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Full Fact

@fullfact.org
53K followers 87 following 1.5K posts

Full Fact is the UK's independent fact checking charity. We put reliable evidence at the heart of public debate so you can make sense of what matters. www.fullfact.org

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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 9h
A video shared on social media appears to show a crowd of protesters carrying enormous UK and Palestinian flags. But this isn’t real footage. The video was generated with AI.
fullfact.org
Video of huge pro-Palestine rally in the UK is AI-generated – Full Fact
A video appears to show a large UK march for Palestine. It's fake. Both the audio and visuals carry Google's SynthID watermark.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 23h
A video falsely claiming to show a long queue of Muslim women waiting to sign up for free childcare has been liked thousands of times on social media. But the clip actually shows the women waiting in line for a modest clothing sale in Amsterdam.
fullfact.org
Video shows Muslim women queuing for a clothing sale, not free childcare – Full Fact
The video has been widely shared on social media alongside the false claim that it shows women in headscarves lining up to enroll their children into free public daycare.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 29/09/2026
Earlier this afternoon Andy Burnham gave his first Labour Party conference speech as PM. We’ve looked at a few of the claims he made, including on: 💡 energy bills 🏘️ housing 🩺 hospital discharges
fullfact.org
Andy Burnham's first Labour Party conference speech as PM: fact checked – Full Fact
We’ve taken a look at a few of the claims made by the Prime Minister during his keynote speech in Liverpool.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 29/09/2026
A video being shared online supposedly shows an “asylum seeker” saying he wants “more money and more freedom”, and isn’t happy with how he’s being treated in the UK. But the clip is AI-generated. Here’s how we know 👇
fullfact.org
Video of ‘asylum seeker’ saying he wants ‘more money and more freedom’ is AI-generated – Full Fact
A clip which has been shared online contains a SynthID watermark, suggesting it was made with Google’s AI tools.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 29/09/2026
Viral posts claim Japan has passed ‘anti-Islam laws’ banning halal food, mosques, burqas and prayer calls. This is false. Japan's constitution guarantees religious freedom. Here's what we found 👇
fullfact.org
No, Japan has not introduced 'anti-Islam' laws – Full Fact
Viral posts claim Japan has banned halal food, mosques, burqas and the call to prayer. This is false. No such laws exist, and Japan's constitution guarantees religious freedom.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 28/09/2026
We’ve seen posts online claiming that former Makerfield MP Josh Simons has been appointed as head of No 10’s policy unit. This isn’t correct, though Mr Simons was linked to the role in some media reports earlier in the summer. Our fact check 👇
fullfact.org
Facebook posts wrong to claim former Makerfield MP is new head of No 10 policy unit – Full Fact
Josh Simons, whose resignation as an MP led to the by-election Andy Burnham won, has not been appointed to lead on policy at Downing Street.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 27/09/2026
Old aerial footage of a glacier in Alaska has been shared with false claims it shows the glacier that caused the deadly flood in Nepal last month.
fullfact.org
Old video of Alaskan glacier shared with claims it shows cause of Nepal flood – Full Fact
Dramatic helicopter footage above a glacier has been shared online with false claims it shows the glacier that caused last month’s flood in Nepal.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 26/09/2026
Ahead of the Budget, our new explainer takes a look at how the amount of tax the government collects, and the amount of tax paid by the ‘average worker’, compares historically and internationally.
fullfact.org
What is the UK’s ‘tax burden’ - and how much tax is paid on workers’ earnings? – Full Fact
Ahead of the Budget we’ve taken a look at how the so-called ‘tax burden’ is changing, and how taxes on earnings in the UK compare both historically and internationally.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 25/09/2026
Max Wilkinson told the Liberal Democrat conference that “not a single small boat crossed the Channel” before the Brexit referendum. That’s not true. Small boat crossings have risen significantly in recent years, but they did happen before June 2016.
