Health
There were not 65,000 flu deaths in the winter of 2017/18
We’re not sure where this number comes from, but official estimates suggest it’s more than double the true figure. Read
Fact checks
Leo Benedictus
Journalist
Leo joined Full Fact in January 2020. For 15 years, he worked freelance as a feature writer for the Guardian, Prospect, the New Scientist and others, making maps of immigration, explaining citizens’ assemblies and debunking superfoods. He has a fondness for science and statistics. He also writes novels.
Economy, Business & Finance
Boris Johnson’s GMB interview: fact checked
The Prime Minister made claims about the UK’s economic growth, council tax, and his record on bus passes while Mayor of London. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Angela Rayner repeats misleading claim that families are £2,620 ‘worse off’
This figure comes from an unreliable Labour estimate that doesn’t take account of wage or benefit rises. Read
Fact checks
The Rothschilds don’t own Reuters or the Associated Press
AP is owned by a membership made up of other media companies. Reuters is part of Thomson Reuters, which is majority-owned by the Thomson family in Canada. Read
Fact checks
Facebook post’s figures for the state pension and House of Lords allowance are broadly right
Claims on social media about these payments are often inaccurate, but these numbers are correct for the financial year just finished. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Labour election leaflets and ads wrongly claiming families are ‘£2,620 worse off’
The claim that families are ‘£2,620 worse off’ does not account for any rises in wages or benefits, and is based on some cost estimates which are not reliable. Read
Fact checks
Pictures of chocolate eggs don’t show ‘salmonella and maggots’
Damaged eggs being shared on Facebook are not those potentially affected by the problem at Ferrero’s factory in Belgium. Read
Fact checks
Dr Anthony Fauci has not been arrested by Special Forces
This is a complete fabrication. Dr Fauci has appeared in public since the claim was made. Read
Fact checks
Health
The UK’s Covid ‘survival rate’ is lower than 99.972%
Roughly 99.76% of the population of the UK have not died with Covid as the underlying cause, which is another way of saying that about 0.24% have. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Keir Starmer wrong to say families will be £2,620 worse off this year
Labour’s estimates do not include rises in wages or benefits, and contain several unreliable assumptions. Read
Fact checks
