{"id":2287165,"date":"2024-07-01T12:17:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T16:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-facebook-post-makes-false-claim-about-prisons-electricity-in-iceland\/"},"modified":"2024-07-01T12:21:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T16:21:42","slug":"fact-check-facebook-post-makes-false-claim-about-prisons-electricity-in-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-facebook-post-makes-false-claim-about-prisons-electricity-in-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Facebook Post Makes False Claim About Prisons, Electricity In Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-facebook-post-makes-false-claim-about-prisons-electricity-in-iceland%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2287165&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The post shared on\u200b Facebook\u2063 claiming that Iceland\u200c has no prisons \u200band free electricity is false. Iceland currently operates four\u2064 prisons according to \u2063the State Prison Service&#8217;s website, and electricity prices vary for residents. The\u200b claim\u2064 that education and healthcare are free in Iceland is\u2063 also debunked, as there are no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-does-this-photo-show-an-israeli-clergyman-blessing-guns\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show An Israeli Clergyman Blessing Guns?\">credible news reports<\/a> supporting these assertions. The post&#8217;s caption about\u200c Iceland being\u200d a country with no prisons, army, and free electricity is not true, as check Your Fact found evidence to the contrary.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ob-read-more-selector\">\n<p>A post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/senato.mageto\/posts\/2456676208056272\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shared on Facebook<\/a> claims there are no prisons in Iceland and that electricity is free.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: False<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Iceland currently operates four prisons, according to the State Prison Service\u2019s website. Likewise, data from Statista shows electricity prices Icelandic residents pay vary depending on how many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texans-cant-lose-power-for-nonpayment-orders-utilities-commission\/\" title=\"Texans Can\u2019t Lose Power For Nonpayment, Orders Utilities Commission\">kilowatt-hours<\/a> they consume. A criminology expert confirmed Iceland has four prisons in an email to Check Your Fact.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>New data suggests Iceland\u2019s Reykjanes Volcanoes will continue to erupt for \u201cyears to decades and possibly centuries,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidbressan\/2024\/06\/27\/icelands-reykjanes-volcanoes-could-erupt-for-decades-maybe-even-centuries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forbes<\/a>. Chemical similarities between lava samples from two different eruption sites \u201cimplied a shared magma storage zone below the [Reykjanes Peninsula],\u201d the outlet indicated.<\/p>\n<p>The Facebook post claims there are no prisons in Iceland and that electricity is free. \u201cICELAND: The country where education and medicare are free. No prisons. No army. Electricity is free and people rarely lock their cars and houses!\u201d the post\u2019s caption reads in part.<\/p>\n<p>The claim is false. Check Your Fact conducted a keyword search, which led us to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Prison_and_Probation_Administration_(Iceland)#:~:text=The%20PPA%20operates%20five%20prisons,ability%20to%20house%2053%20prisoners.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wikipedia<\/a>, which states that Iceland\u2019s Prison and Probation Administration (PPA) currently runs five prisons. The prison at H\u00f3lmshei\u00f0i is the largest, according to Wikipedia.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, Iceland\u2019s State Prison Service lists four prisons on its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangelsi.is\/fangelsin\/holmsheidi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a>, including H\u00f3lmshei\u00f0i. According to the same website, H\u00f3lmshei\u00f0i \u201cis a detention and reception prison with a section for female prisoners and facilities for serving shorter prison sentences and alternative sentences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Check Your Fact found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?sca_esv=af7166023be3609c&#038;sca_upv=1&#038;q=ICELAND:+The+country+where+education+and+medicare+are+free.+No+prisons.+No+army.+Electricity+is+free+and+people+rarely+lock+their+cars+and+houses!+Iceland+is+a+northern+insular+country+located+between+the+North+Atlantic+and+the+Arctic+Ocean+and+was+under+Danish+sovereignty+until+December+1,+1918.+The+population+of+Iceland+is+only+332,529+people.+Iceland+is+the+only+country+in+the+world+where+voting+takes+place+online.