A “new” pink and blue planet is not real (sadly)
It is an imaginary scene generated by a computer programme. 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.
A kiwi fruit did not test “positive” for Covid
If we stick to using rapid tests on humans, they very rarely give false positives. Read
Fact checks
Health
Millions—not thousands—caught Covid last year
Doctors only report a small fraction of Covid infections through the NOIDs system. Read
Fact checks
Health
Why are people not self-isolating?
Sir Keir Starmer and other Labour MPs claim that people are breaking the rules because they cannot afford to follow them, but this is not what the evidence says Read
Fact checks
Health
The new vaccination card is not a ‘Covid passport’
It is a vaccine record card with appointment details, but no secure identifying information Read
Fact checks
Covid-19 is an infectious disease, and a video claiming it isn’t is wrong
The woman in this video is wrong to blame radiation—and wrong about other things as well Read
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Health
The number of deaths from flu and pneumonia is about what you would expect this year
Although there are fewer of these deaths than usual, the fall is neither unexpected, nor extreme Read
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A picture of the Titanic sinking is not a newly discovered photograph
It’s a painting from 1996, by an artist who worked on the film. Read
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Health
Matt Hancock got the evidence about long Covid wrong
Younger people and those with milder illness seem less likely to be affected, according to data from the Covid Symptom Study app Read
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Health
Labour’s tweet about Serco is missing some important context
Public and private contact tracers do different kinds of work, so it is difficult to compare their performance. Read
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