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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: This is not sonia gandhi sitting on former maldivian president's lap

Publisher’s rating: False

The review examined a viral image presented as showing Sonia Gandhi sitting on the lap of former Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. It describes the circulated picture as a photoshopped image and says the Facebook post sharing it was published on April 23, 2020. The review’s conclusion applies to the image’s apparent depiction: the scene was edited, not an authentic photograph of Gandhi sitting on Gayoom’s lap. [S1]

USA TodayPolitics & government

Did the Kennedy Center donate coronavirus stimulus aid to Democrats?

Publisher’s rating: False

The post reviewed by USA Today alleged that the Kennedy Center received $25 million from the CARES Act and then donated $5 million to the Democratic Party. The review found no evidence of such a contribution. It also reported that the Center’s spokesperson said it had “never donated to any political organization,” and described the Center as legally barred from political donations and political activity as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3). The post also alleged a donation by PBS, but this review’s direct findings about donations and funding use concern the Kennedy Center. The review examined how the Center said it would use its $25 million allocation. The funds were designated for listed operating needs, including employee compensation and benefits, rent, utilities, artist payments, and administrative expenses. The Center was also required to report to Congress on how the money was used. The review stated that the Center’s allocation plan did not direct any funds to the Democratic Party. The financial context did not establish a political donation: the Center had furloughed staff and said it expected to run out of funding as soon as July despite the federal aid. USA Today’s stated conclusion rested on the absence of evidence of a donation, the Center’s stated funding plan, and the restrictions it described—not on proof that the Center had already spent every dollar.

NewtralPolitics & government

Audio del exministro socialista José Luis Corcuera criticando al Gobierno

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review examines an audio circulating on social networks that criticizes the government’s handling of the health crisis. The accompanying text identifies its speaker as José Luis Corcuera, the former socialist interior minister. The review says that attribution is false: the speaker was radio broadcaster Walter García Carro. For evidence of who made the recording, the review reports that García Carro claimed authorship in a tweet. It also says that, in another social-media post, he linked to the complete programme from which the viral excerpt came. Thus, the review identifies both a first-person claim of authorship and a longer programme as provenance for the clip; the supplied excerpt does not give further details about the programme or describe additional authentication tests.