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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

Los sacerdotes reciben una subvención de 2.000 euros

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The investigation examined a viral image linking an alleged €2,000 subsidy for priests with a supposed decline in the number of doctors. It rejects the specific subsidy claim: the article says the State does not pay priests that amount, and reports that the Spanish Episcopal Conference’s Transparency Office put priests’ usual salaries at €800–€1,000. The amount varies by diocese and circumstances such as local living costs, duties, travel and the number of parishes served; priests with additional roles may receive a supplement. Bishops’ reported salary was €1,200. [S1: “Salarios de la Iglesia…”)

Fact CrescendoReligion & belief

Claim: Eight Church Fathers had consensual sex with a woman

Publisher’s rating: MIXTURE

The review investigated a Facebook post alleging that eight priests had sex, with the women’s consent, with women who came to them for confession. It compared that allegation with a reported case in Kerala, rather than treating the post’s wording as established fact. The review says the case concerned a woman who came seeking confession at a church in the Kottayam–Thiruvalla area and that the alleged assault took place in June 2018. The key distinction in the review is both the number of priests and the alleged conduct. It says the complaint involved five priests, not eight, and describes the accusation as rape—not consensual sex. It also says the case was still being heard in court. Thus, the review found a real case resembling the post’s setting, but the post’s claim of eight priests and consensual sex did not match the details it reported. The review’s conclusion is based on its account of the Facebook post and its comparison with reports about the Kerala case. The supplied excerpt does not identify those reports or provide further case documents, so it supports describing the review’s findings, but not independently verifying the underlying allegation or the case’s later outcome.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Priests in the balaji temple wearing gold

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

FACTLY examined a Facebook post showing a collage of five men wearing gold ornaments and claiming they were priests at the Balaji Temple. The review reports that reverse-image searches of the individually cropped pictures did not identify them. Further searches found information about two men: the person in photo 1 was identified as Sudhir Kumar Bittu, also known as “Gold Man,” and the person in photo 5 as Samrat Moze. The article describes Bittu as a businessman and Moze as a politician, and says it found no supporting information that either was a Balaji Temple priest. The review says it found no information about the other three men. Its conclusion therefore rests on the identified backgrounds of two people and the lack of supporting information for the others—not on identification of all five or evidence establishing the occupations of every person pictured. FACTLY nevertheless concluded, based on the available information, that the men in the images were not Balaji Temple priests.

FACTLYReligion & belief

A man has poured milk on the Kabba in Mecca and said that their ancestors are Hindu also shouted that the Kabba is holy Shivaling.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video said to show a man pouring milk on the Kaaba in Mecca and declaring that his ancestors were Hindu and the Kaaba was a holy Shivaling. FACTLY’s review says the video instead showed the man pouring petrol, and that its examination found no reporting that he shouted slogans about Hinduism or the Shivaling. The review therefore rejects the specific claims about both the liquid and the alleged statements. [S1]

FACTLYReligion & belief

UNESCO has issued a “Certificate of Peace” declaring Islam as ‘the most peaceful religion of the world’.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a photo circulating on Facebook that purported to show UNESCO issuing a “Certificate of Peace” and declaring Islam “the most peaceful religion of the world.” FACTLY’s review addresses that specific certificate and statement, rather than a general claim about UNESCO’s work on religion or peace. The review says it examined the claim and points to a notice in which UNESCO rejected the attribution.