The Israeli TV show Srugim is now massively popular.
Mostly false False in substance, right in a detail.
Factual: Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?
What would count as true or false
True: as of December 2024, reliable evidence shows that Srugim is very widely popular, for example high Israeli ratings or streaming rankings, broad international distribution or viewership, or press describing it as a widely popular hit at around that time. Mostly true: it is clearly popular and well known, though 'massively' slightly overstates it. Mixed: it is popular in a niche, such as Israeli or religious and Jewish audiences, but not broadly. Mostly false: it has a modest cult following or was popular in the past (when it aired, 2008–2012) without evidence of large current popularity. False: evidence shows it is obscure or little-watched as of late 2024.
Set before the research began.
Evidence (4)
-
E1 Srugim - Wikipedia Wikipedia · 4 March 2010
“The drama enjoyed high ratings, from both the religious and non-religious sects in Israel”
-
E2 Srugim season 3 - Wikipedia Wikipedia · 18 January 2017
“The TIM-TNS survey concluded that 11% of all internet users in Israel watched the show via Yes' website in November 2011, and 15% in January 2012, making it the third most popular on the net.”
-
E3 Frum with Benefits: Israeli Television, Globalization, and Srugim's American Appeal DigitalCommons@WayneState (Jewish Film & New Media, vol. 4, 2016) · 7 April 2016
“In addition to domestic success, the show has attracted a small but significant American following, which I argue is due to reasons of content and distribution.”
-
E4 Srugim (2008) — TV Series Cast & Characters | TVCeleb TVCeleb · 1 December 2024
“It became a word-of-mouth hit in Israel and a favorite among international viewers seeking a thoughtful character drama”
Reasoning
E1 says Srugim had high ratings in Israel among both religious and non-religious viewers, and E2 shows strong online viewing in 2011–2012. E3, a 2016 academic article, describes its American following as "small but significant", which points to niche appeal outside Israel. The only source from around December 2024 (E4) is an aggregator site that calls the show a word-of-mouth hit in Israel and a favourite among international viewers, but gives no figures. Overall the evidence shows the show was popular in the past and has a niche following abroad, but nothing shows it was massively popular as of late 2024.
Cite this claim
Tyler Cowen, “The Israeli TV show Srugim is now massively popular.” (said 25 December 2024). Verdict: mostly false. Reliability API, claim c_46a7bd68a754, method 0.1.0+c876030c, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_46a7bd68a754
This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.
Reply to this claim
More factual claims by Tyler Cowen
-
Mixed
“We’ve seen how many assistant deans have been hired in the last 15 years”
A large number of assistant deans have been hired at universities in the last 15 years.
-
Mixed
“It boosted the birth rate for a while.”
Hungary's birth subsidies boosted its birth rate for a while, before it fell back.
-
Mostly true
“I’m pretty sure they would be below 1% or certainly below 2%.”
-
Mostly true
“I think speed is difficult and the human body cannot survive very well on other planets, other moons, or in outer space.”
The human body cannot survive very well on other planets, other moons, or in outer space.
-
Mostly true
“And unless you live in a border area, I think most Americans do not feel they’re losing their country, even if they think immigration is too high.”
Verdicts are made automatically; how verdicts are made.