fullfact.org
Small boat crossings didn’t start after the Brexit referendum – Full Fact
The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson wrongly claimed that “not a single small boat crossed the Channel” before the vote to leave the EU.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 25/09/2026
A post claiming migrants crossing the Channel who are rescued by the RNLI or Border Force automatically become refugees has been shared over a thousand times on Facebook. But this isn’t true. Refugee status is only granted after a successful asylum claim.
fullfact.org
Claim that migrants intercepted by rescue ships in the Channel automatically get refugee status misunderstands asylum rules – Full Fact
The Home Office confirmed to Full Fact that those who are rescued at sea must apply for asylum in the usual way, despite contrary claims on social media.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 25/09/2026
You may have seen social media posts misrepresenting the Labour candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, Sagal Abdi-Wali, as an asylum seeker. Ms Abdi-Wali came to the UK as a child refugee in the 1990s, and is now listed as a British citizen. fullfact.org/politics/Sag...
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 24/09/2026
Many social media users appear to have been fooled by a fake picture that supposedly shows four teachers protesting against the removal of pride flags from their classrooms. But the image is AI-generated and contains several classic clues like nonsense text.
fullfact.org
Image of teachers saying they would quit over pride flag removal is AI-generated – Full Fact
Many people interacting with the social media post appear to believe the picture is real, but visual clues and an AI watermark tell us it’s fake.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 24/09/2026
A video of protests in Greece has been shared on Facebook with the claim that the country “is at a standstill”. But the clip is actually from February 2025 - it shows a demonstration marking the anniversary of a rail disaster.
fullfact.org
Video of protests in Greece isn’t recent - it’s from February 2025 – Full Fact
A clip shared on Facebook recently actually shows a demonstration which took place last year to mark the anniversary of a rail disaster.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 23/09/2026
Ahead of the Budget, our new explainer takes a look at how the amount of tax the government collects, and the amount of tax paid by the ‘average worker’, compares historically and internationally.
fullfact.org
What is the UK’s ‘tax burden’ - and how much tax is paid on workers’ earnings? – Full Fact
Ahead of the Budget we’ve taken a look at how the so-called ‘tax burden’ is changing, and how taxes on earnings in the UK compare both historically and internationally.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 23/09/2026
On his GB News show Nigel Farage claimed threshold freezes are “dragging about nine million pensioners into taxation”. In fact, the OBR estimates the actual number of pensioners who will be brought into paying income tax because of the freezes is much lower.
fullfact.org
How are tax threshold freezes impacting pensioners? – Full Fact
Nigel Farage claimed the impact of both threshold freezes and the triple lock is “dragging about nine million pensioners into taxation”.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 22/09/2026
Old aerial footage of a glacier in Alaska has been shared with false claims it shows the glacier that caused the deadly flood in Nepal last month. fullfact.org/world/old-vi...
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 21/09/2026
Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf claimed the UK’s foreign-born population in 2024 was “up 143% in a decade”. This is incorrect - estimates suggest the increase over a decade was much less. His figure may refer to an estimate of the increase over 20 years instead.
fullfact.org
The UK’s foreign-born population in 2024 was not ‘up 143% in a decade’ – Full Fact
A figure quoted by Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf for the increase in the UK’s foreign-born population is far too high, and may refer to an estimate of the increase over 20 years.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 19/09/2026
Full Fact has seen several social media posts and adverts promoting the launch of a new ‘Monzo slots’ casino site. But, the bank has confirmed this has nothing to do with them and urged customers to be alert to such material.
fullfact.org
Monzo bank hasn’t launched its own online casino site – Full Fact
Social media posts are advertising a new ‘Monzo slots’ casino, but the bank has confirmed that this is not a genuine offering from the company.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 18/09/2026
A video shared over a thousand times online falsely claims no plane hit the South Tower on 9/11. The clip was altered to remove Flight 175. Original footage filmed by a photojournalist and broadcast at the time clearly shows the plane hitting the tower.
