For questions about claims based in Europe, or limited to Europe.
Questions tagged [europe]
94 questions
93
votes
1 answer
Will the 2019 EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market ban memes?
There have been lots of reports recently about how the EU are trying to ban memes. For example:
Trusted reviews
The European Union (EU) is pressing ahead with efforts to ban online memes under new digital copyright laws, with the controversial…
Jon.G
- 1,947
- 1
- 12
- 23
82
votes
3 answers
Are there vaccine ingredients which may not be disclosed ("hidden", "trade secret", or similar)?
I sometimes encounter people claiming that there are ingredients in vaccines that can be kept secret by the manufacturer. I would be surprised to hear this, because the manufacturers have to conduct studies which show that the vaccine is safe. How…
akraf
- 1,471
- 2
- 12
- 15
72
votes
1 answer
Are there 300,000 items in the average American household, and 10,000 items in the average European household?
There is a trope that can be found in many articles discussing topics such as consumerism or minimalism: the average number of items that can be found in an average household. The number that is usually cited for the average American household is…
Schmuddi
- 9,539
- 5
- 44
- 46
64
votes
2 answers
Are there any women in the top one hundred chess players?
According to this video, a Polish politician named Janusz Korwin-Mikke claimed:
Do you know how many women are in the first hundred of chess players? I tell you – no one.
Is he correct that zero women are in the first hundred top chess…
Sakib Arifin
- 15,705
- 14
- 63
- 137
59
votes
1 answer
Did Martin Schulz say that it is not the EU philosophy that the crowd can decide its fate?
In the last few days, some people are attributing to European Parliament President Martin Schulz the following statement:
The British have violated the rules. It is not the EU philosophy that the crowd can decide its fate.
Did he really say that,…
T. C.
- 687
- 1
- 5
- 11
51
votes
3 answers
Is this map of terrorist attacks in Europe accurate?
Recently this map of terrorist attacks in Europe went viral and was reposted many times in social media. Does it present actual data about terrorist attacks?
Background: The map gained popularity because of ongoing discussion about immigrants.…
GSPdibbler
- 611
- 1
- 5
- 8
39
votes
1 answer
Was EU flag's design inspired by the statue of Virgin Mary?
In this video it is claimed that the person who designed it was passing the statue of Virgin Mary with 12 stars and applied it to the design of the flag. How much of this claim is true?
Footnote: Wiki also mentions it:
In 1987, following the…
Grasper
- 3,315
- 2
- 22
- 34
38
votes
3 answers
Is it legal to hire only beautiful people?
Josephine Fairley wrote a column in the Telegraph claims that it is perfectly legal to hire only beautiful people.
But while it's illegal to discriminate on the grounds of gender, sex, race, religion, age or disability, there's nothing on the…
march
- 523
- 1
- 4
- 8
37
votes
4 answers
Is this "fall of industrial production" graph accurate?
A candidate to the French presidency tweeted
The fall in industrial production in Spain, Italy and France of course has a link with the euro.
However I have a couple of doubts on its accuracy because of its source and the arbitrary use of gauges…
Sklivvz
- 78,578
- 29
- 321
- 428
35
votes
2 answers
Is Spain ”the second most mountainous country in Europe”?
One hiking book my family owns described Spain as the second most mountainous country in Europe. Several online sources claim the same:
Spain then and now:
After Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe.
Sustainable event…
gerrit
- 17,636
- 17
- 84
- 137
29
votes
1 answer
Drop in IQ due to immigration?
An alt-right web site, "Red Ice" (apparently belonging to Henrik Palmgren), proposes that there's a nearly worldwide decrease in IQ due to immigration. The Red Ice piece apparently originated from unz.com so clearly this story was more widely…
Fizz
- 57,051
- 18
- 175
- 291
27
votes
2 answers
Did NATO promise not to expand into Eastern and Central Europe?
In its own fact sheet NATO denies Russia's claims that NATO promised not to expand:
Russian officials claim that US and German officials promised in 1990 that NATO would not expand into Eastern and Central Europe, build military infrastructure near…
Christian
- 33,271
- 15
- 112
- 266
26
votes
3 answers
Has there been a 1101% increase in excess deaths among children aged 0-14 across Europe in 2022?
According to the blogger Peter Sweden:
If we take a look at the excess deaths among children aged 0-14 across Europe, there has been a HORRIFYING 1101% increase in excess deaths so far this year compared with the same time period in 2021. Why?
Is…
Martín-Blas Pérez Pinilla
- 1,911
- 1
- 17
- 23
26
votes
1 answer
Did people blaspheme deliberately to be tried in the Medieval European Inquisition courts instead of other secular courts?
On the Wikipedia page about "Criticism of the Catholic Church", there was recently (though removed by an editor since this question was asked) a little paragraph about the Medieval European Inquisition which states
In spite of (relatively rare)…
Fixed Point
- 361
- 3
- 6
25
votes
1 answer
Will taxing EU-made cars at 25% invert the US-EU trade deficit?
Trump claimed at a rally in West Virginia yesterday that taxing European Union cars at 25% would take the 151bn dollars trade deficit (with the EU) and turn it on its head, i.e. into a US surplus of the same size.
I cannot find a transcript, but the…
Fizz
- 57,051
- 18
- 175
- 291