+Hon+Nehemiah+Senate%27s&#038;tbm=nws&#038;source=lnms&#038;fbs=AEQNm0Dwc9VijzN-JW-4YRo_w_BUQbKUrL1mkR3HAGvFJsTEU2yTeL61j6uh8rPucZu_asD8QQkcJ2ZCfmQyRJdbMVxfwLj5E_IXO-CVkXuakqtw-13zeocNWRU3YlReVPUwaBFbP3WeQstICPIXa7JQY_QCFEJDxJ94GfMqkvJ0-aZpLkVGtZVCBRWTxjLDjb3wsV7yhUk99Tq28xl4yKQxYswCbAOfVA&#038;sa=X&#038;ved=2ahUKEwjyi-mw7v6GAxU0D1kFHaVuCf0Q0pQJegQIMRAB&#038;biw=1680&#038;bih=871&#038;dpr=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no credible news reports<\/a> to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On June 27, <a href=\"https:\/\/leadstories.com\/hoax-alert\/2024\/06\/fact-check-iceland-does-have-prisons-does-not-have-free-electricity.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lead Stories<\/a> reported the claim is false. Francis Pakes, a criminology professor at U.K.\u2019s University of Portsmouth, told the outlet Iceland currently operates four prisons and that a fifth, located in Akureyri closed in 2020. Pakes purposely sent himself to Icelandic prison, which he detailed in a 2018 article for <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/i-deliberately-sent-myself-to-prison-in-iceland-they-didnt-even-lock-the-cell-doors-there-105257\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Conversation<\/a>, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>In an email to Check Your Fact, Pakes confirmed there are four prisons in Iceland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are four prisons in Iceland, two are high security and two are open prisons. People are sentenced to prison, and are held in those prisons. The closed prisons are Litla Hraun in the south and a new multipurpose facility called<span> H\u00f3lmshei\u00f0i just outside Reykjavik. The open prisons are Sogn in the South and Kv\u00edabryggja in the West. So, prisons clearly exist, are used and are internationally recognised. A fifth, a small facility in the Northern town of Akureyri closed in 2020. So, there used to be 5 prisons and now there are 4,\u201d Pakes said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSometimes people wish to portray Nordic societies as peaceful and crime free, but they are not crime free and prisons fulfil an essential function in Iceland. I have heard the same myth about Greenland. But Greenland has a new state of the art prison in the capital Nuuk, so it is not true in the case of Greenland either,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The claim that electricity is free in Iceland is also false. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/643385\/electricity-prices-for-households-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Data from Statista<\/a> shows Icelandic residents with \u201ca consumption between 2,500 and 5,000 kilowatt-hours averaged 15.3 euro cents per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2023.\u201d According to the same data, Icelandic residents with a consumption between 1,000 and 2,500 kilowatt-hours averaged 18.5 euro cents per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.government.is\/topics\/business-and-industry\/energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">government of Iceland\u2019s website<\/a> states that \u201cabout 85% of the total primary energy supply in Iceland is derived from domestically produced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-knows-he-messed-up-on-fracking-at-debate-and-is-now-doing-damage-control-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Knows He Messed Up On Fracking At Debate And Is Now Doing Damage Control | The Daily Wire\">renewable energy<\/a> sources. This is the highest share of renewable energy in any national total energy budget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lead Stories also labeled the claim that electricity is free in Iceland as false via the same June 27 article.<\/p>\n<p>Check Your Fact has also contacted the Icelandic Prime Minister\u2019s office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Facebook post falsely claims that there are no prisons in Iceland and that electricity is free. In reality, Iceland currently operates four prisons and residents pay varying electricity prices based on consumption. The claim about free electricity and no prisons in Iceland is debunked by fact-checkers and a criminology expert confirmed the existence of four prisons in the country. Additionally, data shows that Icelandic residents do pay for electricity, with prices varying based on consumption levels. The claim about free electricity in Iceland is also labeled as false by fact-checkers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":2287166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2155313747-scaled-e1719595346622.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29362],"tags":[4573,13420,32633,33505,9646],"class_list":["post-2287165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-caller","tag-facebook","tag-fact-check","tag-false-claim","tag-iceland","tag-prisons"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2155313747-scaled-e1719595346622.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2287165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2287166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2287165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2287165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2287165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}