Politics & government fact checks

Para que haya un presidente socialista [en la Comisión Europea] hay que recordar la figura de Delors, del siglo pasado, los años 80

Publisher’s rating: Verdad a medias

The statement was made during negotiations over appointments to the European Union’s main institutions. Sánchez argued that the Commission presidency should go to a member of the Party of European Socialists, saying that the European People’s Party had held the position since 2004 and invoking Jacques Delors as the previous socialist president. The review’s key distinction is between the last socialist to hold the presidency and the last to hold it permanently: Delors was the last permanent socialist president, serving from January 1985 to January 1995, but he was not the last socialist to occupy the office at all. The review identifies Spaniard Manuel Marín as the qualification to Sánchez’s claim. After the resignation of Luxembourg’s Jacques Santer in 1999, Marín served as acting Commission president from March to September, until Romano Prodi took office. Thus, the reference to Delors is accurate if it means the last socialist president with a regular term, but incomplete if it suggests no socialist held the presidency after him. The review supports that distinction with the dates and sequence of officeholders; its excerpt also names a contemporary source, El País, for information on Commission presidents.

Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in were holding light sticks

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

Pidato Presiden Jokowi di G20 Summit hanya 1 menit

Publisher’s rating: Sesat

Ein Blogeintrag erweckt den Eindruck, der Bundestag plane mit Hilfe eines Gesetzespakets unmittelbar die Mobilmachung junger Deutscher. «EILT: Allgemeine Mobilmachung BRD will unsere Söhne!» lautet die Überschrift des Artikels (http://dpaq.de/JkEig). Es handele sich um ein Mobilmachungsgesetz.

Publisher’s rating: Das Wehrpflichtgesetz wird mit dem Einsatzbereitschaftsstärkungsgesetz nur geringfügig formal angepasst. Inhaltlich ändert sich nichts. Eine Mobilisierung findet nicht statt.

The dpa review examined a blog post headed “EILT: Allgemeine Mobilmachung BRD will unsere Söhne!” and its suggestion that a legislative package meant the Bundestag was about to mobilize young Germans. The issue was the Bundeswehr-Einsatzbereitschaftsstärkungsgesetz, a package of measures intended to make the armed forces a more attractive employer. The review says the government’s draft covered changes to 30 laws and regulations, including the Wehrpflichtgesetz.

Claim Americans protesting against Modi

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

In einer Marathon-Sitzung im Bundestag soll Vizepräsidentin Claudia Roth einen «Rechtsbruch» begangen haben, heißt es in mehreren Online-Posts. Die Grünen-Politikerin habe der AfD-Fraktion widerrechtlich einen Hammelsprung verweigert. Damit hätte festgestellt werden sollen, dass der Bundestag nicht beschlussfähig gewesen sei.

Publisher’s rating: Roth hat keinen Rechtsbruch begangen. Die Geschäftsordnung des Bundestages sieht vor, dass das Parlament nur beschlussunfähig ist, wenn Beschlussunfähigkeit festgestellt wurde. Das Bundesverfassungsgericht bestätigte diese Regelung.

The allegation concerned a specific overnight Bundestag session: online posts claimed that Vice-President Claudia Roth unlawfully refused the AfD’s request for a Hammelsprung, a procedure intended to establish how many members were present and whether the chamber could make decisions. The review places the dispute in the session of 27 June 2019, which continued into the early hours of the following morning. It reports that the AfD’s attempt to compel the procedure failed at about 1:30 a.m., when Roth was chairing the session. The key issue was not simply how many members were physically in the chamber. The review says that roughly 100 of the Bundestag’s 709 members remained, but that under section 45 of the rules of procedure the chamber is treated as quorate unless the presiding board agrees that it is not. Roth rejected the request after consulting the other members of the session board, FDP recorder Benjamin Strasser and CDU recorder Josef Oster. On that account, the low attendance alone did not require a Hammelsprung or establish that the chamber lacked a quorum. The review also reports that the Federal Constitutional Court had confirmed the governing rule in multiple decisions: the number of members present does not determine the chamber’s capacity to act unless lack of a quorum has been established. Thus the posts’ inference—that Roth’s refusal itself amounted to a legal breach—does not follow from the attendance figure described in the article. The supplied excerpt describes the relevant rules and court decisions, but does not provide the underlying judgments or a separate transcript analysis.

