Blog: Global warming affects both: Nature and human beings

Experts warn of the consequences of rising seas due to climate change. Our reporter Lennart Platz travelled to a place where future generations will soon be getting their feet wet – the Wadden Sea World Heritage. RESEARCH | ARTICLE – Lennart Platz and Moritz Orth, Jade University of Applied Sciences, Germany Leave your comments, thoughts,…

Mostly false: “Trans is a dangerous trend – Gender-affirming surgeries in Germany have increased from 120 in 2005 to 2.598 in 2021”

In the documentary “Trans is a Trend: How an Ideology is Changing Our Country”, published on the German news website NIUS.de, authors Judith Sevinc Basad and Jan A. Karon claim that gender-affirming surgeries in Germany have increased from 120 in 2005 to 2.598 in 2021. They also argue that being trans is a dangerous trend…

False: There is a direct connection between COVID vaccines and excess mortality

In the “Europawahlprogramm 2024” (European Election Program 2024) of the German political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), alleged dangers of the COVID-19 vaccines are highlighted. The program claims a direct connection between these vaccines and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. This claim turns out to be false. “Due to (…) an alarming excess mortality,…

False: “In the next 25 years 1 billion African immigrants will come to Europe”

During a broadcast of the Flemish current affairs program “De Zevende Dag”, Klaas Slootmans, a member of the far-right party Vlaams Belang, claimed that in the next 25 years one billion African immigrants will come to (Western) Europe. After checking the facts, it turns out that Slootmans’ statement is false. In the episode of De…

Mostly True: 35 parties will take part in the European Parliament elections in Germany

On March 30, 2024, LB.ua reported that the German Bundestag has approved the participation of 35 political parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Among the approved parties are the controversial environmental group “The Last Generation”. Lesser-known parties such as the Party of Reason and the Party of Traditional Medical Research for Rejuvenation will also…

Mostly False: Euro membership is an economic detriment to Finland

“Euro membership is an economic detriment to Finland”, claims EU election candidate and member of Finnish parliament Kaisa Garedew from the Perussuomalaiset party (Finnish national conservatives). Although the matter can be viewed from multiple viewpoints, the claim, published by the party’s newspaper Suomen Uutiset on March 26, 2024, turns out to be mostly false. Euro…

Blog: Looking Behind the Headlines – Media Ethics and Seniors’ Driving Ability

In today’s fast-paced media landscape, discussions about older people’s ability to drive often drift into tricky territory, rife with stereotypes and prejudice. But is there more to the stereotypes than meets the eye? In this blog post, we have a closer look at how senior citizens are portrayed in the media and what responsibility the…

Mostly False: After novice drivers, older people have the highest accident rate p/km

In an interview with the German news agency “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” (RND), Stefan Gelbhaar, transport policy spokesman for the German political party “The Greens”, said: “After novice drivers, older people are the most likely to cause accidents per kilometre driven”. According to our research, this statement is mostly false. In the RND article “Driving in old…