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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

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaReligion & belief

පොළොන්නරුවේ සෝමාවතී චෛත්‍යයේ ඉහළින් බුදුරුව දිස් වූ අවස්ථාවක්ද?

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerns a photo said to show a Buddha image in the sky above the Somawathiya stupa in Polonnaruwa. Fact Crescendo examined the circulated image and concluded that it had been edited, rather than documenting an actual appearance above the stupa. The review describes the social-media post as presenting a Buddha image with the claim that it was visible above the stupa: “පොළොන්නරුවේ සෝමාවතී චෛත්‍යයේ ඉහළින් අහසේ දිසුන බුදුරුව යනුවෙන් සඳහන් කරමින්, අපි බලමු බෞද්ධයෝ කී දෙනෙක්ට මෙය ශෙයා කරන්න පුලුවන්ද කියලා.” To investigate the image’s origin, the publisher says it used a reverse-image search. It reports that the background came from an aerial photograph circulating online since 2012, found in a collection on the Frenzy photography blog. The review further says the Buddha figure was added to that background, which was recoloured: “මෙම ඡායාරූපයේ පසුබිම වර්ණය වෙනස් කරමින් බුදුරුවක් ඇතුළත් කරමින් නැවත සංස්කරණය කරමින් පොළොන්නරුවේ සෝමාවතී චෛත්‍යයේ ඉහළින් අහසේ දිස්වුන බුදුරුව යනුවෙන් පවසා තිබුණා.” The review also describes a technical check of the circulated image using error-level analysis. It explains that an unedited image should have the same error level throughout, whereas altered portions may show different levels. The publisher reports that the area containing the Buddha figure showed a different error level, supporting its conclusion that the figure had been inserted: “අප විසින් සිදුකළ තාක්ෂණික විමර්ශනයේ දී බුදුරුව ඇති කොටස දෝෂ මට්ටම්ක් ලෙස දැක ගන්නට ලැබුණ අතර ඒ අනුව බුදුරුව ඇතුළත් කර සංස්කරණය කර ඇති බවට දැක ගන්නට ලැබුණා.”

FACTLYReligion & belief

Video shows the chariot festival of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Kadiri in AP

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a video presented as showing the chariot festival of the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh. FACTLY’s review concludes that the video is instead from the Tiruvarur chariot festival in Tamil Nadu, so it does not depict the event identified in the claim. [S1: “The chariot festival video is not related to Kadiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple (Andhra Pradesh). It shows the Tiruvarur chariot festival in Tamil Nadu.”] To investigate, the review says it ran screenshots from the circulating video through Google Reverse Image Search. It reports finding the same video shared by social media users with a Tiruvarur description, including the Tamil name “Tiruvarur Therottam.” This provides an alternative identification for the footage, rather than merely a resemblance to another festival. [S1: “When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, many similar videos were found in the search results. Some social media users have posted the same video with a different description – ‘Tiruvarur Chariot festival, known in Tamil as Tiruvarur Therottam’.”] The review also compares the chariot and surroundings with a Tiruvarur Chariot Festival video streamed live by Polimer News on 15 March 2022, reporting that the same chariot and similar surroundings appear there. It therefore identifies the circulated footage as Tiruvarur material, not Kadiri footage. The excerpt mentions links to visuals of the actual Kadiri festival but does not describe their contents, so no further comparison with those visuals can be established from the supplied text. [S1: “The same chariot and similar surroundings can be seen in the ‘Tiruvarur Chariot Festival’ video streamed live by ‘Polimer News’ on 15 March 2022.”] [S1: “The actual visuals related to the chariot festival of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Kadiri in AP can be seen here, here, and here.”]

FACTLYReligion & belief

Visuals of Muslims attack on Hindus on the day of Holi in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim attached to the video was that Muslims in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, attacked Hindus on Holi. FACTLY’s review says the visuals instead show a fatal assault in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and that the incident had no communal angle. The review describes the victim as a hotel guest who was beaten by hotel staff after an altercation; it identifies him as Vishal Yadav. [S1]

Vishvas NewsReligion & belief

चित्रात त्यांना नमाज वाचतानाच्या मुद्रेत हाथ जोडून उभे असलेले बघितले जाऊ शकते. दावा करण्यात येत आहे कि प्रधानमंत्री मोदी मुस्लिम मौलवींसोबत नमाज वाचत आहे.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a circulating image said to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi praying namaz with Muslim clerics. Vishvas News reports that its investigation found the image had been edited, and that the original photograph showed Modi with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. The review says the original was taken in Turkmenistan on 11 July 2015, during Modi’s official visit to Central Asian countries, when he paid tribute at the tomb of Turkmenistan’s first president. To investigate the image’s origin, the reviewers examined the viral picture and used Google reverse image search. They say the search located older news reports using the original photograph, including an Economic Times report published on 12 July 2015. According to the review, that report also places the image in Turkmenistan during the tribute. The review contrasts the viral image with the original and says the viral version shows signs of substantial editing. The review also reports that journalist Abhishek Ranjan Singh, whom it contacted about the image, described it as an attempt to spread misinformation about Modi. Its conclusion is that the viral image was edited and circulated with a false claim; the photograph’s documented setting was the 2015 tribute, not a prayer with Muslim clerics.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Video of a recent procession in Ayodhya demanding a ‘Hindu Rashtra’.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video presented as showing a recent procession in Ayodhya demanding a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. FACTLY reports that the footage instead shows a procession from 2018, whose major demand was construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The article says the procession was led by Pravin Togadia and distinguishes the demand documented for that event from the demand attributed to it in the social-media claim. To check the video’s provenance, FACTLY says it searched using keywords after noticing that the posted video’s audio identified the procession as being under Togadia’s leadership. It found the same video uploaded to Facebook in October 2018. The review also reports finding similar videos of the October 2018 procession posted by several news channels and refers to Togadia’s press release about the programme. These findings place the footage years before it was described as recent. The article adds that the procession took place before the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya Ram Mandir case, which it dates to November 2019. Its conclusion is that an old video was falsely represented as a recent procession demanding a ‘Hindu Rashtra’; the evidence it describes instead identifies a 2018 procession whose major demand was Ram Mandir construction.

Fact CrescendoReligion & belief

Claim: fake news spreading that annamalai commented that fish eaters not hindus

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim was that Tamil Nadu BJP leader Annamalai had said people who eat fish are not Hindus. Fact Crescendo says the claim arose amid reporting about opposition to a fish market being built on temple land in Chennai, including in Kuyapettai. It reports that Annamalai opposed the market, but that the statement presented as his—that people who eat fish and then go to temples are not Hindus—was not his comment. The review traces the wording to a Dinamalar newspaper item. According to the fact-check, the critical remark alongside its coverage was the editorial team’s own comment, not a statement by Annamalai. The review says this distinction was misread and that the claim was then circulated on social media. It also reports that Maalaimalar published a story about the allegation and later removed it after objections, while a screenshot continued to circulate. As checks, Fact Crescendo points to Dinamalar’s online post, a January 2, 2022 social-media post repeating the allegation, and explanations published by Junior Vikatan and Maalaimalar. It also says it sought confirmation from BJP IT-wing sources. The review concludes that the quote was falsely attributed to Annamalai; the excerpt does not provide a recording or transcript of his remarks.