘Venezuela es una inspiración para los españoles’”; “Se trata de Fernando Casado, periodista y profesor de origen español que, en la actualidad, vive en Ecuador.”] The article reports that Podemos told Newtral Casado had never held a position in the party. It also identifies him as a professor in the Government and Public Administration department at Ecuador’s Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales, in Quito. These details address both the alleged party role and the suggestion that he was a visiting representative. [S1: “Desde Podemos, en declaraciones a Newtral.es, han afirmado que Casado ‘no ha ocupado nunca un cargo y tampoco lo ocupa en la actualidad’”; “Casado es profesor del departamento de ‘Gobierno y Administración Pública’ en el Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales (IAEN), en Quito, Ecuador.”] For the video’s provenance, Newtral says the original was published in 2016 and that Casado posted a response on Twitter on April 18, denying a Podemos connection and confirming the footage was several years old. The article also says he recalled that media had circulated the same content in August 2016. The excerpt names the party’s press department and the IAEN faculty listing among its sources, but does not provide their underlying records or a link to the original video. [S1: “El vídeo original se publicó en 2016 y se trataba de un encuentro entre Maduro y otros representantes del Gobierno de aquel entonces”; “Precisamente a esta red social subió el pasado 18 de abril un vídeo en respuesta a las acusaciones, negando su vinculación con Podemos y confirmando que las imágenes publicadas en Facebook son de hace casi cuatro años”; “Fuentes Departamento de Prensa de Podemos.Consulta a la ficha de docentes del IAEN.”]