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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

Ein Sharepic mit zwei angeblichen Willy-Brandt-Zitaten kursiert im Internet. Darauf wird behauptet, der Ex-Bundeskanzler habe gesagt: «Nazis waren Sozialisten». Das zweite Zitat lautet: «Das sozialistische Element im Nationalsozialismus, im Denken seiner Gefolgsleute, das subjektiv Revolutionäre an der Basis, muss von uns erkannt werden.»

Publisher’s rating: Das «Nazis waren Sozialisten»-Zitat in der Überschrift gibt Brandts Aussagen falsch wieder. Das zweite Zitat stammt von ihm

The sharepic attributes two statements to Willy Brandt: the short claim “Nazis were socialists” and a longer passage about recognizing the “socialist element” in National Socialism and among its followers. The investigation distinguishes the two quotations rather than treating them as a single claim. Asked by dpa, Wolfgang Schmidt of the Bundeskanzler-Willy-Brandt-Stiftung described the short quotation as false and misleading. The source says it wrongly suggests that Brandt equated National Socialism with socialism or regarded Nazism as a left-wing movement. The archive of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung also reported that it had no evidence that Brandt said “Nazis waren Sozialisten.” The longer passage, by contrast, is traced to Brandt’s 1937 article “Zu unserer Losung: Sozialistische Front der jungen Generation,” published in the journal “Kampfbereit” while he was in exile in Norway. The fact-check places the excerpt in a discussion of possible ways to counter the indoctrination of young people who had been misled by National Socialism. In that context, Brandt wrote of recognizing socialist yearnings among German youth, which Schmidt said he saw as an opportunity to mobilize resistance to the Nazis.

Pagella PoliticaPolitics & government

«Il Governo deve da subito togliere alla proprietà ogni alibi eliminando gli autogol come quello sulla immunità voluto dal vecchio governo [...]. Lo scudo penale è stato cancellato dall’esecutivo Lega-Cinque Stelle»

Publisher’s rating: Pinocchio andante

Matteo Renzi accused the previous Lega–Five Star government of causing the removal of legal protection for ArcelorMittal managers at the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto. The review traces the measure’s changes through legislation and parliamentary proceedings. It reports that the July 2019 “Growth Decree” restricted an earlier exemption from criminal and administrative liability, and that the Lega–Five Star government later brought back a form of protection in the September “Save Businesses Decree.” ArcelorMittal welcomed that new version, saying it meant the company could continue operating the plant, at least for the time being. The decisive change came during the later bill’s passage through the Senate. On 21 October, Senate committees approved two Five Star Movement amendments that deleted Article 14, the provision restoring the protection. The Senate then passed the amended bill on 23 October, with Renzi among the senators voting in favour; the Chamber of Deputies gave final approval on 31 October. The review’s account therefore distinguishes the earlier government’s restriction of the exemption from the subsequent government’s restoration of a form of protection—and the later removal of that restoration. The review concludes that responsibility for the final removal rested chiefly with the new government, which included Renzi’s Italia Viva, rather than solely with the previous government. It also notes Renzi’s own vote for the Senate text that omitted the provision. Its conclusion does not erase the earlier government’s role in restricting the protection; it disputes Renzi’s attribution of the final removal to that government alone.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Picture of Muthuramalingam Thevar met Golwalkar