fullfact.org
Edited video of South Tower on 9/11 circulates again – Full Fact
An altered video of the South Tower attack is circulating again, implying no plane hit the building on 9/11. But the video has been edited to remove the plane.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 17/09/2026
We’re grateful to Stirling Council for correcting information on its website about the allowance paid to asylum seekers in catered accommodation. Since June 2025, this weekly payment has been £9.95.
fullfact.org
Scottish council corrects outdated asylum seeker support figure – Full Fact
Stirling Council’s website wrongly claimed asylum seekers in catered accommodation receive a weekly payment of £8.86.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 17/09/2026
The shadow business minister Bradley Thomas claimed in parliament that new apprenticeships fell 9% from 2023/24 to 2025/26. They actually rose about 11%. Mr Thomas was using English data comparing an incomplete year with a whole one.
fullfact.org
Apprenticeship starts have risen—not fallen—under this government – Full Fact
In a debate in the Commons, Conservative shadow minister Bradley Thomas compared data for the latest nine-month period with the whole year of 2023/24, making it sound like apprenticeships had fallen.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 16/09/2026
40 years on from the Challenger space shuttle disaster, conspiracy theories are being shared on social media suggesting that the accident was a hoax and that the seven deceased astronauts are still alive. This is patently false.
fullfact.org
No, the NASA astronauts killed in the 1986 Challenger disaster are not still alive – Full Fact
Social media posts are being shared promoting conspiracy theories that the 1986 space shuttle crash was faked and that deceased crew members are out living secret lives.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 16/09/2026
We’ve seen posts pop up again on social media claiming to show a story written by Bill Gates on “depopulation through forced vaccination”. He didn’t write the article. And it misinterprets other quotes he’s made about slowing population growth.
fullfact.org
False claims Bill Gates wrote an article on depopulating the earth with ‘forced vaccines’ recirculate – Full Fact
Several incorrect posts claiming that Mr Gates wrote an article about using vaccinations to control the population have been shared online.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 15/09/2026
A house that miraculously survived the floods in Nepal became famous on social media. But the picture of it shared by a large account on Facebook is an AI-generated fake.
fullfact.org
Fake image of Nepal house goes viral – Full Fact
A widely seen image of a house that survived the floods in Nepal is actually an AI-generated fake.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 14/09/2026
A video of Notting Hill Carnival has been repeatedly shared with claims the white population of London has dropped to 34%. 2021 census data shows 53.8% of London identified as white. Just over 36% said they were white British.
fullfact.org
London’s white population has not ‘plummeted to 34%’ – Full Fact
Census data doesn’t support this claim—this percentage is closer to the figure for white British people in London, not white people generally.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 14/09/2026
Housing secretary Angela Rayner has said there’s a “slim chance” the government will achieve its target of building 1.5 million new homes this parliament. Our Government Tracker is rating this Labour manifesto pledge as ‘appears off track’. Here’s why 👇
fullfact.org
Is the government on track to deliver 1.5 million new homes? – Full Fact
Full Fact looks at the Labour manifesto’s commitment on housing.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 13/09/2026
A viral video appears to show Mark Zuckerberg warning that humans are running out of water. This is false. It’s a deepfake that uses AI-generated audio.
fullfact.org
Clip of Mark Zuckerberg saying humans will run out of water is deepfake – Full Fact
A viral video uses AI to falsely show Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claiming humans have one year of water left.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 12/09/2026
Lee Anderson claimed last week that “there’s literally thousands of square miles” of solar panels on UK farmland. That’s way off the mark, as our fact check explains 👇
fullfact.org
Solar panels do not currently occupy ‘thousands of square miles’ of farmland – Full Fact
Reform UK party chair Lee Anderson claimed there are “thousands of square miles” of solar panels on farmland in the UK. This is a huge overstatement.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 11/09/2026
25 years on from the 9/11 attacks, social media posts baselessly suggesting that the collapse of the World Trade Center towers was not caused by planes crashing into them continue to circulate.
fullfact.org
Baseless 9/11 claim recirculates on 25th anniversary of the attacks – Full Fact
Posts suggesting that planes did not cause the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings continue to be shared online. This isn’t the case, according to official investigations and independent…
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 11/09/2026
A widely shared claim that Kent Police's facial recognition team said around 76% of Dover protestors have previous convictions is false. Kent Police didn’t say that and it seems to have originated from a satire account. fullfact.org/crime/kent-p...
