Blog: Between St. Patrick and the Pope – How hard it is not to be a Catholic

Based on our fact check Mostly true : “Catholic Church loses members – Europe-wide”, we examined membership figures from five countries in Europe. Among them, some Catholic strongholds are already named in the original source. Our experience? The ways of the Church are unfathomable. The headlines surrounding the scandals of the Catholic Church are piling…

Mostly true: “Catholic Church loses members – Europe-wide”

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church is struggling not only with scandals involving its own personnel. According to Friedel Taube, a journalist at Deutsche Welle, it is also facing a Europe-wide loss of members – especially in the Catholic strongholds. By researching hard and soft factors, this claim can be evaluated as “mostly true”. A Christian baptism…

fact-check uncheckable

Uncheckable: “Brot für die Welt” claims that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in domestic violence against women worldwide

On 24th of November 2020, the German aid organization of the Protestant Church Brot für die Welt made a statement about domestic violence against women. In a press release they stated according to the United Nations (UN) women’s organization UN Women the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in domestic violence against women…

Uncheckable: “Pancreatitis, not poison, caused Alexei Navalny to fall ill”

In the case of the collapse of Alexei Navalny, Russian officials claim that “pancreatitis, not poison, caused Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to fall ill.” While the EU assumes poisoning, Russian officials are convinced that pancreatitis was the cause. Since no access to medical records is available, the claim is uncheckable”. First of all, a brief…

Media Analysis: What international media write about specific statements made in the documentary “Francesco”

With the premiere of the documentary “Francesco” which happened at the Rome Film Festival in October 2020, controversial opinions arose in various media about two certain points in the film. Pope’s statements “homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God. Nobody should be thrown out or be made…

Mostly false: Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions in documentary “Francesco”

In October, several newspapers published articles with headlines like “Pope Francis backs same-sex civil unions“. The claim is based on previously undisclosed footage from an interview with Pope Francis in the new documentary “Francesco” which we have watched for our fact check. After extensive research we assess the claim as mostly false. “Francesco” is a…

True: international studies show that men get higher profits from a scientific paper than women

In an interview with Stern.de, German economist Claudia Kemfert claims that international studies show that, for example, a male author benefits more from a scientific paper than a female author. This claim can be classified as “True”. The interview with Ms. Kemfert was published as part of a campaign by the German medium Stern under…

Vlog: Economic impact of Brexit on the United Kingdom and European Union

The Brexit has impact on the British economy and the relation to the European Union (EU). Strong trade partners, like Germany, are also challenged with a possible “Hard Brexit”. Statistics provide economic data for importing and exporting goods from and to the EU. RESEARCH | ARTICLE © Karina Stark Leave your comments, thoughts and suggestions…