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines a Facebook photograph shared with a caption identifying the man greeting RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar as Muthuramalingam Thevar. The accompanying claim was that the image showed the two leaders meeting in Madurai in 1956. The review says the post was based on an earlier Facebook post by BJP leader H. Raja, which it says others copied and shared as fact. (“இந்த புகைப்படத்தை மேலும் பலர் பகிர்ந்து வருகின்றனர்”; “இப்படியாக, சம காலத்தில் வட இந்தியாவிலும், தென்னிந்தியாவிலும் அரசியலில் ஈடுபட்ட இரு தலைவர்களும் மதுரையில் 1956ம் ஆண்டு சந்தித்துக் கொண்டபோது எடுக்கப்பட்ட புகைப்படம் இது எனக் கூறி, பாஜக மூத்த தலைவர் எச்.ராஜா, ஃபேஸ்புக்கில் ஒரு பதிவை சமீபத்தில் பகிர்ந்திருந்தார்.”) To assess the identification, the review compared the person in the circulating image with a photograph of Thevar from before 1950, when the review says he wore a moustache. It reports that the faces showed no similarity. It also cites an explanation published in the supporters’ magazine Devar Malar, which said the meeting did not take place and that Thevar was in Burma in 1955–56. Separately, the review says Golwalkar visited Madurai in 1949, not 1956, citing the RSS’s official Facebook page. (“ஒரு சந்தேகத்திற்கு, 1950க்கு முந்தைய காலக்கட்டத்தில் மீசையுடன் தேவர் இருக்கும் புகைப்படம் ஒன்றையும், நாம் ஆய்வு செய்யும் ஃபேஸ்புக் பதிவில் உள்ள புகைப்படத்தையும் ஒப்பிட்டு பார்த்தோம். அதில், எந்த ஒற்றுமையும் இல்லாதது தெரியவந்தது.”; “இறுதியாக, கோல்வால்கர் மதுரைக்கு வந்தது 1949ம் ஆண்டில்தான். 1956ல் இல்லை. இந்த தகவலை ஆர்எஸ்எஸ் அமைப்பின் அதிகாரப்பூர்வ ஃபேஸ்புக் பக்கத்தில் வெளியிட்டுள்ளனர்.”) The review concludes that the photograph shows someone other than Thevar and that the claimed 1956 meeting is false. Its account presents several reasons for rejecting the identification and date: its facial comparison, the reported Burma trip, and the different year given for Golwalkar’s Madurai visit. (“இதுவரை கிடைத்த ஆதாரங்களின் அடிப்படையில் நமக்கு தெரியவந்த உண்மையின் விவரம், 1) கோல்வால்கர் மதுரை வந்தது 1949ம் ஆண்டாகும். ஒருவேளை அவர் 1956ம் ஆண்டில் வந்திருந்தாலும் தேவரை சந்தித்திருக்க வாய்ப்பில்லை.2) 1955-56 ஆண்டில் முத்துராமலிங்க தேவர் பர்மா சென்றிருந்தார். 3) 1950க்குப் பின்னர் முத்துராமலிங்க தேவர் மீசை வைக்கும் பழக்கத்தை கைவிட்டுவிட்டார். 4) மேற்கண்ட ஃபேஸ்புக் பதிவில் உள்ள புகைப்படத்தில் இருப்பவர் வேறு ஒரு நபர் ஆவார்.”)

NewtralPolitics & government

La Casa Real ha tuiteado una foto del Rey recibiendo una «calurosa bienvenida» en Barcelona

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a purported Royal Household tweet showing King Felipe VI receiving a “warm welcome” in Barcelona before the Princess of Girona awards. Newtral reports that the Royal Household had not posted the photographs. The post came from a fake Twitter account with 16,336 followers, so it did not establish that the institution had published the images. (S1: “La Casa Real no ha publicado en redes sociales fotografías del rey Felipe VI saludando a vecinos de Barcelona que han querido darle ‘una calurosa bienvenida’ hoy antes de la entrega de los premios Princesa de Girona.”; “Se trata de una cuenta fake de Twitter con 16.336 seguidores.”) The photos also did not document the King’s arrival for that day’s awards. Newtral identifies the photograph of Felipe VI greeting people as an image from his August 2017 visit to Barcelona with Mariano Rajoy, following the 17 August attacks. It separately says the image of Leonor came from the Princess of Asturias awards. The review describes its verification categories, but the supplied text does not specify particular investigative steps beyond its reported findings. (S1: “la imagen no corresponde al día de hoy sino a la visita que hizo en agosto de 2017 Felipe VI a Barcelona junto a Mariano Rajoy, al que también se ve en la fotografía, tras los atentados del 17 de agosto de aquel año. La imagen de Leonor se corresponde a la entrega de los premios Princesa de Asturias.”; “Después del proceso de verificación, y en función de los datos, otorgamos una de estas categorías”)

台灣事實查核中心Politics & government

網傳「昨天蔡英文總統訪問中和南山一菜市場與豬肉攤主的對話...因為我不是賣肉的，我其實是個便衣刑警」？經查為變造自中國的「笑話段子」，且比對後與蔡英文行程並不相符，因此，此傳言為「錯誤」訊息。

Publisher’s rating: 錯誤

The claim described an exchange between President Tsai Ing-wen and a pork-stall vendor at a market in Zhonghe, ending with the vendor saying he was actually an undercover police officer. The Taiwan FactCheck Center’s review says this was not a real conversation between Tsai and a vendor: it was adapted from a Chinese joke, rather than reporting an event involving the Taiwanese president. The review describes the joke as a fictional exchange involving Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and a meat seller, satirizing the way officials’ arrangements could prevent a leader from encountering ordinary people’s real circumstances. [S1]