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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

NewtralReligion & belief

El arzobispo de la localidad venezolana de Barquisimeto ha sido detenido por una homilía crítica con el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerned a message circulating on WhatsApp that the “archbishop” of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, had been jailed because of a sermon criticizing Nicolás Maduro’s government. Newtral reports that Víctor Hugo Basabe, identified in the article as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator, directly denied being detained. In a post cited by the review, he said that reports claiming he was in custody were false and that he was well.

Factcrescendo Sri LankaReligion & belief

Cardinal Malcom Ranjith Didn’t File A FR Petition Challenging The Cremation Of Catholics Due To COVID19

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a viral Tamil-language Facebook post attributed to Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. It said that he had filed a Fundamental Rights petition in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court and would not allow Catholics who died of COVID-19 to be cremated. The investigation says the post circulated among Tamil users and also describes a Sinhala-language response from the Archdiocese rejecting the statement.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Photo of a Ramzan gift kit given by the Telangana Government during the lockdown

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim was that a circulated photo showed a Ramzan gift kit being given by the Telangana Government during the COVID-19 lockdown. FACTLY investigated the image’s age and whether the state was distributing such kits that year. It reports that reverse image search found the same photo circulating online at least as early as July 2015, including in a Facebook post from that year and an article published by the Sakshi Post in 2018. That earlier circulation means the photo does not establish a lockdown-era distribution. The review also reports a separate check on the distribution claim: at a press conference on 5 May 2020, Telangana Chief Minister KCR said the government was not giving Ramzan gift kits that year because distribution could risk spreading COVID-19. The review points to the press-conference video at 1:40:00. Together, the image’s pre-existing circulation and the reported statement about the 2020 decision contradict the post’s implication that the photo documented a current government distribution. The review’s conclusion is specific to this photo and the claim that it showed a Ramzan gift distribution during the lockdown. It notes that the Telangana government had previously distributed gifts for other festivals, but that does not establish that this image showed a Ramzan kit distributed in 2020.

FACTLYReligion & belief

A saint attacked by Bangladeshi Muslims in Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh)

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned an assault on Tamal Krishna Das, a former president of a monastery in Imlitala, Vrindavan, and alleged that his attackers were Muslims, including two Bangladeshis. FACTLY says the assault itself occurred, but reports that the attackers were not Muslims or Bangladeshis: they were followers of B.P. Sadhu, the monastery’s current president. The review describes checking information about the incident online and cites a clarification posted by Mathura Police on their official Twitter account. In a video shared in a reply to a tweet, an officer described the assault as an internal fight between monastery members and said Sadhu’s followers beat Das. The police account also said the main accused, Sacchidanand, had been arrested, while three others were absconding. The review adds that police denied the claim that the accused were Bangladeshis and said the dispute was over opening a room containing books. Thus, the post attached false identities and a false description of the attackers to a real assault.

FACTLYReligion & belief

పాకిస్థాన్ దేశ ప్రజలను కొరోనావైరస్ నుండి కాపాడుకునేందుకు ఇమ్రాన్ ఖాన్ సియల్ కోట (పాకిస్థాన్)లో 72 సంవత్సరాలుగా మూతపడి ఉన్న ఒక శివాలయాన్ని తెరిపించి పూజలు చేపిస్తున్నాడు

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLYReligion & belief

రాష్ట్రపతి రాంనాథ్ కోవింద్ కుటుంబం దళిత వర్గానికి చెందడం వల్ల రాజస్థాన్ లోని బ్రహ్మ గుడి యాజమాన్యం వారిని లోపలికి అనుమతించలేదు. దాంతో వారు గుడి మెట్ల వద్దనే పూజ చేసుకున్నారు.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The QuintReligion & belief

700 people offered prayers at mosque in Vellore in Tamil Nadu in last 2 days

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a viral image said to show as many as 700 people praying at a mosque in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district during the coronavirus lockdown. The Quint investigated the image’s provenance rather than treating the location and timing in the social-media caption as established facts. Its review reports using Google reverse image search, which led to the image’s listing on Alamy.