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

Fact-check, False

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,…

Mostly False: The Digital Service Act is intended to prevent the sharing of unorthodox and creative ideas

Fact-check, Mostly false

In a video, EU lead candidate of the right-wing populist party AfD, Maximilian Krah, criticized the EU digital laws that recently came into force. The Digital Service Act, for example, “is intended to prevent unorthodox and creative ideas from being shared on the internet”, said Krah. However, a look at the facts shows that this…

Uncheckable: The many thousand Ukrainian deserters are against continuing the war

Fact-check, Uncheckable

Amira Mohamed Ali, a German politician of the new left-conservative party ‘Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht’, claimed “The Ukrainian leadership says that it wants to continue fighting, but the many thousands of deserters who are trying to leave Ukraine say something different.” This statement turned out to be uncheckable. Amira Mohamed Ali has been a member of…

Mostly false: “Energy and food are getting more expensive and companies are leaving”

Fact-check, Mostly false

Dutch ECR Group vice president Robert Roos claims: “Energy and food are becoming more expensive and companies are leaving. It is time to stop the green deal.” This statement turned out to be mostly false.  On 12 March 2024, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR Group) tweeted a quote from their vice president Robert…

False: “Every second immigrant who comes to Germany has no right to protection at all, but can usually still stay and receive social benefits”

Fact-check, False

On May 11th, German politician Sahra Wagenknecht from the BSW – Reason and Justice party said in an interview: “Every second immigrant who comes to Germany has no right to protection at all, but can usually still stay and receive social benefits.” The claim turns out to be false. Wagenknecht uses a type of framing…

fact checking

Mostly false: “Eating less meat would be a contribution against Mr. Putin”

Fact-check, Mostly false

The German federal Minister of Food and Agriculture said in an interview with the German news website “Der Spiegel”, that eating less meat would be a contribution against Putin. According to our research, it turns out that this statement is mostly false. In the Spiegel interview from 18th March 2022, Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir addresses…

Uncheckable: “Germany doesn’t have too few caregivers, we just use them very inefficiently”

Fact-check, Uncheckable

On Oct. 18, 2022, Germany’s health minister, Karl Lauterbach, claimed on ZDF’s Morgenmagazin: “Germany doesn’t have too few caregivers measured against the population, we just use them very inefficiently.” We find this claim to be uncheckable. Germany has a shortage of care workers and it appears that the situation will become worse in the future.…