fact checking

Mostly False: “The refugee crisis has made Germany more insecure”

The German right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) criticizes the refugee policy by Angela Merkel in Germany. In a press release from April 2019, Chairman Alexander Gauland claimed: Migrants drive up the crime rate in Germany. Especially now with the federal election upcoming, the AfD still holds this position – even though the refugee crisis is…

fact checking

Mostly false: 99% of landings from EU-managed stocks are sustainably fished

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…

fact checking

Mostly false: Pentagon team reveals COVID-19-detecting chip that can be implanted in the body

An article, published on April 16th 2021 in South China Morning Post, suggests that the Pentagon team has developed a COVID-19-detecting chip that could be implanted under the skin. The claim turns out to be mostly false. Profusa Implantable BiosensorsThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United…

fact checking

Mostly false: “Spanish Government pull effect makes Spain the main European entrance for illegal immigrants”

At the beginning of January, VOX, a Spanish far-right party, issued a statement in which they blamed the current government’s immigration policies for making Spain’s coasts “the principal entrance for illegal immigration in Europe”. The release is chronologically connected to the massive arrival of irregular migrants to the Canary Islands, where the regional authorities were…

fact checking

Mostly false: “Around 20 percent of illegal migrants are bringing the coronavirus to Austria”

In a press release on February 24th, 2021, the right wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) stated that around 20 percent of illegal migrants who are picked up by the border police in the Austrian state Burgenland “are bringing the coronavirus along to Austria.“ The statement is mostly false. The FPÖ-statement refers to unnamed police sources…

fact checking

Mostly false: “Dutch finance minister claims healthcare costs exceed 100 billion euros. He is off by 30 billion.”

On 28 February the Dutch minister of finance and leader of the Christian democrat party CDA, Wopke Hoekstra, participated in an election debate broadcast by RTL. During this debate, he stated that the costs of Dutch healthcare exceed 100 billion euros. In a response on Twitter, member of Parliament Fleur Agema, number 2 on the…