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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: Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami bought gold sewing machine for his daughter

Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: False

The review investigated a Facebook post claiming that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami bought his daughter a gold sewing machine. It says the post included a photograph and identifies Ponnurangam Chockalingam as one person who shared it. The investigation’s conclusion was that the claim misrepresented both the object in the photograph and Palaniswami’s family: according to the review, he has a son, not a daughter, and the pictured item was neither a sewing machine nor solid gold. To identify the object, the review says it examined the photograph and found that the item was a clock designed to look like a miniature sewing machine. It also describes checking a product listing on giftsonline.net, which sold novelty clocks shaped like miniature vehicles and sewing machines. The review says the pictured clock was made in Japan and gold-plated. Thus, the photograph showed a decorative clock, not a gold sewing machine purchased for the chief minister’s daughter. The review presents the family detail and the product identification as the decisive reasons the Facebook post was false. Its account does not describe independent documentary verification of Palaniswami’s family or provide further provenance for the photograph beyond the product listing it cites; those limits should be kept in mind when interpreting the report.

Fact crescendoPolitics & government

Claim: H Raja criticized Non-brahmins in Tamil Nadu

Publisher’s rating: Fact crescendo Rating: False

The claim concerns a purported statement by H. Raja that the Athi Varadar event proved that other Hindus were “below Brahmins.” Fact Crescendo examined a New Generation news card circulating with that attribution. The review describes the card as saying “பிராமணர்களுக்கு கீழ்தான் மற்ற இந்து அடிமைகள் என்பதை அத்திவரதர் வருகை நிரூபித்திருக்கிறது – ஹெச்.ராஜா” and notes that the shared version identified September 4 as its publication date. The investigation therefore addressed the specific alleged statement, not simply Raja’s views about religion or caste. The review compared the viral card with material on New Generation’s Facebook page. Its search for “அத்திவரதர் எச்.ராஜா” found a different card attributed to Raja: “தமிழகம் எப்போதுமே ஆன்மிக பூமிதான். நாத்திகர்களுக்கு இங்கு இடமில்லை என்று நிரூபித்துள்ளார் அத்திவரதர் – ஹெச்.ராஜா.” The review says the viral version’s text appeared separately from the card design and that its logo, design, and Tamil font did not match. It also reports finding no news item supporting the alleged wording in a Google search and says New Generation’s digital team called the card fake, stating: “இது போலியானது, எங்கள் டிசைன், ஃபாண்ட் இதில் இல்லை”. On those grounds, the review concluded that the circulated card was false.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Subramanian Swamy criticized Modi

Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: False

The claim concerned a purported News 7 Tamil card saying that the economy had survived despite being in the hands of “incompetent” Narendra Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman. The review says the card was shared on Facebook on September 2, 2019, and that the apparent News 7 design led people to believe it was genuine. Its investigation focused on whether the broadcaster had actually published that card and whether Swamy had made the quoted remarks. The review reports comparing the circulated image with News 7 Tamil’s Facebook posts. It found a genuine card from September 2 about Swamy, but says its message was different: it attributed half the economic slowdown to Congress and cited corruption as one cause. The review also noted that the disputed quote lacked the watermark logo present in the genuine card, despite the imitation’s similar design. The investigation then checked reports and interviews concerning Swamy’s comments. It says he had criticized economic policy and, in interviews connected with a visit to Tiruchendur and an earlier stop at Madurai airport, had commented that the bank-merger process had been rushed. The review states that these interviews did not contain the alleged description of Modi and Sitharaman as incompetent. It concludes that the circulated card had been photo-edited to add false information.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Lourdammal Simon was first woman minister of Tamil Nadu

Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: Mixture

Fact Crescendo examined a Facebook post claiming that Lourdammal Simon was Tamil Nadu’s first woman minister. The review notes an internal contradiction: the post’s headline calls her the first, while its text describes her as the second woman minister after Jyoti Venkatachalam. It also says a linked Vikatan article incorrectly called Lourdammal the first. [S1: “அதன் தலைப்பில், தமிழகத்தின் முதல் பெண் அமைச்சர் லூர்தம்மாள் எனக் கூறிவிட்டு, செய்தியின் உள்ளே ஜோதி வெங்கடாசலத்துக்குப் பின் தமிழகத்தில் பதவியேற்ற 2வது பெண் அமைச்சர் எனக் கூறியுள்ளார்.”; “அதிலும், தமிழகத்தின் முதல் பெண் அமைச்சர் லூர்தம்மாள் என தவறாகக் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.”] To check the chronology, the review says it searched for who first served as a woman minister in Tamil Nadu. It reports that Jyoti Venkatachalam served in Rajaji’s cabinet from 1953 to 1954 as minister for prohibition and women’s welfare. It separately says Lourdammal won from the Colachel constituency as a Congress candidate in 1957 and served in Kamaraj’s cabinet as fisheries minister from 1957 to 1962. [S1: “1953 முதல் 1954 வரை ஜோதி வெங்கடாசலம் என்பவர் ராஜாஜி அமைச்சரவையில் மது விலக்கு மற்றும் பெண்கள் நலத்துறை அமைச்சராக பதவி வகித்த விவரம் கிடைத்தது.”; “1957 முதல் 1962ம் ஆண்டு வரை, அவர் அமைச்சராக இருந்து”] On that account, Lourdammal was not Tamil Nadu’s first woman minister. The review distinguishes that statewide claim from narrower distinctions it says could apply to her: first woman minister from a very backward community and first woman minister from Kanyakumari district. It also emphasizes that the post itself gave conflicting descriptions of her place in the sequence. [S1: “லூர்தம்மாள் மிகவும் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த முதல் பெண் அமைச்சர்; கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டத்தைச் சேர்ந்த முதல் பெண் ஆமைச்சர், என்று வேண்டுமானால் சொல்லலாம்.”; “எனவே, இதில், நம்பகத்தன்மை இல்லை என உறுதி செய்யப்படுகிறது.”]

