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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

台灣事實查核中心Politics & government

網傳文章「呂秀蓮的心聲」，經查：〈呂秀蓮的心聲〉為假造文，並非前副總統呂秀蓮之文章與發言。本文拼貼自多則不實傳言。此為「錯誤」訊息。

Publisher’s rating: 錯誤

The Taiwan FactCheck Center examined the social-media and messaging-app article 「呂秀蓮的心聲」, which attributed to former vice president Annette Lu claims that she was disillusioned with the Democratic Progressive Party and would take her own life for Taiwan. The review concluded that the article was fabricated, was not Lu’s writing or speech, and combined material from several online rumors. It reports that the center checked the programs and links cited by the circulating article: Lu’s remarks in those programs did not match the rumor. Her office also told the center that she had never made the attributed statements. The review traced one part of the rumor’s framing to a June 21, 2018, FTV talk-show interview title, which used the phrase “透心聲” (“share her innermost thoughts”). But the interview concerned Lu’s criticism of the DPP’s process for its Taipei mayoral primary, not the sweeping allegations in the viral text. The review also compared the rumor’s claims with Lu’s June 4 and 5, 2018, interviews on FTV and found that they did not contain the rumor’s allegations about corruption and alleged party tactics. The review describes a further distortion involving Lu’s remark about taking her own life. In the June 4 interview, she spoke conditionally about Taiwan’s possible fate under DPP rule; in a June 5 interview, she explained that context. The viral article instead recast the remark as a pledge to die for Taiwan’s 23.57 million people. Other passages were also misattributed: the review says a claim about a large interest group and National Taiwan University land came from a professor’s remarks on a public television program, not Lu, while a claim about judges was from a separate program whose guests did not include her. The review’s evidence therefore supports the conclusion that the article assembled unrelated material and falsely attributed it to Lu.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Rahul Gandhi saluting with the left hand.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY examined an image shared as showing Rahul Gandhi saluting with his left hand. Its review identifies the pictured occasion as the 65th Independence Day celebrations at the Congress party headquarters in New Delhi and says the image circulating in the post was a laterally inverted version of the original. In the original, Gandhi saluted with his right hand. The review describes comparing the shared image with results from reverse image searches. Searching the cropped image did not yield credible information, but searching its laterally inverted version led to an NDTV article featuring the same image. FACTLY says that article identified the photograph as being from the Congress party headquarters flag-hoisting ceremony in 2011. It also says a Getty Images photograph from that ceremony confirmed the inversion.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Justice Markandey Katju: ‘BJP Isn’t A Political Party! It Is An Organized Gang Of Goons, Uneducated School Dropouts, Criminals And Brain Washed Morons!!!! Period!!!!’.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim attributes a specific insult about the BJP to Justice Markandey Katju. FACTLY reports that the quote circulated in a social-media post and says it investigated whether Katju had made those comments. Its account describes searching Google, Facebook and Twitter: Google searches produced no information from a credible source, while a Facebook search found a screenshot of a tweet purporting to contain the quote. These findings establish that the screenshot circulated, but do not establish that Katju authored it. The decisive evidence described in the review is Katju’s clarification on Twitter. FACTLY says he stated that posts circulating on Facebook and Twitter were from a fake account in his name and identified “@mkatju” as his genuine account. On that basis, the review concludes that the quoted remarks were falsely attributed to him—not that the statement came from his official account. The supplied excerpt does not include the clarification’s full text or a link to the tweet, so its details cannot be independently assessed from this evidence alone.

FACTLYPolitics & government

Policemen holding placards of NO NRC NO CAA.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns two images circulated on Facebook that appear to show policemen holding “NO NRC NO CAA” placards. FACTLY reports that the images were altered: the original photographs show Delhi Police personnel holding placards during a protest over lawyers’ attack on police personnel at the Tis Hazari Court complex, not a protest against the NRC or CAA. The review says it checked the images using Google Reverse Image Search. It traced the first image to a November 2019 article by The Hindu, which identifies Delhi Police officers at police headquarters in New Delhi protesting the attack by lawyers. FACTLY says the original image shows that the placards did not carry the words attributed to them in the circulated version. For the second image, FACTLY points to a LiveMint article showing police personnel displaying placards during a protest about repeated alleged violence against them by lawyers. The review says those original posters also did not contain the claimed wording. Together, these identifications support the conclusion that the placards in the circulated images had been photoshopped; the images were from a police protest about violence against officers, not an anti-NRC or anti-CAA demonstration.

台灣事實查核中心Politics & government

網傳「泰國給60多國免簽 我們卻要辦簽證 再交3個月財力證明...菜政府不但給泰國免簽 每人還送8000元 包機補助25萬 喪權辱國的總統 應撤職嚴辦以謝國人」，經查：泰國的免簽國家為64國，台灣赴泰確實仍須申請簽證。觀光局補助並未有「泰國每人8000元」，而觀光局的包機補助須達到載客數等條件，按旅遊人數核發，意在促進觀光。傳言提及「申請泰國簽證要交財力證明」，泰國貿易經濟辦事處表示，這是因應泰國實施電子簽證新制，對全球一體適用，台灣不是特例。泰國貿易經濟辦事處表示，電子簽證要提供的「財力證明」文件，不限「3個月」，文件為個人方便提供的存摺影本、薪資單、退休金證明等，旅遊團由旅遊公司檢附行程說明替代，不需另請銀行出具文件。此傳言為「部分錯誤」訊息。

