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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Religion & belief fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about religion & belief. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

3,371 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYReligion & belief

Banner requesting to refrain from offering namaz on road was put up in Meerut following the police action in Agra

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a photograph of a banner asking people not to offer namaz on roads. It alleges the banner was put up in Meerut in response to Agra police filing cases against people who prayed on public roads. The review distinguishes the Agra action from the history of the specific banner shown in the circulated image: it says the banner was outside a mosque in Meerut in 2019, following a police initiative, rather than a consequence of the Agra cases. S1 states, “This banner was setup outside a mosque in Meerut back in 2019. The banner was setup following a police initiative.” To trace the image, the review reports that a reverse image search led to a Meerut police tweet featuring the same photograph. The tweet was dated August 2019, and its caption, translated in the article, identified Imam Haji Akhtar as putting up banners at a mosque. The review then says that searches using relevant keywords found news reports from August 2019 that used the same images. This connects the viral photograph to earlier reporting about the Meerut initiative, not just to a similar banner or a separate event. S1 describes the method and result: “Reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a tweet by Meerut police, that shared the same image. The tweet dates back to August 2019”. The cited reports, as described in the review, said Meerut police had initiated the effort, Muslims refrained from praying on roads, and mosque committees put up banners appealing to people not to do so. The review therefore concludes that the image predates the Agra action and does not establish that the Meerut banner was put up in response to it. It also acknowledges that Agra police had booked at least 150 people for offering namaz on roads, but explains that this separate event does not establish the claimed link to the banner. S1 says, “Thus, this banner has nothing to do with Agra police’s action of filing charges against 150 persons, for offering namaz on road.”

FACTLYReligion & belief

Recent video of people reciting Azaan on a road in Mumbai as loudspeakers were not allowed

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video said to show people reciting Azaan on a Mumbai road after loudspeakers were not allowed. FACTLY’s review concludes that the footage is neither recent nor from Mumbai: it says the video had appeared online by April 2020 and was filmed in Howrah, West Bengal. To investigate the footage’s history, the review says it ran screenshots through Google Reverse Image Search and found similar videos online dating back to at least April 2020. It also reports finding a 2020 Facebook post sharing the same video, which described people reciting Azaan to ward off disease. This earlier circulation conflicts with presenting the footage as recent. For the location, the review examined signs visible in the video. It reports that a board shows “Howrah,” that shop postal codes begin with 7, and that the video includes a board naming a homeopathy doctor, N. Rai, whose clinic the review found in Howrah. It also identifies the New Shimla Biryani shop in the footage as being located there. Taken together, the reported online history and location clues support the review’s conclusion that old footage from Howrah was misrepresented as a recent event in Mumbai.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Picture of the 300-year-old Hindu temple demolished in Alwar, Rajasthan

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a photo presented as showing a 300-year-old Hindu temple demolished in Alwar, Rajasthan, amid a recent anti-encroachment drive. FACTLY’s review says it investigated the photo shared with that claim and concluded that it instead showed an older demolition in Jaipur, so it was not evidence of the Alwar event. The review describes the photo as having “nothing to do with the recent anti-encroachment drive in Alwar.” The review explains that it used a reverse image search to trace the image. That search found the same photo in an India Times article dated 12 June 2015, which identified it as showing a demolished temple in Jaipur. The review reports that the article described the temple as the 200-year-old Rojgareshwar temple, in Jaipur’s Chaupur area, and linked its demolition to metro construction—not to events in Alwar. As further context for the image’s reported origin, the review says Jaipur authorities and Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation demolished two temples for metro construction, amid protests. It places the incident in 2015, during the BJP government’s rule in Rajasthan. The distinction is material: the image may depict a demolished Hindu temple, but the review’s image tracing and the reported Jaipur location and 2015 metro-construction context contradict its presentation as a picture of the claimed Alwar demolition.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Tirumala Temple Chief Priest accused YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of utilising the temple income for the welfare of Christian and Muslim communities in the state

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a social-media post alleging that Tirumala Temple Chief Priest Ramana Deekshithulu accused Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of directing temple income to Christian and Muslim communities. The review distinguishes that allegation from remarks Deekshithulu made in March 2019, before the YSR Congress Party government was formed in Andhra Pradesh. It reports that he urged devotees not to donate to the temple hundi and alleged that 95% of its income was being used by the government, but says he did not link that income to welfare for Christians or Muslims. [S1: “In March 2019, during an interview, the then sacked Tirumala Temple Chief Priest Ramana Deekshithulu urged devotees not to donate money to temple hundi. Ramana Deekshithulu then alleged that 95% of temple income was being utilised by the Government”] To check the viral account, the review says it searched for Deekshithulu’s statements about the use of hundi income and found the March 2019 interview. It also reports that The Quint’s fact-check team contacted him about the circulating message. Deekshithulu told The Quint that he had never said the money was being used for Muslims or Christians and that his statement was being misrepresented. [S1: “When we searched to check whether Ramana Deekshithulu had made any such statements about the utilisation of Tirumala Temple Hundi income, we found that Ramana Deekshithulu has spoken about the utilisation of the Tirumala Temple Hundi income during an interview in March 2019.”] [S1: “Speaking to the Quint, Ramana Deekshithulu said, ‘As the head priest, it is my duty to ensure that the donation money is being put to good use. In my opinion, distribution of salaries, forming committees or construction isn’t good use. And that’s precisely why I asked devotees to not donate any money. I have never said that the money is being used for Muslims, Christians, or anyone else. My statement is being misrepresented’”] The key distinction is both what the priest said and when he said it: the earlier criticism of how temple funds were spent does not establish the specific claim about welfare for Christian and Muslim communities, and it predates the YSR Congress government. [S1: “Ramana Deekshithulu made these comments in March 2019, before the formation of the YSR Congress Party government in Andhra Pradesh.”]

