PeakMetrics / Fact Checks
Sports fact checks
Explore claims publishers have checked about sports. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.
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Search by text or image1,766 published reviews in this topic
គណៈកម្មាធិការ SEA Games សម្រេចបណ្ដេញចេញពីគ្រប់ការប្រកួតអស់មួយជីវិត! ពូជលួចប្លន់ជាចរឹតរបស់វា
Publisher’s rating: False
The claim says that, after the Indonesia–Thailand football final at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, the SEA Games Committee had banned Thai defender Jonathan Khemdee from SEA Games for life. The review traces it to Facebook posts circulating on May 18, 2023, which said the committee had ruled to expel him from the tournament for life. The investigation reports that it reviewed news coverage and interviewed a SEA Games Committee official. Vath Chamroeun, Secretary-General of the Cambodia SEA Games Organizing Committee, told the reviewers that the committee had taken no action to punish Khemdee following the final’s brawls. He described the claim as fake news and said that any decision to punish a Thai footballer would be for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), not Cambodia. This directly contradicts the claim that the SEA Games Committee imposed a lifetime ban. The review also reports that the AFC had not ruled out a specific penalty against Khemdee. It cites a Reuters report in which Cambodia Football Federation Secretary-General Keo Sareth said the brawls would be penalized by the AFC after match officials submitted a report. The review therefore distinguishes possible disciplinary action by the AFC from the claimed lifetime ban by the SEA Games Committee: it reports no such committee decision and no specific AFC penalty at the time described.
Manny Pacquiao asked for President Ferdinand Marcos’ help to resolve the case with Paradigm Sports Management
Publisher’s rating: No basis
Virat Kohli is on 🔥, hope he doesn’t delete it. #KarnatakaElectionResults2023
Publisher’s rating: Fake
O Presente que o Jogador Cristiano Ronaldo ganhou do Sheik da arábia Saudita uma moto de ouro
Publisher’s rating: Falso
Stadium belongs to Cambodia but full of Vietnam’s flag
Publisher’s rating: False
Bou Samnang won a gold medal in the 5,000 meters in the heavy rain
Publisher’s rating: Misleading
A video of a fireworks celebration shows the scenes in Naples after football team Napoli won the Serie A for the first time in over three decades
Publisher’s rating: False: The video was taken in Split, Croatia, in 2020, not in Naples this year. The occasion was a supporters’ groups for one of the town’s clubs, Torcida Split, celebrating its 70th anniversary.
Visuals of huge crowd rallying in support of ongoing protest by Indian wrestlers in Delhi
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerns a video presented as showing a huge crowd heading to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to support Indian wrestlers’ ongoing protest. FACTLY reports that the footage instead shows a crowd at an event in Surat, Gujarat: PM Modi’s rally on 29 September 2022. The review says the video had no connection to the wrestlers’ demonstrations, while noting that other organizations and individuals did support the protest. [S1: “This video claims to depict the crowd heading towards Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, rallying in support of the ongoing protest.”; “The video in question actually captures scenes from PM Modi’s rally in Surat on 29 September 2022.”; “Despite the considerable support from various organizations and individuals for the wrestlers’ protest in Delhi, this viral video has no connection to those demonstrations.”] The review describes tracing the clip through reverse image search, which led to a more distinct version uploaded on 30 September 2022. That version identified the scene as a crowd at Nilgiri Maidan after Modi’s roadshow in Surat. FACTLY says it then checked visible details in the footage, including BJP flags and hoardings featuring Modi, and identified a statue in the video as Rani Lakshmi Bai’s statue at Nilgiri Circle in Surat. [S1: “A reverse image search of the viral video led us to a more distinct version of the same footage, which was uploaded on 30 September 2022.”; “This video mentions that the visuals show a crowd at Nilgiri Maidan, congregating after PM Modi’s Roadshow in Surat.”; “Upon closer scrutiny of this video, we identified BJP flags and hoardings featuring PM Modi.”; “Following this clue, we identified the statue visible in the viral video as the statue of Rani Lakshmi Bai, located at the Nilgiri Circle in Surat, Gujarat.”] As a further comparison, the review says it examined the viral clip alongside footage from Modi’s rally and concluded that the scenes were from that Surat event. Together, the identified location, political signage and comparison to rally footage support the finding that the clip was miscaptioned—not that the crowd shown was rallying for the wrestlers in Delhi. [S1: “Upon conducting a side-by-side comparison of the visuals from PM Modi’s rally (here & here) and the viral video, we can conclusively confirm that the scenes in the viral video are indeed from the said rally held on 29 September 2022.”]
The blood of Khmer patriots! Does Cambodia lack cloth? How discreditable leaders [of athletes]? … a disappointed.
Publisher’s rating: False
Photo of MS Dhoni touching the feet of Sachin Tendulkar
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerns a photo circulated as showing MS Dhoni touching Sachin Tendulkar’s feet during the Chennai Super Kings–Mumbai Indians IPL match. The review says the image was edited: the original shows Dhoni standing beside Tendulkar and laughing, rather than bowing to touch his feet. To check the image, the review reports conducting a reverse image search. That search found a similar photo posted by the official Chennai Super Kings account; the review also cites BCCI’s post of the photo on 8 April 2023, captioned “2 Legends. 1 Frame”. It says these versions show Dhoni beside Tendulkar, not touching his feet. The review places the photograph before the match at Wankhede Stadium on 8 April 2023. It reports that Tendulkar and Dhoni inspected the pitch together before the match, but says it could not find details about the image of Dhoni bowing. Its conclusion is that the circulating feet-touching image is an altered version of the original photo.
