Danish study proves Palestinian refugees and children have high crime?

checkthis · automated fact-check · How we check · Reel by @lakietth

The claim inflates crime and welfare rates by falsely stating there were only 399 children of Palestinian asylum seekers in Denmark. Official data shows the group actually consisted of 999 children, placing the conviction rate at 33.7%, while more than half of those receiving public support were getting state student grants. However, it is true that out of the original 321 Palestinian asylum seekers, 204 were convicted of a crime over a 30-year period and 176 received government welfare.

4 claims checked
1 source
Checked 24 Oct 2026
Main source: Palestinian Asylum Seekers: Ask the Danes - The Conservative

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The Reel we checked

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The trick: Exaggerates

It inflates the facts beyond what the evidence shows (known as exaggeration).

“Now, the fun part is when we get to their three hundred and ninety-nine children, where three hundred and thirty-seven of them ended up convicted of a crime. That's eighty-five percent.”

The Reel changes the total number of children in the cohort from 999 to 399 to create a false 85% crime rate.

How this trick works and how to answer it →

What we checked

Out of 399 children of Palestinian asylum seekers in Denmark, 337 were convicted of a crime.“of the 999 children. Of this second generation, 337, or one-third, had in 2019 been convicted of criminal activities”Palestinian Asylum Seekers: Ask the Danes - The Conservative

Out of 399 children of Palestinian asylum seekers in Denmark, 372 ended up on government welfare.“Again, of the 999 children, 372 were receiving government aid, but in the case of 194 of them, the aid was connected with training programmes of some kind or other.”Palestinian Asylum Seekers: Ask the Danes - The Conservative

Out of 321 Palestinian asylum seekers admitted to Denmark, 204 were convicted of a crime over a 30-year period.“Of the 321 asylum seekers 204, or almost two-thirds, have in the period 1992–2019 been convicted of some criminal offence.”Palestinian Asylum Seekers: Ask the Danes - The Conservative

Out of 321 original Palestinian asylum seekers in Denmark, 176 are on government welfare.“Of the 321 asylum seekers 204, or almost two-thirds, have in the period 1992–2019 been convicted of some criminal offence.”Palestinian Asylum Seekers: Ask the Danes - The Conservative

How it plays you

It wants you to think: “Palestinian refugees and their descendants are inherently criminal and a drain on host societies.”

The Reel severely undercounts the total number of children to manufacture an 85% conviction rate and mischaracterizes student grants as welfare. Data from one specific 1992 cohort in Denmark cannot be generalized to all Palestinian refugees.

Statistical inflation: “where three hundred and thirty-seven of them ended up convicted of a crime. That's eighty-five percent.”. It slashes the actual cohort size of 999 children down to 399, artificially inflating the true conviction rate of 33.7% up to an alarming 85%.
Misleading categorization: “three hundred and seventy-two of them out of three hundred and ninety-nine ended up on welfare.”. Evidence notes that of those receiving government aid, 194 were connected with training programs.
Broad generalisation: “you're talking about a single group of refugees that in just two generations had...”. It takes distorted statistics from a single group of 321 asylum seekers admitted to Denmark under a 1992 law and uses them to dismiss refugee integration as a whole.

Short version

❌ FALSE 👉 Official data shows the group actually consisted of 999 children, placing the conviction rate at 33.7%, while more than half of those receiving public support were getting state student grants. 🎭 Trick: Exaggerates 📰 Source: Palestinian Asylum Seekers: Ask the Danes - The Conservative 🔎 Full check: send this Reel to @checkthis.chat