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…

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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…

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Mostly True: “Of the men who arrived in Germany in 2015/16, 86 percent are now working”

“Of the men who arrived in Germany in 2015/16, 86 percent are now working. That’s more than the average number of men who were born in Germany, which is only 81 percent.” This statement was said by Lea Reisner, candidate of the party “Die Linke”, on May 22 2024 in the MDR talk show Fakt ist! However,…

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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”.…

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True: “Germany’s defense expenditures have increased from 34 to 90 billion euros in ten years”

On October 9, 2024, a TV debate aired on the German news channel “Welt” featuring Alice Weidel and Sahra Wagenknecht. During the debate, Ms. Wagenknecht claimed that Germany’s defense expenditures had risen from 34 billion euros in 2014 to 90 billion euros in 2024. This statement is true. The two politicians represent two highly controversial parties. Alice Weidel…

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Mostly True: “Almost 80% of working women (in Germany) cannot provide for themselves and a child in the long term”

On March 03, 2023, the German politician Heidi Reichinnek from the Left Party posted a TikTok claiming, that 80% of working women cannot provide for themselves and a child in the long term. This claim turns out to be mostly true. Reichinneks TikTok contains an excerpt from her speech to the Bundestag, in which she addresses the…

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True: “Number of asylum applications declined notably in February”

On March 7, 2024 the German news program “Tagesschau” released an article about the current number of asylum applications, revealing a notable decline in first-time applications for asylum in February. This claim is true. The article states that the number of first-time applications for asylum have decreased in comparison to last year. There were 19.494…

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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…

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True: “Construction is responsible for producing 35% of all waste in the EU.”

On April 10, 2024, the Belgian political party ‘Groen’ published an article on their website claiming that 35% of all waste in the European Union originates from the construction sector. The claim turns out to be true. The party published this article following the passage of a new law in the European Parliament. According to…

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Mostly False: “The party AfD stands for prosperity, for family, for people, and for peace”

Maximilian Krah used to be the AfD’s lead candidate for the European elections on June 9th. He initially was elected a year ago at an AfD party conference in Magdeburg. There, he gave “Die Welt” an interview in which he said, “There is a German party that stands for prosperity, for family, for people, and…

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