406 Politics claim verifications avg. score 5.3/10 185 rated (mostly) true 200 rated (mostly) false
“The Australian Age Pension assets test changes were implemented on 1 January 2017.”
The evidence clearly shows the Age Pension assets test changes took effect on 1 January 2017. This date is stated in the relevant legislation and repeated in official guidance from the Department of Social Services and the ATO. References to multiple Acts concern the legislative pathway, not a different implementation date.
“Andy Burnham is responsible for a cover-up of rape gangs in the North West of England.”
The evidence does not support the accusation that Andy Burnham was responsible for a cover-up. Authoritative sources show he commissioned and backed inquiries into child sexual exploitation, while independent reviews reported no evidence that senior leaders or councillors sought to conceal it. Criticism of review scope and police cooperation does not prove Burnham personally caused or directed a cover-up.
“Qatar relied heavily on migrant workers to build infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
The evidence shows Qatar depended extensively on migrant labor to build World Cup stadiums and associated infrastructure. Multiple authoritative sources describe migrant workers as the dominant workforce in Qatar and as central to construction and tournament preparation. The claim is accurate as stated and does not overreach.
“Iranian authorities sentenced singer Parastoo Ahmadi to 74 lashes for performing without a hijab during an online concert.”
Reliable, independent reporting supports that Parastoo Ahmadi received a 74-lash court sentence tied to a performance released online in which she appeared without a hijab. The main caveats are that reports describe a first-instance ruling that may be appealed, and some accounts characterize the event as a recorded concert posted online rather than a live stream.
“Omar Shareef, president of the African American Contractors Association, demanded that Barack Obama, the Obama Foundation, the general contractor, and Lakeside Alliance pay contractors involved in the Obama Presidential Center project.”
Recorded statements and multiple reports show Omar Shareef publicly calling on Barack Obama, the Obama Foundation, the general contractor, and Lakeside Alliance partners to pay subcontractors tied to the Obama Presidential Center project. The strongest evidence is Shareef’s own quoted statement. Disputes over who was legally responsible for payment do not change the fact that he made that demand.
“The publicly released “Epstein files” include an allegation that Donald J. Trump knew about and funded underage sex parties at one of his golf courses.”
The released records did contain an unverified allegation of that kind. Multiple reputable reports describe a DOJ/FBI tip-sheet entry alleging Trump knew about and financed underage sex parties at a golf course. However, the allegation was raw intake material, not a confirmed finding, and reporting indicates it was uncorroborated and viewed skeptically.
“Switzerland has lifted (abolished) its sanctions against Russia.”
The claim is not supported by the evidence. Switzerland has not abolished sanctions against Russia; official Swiss actions show the opposite, with sanctions lists expanded and additional EU-linked packages implemented in 2025-2026. Reports suggesting sanctions could be lifted refer only to a hypothetical political initiative, not an enacted repeal.
“Nigel Farage said that mansions in London are being rented out for £750 per month.”
Farage did publicly say that London mansions were being rented for £750 a month, but the documented wording included an important qualifier: he said they were being rented “to benefits claimants” for that amount. That makes the attribution broadly accurate but not exact. The evidence also does not establish that the underlying rent claim itself was true.
“The United States military intentionally conducted a missile strike on a school in Iran.”
Available evidence shows a U.S. missile hit an Iranian school, but not that the school was intentionally targeted. The most credible reporting describes a targeting error driven by outdated or mistaken intelligence, not a deliberate decision to strike a school as such. The claim fails on its central intent element.
“The European Union is planning to require AI-based scanning of all users' messages on private messaging apps such as WhatsApp.”
The claim exaggerates both the current EU position and the scope of the proposal. An earlier Commission draft did contemplate detection orders that critics said could lead to chat scanning, but later Council and Parliament positions rejected blanket scanning and moved away from mandatory scanning of encrypted messaging. The evidence does not support a current EU plan to scan all users’ private messages on apps like WhatsApp.
