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Full Fact

@fullfact.org

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Bad information ruins lives. We're a team of independent fact checkers and campaigners who find, expose and counter the harm it does. #FactsMatter www.fullfact.org

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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 3h

Viral social media posts claim Sir Keir Starmer has legalised marriage between brothers and sisters or parents and children.

False. Marriage between close relatives is illegal in the UK. There are, however, calls for a ban on marriage between first cousins. fullfact.org/culture-and-...

No, the government hasn’t legalised marriage between brothers and sisters and parents and children – Full Fact

False claims about changes in the law have been linked to a parliamentary exchange about marriages between first cousins.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 6h

On social media and their website, the Liberal Democrats have claimed “Keir Starmer says everyone in the UK will be required to have mandatory digital ID”.

But this isn’t the case, and we can’t find any evidence the Prime Minister said it was.

Digital ID won’t be mandatory for ‘everyone in the UK’ – Full Fact

The Liberal Democrats have claimed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said everyone in the UK will have to have digital ID, but that’s not the case.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 8h

A video claiming that the government is introducing a new parking policy that will charge drivers for leaving their car in one space for more than 48 hours has been viewed tens of thousands of times.

But the DfT has confirmed this claim is totally false.
fullfact.org/politics/nat...

The government is not introducing a 48-hour parking limit – Full Fact

The Department for Transport told Full Fact that these claims, which have been widely shared on social media, are not true.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 22h

We’ve spotted several videos being shared on social media claiming the TV licence fee is set to double for over-65s.

But this isn’t true.

The TV licence fee is not doubling for over 65s – Full Fact

A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed this isn’t true, contrary to claims being shared on social media.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 1d

We’re grateful to the ONS for changing the way it reports suicide data, following our investigation.

ONS acts to improve understanding of suicide rates, after Full Fact investigation – Full Fact

Politicians, the media and the public should now be better informed about what the suicide data really shows.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 1d

Our latest Government Tracker page takes a look at Labour’s manifesto promise to introduce “new consumer protections on ticket resales” for live events.

A consultation took place earlier this year, but new measures are yet to be introduced.

Has the government introduced new consumer protections on ticket resales? – Full Fact

Full Fact looks at Labour’s pledge to introduce new consumer protections on ticket resales.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 1d

Over the weekend Kemi Badenoch claimed unemployment has gone up “every single month” since Labour took office, and that it’s been left higher by “every Labour government in history”.

Neither of these claims is quite right—our fact check has the figures 👇

Kemi Badenoch’s claims about Labour’s unemployment record aren’t quite right—here’s why – Full Fact

The Conservative leader has repeated two claims about Labour’s record on unemployment, neither of which is quite right.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 2d

An episode of Have I Got News for You was briefly removed from BBC iPlayer over the weekend after it contained a factual error about digital ID cards—a claim we'd already fact checked.

It’s a clear reminder of why fact checking matters.

BBC’s Have I Got News for You error shows why fact checking matters – Full Fact

Over the weekend, an episode of Have I Got News for You was temporarily removed from BBC iPlayer after presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell made a factual error...

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 2d

Thanks to the Daily Mail for correcting an article, which wrongly said that Korean researchers claimed they had found proof that the Covid vaccines had raised the risk of getting cancer.

As we explain, the researchers said no such thing.

Daily Mail corrects article about Covid vaccines and cancer – Full Fact

The article wrongly said a study claimed to have found proof the vaccines raised the risk of getting several types of cancer.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 2d

The government promised new powers to “bring criminal charges” against water companies which persistently break the law.

We’re rating this pledge as “achieved”.

Here’s why 👇

Has the government introduced new criminal sanctions against water companies that break the law? – Full Fact

Full Fact takes a look at Labour’s pledge to introduce criminal sanctions against water companies who persistently break the law.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 3d

An episode of Have I Got News for You has been removed from BBC iPlayer after a factual error: www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/n...

We fact checked the claim earlier this week: fullfact.org/technology/d...

#FactsMatter

Has Euan Blair’s company Multiverse been chosen to run the government’s new digital ID scheme? – Full Fact

Multiverse is an “upskilling company”, not a software developer, and both it and the government say there’s no truth to viral claims linking it to the scheme.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 4d

The government pledged to create three new national forests and plant millions of trees in England.

So are they on track? Our Government Tracker takes a look 👇

Is the government on course to create three new National Forests in England? – Full Fact

Full Fact takes a look at Labour’s pledge to create three new national forests in England, and to plant millions of trees.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 5d

Social media posts have claimed that a video of a man striking women at a station was filmed in London.

The footage is actually from Barcelona last year.