Deutsche Presse-AgenturPolitics & government

Auf Facebook kursiert ein vermeintliches Zitat von Heiko Maas (SPD). Mutmaßlich mit Bezug auf das Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz wird dem ehemaligen Bundesjustizminister die Aussage in den Mund gelegt: «Was wir planen ist keine Zensur. Es ist eine strengere Reglementierung der Meinungsfreiheit.» Da die Aussage neben ein Foto des heutigen Außenministers gestellt wurde, entsteht der Eindruck, es handele sich um ein Maas-Zitat.

Publisher’s rating: Das Zitat stammt nicht von Heiko Maas.

Fact CrescendoPolitics & government

Claim: Kashmir women protesting against article 370

Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video of Kashmiri schoolgirls said to show protests against the revocation of Article 370. Fact Crescendo examined the footage, which was shared in August 2019 with a caption linking protests in Kashmir to the central government’s action. The review notes that the video includes several scenes and identifies one as a protest by schoolgirls in Pulwama, but says the footage itself does not specify when that protest took place. (“புல்வாமா மேல்நிலைப் பள்ளி மாணவிகளின் போராட்டம் என்று வீடியோவில் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளனர். ஆனால், எப்போது இந்த போராட்டம் நடந்தது என்று குறிப்பிடவில்லை.”) To check the video’s date, the investigators converted portions of it into still images and used reverse-image searches. They report finding the same footage in a video uploaded to Rising Kashmir’s YouTube account on 17 April 2017, titled as a report on student protests in Kashmir. That earlier upload establishes that the footage predated the August 2019 events it was being used to depict. (“வீடியோவின் பகுதிகளை புகைப்படங்களாக மாற்றி ரிவர்ஸ் இமேஜ் தேடலில் பதிவேற்றித் தேடினோம்.”; “2017 ஏப்ரல் 17ம் தேதி இந்த வீடியோ Rising Kashmir என்ற யூடியூப் ஐடியில் இருந்து பதிவேற்றம் செய்யப்பட்டு இருந்தது.”) The review also describes reporting it found about protests in Kashmir in April 2017, following the killing of 11 militants in different places. It does not establish that those events were the specific reason for the schoolgirls’ protest shown in the footage; it says the 2017 video did not state why the protest took place. The central finding is therefore about the footage’s age: an older video was recirculated as if it showed protests occurring after the 2019 policy change. (“ஆனால், எதற்காக இந்த போராட்டம் நடந்தது என்று எதையும் குறிப்பிடவில்லை.”; “பழைய வீடியோவை இப்போது நடந்தது போல பகிர்ந்துள்ளனர்.”)

Projeto ComprovaPolitics & government

Lula vendeu o solo para a Noruega em documento secreto

Publisher’s rating: Enganoso - No Brasil, as riquezas do subsolo não podem ser vendidas. Elas pertencem à União e empresas podem obter somente os direitos de extração dos minérios ** Falso - As transações não foram secretas. Há textos sobre elas publicados nos sites das empresas ** Evidência comprovada - A foto realmente é de um depósito de resíduos no Brasil da empresa norueguesa Hydro

NewtralPolitics & government

Una niña le dice 'eres una desgracia para el mundo' a Donald Trump

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a viral video in which a girl tells the person she addresses as Donald Trump, “you are a disgrace to the world.” Newtral reports that the person in the clip is not the real president of the United States: the video is a sketch for Comedy Central’s The President Show, and the person playing Trump is an actor. The review says the show was broadcast in May 2017. Newtral points to the original video posted by The President Show on May 7, 2017. It says the original clip displays the television channel’s logo, and that the actor playing Trump agrees with the girl’s insult. This evidence identifies the video as part of a comedy-program segment, rather than footage of the real Donald Trump. The review does not establish whether the girl believed she was speaking to the president or whether her response was genuine; it explicitly leaves open whether she may have been acting. That uncertainty concerns the girl’s identity or intent, not the identity of the person portraying Trump. Thus, the video does not show a girl addressing the real Donald Trump, though the review does not resolve whether her words were spontaneous.