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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Science & space fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about science & space. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

1,577 published reviews in this topic

dpaScience & space

Edward Snowden toont aan dat HAARP mensen doodt.

Publisher’s rating: Het artikel waarin deze bewering wordt gedaan is afkomstig van een satirische website. De claim over het onderzoeksproject HAARP moet dan ook niet serieus genomen worden.

The claim arose from a video shared on Twitter and Facebook. It presented Edward Snowden as having exposed HAARP as a “murder machine” used to eliminate dissidents. The review traces the video’s story to a July 2013 article by the Internet Chronicle, rather than to new documents or recent reporting. The article claimed its reporters had spoken with Snowden at a Moscow airport hotel and that he presented documents supporting the HAARP allegations, but it did not provide those documents. The review checks the article’s account against the available provenance and reporting described in its text. It says the photograph presented as Snowden in a Faraday cage at the hotel was visibly manipulated: Snowden was photographed outdoors, and the image combined a hotel-background photograph with an image of him from an interview. The review identifies that interview as having been filmed in Hong Kong, not Moscow. It also notes that the article’s claims could not be corroborated by other news organizations, including The Guardian, which had published Snowden’s earlier disclosures. The review further assesses the source itself: it describes the Internet Chronicle’s other stories and its “about” section as fantastical, and reports that Media Bias/Fact Check and Western Carolina University characterize the site as satire and fake news. The evidence presented therefore undermines the alleged Snowden revelation by tracing it to an unsupported satirical article, not by establishing that Snowden produced or verified HAARP documents. The review describes HAARP as an ionosphere research facility in Alaska, not as a demonstrated means of killing people.

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaScience & space

Image Of A Real Animal Called ‘American Winged Goblin’!

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The claim concerns a viral image presented as an exceptionally rare real creature called an “American winged goblin.” The accompanying post supplied a purported species name and elaborate claims about its rarity, origins and abilities. The review notes that some people questioned whether the creature could exist, while others shared the image as genuine. Fact Crescendo reports that it used a Google reverse-image search and traced the image to a Facebook page devoted to artwork called Magic Within. The review says that the page’s post included a first-person description of creating fairy-folk artwork, and that the image appeared alongside similar creations. This evidence points to the image being an artwork, not a photograph of a living animal. The review further identifies Jack Wingmaker Overwijn as the artist: it says searches and user comments led to a Facebook page naming him, and that a Pinterest post and an Instagram account under the same name also linked him to the work. Its conclusion is that the viral posts do not depict a real creature, but miniature creations based on fairy tales.