FACTLYReligion & belief

Recent video of a Muslim mob playing provocative songs in front of a temple in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a video presented as recent footage of Muslims playing provocative songs in front of a Hindu temple in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. The review says the footage was from a 2018 Muharram procession in Khargone, rather than a recent event, and states it was unrelated to the more recent communal violence in Madhya Pradesh. (S1: “A video is being shared on social media claiming it as recent visuals of Muslims dancing to the provocative songs in front of a Hindu temple in Khargone.”; “The video shared in the post was shot in 2018 during the Muharram procession in Khargone. The video shared in the post is old and has nothing to do with the recent communal violence in Madhya Pradesh.”) To check the video’s history, the review reports using reverse-image searches of screenshots and searching with relevant keywords and time filters. Those searches led to an extended version published on YouTube on 25 September 2018; the channel described it as footage of the 2018 Muharram procession in Khargone. (S1: “On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, we found that a few Facebook users have shared the same video recently mentioning it as an old incident that took place in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone in 2018.”; “When we searched for the video using relevant keywords and time filters, an extended version of the video was found published on a YouTube channel on 25 September 2018. This YouTube channel mentioned it as the visuals from the 2018 Muharram procession in Khargone.”) The review also describes two location and event checks: a billboard in the footage identifies Ganesh Chowk, and a Khargone freelance journalist told The Quint that the procession passing Shri Chintamani Ganesh temple there was from 2018. Together, the reported older upload, visible location marker, and journalist’s identification support the conclusion that the clip shows an older procession, not the recent event asserted in the claim. (S1: “On observing the video carefully, one can notice a billboard that mentions the place as Ganesh Chowk in Khargone.”; “Speaking to ‘The Quint’, Tarun Soni said, ‘The procession is seen passing through Shri Chintamani Ganesh temple at Ganesh Chowk in Khargone and it shows Muharram procession from 2018’.”)

FACTLYReligion & belief

భారతదేశంలో క్రైస్తవులపై జరుగుతున్న దాడుల గురించి అమెరికా సెక్రటరీ ఆఫ్ స్టేట్ అంటోనీ బ్లింకెన్ ఇటీవల భారత విదేశీ వ్యవహారాల శాఖ మంత్రి జయశంకర్‌ను బహిరంగంగా నిలదీసారు

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

Fact CrescendoReligion & belief

Claim: Arjun sampath not asked hindus to boycott electricity and use kerosene lamp

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a social-media post attributing to Arjun Sampath the statement that Hindus should not use electricity because it was invented by a Christian. Fact Crescendo Tamil says it investigated the post and contacted Sampath’s side about it. The response it reports was that fake accounts had been created in Sampath’s and the Hindu Makkal Katchi’s names to spread rumors, and that readers should not believe the post. The review also examined where the post appeared: it says the account that first shared it on Twitter was named “kaaji makkal katchi” and links to the post and an archived copy. Based on that provenance and the response from Sampath’s side, the review concludes that the claim was circulated to mock him and was being passed on as though true. Its verdict is False. The excerpt does not provide independent verification of the account’s ownership or further details about the post’s creation, so those should not be inferred.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Recent video of Delhi Qazi giving a hate speech against the Hindus

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a video circulated during discussion of violence in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, said to show a Delhi Qazi making a recent hate speech against Hindus. FACTLY reports that the footage was old and not connected to that violence. It identifies the speaker as Mufti Raees Ahmad Qasmi of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Dehradun, rather than a Delhi Qazi. The review places the recording in Dehradun in 2019, when Qasmi spoke to the media in the context of the Tabrez Ansari lynching incident. It also reports that a case was booked against him after the speech. This provenance changes both the identification of the speaker and the timing and setting represented by the viral claim. For its check, FACTLY says it ran screenshots from the video through Yandex Reverse Image Search and found similar videos published on YouTube in 2019. It cites a YouTube title describing a statement by Mufti Rais Qasmi against mob lynching, and says an interview about his comments and reports of the case could also be viewed. These details support the review’s conclusion that the footage was recirculated with a misleading description, rather than showing a recent speech by a Delhi Qazi amid the Jahangirpuri violence.