Publisher’s rating: 部分錯誤

The review investigated a circulating claim that Thailand allows visa-free entry to more than 60 countries while Taiwanese travelers need a visa and three months of financial records, and that Taiwan’s government gives Thai visitors NT$8,000 each and provides a NT$250,000 charter-flight subsidy. It also addressed whether Taiwan grants Thai visitors visa-free entry. The review describes checking Thailand’s foreign ministry visa information, consulting the Thai Trade and Economic Office, and asking Taiwan’s tourism and foreign affairs authorities about the subsidies and visa arrangements. On Thailand’s entry rules, the review found that Thailand offered tourist visa-free entry to 64 countries and that Taiwan was instead among 18 countries eligible to apply for a visa on arrival. For the financial-document claim, the Thai Trade and Economic Office said Thailand’s planned electronic visa requirements would apply to countries generally, not Taiwan alone. The review states that the system was due to include Taiwan from March 1, 2020, and that financial documents could include a bankbook copy, salary statement, or pension record; the requirement was not limited to three months. Tour groups could submit a travel itinerary through their travel company instead. On the alleged payments, the Tourism Bureau said its charter-flight program did not pay individuals NT$8,000. It supported qualifying flights carrying inbound visitors, with eligibility tied to passenger and seat-occupancy conditions; for certain Southeast Asian charter flights arriving at or departing from airports other than Taoyuan and Taipei Songshan, the stated support was US$8,000 per round trip. Separately, the review reported that Taiwan offered Thai nationals a 15-day tourist visa exemption, while Thai visitors staying longer needed a visa. The evidence therefore distinguishes a conditional tourism incentive from a personal payment and distinguishes visa exemptions from visa-on-arrival or longer-stay requirements.

YouturnPolitics & government

ஹிட்லர் பேச்சையும் கேளுங்கள் மோடியின் பேச்சையும் கேளுங்கள். நீங்கள் என்னை வெறுக்கலாம், ஆனால் ஜெர்மனியை வெறுக்காதீர்கள் – ஹிட்லர் , நீங்கள் என்னை வெறுக்கலாம் , ஆனால் இந்திய தேசத்தை வெறுக்காதீர்கள் – மோடி.

Publisher’s rating: Fake

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: False narrative on Anbumani Ramadoss

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

Fact Crescendo investigated a Facebook post that depicted PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss holding a banner supposedly saying, “We will not hesitate to hold a lamp for alliance dharma.” The review says the image was circulating as genuine, but its visual details pointed to a different setting: a woman standing nearby held a placard referring to the Cauvery Management Board. The article identified her as AIADMK MP V. Sathyabama and placed the photograph in a protest at the Parliament complex over the Cauvery issue. To check the image’s origin, the publisher says it searched for the circulated photograph and found video of an AIADMK-alliance protest in 2018, as well as a March 14, 2018 post on Anbumani’s Facebook page. It compared the image with that protest material and examined an enlarged version of the banner in his hands. The review reports that the banner actually read “Cauvery Management Board,” not the alliance-related wording added to the circulated image. On that basis, the investigation concluded that the Facebook post used an altered photograph: the original protest image showed Anbumani taking part in a Cauvery-related demonstration, while the banner text had been changed through Photoshop. The evidence presented concerns the specific image and its alleged wording, rather than merely a separate statement by Anbumani.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: BJP functionary SG Suryah protested against H Raja

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review investigates a Facebook post claiming that BJP functionary S.G. Suryah had protested against H. Raja. It places the image in the context of protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA): the review says BJP members in Tamil Nadu held a demonstration supporting the central government’s position on the Act on December 20, and that the disputed post circulated as mockery of that demonstration. The review says the post also portrayed Raja as mentally ill. To check the image, the publisher says it uploaded it to Google for a reverse-image search. It reports that the image was manipulated and links the source image to a post on Suryah’s official Twitter account: the review says the image in that post was taken and altered to create the circulated version. On that basis, it concludes that the image does not show Suryah protesting against Raja; it is a manipulated image from a BJP demonstration in support of the CAA.

FACTLYPolitics & government

'Remove CAB. Make India a Muslim nation’ poster at Priyanka Gandhi’s anti-CAA protest at the India Gate.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a photo said to show a woman holding a “Remove CAB. Make India a Muslim nation” placard at Priyanka Gandhi’s protest against the CAA and NRC at India Gate. FACTLY concluded that the image had been altered: the woman’s original placard called for jobs and roti, not a Muslim nation. The review describes the slogan as “लाठी-गोली नहीं, रोजगार-रोटी दो” and translates it as “Not lathis and bullets, give us jobs and roti.”

FACTLYPolitics & government

Video of rally in support of CAA and NRC at Ramlila Maidan

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a video presented as showing a rally in support of CAA and NRC at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. FACTLY reports that the video had already appeared online in July 2019, before the claim under review, and concludes that it was falsely represented as footage of a CAA-NRC rally. Its investigation therefore challenges the video’s claimed timing and context, rather than disputing that the footage shows a rally.

NewtralPolitics & government

El dueño de Bruixa D’Or es independentista

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerned Xavier Gabriel, owner of the Bruixa d’Or lottery administration in Sort, Lleida. In October 2017, a message urged people not to buy lottery tickets there, alleging that Sort had rejected Spain’s national holiday and that its residents were not Spanish. The review identifies the allegation as the reason for the boycott message, rather than treating the town’s reported position as proof of Gabriel’s own political views. It states that the allegation was untrue and that Gabriel posted a message on social media explaining his position. According to the review, Gabriel said he did not support Catalan independence. He also explained that the administration had opened on the holiday for business reasons, not out of disrespect. This is the review’s direct evidence about the owner’s stated position and the reason for opening; the excerpt does not reproduce the full post or describe any independent examination of his political activity. The article also addresses a separate allegation that Gabriel was the father of CUP member Anna Gabriel, stating that he said he was not. That allegation is distinct from the claim about his views on independence.