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 10/09/2026
Do UK households have the highest energy bills in Europe, as the PM claimed last week? And was Nigel Farage right to say British people and businesses face “the highest energy costs in the Western world”? We’ve looked at the data 🔍
fullfact.org
Are UK household energy bills the ‘highest in Europe’? – Full Fact
We’ve looked at how UK energy costs compare internationally, after two different claims from Andy Burnham and Nigel Farage.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 09/09/2026
Meta has started testing community notes in Latin America. We don't think that's wise if it threatens the future of professional fact checking. Meta's own Oversight Board warned against expanding community notes to countries facing specific societal challenges. Full statement:
poynter.org
Statement from the International Fact-Checking Network on Meta’s expansion of Community Notes to Latin America - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their…
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 08/09/2026
Our Government Tracker is still rating Labour’s manifesto pledge to “establish three new National Forests in England” as ‘appears on track’, though we don’t yet know the exact location of the third new forest.
fullfact.org
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.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 08/09/2026
A viral clip shows Matt Goodwin clashing with a presenter over UK spending on condoms in Pakistan, and asking for a fact check. So we’ve obliged! In short: the UK is spending up to £74m on a contraceptives scheme—but over about a decade, not annually.
fullfact.org
How much does the UK spend promoting family planning and condoms in Pakistan? – Full Fact
In an LBC interview, Matt Goodwin asked for a fact check of his claim about UK family planning aid to Pakistan—so we’ve looked at the numbers.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 08/09/2026
So far, the government has made decisions on 42 Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised to make decisions on at least 150 of these before the end of this parliament. Our Government Tracker’s got more 👇
fullfact.org
How many major economic infrastructure project decisions have been taken under this government? – Full Fact
Full Fact looks at the promise made in the government’s Plan for Change for decisions to be made on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 07/09/2026
Two images we’ve seen shared on social media alongside claims about anti-migrant protestors in Portsmouth are fake. While there are lots of genuine photos of yesterday’s protest, these two images are AI-generated. Here’s how we know 🔍 fullfact.org/culture-and-...
fullfact.org
Fake images of Portsmouth small boats protest circulate online – Full Fact
AI-generated images are being shared on social media alongside claims about anti-migrant protestors.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 05/09/2026
A photo of the home secretary Shabana Mahmood wearing a keffiyeh as a hijab has been circulating on social media. But this image has been edited with AI to add the scarf.
fullfact.org
AI image of Shabana Mahmood wearing keffiyeh headscarf circulating online – Full Fact
A photo showing the home secretary wearing a keffiyeh as a hijab has been shared on social media, but it features a SynthID watermark that shows it was generated with OpenAI tools.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 05/09/2026
Videos with thousands of shares online have claimed that the devastating Nepal-Tibet border flooding was “a hoax”. There’s masses of evidence this isn’t the case.
fullfact.org
No, the Nepal flash flood was not a hoax – Full Fact
Online posts falsely claim the Nepal flood was a hoax because early reports repeatedly cited the number 33.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 04/09/2026
The Times claimed that UK data centres’ use of water is estimated to reach 42 million litres per day by 2030. But it didn’t make clear this is their estimated average *peak* demand—not the average daily demand, which is expected to be about half as much.
fullfact.org
Times figures for data centres’ use of water don’t reflect average daily demand – Full Fact
Water UK estimates that data centres’ average peak demand could rise to 42 million litres of water per day in 2030, but average daily demand is expected to be about half that.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 04/09/2026
What’s the latest on the asylum backlog? We’ve updated our explainer following the release of new government figures last week.
fullfact.org
The UK asylum backlog: explained – Full Fact
A guide to the backlog of asylum decisions, and how changes to asylum law have impacted how cases are processed.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 02/09/2026
An AI-generated video has been widely shared on social media with claims it shows the recent flood on the Nepal-Tibet border. Clues this footage is fake include red containers that suddenly appear and disappear. fullfact.org/world/fake-f...
