Claims, checked with numbers
Fact checks with the numbers behind the argument
Fact checks of the claims people argue about, tested against official statistics and research. We work out how many cases would happen anyway and give a clear verdict you can share.
Five verdicts
From True to False, plus Can't say yet when the data is not good enough.
Latest
Claims we have checked
✓True · How Finns rate their own lives✕False · How often people laugh and enjoy their day Is Finland really the happiest country in the world? True. Finns rated their own lives 7.76 out of 10 in 2023 to 2025 (95% range 7.69 to 7.84). That is the highest of 147 countries in the World Happiness Report. But on laughing and enjoying the day, Finland is 36th and Guatemala is first. 
✕False Do people only believe facts they like? A test in 10 countries, from Brazil to Nigeria, checked a fact-check about vaccine myths. It made beliefs more accurate in 8 countries and worse in none. Most other studies on politics, health and climate found the same. But in Brazil, fact-checks did not work during the 2018 election or on Zika myths. 
✓True Do politicians lie to people? In Italy, 448 of 2,257 checkable facts that 86 members of parliament said in public were false or half-false. That is about 1 in 5. But politicians keep more of their promises than most people think. 
✕False Should you always wait until 70 to take Social Security? About 1 in 3 Americans who reach 65 die before waiting until 70 pays off. That is our count from the official 2024 US life table. Waiting does give a bigger check: about 43% more each month than at 65. The method in one minute
Every claim gets the same four checks
- Where it came from. We trace the claim back to its first appearance and the context that made it believable.
- What people say. We read what forums and comment threads actually say, and count how often each version comes up.
- What the data shows. Official statistics, official records and checked studies, each figure linked to its source.
- Is it more than normal? Many things happen every day anyway. We count how many cases there would be even if the thing people blame did nothing, and compare that with what really happened. Example: waiting until 70 for Social Security.
Your turn
Suggest a claim → Heard a claim at the dinner table?
Send it to us. We check claims that many people repeat, never stories about private individuals.