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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 Check NIPolitics & government

There is 51% support for a united Ireland.

Publisher’s rating: INACCURATE. The figure of 51% misapplies people surveyed who are “don’t knows” or “would not vote”. Actual figure for “Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join the Republic of Ireland” is 44% of all respondents; for those who expressed a preference, 47.3%. Meanwhile, other polls show that there is no majority for a united Ireland.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: BJP tamil nadu secretary Srinivasan accuses Ramadoss

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review investigated a social-media post featuring a purported News 7 Tamil card. The card attributed to Tamil Nadu BJP secretary Srinivasan the statement that Ramadoss—not Srinivasan—had raised the Murசoli land issue, and that Ramadoss should therefore receive the legal notice. The review says the post was shared on Facebook on November 24, 2019. The article places the claim amid the dispute over Ramadoss’s allegation that the Murசoli office in Chennai stood on Panchami land. It reports that Srinivasan had filed a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes based on that allegation. The fact-checkers say they found no news report that Srinivasan had apologized over the issue. They also contacted a BJP media-wing official, who dismissed the claim as a “usual rumour.” The review’s examination of the image supplied a specific reason to doubt its authenticity: it said the card did not look like News 7 Tamil’s usual cards and carried a May 9, 2019 date, even though the Murசoli land controversy had emerged in early October. It concluded that an old card had been edited and recirculated, and classified the Facebook post as false. The excerpt does not provide the original card or describe a direct confirmation from News 7 Tamil, so the stated basis is the review’s comparison of the card’s appearance and date, its search for corroborating news, and the BJP official’s response.

NewtralPolitics & government

Nos preguntáis si Lisboa ha condenado “la represión española en Cataluña” y ha pedido la libertad de los “presos políticos”

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review examined a claim that Lisbon had condemned “Spanish repression in Catalonia” and called for the release of “political prisoners.” It reports that the city council denied taking that position, citing a statement on the council’s website that “no decision has been taken in this regard, nor will one be approved.” The council also stated its respect for Spain’s sovereignty, constitution, laws and institutions. [S1: “el propio ayuntamiento ha negado que se haya pronunciado en los términos que dice el mensaje. A través de su página web emitió un comunicado en el cual afirma que «no se ha tomado ninguna decisión al respecto, ni se aprobará’’.”] The reported action was instead a motion in Lisbon’s Municipal Assembly. The review says the assembly and city council are distinct bodies, and that assembly decisions do not bind the council. It quotes the council’s communications department on this distinction and cites journalist and fact-checker Fernando Esteves of Poligrafo.pt, who said it was erroneous to conclude that Lisbon as a city had taken the position described. [S1: “las decisiones que se tomen en la Asamblea Municipal no tienen ninguna vinculación con el ayuntamiento de Lisboa, ya que son órganos con naturalezas totalmente diferentes.”] [S1: “es un error concluir que Lisboa como ciudad haya tomado una posición contra la alegada represión o por la libertad de los presos políticos”.] The review describes the assembly motion as approved, while emphasizing that this was not a binding decision of the city council. It also says the public recording of the assembly session shows municipal deputies Modesto Navarro and Gabriel Baptista Fernandes opening the debate, respectively, for and against the motion. Thus, the key distinction in the evidence is between a position adopted by the assembly and a decision by the city council or Lisbon as a city. [S1: “La moción aprobada por la Asamblea Municipal no es vinculante para el ayuntamiento de Lisboa”] [S1: “se puede ver en directo en el momento 3:29:40 cómo inicia la condena Modesto Navarro, diputado municipal del PCP y seguidamente, Gabriel Baptista Fernandes del Partido Popular (CDS) para postular en su contra.”]

NewtralPolitics & government

Batet y Llop son las primeras mujeres que coinciden en la presidencia del Congreso y el Senado

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns the simultaneous presidencies of Spain’s Congress and Senate: it says Meritxell Batet and Pilar Llop were the first women to hold those roles at the same time. The review identifies an earlier example, from the opening of the VII Legislature on 5 April 2000, when Luisa Fernanda Rudi and Esperanza Aguirre were elected presidents of the two chambers. It reports that both were chosen in the first round, with 329 and 223 votes, respectively. That precedent establishes that two women had previously held the roles concurrently, so Batet and Llop were not the first. The review also supplies an important qualification: the earlier pairing did not last for the whole legislature. Aguirre resigned in October 2002 to become the PP candidate for the presidency of the Community of Madrid, and Juan José Lucas Jiménez succeeded her. The review says no other woman led the Senate between Aguirre and Llop; Batet’s concurrent appointment therefore meant the two positions were held by women again, not for the first time.

