Azerbaijani MP Agil Abbas stated in his interview to Baku TV: “Some world powers play politics and argue that virus came out of bats. How come nothing came out of bats in last thousand years but only yesterday?” he mentioned. The claim turns out to be false. WHO-convened global study about origins of SARS-Cov-2, researches…
On the 4th of February 2021, Europêche released a statement on their website that claimed 99% of the landings from EU-managed stocks were fished sustainably. Research shows the claim is mostly false. Europêche is an organization representing vessels and fishermen from ten European countries. They promote fluent communication between the European institutions and the fishing…
Mostly true: “Poverty remains a major problem in Romania and the value of work in Romania is more than 3 times lower than the EU average” On the 1st of May 2021, which is symbolically deemed Labour Day, Raluca Turcan, the Romanian Minister of Work and Social Protection, took to Facebook in order to convey…
Last month, Börje Ekhom claimed that “Europe is too slow with the roll-out of 5G” in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde. The CEO of the Swedish networking and telecommunications company Ericsson expects that Europe will need two years to reach the current level of China. Research shows Europe is slower in rolling…
Nicolas Bay, vice-president of the European Identity and Democracy Group, claimed during the plenary session of 19 January that more than eight out of ten migrants to are adult men. This claim is based on an official Frontex press release and turns out to be true. “Though it’s not the whole picture,” says Ciara Bottomley,…
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his country is cutting carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 in what he claims is ‘the most ambitious target in the world’. He made this claim on the 20th of April 2021, days after it was agreed stronger pledges were necessary to tackle climate change. The claim turns…
This fact check examines the origin and authenticity of the statement “Mexico moves to require biometric data from cellphone users“, made in an ABC News article. The article says that Mexico’s Senate passed legislation to require biometric data from everyone who wants to buy a cellphone or use a mobile provider’s services in order to…
In April, Hanne Beirens, director of the Migration Policy Institute appeared on Terzake, a news show aired by the Flemish public broadcast organisation. As she and the television host discussed migrants drowning near the Libyan coast, Beirens mentioned that “Europe gave 700 million euros to Libya in the last six years.” That claim is mostly…
News about foreigners being able to get a free COVID vaccine in Serbia quickly went viral, so much that travel agencies soon started offering travel arrangements for vaccination in Serbia. In April 2021 the regional news cable channel N1 published an article on its web page in which the director of eUprava, Serbia’s official site…
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said: “Trade turnover with the European Union decreased in 2020, if you count the UK, by 21% compared to 2019.” The claim was published in the news outlet RT in 22.3.2021, and it seems to be true. Figure 1: RT article 22nd of March with claim RT is publicly…