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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 CrescendoReligion & belief

Claim: Annie Besant praised Hindu Religion

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines a Facebook post that used Annie Besant’s photograph alongside a quote claiming that, after studying the world’s religions for 40 years, she found Hinduism uniquely complete, philosophical, scientific and spiritual. The post was shared by Murali Ram on July 17, 2019, according to the article. The specific issue is whether Besant made that statement and praised Hinduism in the terms used in the post. The fact-check says it first used a reverse-image search to check the photograph and found that the person pictured was Besant. It then looked for her views on religion. The article reports that it found a statement attributed to her that no religion had benefited the world, and says that neither her autobiography nor the 100 quotations it consulted contained praise for a religion. It also characterizes her as a religious reformer who worked to free people from religion’s influence, rather than as a believer in the viral post’s claim. On that basis, the review concludes that the Facebook post was false. The excerpt describes an image check and a search of biographical and quotation material, but does not identify the specific sources for the statement about religions or provide the autobiography or quotation list. Its conclusion therefore rests on the review’s reported search and characterization; the supplied text does not independently document the full scope of those materials.

NewtralReligion & belief

La ONU ha dicho que llevar niños a la iglesia viola sus derechos humanos

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review traces the claim to a 2016 report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and to a subsequent headline in the US outlet Charisma News. It says the report did not declare that taking children to church violated their human rights. The issue it addressed was narrower: compulsory daily worship in state schools in England and Wales. [S1]

NewtralReligion & belief

Un sacerdote brasileño ha dicho que las mujeres gordas no van al cielo

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim arose from a video of an incident during a Mass in Brazil: a woman pushed priest Marcelo Rossi from the altar. Text accompanying the footage attributed to Rossi the statement that “fat women do not go to heaven.” The review says the incident took place on 14 July in Cachoeira Paulista, in the interior of São Paulo state, during a Mass closing the Por Hoje Nao camp. To check the attribution, the review describes examining a video showing the part of the Mass before the push. It reports that Rossi was speaking about the role of a priest, and that the footage does not show him saying the alleged phrase. Instead, the words it quotes him saying immediately before the incident concern his hands belonging to Jesus and a priest acting in the person of Christ. The review also reports that Agência Lupa checked the claim and likewise found no instance of Rossi saying the insulting phrase. Its account of coverage by O Globo and UOL supplies context about the incident, not support for the quotation: the review says O Globo did not mention the alleged statement, while UOL reported the woman’s account that she intended to speak with Rossi but became frightened when she saw security approaching. The review’s conclusion is that the words attached to the video were falsely attributed to the priest.

FACTLYReligion & belief

ఆల్ ఇండియా ముస్లిం పర్సనల్ లా బోర్డు (AIMPLB) భారత రాజ్యాంగాన్ని మేము నమ్మము మాకు ప్రత్యేక చట్టాలు మేమే చేసుకుంటాం, మా కోర్టులు మేమే కట్టుకుంటాం, మీ రాజ్యాంగంతో మాకు పనిలేదు అని వ్యాఖ్యానించింది.

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

YouturnReligion & belief

காஞ்சி அத்தி வரதரை தரிசிக்க ஜூலை 14,15,16-ம் தேதிகளில் மக்கள் வர வேண்டாம்…அன்று CM , PM , judges, MP , MLA என VIP மற்றும் VVIP ஆகியோருக்கு ஒதுக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது..தயவு செய்து பகிரவும்..வெளியூர் மக்கள் வந்து ஏமாற வேண்டாம். மற்ற நாட்களில் வழக்கம் போல் தரிசனம் நடைபெறும்.

Publisher’s rating: Fake

YouturnReligion & belief

ஆண்டுதோறும் கோடிக்கணக்கில் வருமானம் ஈட்டும் திருவனந்தபுரம் பத்மநாபசுவாமி கோவில் கோசாலையில் இருக்கும் பசுக்களின் நிலை. கோவில் பணத்தை மட்டுமே குறி வைக்கும் கம்யூனிசம், கோவில் பசுக்களை பட்டினிப் போட்டு கொடுமைப்படுத்தும் அவலம்.

Publisher’s rating: Mix