Mostly false: “Most of the recipients of citizen’s benefit are able to work”

Friedrich Merz, federal chairman and chancellor candidate of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said in an ARD television interview that most of the recipients of citizen’s benefit are able to work. This statement is mostly false. “We have got 5.5 – 5.6 million citizen’s benefit recipients in Germany, around 4 millions of whom are able…

Mostly false: “When it comes to alcohol, most people manage to stay within a harmless dose”

The former “Ambassador of Beer” Johannes Vogel (Free Democratic Party) was interviewed in the Tagesspiegel newspaper. He spoke about his role as “Ambassador of Beer” and the topic of alcohol. He said that the amount of alcohol is crucial and that people manage to consume a safe dose. This turns out to be largely false. Johannes…

Mostly false: Germany faces the highest energy costs worldwide, which is making its economy noncompetitive

On November 7, 2024, Alice Weidel, co-chair of the party AfD, stated in a ZDF television interview that Germany has the highest energy costs worldwide, which she claimed was making its economy noncompetitive. This claim turns out to be mostly false. The interview took place after the German government coalition breakdown. Weidel used this claim to advocate…

Mostly false: Permanent border controls are “a necessity” in order to “limit irregular migration to Germany”.

On July 12, 2024, the now former FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai urged an extension of the border controls that were carried out in Germany during the European Championships in an interview with SPIEGEL. He justified this to SPIEGEL by saying that permanent controls were “a necessity” in order to “limit irregular migration to Germany”.…

Mostly false: “The euro was supposed to be as stable as the D-Mark, but it is as stable as the Turkish lira”

On May 3, 2024, German right-wing populist politician Maximilian Krah, who was the AfD’s lead candidate for the 2024 European elections, claimed on Tiktok that the European Central Bank was destroying people’s savings and that, although it was promised that the euro would be as stable as the German Mark, it was as stable as…

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…