MPs can’t claim £50 for a breakfast
This familiar claim has returned on Facebook. MPs’ food and drink allowance, when they are away on business, is £25 per day. 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.
Storms with female names are not ‘more deadly’ because people underestimate them
The claim that more people die in storms with female names, like Eunice, is based on flawed research. Better evidence suggests that the name makes no difference. Read
Fact checks
Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine does not cause birth defects
Participants in the original vaccine trial were required not to have unprotected sex for 28 days after their second dose, but this is just a standard precaution in new drug trials. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
More older people have financial debt—but fewer are actually struggling
An article in the Express used accurate figures from Labour showing more pensioners are in debt, but that doesn’t mean that more pensioners have a debt problem. Read
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Offer of Santorini holiday ‘reward’ returns to Facebook
An almost identical fake offer of a free holiday to Santorini has been shared on Facebook before. Read
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Germ theory is not ‘a lie’
The idea that microscopic organisms cause many diseases, which humans often pass on to one another, is an established scientific fact. Read
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Photo of Meryl Streep on the subway is not after King Kong audition
This picture was taken five years after King Kong came out, when Ms Streep was already a successful actress. Read
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Health
NHS video overstates the risk of Covid-19 to children
A doctor in the video said that one in 100 children with Covid-19 get sick enough to go to hospital. The real risk is probably a fraction of that. Read
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GP’s article overstates the number of Covid-19 deaths in children
An estimate of at least 133 deaths includes 18- and 19-year-olds, and some which may have had a different underlying cause. Read
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Higher number of reported Covid-19 deaths down to backlog
The unusually high number came from a backlog in the death reporting system. The average number of daily Covid-19 deaths is currently around 243 and falling. Read
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