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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: AIADMK MP OP Raveendranath met Naga Sadhu with his wife

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

Fact Crescendo examined a social-media post claiming that O.P. Raveendranath Kumar, an AIADMK MP and son of O. Panneerselvam, had gone with his wife to receive a blessing from a naked holy man. The post showed a bowed man and a woman covering her face. The review cautioned that the man’s posture made identification uncertain, and that the woman’s covered face prevented a reliable comparison with Raveendranath’s wife. (“தலைகுனிந்தபடி சாமியார் ஒருவரிடம் ஆசி வாங்கும் நபர் படத்தை பகிர்ந்துள்ளனர். அருகிலுள்ள பெண்மணி முகத்தை கைகளால் மூடிக்கொண்டபடி உள்ளார்.”; “தலைகுனிந்து கைகூப்பிய நிலையில் உள்ளதால் அது ரவீந்திரநாத் தானா என்று உறுதியாக கூற முடியவில்லை.”) To investigate the image’s origin, the review says it used a reverse-image search and found a Kannada-language report identifying the people as Congress politician K. B. Prasanna Kumar, an MLA from Shimoga, and his wife. That report, published by Kannada Oneindia on 19 April 2018, said Prasanna Kumar had met a Naga sadhu and received a blessing with his wife. The review also describes contacting a journalist in Karnataka, who pointed to the report and supplied Prasanna Kumar’s Facebook link; the reviewers said the man in the photograph appeared to be him. (“கன்னடா ஒன் இந்தியாவில் 2018 ஏப்ரல் 19ம் தேதி வெளியாகி இருந்தது.”; “அதில், ஷிமோகா எம்.எல்.ஏ-வும் கர்நாடக சட்டமன்றத் தேர்தலில் காங்கிரஸ் கட்சி சார்பில் ஷிமோகா தொகுதியில் மீண்டும் போட்டியிடுபவருமான கேபி பிரசன்ன குமார், தன்னுடைய மனைவியுடன் நாக சாதுவை சந்தித்து ஆசி பெற்றார் என்று குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தனர்.”; “அவருடைய ஃபேஸ்புக் லிங்கை திறந்து பார்த்தபோது, படத்தில் உள்ளது அவர் போலத்தான் தெரிகிறது.”) The review further reports comparing an image identified as Raveendranath’s wife, Anandhi, with the woman in the circulating photograph, while acknowledging that the covered face made a conclusive comparison impossible. Its conclusion rests principally on the earlier Kannada report’s identification and the image’s history, not on a definitive facial match: it says the photograph showed Prasanna Kumar rather than Raveendranath and that the claim about Raveendranath and his wife was false. (“தி வீக் வெளியிட்ட படம் ஒன்று கிடைத்தது. அதில் ஓ.பி.ரவீந்திநாத் மனைவி ஆனந்தி என்று குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தனர்.”; “நம்முடைய ஆய்வில், இந்த படம் 2018ம் ஆண்டு கன்னடா ஒன் இந்தியா வெளியிட்டிருப்பது கண்டறியப்பட்டுள்ளது. அதில், ஷிமோகா எம்.எல்.ஏ-வும் மீண்டும் போட்டியிடும் காங்கிரஸ் வேட்பாளருமான பிரசன்ன குமார் நாக சாதுவிடம் ஆசி பெற்றார் என்று குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளனர்.”)

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: 24 years old muslim girl became IAS officer in Maharashtra

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review investigates photos circulated with the claim that a 24-year-old Muslim woman had become an IAS officer in Maharashtra. It reports that the images instead show Sahrish Kanwal, a 14-year-old girl selected for a one-day appointment as a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in Buldhana district. The review says the district collector, Suman Chandra, planned the appointment for International Women’s Day week, and that Kanwal spent the day observing various duties as district DSP. To check the claim, the reviewers searched Google using different keywords for news reports about it, finding none, and then conducted a reverse-image search of the photographs. The review says that search led them to the account identifying the girl and the occasion. Its conclusion is that photos from the one-day DSP appointment were recirculated with a false description portraying the girl as a 24-year-old IAS officer.