“In 2025, more than £770 million in benefits was paid to claimants for conditions recorded as "unknown".”
The central figure is supported: official DWP data acknowledged by the department indicates that more than £770 million was paid in cases whose disabling condition was recorded as "unknown." The main caveat is timing and presentation, because the figure is not clearly shown in standard published statistical tables as a clean calendar-year 2025 total. Also, "unknown" refers to administrative coding, not claimants lacking a real medical condition.
“More than 150 kebab takeout shops in Great Britain have been granted UK Home Office sponsor licences allowing them to hire workers directly from overseas through a new UK visa program.”
The claim overstates what the evidence shows. Official sources confirm that UK sponsor licences exist for the Skilled Worker route and that food businesses can use them, but the supplied primary evidence does not directly substantiate the reported figure of more than 150 kebab takeout shops. The description of this as a new visa program is also inaccurate, because the route is an established scheme rather than a newly created one.
“Thousands of foreign students have disappeared from the United Kingdom while owing nearly £900 million in unpaid student loans.”
The core allegation is substantially supported: official figures indicate about 42,000 former EU student borrowers overseas could not be contacted, with roughly £893 million in outstanding loans. However, the wording is broader and more dramatic than the evidence. The data concerns former EU borrowers specifically, and “disappeared” really means untraceable or not being reached for repayment.
“The United States, under the Trump administration, bombed the Palau-flagged oil tanker M/T Settebello while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
Available evidence supports that U.S. forces under the Trump administration struck the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello. But the reporting places the attack in the Gulf of Oman or near the Strait of Hormuz, not clearly inside the Strait while the tanker was transiting it. That added location detail is not supported by the best available sources.
“United States military forces sank an Indian-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and ignored the vessel's distress calls for help.”
The claim is not supported by the best available evidence. Official U.S. and Indian accounts identify the struck vessel as Palau-flagged, not Indian-flagged, and place the incident off Oman rather than in the Strait of Hormuz. They also indicate the U.S. coordinated rescue efforts with regional partners, so describing the distress calls as “ignored” overstates what the evidence shows.
“The Government of the United Kingdom has introduced a nationwide ban on installing underfloor heating in homes.”
The evidence does not support a UK-wide ban on installing underfloor heating in homes. Official regulations set energy-efficiency and building-performance standards, and ministers have explicitly said underfloor heating is not being banned as a technology. Reports using “ban” language are largely referring to possible restrictions on selling certain inefficient products, which is a different and much narrower policy.
“The New Zealand National Party gave NZD 300 million to the tobacco industry.”
The evidence does not show the National Party paid NZD 300 million to the tobacco industry. What reliable reporting documents is a heated-tobacco excise tax cut whose fiscal cost was estimated at NZD 216 million and later framed as more than NZD 300 million after extension. That is forgone government revenue, not a direct cash handout, and it was a government policy, not party spending.
“Marie Burnham, the spouse of Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester), is a managing director of an electric-vehicle company.”
The claim is not supported by the evidence. Multiple recent sources identify Andy Burnham’s spouse as Marie-France van Heel and describe her as a senior executive and director connected to Be.EV/Iduna, but not as a managing director. The statement changes both her name and her job title in a way that materially alters the fact pattern.
“Pen-shaped bombs have been used in terrorist attacks in India.”
The claim is not supported by credible evidence. Recent "pen bomb" stories in India were widely debunked as rumor-driven panic involving novelty pens or unverified warnings, not confirmed terrorist attacks. The older Vaishno Devi case also does not qualify, because the recovered item was reported to contain no explosives or detonator.
“A British woman received an official notice from a United Kingdom government body requiring her to sell her newly purchased house so it could be used to accommodate migrants.”
An official council letter was sent, but it did not validly require the homeowner to sell her house for migrants. Reporting from Reuters, Sky News, and others shows the property had been mistakenly listed as empty, the letter was sent in error, and the council later apologized and said no compulsory purchase would happen. The claim turns a withdrawn, conditional mistake into an actual government order.