Pagella PoliticaPolitics & government

«Vi sembra normale che esistano persone con una immunità totale a vita? Con questa riforma del Mes voluta da Pd e 5 stelle, il consiglio di amministrazione ed il direttore generale del mes avrebbero immunità civile, amministrativa e penale perenne»

Publisher’s rating: Panzana pazzesca

The claim was that the reform of the European Stability Mechanism (MES), allegedly backed by Italy’s Democratic Party and Five Star Movement, would give its managing director and board members total immunity for life. The review identifies the statement as one made by Lega deputy Gianluca Cantalamessa and finds it wrong on several points. In particular, it says the immunity was not newly introduced by the reform: Article 35 already provided for it in the existing treaty, and the draft reform repeated the same wording. The review also notes that the draft had not yet been approved at either EU or national level. The decisive distinction is between functional immunity and blanket personal immunity. As the review explains, the protection applies to legal proceedings for acts carried out in the course of official duties; it does not shield officials from liability for unrelated conduct. The protection is also limited to acts during a person’s MES mandate, rather than lasting for life. The review illustrates the limit with an example: the managing director would still face criminal justice for killing his wife outside his official functions. The review further puts the claim’s political framing in context: the immunity predated the reform and, according to the article, the original MES treaty was ratified in Italy in 2012 by the Democratic Party as well as several centre-right parties. Its conclusion is therefore that the immunity was neither total nor lifelong, and was not a new provision created by the reform.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Thanthi TV conducted a poll on MK Stalin

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a Facebook post saying that Thanthi TV had conducted a poll titled “Is M.K. Stalin opposed to Hindus?” and that 68% of respondents answered yes. Fact Crescendo examined whether Thanthi TV had actually published the poll card, rather than treating the post’s wording or poll result as verified. The review describes the card as a fake presented as a newer Thanthi TV graphic, noting that it contained a spelling error. The review says it uploaded the circulated card to FotoForensics.com to examine it, and reports that this check indicated the image had been fabricated. It also says its search found no corresponding Thanthi TV report. These checks address both the image being shared and whether the broadcaster had published the alleged poll. As further evidence, the review reports that Thanthi TV’s official Facebook page posted a denial on November 28, after the claim had gone viral. On the evidence described—an apparently manipulated card, no matching report, and the broadcaster’s denial—the review concludes that the Facebook post was false.

Pagella PoliticaPolitics & government

«Più della metà dei Paesi europei ha firmato un Memorandum of understanding sulla Belt and Road Initiative»

Publisher’s rating: Vero

The statement was made by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio during a question time in the Chamber of Deputies on 27 November. The review checks whether more than half of European countries had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China for the Belt and Road Initiative. It notes an important scope question: Di Maio may have meant the European Union, while “European countries” could also refer to a wider group. (S1: “Il 27 novembre, in un question time alla Camera, il ministro degli Esteri Luigi Di Maio ha commentato i rapporti commerciali tra Italia e Cina” and “vediamo se è vero, come dice Di Maio, che «più della metà dei Paesi europei ha firmato un Memorandum of understanding sulla Belt and Road Initiative».”) The review reports that there was no clear official list of countries signing these MoUs, partly because the documents and related Chinese arrangements were not always easy to distinguish. It therefore cites an Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) calculation from March 2019, also reported to ANSA by EU sources, that 13 EU countries had signed project-specific MoUs by then. Luxembourg and Cyprus were added later that year, and Italy’s signature brought the total to 16 of the EU’s 28 member states. (S1: “Non esiste un vero e proprio elenco ufficiale di Stati che hanno firmato memorandum d’intesa con la Cina sulla Belt and Road Initiative” and “Compresa l’Italia, il numero sale dunque a 16 Paesi (su 28 Stati membri).”) Sixteen is more than half of 28, so the count supports the claim when the relevant group is EU member states. The review’s conclusion is qualified rather than treating “European countries” as an unambiguous denominator: outside the EU, additional European countries had signed related understandings, but deciding which countries count as European would itself be necessary to calculate a broader total. (S1: “Ad oggi, sono 16 – compresa l’Italia – i Paesi membri Ue che hanno sottoscritto MoU con la Cina. Dunque più della metà.” and “In questo caso per calcolare la metà dovremmo prima stabilire quali siano i Paesi ‘europei’.”)