Footage of man striking women at ‘London’ station is actually from Barcelona last year – Full Fact

The incident, which posts claimed was filmed at a London train station, actually occurred at Barcelona’s Camp de l’Arpa metro station in 2024.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 5d

A viral photo appears to show a young Keir Starmer decorating a Christmas tree with Jimmy Savile.

But this has been edited to include Savile’s face. The original photo shows the PM with an older woman.

Thousands share faked photo of Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile decorating a Christmas tree – Full Fact

The viral image has been edited to include Savile’s face.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 6d

Videos claiming that the government is introducing a £15 monthly “clean water levy” for UK households have been widely shared on social media.

But this isn’t the case. A government spokesperson told Full Fact the claims are “completely false”.

The government isn’t introducing a £15 monthly ‘clean water levy’ for all UK households – Full Fact

A government spokesperson told Full Fact this claim, which has been shared on social media, is “completely false”.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 6d

Recent data shows the government added 5.2 million more NHS England appointments in its first year, beating its pledge of two million.

But it also shows that two million was an exceptionally low target, and that the NHS added more appointments the year before.

Is the government on course to deliver an extra two million NHS appointments a year? – Full Fact

Full Fact looks at Labour’s pledge to deliver “40,000 more appointments every week” in NHS England, amounting to two million a year.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 6d

A TikTok video shared over 20,000 times claims the government is introducing a £100 annual fee for “every dog and cat in the UK” from October.

But a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told us this is “completely false”.

No, the government is not introducing a £100 annual pet fee from October – Full Fact

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told Full Fact this is “completely false”.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 7d

The PM Keir Starmer appears to have once again confused *immigration* with *net migration*, when claiming the former increased “four-fold” under the Conservatives.

Here’s what the figures actually show 👇

Is Keir Starmer right to claim immigration increased ‘four-fold’ under the Conservatives? – Full Fact

The Prime Minister’s claim that immigration quadrupled in five years under the Conservatives actually appears to refer to net migration.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 7d

A misleading video gaining traction online claims that anyone who holds savings above £500 in a bank will be placed on a monitoring register under a new government policy coming into force next month.

But HMRC has confirmed this is “completely false”.

No, people who have more than £500 in the bank will not be placed on a national monitoring register – Full Fact

HMRC told us this is “completely false”.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 7d

Thousands have shared a claim that the Arsenal footballer Declan Rice has donated millions to Tower Hamlets Council for a housing scheme.

But this hasn’t actually happened. Tower Hamlets Council told us it was “fake news”.

Baseless claim that Declan Rice donated millions to Tower Hamlets Council spreads on social media – Full Fact

Posts sharing the claim about the footballer have been shared thousands of times on social media, but the council has confirmed it isn’t true.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 7d

We’ve spotted several videos circulating online that claim if you’ve been living with your partner for more than 12 months you need to register your relationship with the government, or you’ll face a £2,000 fine.

But HMRC has said this isn’t true.

No new £2,000 fine for unmarried couples who don’t declare their status – Full Fact

Videos circulating on social media claim you need to tell the government if you’ve been living with your partner for more than a year, or you’ll face a £2,000 fine. But this isn’t true.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 7d

Earlier this month, we saw claims on social media about a Met Police video of the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, with some saying it showed a 2020 protest.

That’s not correct - even though AI chatbot Grok was among those who originally insisted it was.

No, a Met Police video of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally didn’t show a 2020 protest – Full Fact

The AI chatbot Grok and some social media users wrongly claimed the footage was years old and from an anti-lockdown protest in Trafalgar Square.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 7d

Our CEO Chris Morris (not the one pictured) hosted a Reddit Ask Me Anything yesterday and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Loads of great questions from a super engaged community! Read the write-up 👇✍️

Thank you for the lasagne r/ukpolitics – Full Fact

Wembley lasagne, swans and AI fakes, just another day as a fact checker. Chris Morris (no, not that one) took r/ukpolitics inside the fight against bad information, the need for good stats and…

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 8d

A video liked more than 1.5 million times on Instagram is being claimed to show activists in a flotilla sailing towards Gaza.

It actually shows Turkish football fans celebrating their team winning the league.

Miscaptioned video shows Turkish football fans, not the Gaza aid flotilla – Full Fact

The footage has been shared widely on social media with misleading captions claiming it depicts the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Full Fact @fullfact.org · 8d

We’re currently at the #Lab25 conference monitoring Keir Starmer's speech.

He began by mentioning the Hillsborough Law. We’re monitoring this, and other Labour pledges, on our Government Tracker 👇

Is the government on track to introduce a ‘Hillsborough Law’? – Full Fact

Full Fact takes a look at whether the government is on track to introduce a ‘Hillsborough Law’, which would introduce a duty of candour on public servants and authorities.