فکت‌نامهPolitics & government

آیا ارجاع لایحه بودجه به شورای نگهبان بدون مصوبه مجلس، قانونی است؟

Publisher’s rating: احتمالا بودجه سال ۱۳۹۹ را باید تنها قانون بودجه ۱۰۰ سال اخیر بدانیم که نه تنها از صحن مجلس عبور نکرده، بلکه اکثریت نمایندگان مجلس دهم شورای اسلامی با کلیات آن مخالفت کرده‌اند. یعنی بعد از محمد علی شاه قاجار که پیش از تصویب اولین قانون بودجه مدون در سال ۱۲۸۵، اختیار تام و تمام در دخل و تصرف در بودجه ایران را داشت، ظاهرا این اولین بار است که بودجه سالانه کشور نه با رای نمایندگان مجلس بلکه با حکم حکومتی مقام اول کشور، تایید و می‌رود تا به مرحله اجرا درآید.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Fake news card on Minister Rajenthra Balaji

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review investigates a Facebook post sharing a purported News 7 news card. The card claimed that Tamil Nadu minister Rajenthra Balaji said he did not need the support of minorities and Dalits. The review says it checked whether News 7 had published the card and found that it had not: the card’s information had been edited. It also says the review obtained what it describes as the genuine News 7 card. The review distinguishes the fabricated card from a separate controversy reported in October 2019. In that episode, Balaji was said to have mocked Muslim youths by asking whether Muslims would vote for his side while he was campaigning for the Nanguneri assembly by-election. The review says Balaji denied that allegation at the time, and that the review publisher had previously examined it. It also states that it found no reports of Balaji criticizing Dalits. On the evidence described in the review, the circulating card was not an authentic News 7 publication, and the review found no support for its claim that Balaji had made the alleged remarks about Dalit votes. Its conclusion applies to the specific Facebook post and card it examined.

The QuintPolitics & government

Image shows CAA protesters burning the tricolour

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines an image circulated with the claim that it shows people protesting against India’s amended citizenship law. The post described people burning the Tricolour, with banners of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the background, and characterized the scene as evidence against the protesters. The review says the image had also circulated with a claim linking it to Muslims in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area, where women had been protesting against the CAA. It concludes that the image does not show CAA protesters and places the depicted protest in Multan, Pakistan, in June 2015. [S1] To investigate the image’s provenance, the review reports conducting a reverse image search. It found the same photograph on the website Bloggers Speak, uploaded on 12 June 2015 under a title identifying Pakistani protesters and a poster of Modi. The accompanying caption said the photograph was taken on 11 June 2015 in Multan, where protesters burned an Indian flag, and credited the image to Associated Press. [S1] The review says it then checked AP Images and found the photograph attributed to AP photographer Asim Tanveer, with the same 11 June 2015 date. Its cited caption linked the protest to anger in Pakistan over comments by the Indian prime minister concerning Indian forces’ role in the war that led to Bangladesh’s independence. The reported image history and location therefore contradict the claim that this photograph depicts CAA protesters in India. [S1]

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: TN Minister Rajenthra Balaji criticized AIADMK members

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review investigated a Facebook post attributing to Tamil Nadu minister Rajenthra Balaji the statement that, without the BJP, AIADMK members would be left begging. It says the post’s news card was falsely presented as a Thanthi TV card, rather than an authentic report of the minister’s remarks. To check the card, the review says it located a news card posted on Thanthi TV’s official Facebook page on 29 February 2020 and compared it with the card circulating in the Facebook post. The review concludes that the circulating version had been edited from the authentic card to spread a false claim. Its conclusion concerns the provenance and alteration of the card; the excerpt does not provide a transcript or other direct recording of Balaji’s remarks.