Motorcycle made of 22 carat gold, gifted to CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) in Saudi Arabia 🤩 #CristianoRonaldo ki toh balle balle
Publisher’s rating: False
Deze video werd vorige week in Napels gefilmd nadat Napoli de landstitel won.
Publisher’s rating: De beelden komen uit Split, Kroatië en dateren van 2020. Toen vierde Torcida Split, supportersclub van lokale ploeg Hajduk Split, hun zeventigste jubileum met vuurwerk. Er is dus wel een link met voetbal, maar niet met de recente titel van Napoli.
The claim concerns a video of a large fireworks display said to show celebrations in Naples after Napoli won the Italian league title. The review distinguishes the genuine footage from the caption attached to it: it reports that Napoli won the title on 5 May 2023, but says the video was not filmed in Naples or at that celebration. Instead, the footage shows a celebration in Split, Croatia, for Torcida Split, the supporters’ group for Hajduk Split. The review describes several checks on the video’s origin. A reverse image search led to the footage being shared on Reddit in November 2020, where it was attributed to Torcida Split. The reviewer also found the same video on Instagram, shared in October 2020, and a matching YouTube upload by Torcida Split. These earlier copies place the footage years before Napoli’s 2023 title celebrations and connect it to a separate event. The investigation further reports that Torcida Split celebrated its 70th anniversary in October 2020, with fireworks, and that the video’s identifiable surroundings were checked against Google Street View. The review says the crossroads, traffic lights and advertising signs matched a location in Split. Together, the earlier uploads, event attribution and location check support the conclusion that the video is real but does not depict the recent Napoli celebrations.
Support from all over India. #wrestlersprotest #IStandWithMyChampions
Publisher’s rating: False
A viral claim said Cambodian athlete Bou Samnag won a gold medal after she ran in a rainstorm to complete the 5,000-meter race in the 32nd SEA Game hosted in Phnom Penh. This post has been shared and reacted to with mixed comments. However, after checking the official news and reliable sources, it proves that the above claim is misleading.
Publisher’s rating: Misleading
The claim concerned Cambodian runner Bou Samnang and the 5,000-meter race at the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh. It said she won a gold medal after continuing to run in heavy rain. The review found that the rain-soaked finish was real, but the claim about the medal was not: it says Bou Samnang “reached the final in 11th place” and that Vietnamese runner Nguyen Thi Oanh “finish[ed] first” in about 17 minutes, while Samnang’s time was almost 23 minutes. The competition took place at Morodok Techo National Stadium on May 08, 2023. (S1: “A full view of the competition in the 5,000-meter running event at the Morodok Techo National Stadium on May 08, 2023 was posted and published by Channel News Asia (CNA) recently.”; “The following video clip shows the Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh finishing first with a total time of about 17 minutes while Cambodia’s Bou Samnang reached the final in 11th place with a total time of almost 23 minutes.”) To check the claim, Fact Crescendo Cambodia says it used Google Reverse Image Search and consulted reliable news coverage. It also refers to a full video of the race and a post on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official Facebook page. In the review’s account, that post confirmed Samnang was not eligible for a medal, while announcing $10,000 to encourage her commitment. These sources distinguish the widely circulated story of her determined finish from the unsupported assertion that she won gold. (S1: “Fact Crescendo Cambodia has started checking this image and claim through Google Reverse Image Search and other reliable news which led us to find the following facts.”; “Similarly, the official Facebook page of Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed that the Cambodian athlete did not qualify to get any medals. However, he announced to provide $10,000 to encourage her high commitment.”) The review does not dispute that Samnang continued despite the heavy rain; it says she completed the race in 11th place and received public attention for her persistence. The misleading element was presenting that effort as a gold-medal victory. (S1: “Although she was not ranked for any medal, Bou Samnang was impressed by her hard work and determination that She did not give up running even under a heavy rain.”; “Cambodia’s Bou Samnang did not win a gold medal in the 5,000 meters race at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia as claimed.”)
Visuals of tractors marching towards Jantar Mantar in support of protesting wrestlers
Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING
The claim concerns a video presented as showing tractors travelling to Jantar Mantar in support of the wrestlers protesting there. The review distinguishes the video’s subject from the separately reported support farmers’ unions gave the wrestlers: it says the viral tractor footage is not from the wrestlers’ protest, but from an earlier rally in Kerala connected to protests against India’s farm laws. It reports that Youth Congress leaders organised the rally in January 2021 in support of farmers opposing those laws. To trace the footage, the review notes that the viral video bears a Manorama News logo. It says a search using relevant keywords found similar visuals in a video on Manorama News’s official Facebook page, posted on 3 January 2021, with a caption identifying it as a Youth Congress march supporting the farmers’ strike. The review also reports finding news accounts of the rally, including images similar to those in the viral video. Those reports place the event on a route from Kuzhalmandam to Palakkad Kottamaidanam and describe it as the Jai Kisan March, organised in solidarity with farmers protesting the new farm laws. This provenance supports the review’s conclusion that the footage was taken in Kerala in 2021, rather than showing tractors marching to Jantar Mantar for the wrestlers. The review also records that farmers from various states had joined or announced support for the wrestlers; that separate fact does not establish that this older video depicts their protest.
A viral claim said Cambodian athlete Bou Samnag won a gold medal after she ran in a rainstorm to complete the 5,000-meter race in the 32nd SEA Game hosted in Phnom Penh. This post has been shared and reacted to with mixed comments. However, after checking the official news and reliable sources, it proves that the above claim is misleading.
Publisher’s rating: Misleading