राहुल गांधी ने नितिन गडकरी द्वारा दिए गए बयान, “जो घर नहीं संभाल सकता ,वह देश क्या संभालेगा” को ट्वीट करते हुए नितिन गडकरी को यह कहकर शाबाशी दी है कि वह अकेले तमाम भारतीय जनता पार्टी मे एक है जिनके पास हिम्मत है

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

अमित शाह को अनुपस्थिति के कारण (कथनों के अनुसार) उन्हें अपनी जनसभा को रद्द करना पड़ा

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

Que no haya un Gobierno efectivo sino uno en funciones cuesta 132 millones de euros a Cantabria

Publisher’s rating: Falso

BJP Mahila Morcha Leader made offensive remarks asking Hindu brothers to rape Muslim mothers and sisters.

Publisher’s rating: TRUE

FACTLY investigated a circulating screenshot attributed to Sunitha Singh Gowda, described in the review as a local BJP Mahila Morcha leader. The screenshot’s translated text called for Hindu men to rape Muslim women. The review says the comments were no longer visible on Gowda’s profile, so it did not present a live post as direct confirmation. It reports instead that the screenshot was circulating and that Gowda’s profile identified her as “President at Mahila Morcha BJP.”

Claim: Imran Khan not showing respect to Israel PM

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a viral image said to show Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan refusing to stand out of respect when Israel’s prime minister arrived at a conference. Fact Crescendo reports that the post did not identify the conference or say when it occurred; it also described how the image singled out Khan sitting while someone approached in the distance. The review traced the scene to a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, rather than an event involving Israel’s prime minister. 【S1】 The review says it used a reverse-image search to locate reporting about the scene, then found a video on the official Twitter account of Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. In that video, leaders including India’s Narendra Modi and Khan arrive and wait near their chairs; Khan sits, later stands, and sits again while waiting. The review identifies Russian President Vladimir Putin as the person arriving at the relevant moment—not Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 【S1】 To check whether Netanyahu could have been attending the summit, the review consulted information about SCO membership and the organisation’s official press release listing participants. It reports that Israel was not an SCO member and that Netanyahu’s name did not appear among those attending. Its conclusion is therefore that the image was misrepresented: it showed a moment at an SCO summit, not Khan sitting as Israel’s prime minister arrived. 【S1】

Claim Heera ben became happy hearing Owaisi's statement for Jasoda ben to Modi

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

Vox ha presentado en el Congreso más iniciativas que el resto de grupos juntos

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerned Vox’s activity during its first month in Spain’s Congress. Vox said it had submitted more initiatives than all the other parties together. Newtral checked the submissions up to 21 June and found that Vox had presented eight items, but those items did not all qualify as initiatives attributable to parliamentary groups under the Congress’s count. Of the eight, two were requests to the Congress’s governing body, which were not counted as group initiatives. Four requests for data, reports or documents had been filed by individual deputies rather than by Vox’s parliamentary group: three by Santiago Abascal and one jointly by Iván Espinosa de los Monteros and Macarena Olona. The review therefore distinguishes Vox’s broader tally from the narrower count of group initiatives. The comparison also did not support the claim that all other groups together had submitted fewer. Newtral reported that the People’s Party alone had submitted eight initiatives. It added that, counting individual deputies’ filings as Vox had done, the PP’s total reached 30: Teodoro García Egea had registered 22 items, including a bill filed before the groups were constituted and 21 written questions to the government. Vox acknowledged that its figures were incorrect and attributed them to a party error; the review says the party had corrected its press release.

Claim: P Chidambaram touches Jayalalithaa feet

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

Seit Jahren taucht im Netz immer wieder die gleiche Behauptung auf: Parteien des linken politischen Spektrums oder Gewerkschaften hätten Verbindungen zur sogenannten Antifa - also radikal linke, teils gewaltbereite Gruppierungen. Ein auf Facebook kursierendes Organigramm erweckt den Eindruck, die Organisationen würden der Antifa Geld zukommen lassen

Publisher’s rating: Es gibt keine Belege, dass gewaltbereite, linke Gruppierungen Geld von Parteien oder Gewerkschaften erhalten. Die Organisationen dementieren eine solche Verbindung.

The claim concerned a Facebook-circulated organizational chart that appeared to show left-wing political parties or trade unions giving money to the so-called Antifa. The dpa fact-check examined that alleged funding connection. It explains that “Antifa” is not one unified nationwide organization: the Bundestag’s Scientific Services described it instead as a loosely defined scene made up of groups that may be local. The chart’s implication of money flowing to a single organization therefore does not match the structure described in the investigation. The article says that, in May 2019, dpa asked trade unions and political parties whether they financed autonomous groups monitored by Germany’s domestic intelligence service. The German Trade Union Confederation said the allegation “lacks any basis,” and the SPD, Left Party, Greens and CDU rejected it as well. The article reports no evidence that parties or unions funded violent left-wing groups; it also notes that the organizations denied the alleged connection. The report adds context for recurring versions of the rumor: according to an SPD spokesperson, one source was a satirical action by Jusos in Saxony-Anhalt at Pegida demonstrations in early 2015. Their “Antifa cash distribution” stands were a satire action, not evidence of an actual funding arrangement.

