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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: Hanuman gold gadha found in Sri Lanka

Publisher’s rating: Fact Crescendo Rating: False

The claim concerned a viral image presented as showing a huge golden gada used by Hanuman and discovered in Sri Lanka. The accompanying posts said the object dated back thousands of years and was so heavy that two cranes were needed to lift it. The review notes that the posts did not identify where in Sri Lanka or when the supposed discovery took place. The review says it used a Google reverse-image search to investigate the picture. It found that the image itself was genuine, but that this did not establish the claimed Sri Lankan discovery. The image instead showed a gada installed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in 2013. The review also reports that it found a video supporting the account that the object was installed at a temple in Indore and was not an ancient artifact. On that evidence, the review concludes that the pictured object was not a golden gada used by Hanuman and found in Sri Lanka. It identifies it as a gada placed at a temple in Indore, making the image’s presentation as evidence of a Sri Lankan archaeological discovery misleading.

FACTLYReligion & belief

Kangana Ranaut said "All the Hindus should place their loudspeakers on the terrace and play Hanuman Chalisa during the time of Azaan, then there will be a roar in the Parliament.”

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a post attributing to Kangana Ranaut a call for Hindus to play the Hanuman Chalisa over loudspeakers during the Azaan. FACTLY says the post had been created in 2017 and continued to circulate. Its review addresses that specific quotation, rather than merely discussing Ranaut’s views on religion or loudspeakers.

NewtralReligion & belief

El papa se rinde ante el islam y se arrodilla ante un musulmán

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim attached to an image of Pope Francis kneeling was that the Catholic Church was surrendering to Islam. Newtral says the photograph showed Francis kneeling before five people and kissing the feet of South Sudanese religious and political leaders at a spiritual retreat in the Vatican. The event took place on April 10 and 11, 2019. The review’s account therefore identifies the scene as a gesture toward South Sudan’s leaders, not as a submission to a Muslim interlocutor. [S1: “Una imagen del papa arrodillándose frente a cinco personas y acompañada de un texto que asegura que ‘la Iglesia católica se rinde ante el islam’ está circulando por las redes sociales.”; “La instantánea corresponde a un histórico retiro espiritual en el Vaticano en el que el pontífice se arrodilló para besar los pies de líderes eclesiásticos y políticos de Sudán del Sur.”; “Durante el encuentro celebrado los días 10 y el 11 de abril”] The decisive identification in the review is South Sudanese President Salva Kiir: it says the photograph showed Francis kneeling before him and reports that CIDOB identifies Kiir as Catholic. Newtral also notes that most of South Sudan’s population is Christian and that Kiir is Christian. Those details contradict the post’s portrayal of the person before whom the pope knelt as a Muslim, and the review rejects the image’s accompanying claim that the Church was surrendering to Islam. [S1: “La foto, que se ha compartido al menos 1.000 veces en Facebook, muestra al papa Francisco arrodillado frente al actual presidente Salva Kiir.”; “Kiir es católico, según señala el CIDOB”; “la mayoría de la población de este país africano es cristiana, como lo es el presidente del país.”; “Por tanto, es falsa la frase que acompaña a la imagen y que asegura que la Iglesia católica ‘se rinde ante el Islam’.”]

NewtralReligion & belief

Japón prohíbe el islam y tiene políticas contra los musulmanes

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review investigates a social-media image asserting that Japan restricts Islam and Muslims. Its ten allegations included that Muslims cannot obtain citizenship or permanent residence, that Islamic outreach is prohibited, and that Muslims cannot import the Quran or rent housing. Newtral says it contacted Japan’s embassy, which described the circulating message as falsehoods, and checked the claims against laws and other sources. The review reports that Japan’s Justice Ministry identified no religion-based bar to citizenship; the nationality law instead lists conditions including five consecutive years’ residence, adulthood, and good conduct. It also says the foreign-residence law does not distinguish applicants by birthplace or religion. For claims about prohibiting Islam, the review points to a directory of mosques and organizations promoting Islamic activities, and says universities in Tokyo, Keio, Osaka, and Kyoto Sangyo have Arabic-language departments. Other examples address the image’s broader assertions: the review lists Japanese embassies in several Muslim-majority countries, says Arabic-language Qurans could be bought through Amazon Japan, and states that no law determines who may rent a home. It also says foreigners must follow Japanese law regardless of religion, that Japanese-language ability is not mandatory for staying in the country, and that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not call Muslims fundamentalists. These findings address the specific list of alleged restrictions rather than establishing that every aspect of life for Muslims in Japan is free of difficulty.

NewtralReligion & belief

“En Francia, a partir de 2050, el 50% de la población va a ser musulmana”

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a statement by Vox leader Santiago Abascal during an interview on the Spanish television program Espejo Público. When asked about immigration in Spain, he warned that France would reach a point where half its population was Muslim from 2050 onward. Newtral’s review compares that forecast with Pew Research Center estimates for France, rather than treating the claim as a statement about citizenship or immigration alone. The review reports three Pew scenarios for France in 2050: 12.7% Muslim if migration stopped, 17.4% under moderate migration, and 18% under high migration. Even the highest scenario is far below 50%. The review also says that the figures count people by religion, including Muslims born in Europe and people born in non-European countries; they are not nationality figures. Newtral says it requested the source of Abascal’s figure from Vox but received no response. The supplied review therefore documents the comparison with Pew’s scenarios and the unanswered request; it does not identify another source supporting the 50% prediction.

NewtralReligion & belief

El vídeo de niños rezando en una mezquita en Valencia

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a video presented as showing children praying in a mosque in Valencia. Newtral’s investigation identifies the footage as a recording made on 27 November 2018 at a mosque in Antwerp, Belgium—not in Valencia or elsewhere in Spain. It also reports that the Valencian regional education department said the scene was neither a public school in Valencia nor a class on Islam.

Factcheck.kzReligion & belief

Исландия признает религии оружием массового поражения

Publisher’s rating: Фейк

The story at issue said Iceland had declared all religions to be weapons of mass destruction. It attributed a statement about religion being a dangerous mental disorder to an Icelandic legislator named Andrew Canard. The review traces the story to Laughing in Disbelief, a blog published on Patheos.com, rather than to a reported Icelandic parliamentary announcement. The review describes the blog as satirical and quotes its own explanation that the post was satire, even though it could include links to real events. [S1]