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 02/09/2026
A video on Facebook claims that new lockdowns might be needed to deal with a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases in the past week. But official data shows only a small rise in cases, which remain at a very low level.
fullfact.org
No, Covid stats don’t indicate it’s ‘officially back’ – Full Fact
A video falsely claims that lockdowns might be needed to deal with a huge rise in Covid-19 cases in the past week.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 01/09/2026
We've published an explainer tackling some of the most common questions and claims we've seen about the benefits system and how much it costs, including: ▪️Can immigrants claim benefits? ▪️Are most people on Universal Credit in work? Read it here:
fullfact.org
How much is being spent on benefits? – Full Fact
We’ve answered some commonly asked questions about the benefits system.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 31/08/2026
We’ve been trialling a tool comparing the output of various LLMs over time to questions about false claims circulating online. Here are the results 👇
fullfact.org
Full Fact analysis shows AI chatbots spouting misinformation about AI-generated images, wars and royal fall outs – Full Fact
Multiple models gave us misinformation when we asked about fake content and false claims circulating online, both before and after we wrote about them.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 31/08/2026
A long-running hoax claiming people are going door-to-door posing as “Home Affairs Officers” in order to rob houses is circulating again on social media. There’s no evidence this is actually happening.
fullfact.org
Claims people are posing as ‘Home Affairs Officers’ to rob houses are a hoax – Full Fact
Posts warning about people going door-to-door posing as “Home Affairs Officers” have been circulating in countries all over the world for years. There’s no evidence it’s actually happening in the UK.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 30/08/2026
Posts being shared thousands of times on social media claim Japan has named a Covid mRNA vaccine the “most deadly drug” in the “history of humankind”. It hasn’t. And it isn’t. Approved Covid vaccines are safe.
fullfact.org
Japan hasn’t named Covid mRNA vaccine the ‘most deadly drug’ – Full Fact
The misleading claim is being shared again after first appearing in 2024.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 29/08/2026
In the wake of the Nepal-Tibet flash flood we’ve seen claims that HAARP, a research project studying upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, is in some way responsible. This isn’t true. HAARP cannot control the weather or cause natural disasters.
fullfact.org
HAARP didn’t cause the flood on the Nepal-Tibet border – Full Fact
The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) cannot control the weather and had nothing to do with the massive flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 29/08/2026
A viral video compilation shows clips of masked figures on e-scooters and e-bikes being tackled by police officers. But it’s completely fake.
fullfact.org
Video compilation of police tackling ‘scooter thieves’ is fake – Full Fact
A video being shared on social media supposedly showing police officers tackling “scooter thieves” was generated using AI.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 28/08/2026
Following the release of new immigration data this week we’ve updated our Government Tracker with the latest on Labour’s pledge to “end asylum hotels”.
fullfact.org
Has the government stopped using hotels to house asylum seekers? – Full Fact
Full Fact looks at Labour’s pledge to end the use of “asylum hotels”.
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Full Fact @fullfact.org · 28/08/2026
If you come across a picture or video you think could be fake, would you ask an AI chatbot about it? We’ve been looking at how various LLMs cope with queries like this, and often found the answer is not very well.
fullfact.org
Full Fact analysis shows AI chatbots spouting misinformation about AI-generated images, wars and royal fall outs – Full Fact
Multiple models gave us misinformation when we asked about fake content and false claims circulating online, both before and after we wrote about them.
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