Laws can be made without a parliamentary vote, contrary to the health secretary’s claim
New Covid face mask rules, for example, came into force before Parliament voted on the matter. Read
Fact checks
Abbas Panjwani
Fact Checker (former)
Abbas joined Full Fact in 2018. Before this, he worked as a social researcher, collecting quantitative and qualitative research to help inform policy development and evaluation for government departments and other public bodies. Most recently he worked as research manager at Ofgem, Great Britain’s energy regulator, and has also worked on projects for BIS, the Home Office and the Competition and Markets Authority.
Health
Pfizer vaccine doesn’t have a 6% fatality rate
Data on adverse events following a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine has been misrepresented to suggest one in 17 die. Read
Fact checks
Health
Why conspiracists are linking the Omicron variant to the Illuminati
Some dubious linguistics are being used to link the extinct secret society to the new Covid-19 variant. Read
Fact checks
Health
Facebook posts falsely advertise weight loss pills as endorsed by judges on US Dragons’ Den
Weight loss pills have never featured on the US show Shark Tank, where entrepreneurs pitch their products to investors. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Express vastly overstates impact of UK trade deals
The Express suggested that post-Brexit trade deals will deliver a £766 billion boost. This figure refers to the total value of trade between the UK and countries it has agreed trade deals with. Read
Fact checks
Health
Figures in viral mask graphic aren’t substantiated
A graphic showing the risk of Covid-19 transmission between people wearing and not wearing masks contains figures which haven’t been evidenced. Read
Fact checks
Immigration
The facts about people seeking asylum in the UK
The number of people applying for asylum in the UK looks to increase slightly this year, but the proportion who are arriving in boats across the Channel has increased significantly. Read
Analysis
Health
Covid-19 vaccines don’t cause ‘a form of AIDS’
An article online makes the false claim the Covid-19 vaccines cause AIDS. Read
Fact checks
Health
Concerns raised about legitimacy of research linking vaccines and heart attacks
It’s been claimed new research shows a link between Covid-19 vaccines and heart attacks. The research has serious flaws. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Numbers ‘in work’ not yet back to pre-pandemic levels
At PMQs the Prime Minister claimed the number of people in work had returned to pre-pandemic levels. This is true only for payrolled employees, not all workers. Read
Fact checks