Ricordate quando Di Maio andava in giro per l’Europa a presentare i suoi futuri alleati? Quasi nessuno è arrivato in Parlamento, e tra quelli che ce l’hanno fatta ora non ce n’è uno che li vuole come partner nello stesso gruppo parlamentare. […] E così 14 eurodeputati italiani saranno del tutto ininfluenti perché in Europa fuori dai gruppi non conti niente.

Publisher’s rating: Vero

The claim concerns the position of Italy’s 14 Five Star Movement (M5s) members after the 2019 European Parliament election. Pagella Politica examined whether the party’s announced European allies had won seats, whether the M5s could join a parliamentary group, and what exclusion from a group would mean for its ability to influence Parliament. The article reports that the M5s won 14 of Italy’s 73 seats, while only one of the four parties Luigi Di Maio had presented as allies elected a member: Croatia’s Živi Zid. The Polish Kukiz’15, Finnish Liike Nyt and Greek Akkel did not win seats, leaving the proposed alliance unable to form a group with the M5s on its own. [S1]

Immer wieder wird die Theorie verbreitet, linke und gewalttätige Demonstranten würden von Staat, Parteien und Gewerkschaften Geld erhalten. In sozialen Netzwerken heißt es etwa, die SPD finanziere die Antifa. Die Sozialdemokraten würden Protestierenden Geld zahlen oder eine Erhöhung dieser vermeintlichen Bezahlung fordern

Publisher’s rating: Es gibt keine Belege, dass die SPD gewaltbereite, linke Gruppierungen bezahlt. Das angebliche «Demo-Geld» war eine Scherzaktion der Jusos. Das Narrativ der «Antifa-Finanzierung» geht wohl auf einen Satire-Beitrag zurück.

The allegations concern two linked claims: that the SPD pays left-wing demonstrators, including groups described as Antifa, and that it sought to raise their supposed payments. The dpa review traces the financing story to a satirical 2015 article in the Berliner taz. That article presented purported documents and alleged that an organization called “Antifa e.V.” arranged protests and paid participants, with money coming in part from political parties including the SPD. The review says the article was a joke, but that the story later circulated as fact. The review also describes two Juso actions that could have helped keep the rumor alive. In early 2015, Jusos in Saxony-Anhalt set up stands at Pegida demonstrations warning of an “Antifa cash desk”; the review identifies this as satire. At a Juso federal convention in Bremen in November 2015, a satirically intended motion proposed increasing the supposed demonstration fee. According to an SPD spokesperson cited by dpa, the motion was not even discussed, and it does not appear in the convention’s record of resolutions. For its assessment, dpa reports that an SPD spokesperson told the agency in May 2019 that paying demonstrators was “nonsense.” The account also points to the convention record and to Bundestag research describing Antifa not as one unified nationwide organization but as a loosely defined scene with, at most, individual mainly local groups. Those details distinguish the documented satire and fragmented scene from the allegation of an SPD-funded organization or payment scheme.

George Soros said he funded “black hate groups” to destroy the US

Publisher’s rating: False

CCOO y Arcópoli piden bonificar a las empresas por la orientación sexual de sus empleados

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim arose from a tweet describing CCOO and Arcópoli as seeking a homophobic measure: bonuses for companies according to employees’ sexual orientation. The tweet referred to a web article about an agreement between the union and the LGBT organization to combat workplace offences related to sexual orientation and identity. In that context, a quoted remark by CCOO’s Jaime Cedrún mentioned the “denial of bonuses” alongside invisibility, mockery and colleagues’ comments.

Imagen de Rocío Monasterio haciendo el saludo fascista

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a photograph of three women wearing Francoist flags and making a fascist salute, circulated with the assertion that the woman in a hat was Rocío Monasterio, then a Vox politician in Madrid’s regional assembly. Newtral reports that the woman only resembled Monasterio and that the person in the photograph was not her. The investigation places the photograph at the Valley of the Fallen in July 2018. It was taken amid events held under the slogan “El Valle no se toca,” opposing a proposal to exhume Francisco Franco’s remains, and appeared with an El País article illustrating that news. Newtral says the photo agency Gtres, which supplied the image to the newspaper, confirmed that the woman was not Monasterio. The article also gives a contemporaneous location check: Gtres told Newtral that the photo was taken on the same day as the article’s publication, while Monasterio was at esRadio Valencia studios, more than 400 kilometres away, participating in the programme “Sin Complejos.” The review includes a July 15, 2018 social-media post referring to her participation in that programme. Together, the agency’s identification and the reported timing and locations contradict the image caption’s identification of the woman as Monasterio.