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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

THE QUINTPolitics & government

Alok Verma called PM Modi the most corrupt prime minister of Independent India after the former resigned from the Indian Police Service (IPS).

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The Quint examined a viral Facebook post alleging that Alok Verma had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “the most corrupt prime minister of Independent India.” The allegation was tied to Verma’s resignation from the Indian Police Service after he had been removed as CBI director. The review confirms that Verma wrote a resignation letter, but reports that the letter “nowhere” mentioned Modi or alluded to his alleged corruption. The review describes the letter as addressed to C. Chandramouli, Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training. It quotes Verma objecting that the selection committee had not given him “an opportunity to explain the details as recorded by the CVC before arriving at the decision.” The review says his reference to charges raised by a complainant was a veiled reference to CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana—not an accusation against Modi. The letter also said Verma would not assume the post of DG Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards. He argued that he had already crossed the superannuation age for that position and stated that he should be deemed superannuated from that day. The review’s account of the letter therefore does not support the viral post’s claim about Modi.

THE QUINTPolitics & government

This video shows that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was drunk while recording it.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The video circulated with a message claiming that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was drunk while recording it. The Quint’s investigation says the clip was an edited version of an older video, rather than a recording that showed him intoxicated. The accompanying allegation also accused Kejriwal of misusing contract workers’ money to buy alcohol, but the review’s account focuses on the video’s origin and altered audio. To trace the clip, the review reports using Yandex reverse image search, which led to an Aam Aadmi Party Punjab post. The party’s official account had shared the original video on 29 January 2017, before that February’s Punjab Legislative Assembly elections. The review says Kejriwal discussed claims by Captain Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal that their elections would be their last, urged voters not to support them, and appealed for votes for AAP. The review identifies the key alteration: the audio in the resurfaced clip had been deliberately slowed down to make Kejriwal appear drunk. It says the background sound was also slowed and no longer synced properly. That comparison with the earlier version, and the reported audio mismatch, supports the conclusion that the viral clip was manipulated; it does not show Kejriwal recording himself while drunk.