Full Fact

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”.

On Sky News today border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said there are “fewer asylum hotels” in use than when Labour took office, and 6,000 fewer people in them than at the end of 2024.

We’re monitoring the government’s progress on this issue here 👇

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Viral video does not show whales beached in Russia the day before recent earthquake – Full Fact Social media posts share old footage of whales beaching, with the claim it was the day before an earthquake earlier this week.

A video claims to show whales that beached in Kamchatka, Russia, the day before the recent earthquake there.

While the footage does show whales in Kamchatka, it has been online since at least August 2023.

No, the government has not raised the pension age to 74 – Full Fact The government has announced a review of the state pension age, but has not confirmed any further changes beyond those set out before it came into power.

Several social media posts suggest the government is set to raise the state pension age to 74.

That’s not correct. We explain how the government is reviewing pensions here 👇

No evidence Poland’s Prime Minister made comments comparing the global population of Muslims and Jews – Full Fact However, Prime Minister Donald Tusk did say the first half of the quote about Europeans asking Americans to protect them from Russians.

Social media posts claim Poland’s Prime Minister said “there are two billion Muslims asking the world to protect them from seven million Jews”.

But we could find no evidence PM Donald Tusk actually said this.

Woman falsely linked to viral video involving the PM: How fact checking could have helped – Full Fact When 31-year-old Abby Raworth first realised her photo and name were being shared online—falsely linked to a viral video involving the Prime Minister—she’d thought it was quite funny...

#FactsMatter—just ask Abby Raworth. She was falsely linked to a viral video involving the PM and saw firsthand how fast misinformation spreads.

This is her story.

Viral list incorrectly claiming dozens of modern taxes didn’t exist 100 years ago recirculates – Full Fact The list includes taxes that are more than a century old and other taxes that don’t exist in the UK.

A list of modern-day taxes that supposedly didn’t exist 100 years ago is recirculating online.

But this list includes some taxes, like income tax, that are more than a century old, as well as taxes that don’t exist in the UK.

Protester did not hold up sweary sign in background of Starmer and Trump meeting – Full Fact A screenshot of a video appearing to show a protester visible through a window during a recent sit down between the leaders in Scotland is circulating on social media. But it isn’t genuine.

A picture of Keir Starmer and Donald Trump with a protester holding a sweary sign in the background has been shared online.

But this has been edited to include an old picture of the late comedian Janey Godley.

Picture of Donald and Ivanka Trump with Jeffrey Epstein has been edited – Full Fact The image appears to show the US President and his daughter when she was young, with Epstein in the foreground. But it is actually a composite of two different photos.

A picture which appears to show a younger Donald Trump kissing his daughter Ivanka next to Jeffrey Epstein has been shared online.

But this image isn’t genuine—it’s a composite of photographs taken more than 10 years apart.

Videos featuring deepfake audio of Princess Anne viewed millions of times on Facebook – Full Fact The videos appear to feature recordings of Princess Anne making a number of claims about Queen Camilla and Princess Charlotte, but the audio clips are not real.

Facebook videos with millions of views supposedly feature recordings of Princess Anne making a number of claims about Queen Camilla and Princess Charlotte.

But these are not real. Princess Anne’s voice has been cloned using AI.

Image supposedly showing Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein on private jet isn’t real – Full Fact The fake image has been circulating since at least May 2023.

An image which appears to show Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein sitting next to each other on a private jet isn’t real.

It was likely made using AI and has been circulating online since at least May 2023.

Video circulating amid Pacific tsunami evacuations is from 2017 – Full Fact A clip of a huge wave hitting a beach has been shared following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia—but this is old footage and not related to current warnings.

A video is being shared with claims it shows a tsunami caused by a “massive earthquake” amid the current evacuations across the Pacific.

But it actually shows a tsunami that struck Greenland in 2017.

Is the government on track with its pledge to recognise a Palestinian state? – Full Fact Full Fact takes a look at Labour’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state as a “contribution” to a two-state peace process.

Keir Starmer announced yesterday that the UK would recognise Palestine as a state in September, unless Israel meets certain conditions.

Our latest Government Tracker page looks at how the government got here.👇

Asylum seekers living in hotels do not receive £70 a week – Full Fact Thousands of people have viewed a video supposedly featuring a former ‘migrant hotel employee’, who makes a number of incorrect claims about what government support asylum seekers receive.

In a viral video, a man who says he worked in a migrant hotel claims asylum seekers receive £70 a week and a mobile phone paid for by taxpayers.

But neither of these claims is correct. Read more here 👇

Video doesn’t show dog being cooked by immigrants in Dublin – Full Fact Footage is being shared again on Facebook with misleading captions implying it depicts a dog being barbecued in the Irish capital. It is actually a pig.

A video shared with the suggestion it shows a dog being cooked by immigrants in Dublin isn’t what it seems.

As we found when we debunked the same video in 2023, it actually shows a pig being cooked on a spit as part of a community event.

What role did misinformation play in riots after the Southport stabbings? – Full Fact After the attack social media became a hotbed of false claims about the identity of the suspect, which many people believe stoked unrest.

One year on, we're resharing this piece we wrote at the time about the role of misinformation in the Southport stabbings.

Here's what we found then, and why it still matters today:

AI-generated images of people throwing bottles of food in the sea towards Gaza shared online – Full Fact There have been genuine reports of Egyptians doing this, but the images in these posts aren’t real and were made using AI.

Images which appear to show people throwing plastic bottles filled with food into the sea towards Gaza aren’t real.

Although there have been genuine reports of people doing this, some viral images circulating online were made using AI.

Is the government on track to establish a new independent ethics commission? – Full Fact Full Fact takes a look at Labour’s pledge to establish a new Ethics and Integrity Commission to ‘ensure probity in government’.

Last week, the government announced it will be creating a new Ethics and Integrity Commission, though we don’t know exactly when it will be up and running.

We’ve updated our Government Tracker, where we’re monitoring progress on this pledge 👇

What the UK riots taught us about social media failure – Full Fact Comment piece for the 2025 Full Fact Report by By Zoe Manzi and Hannah Rose, Hate and Extremism Analysts at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

A year ago, false claims after the Southport attack spread fast, fuelling hate speech and real-world violence across the UK.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue's Zoe Manzi & Hannah Rose break down what the riots taught us about social media failure:

Vaccines have not caused a rise in autism in Vietnam – Full Fact Claims that there was no autism in Vietnam before this century seem to have no basis—and vaccines are proven not to cause autism.

A video being shared on social media says there was no autism in Vietnam before this century’s vaccination programme began.

There seems to be no basis for this. (And vaccines definitely do not cause autism.)

Asylum seekers received support prior to court case involving Keir Starmer – Full Fact Claims about a case Mr Starmer worked on when he was a barrister have recirculated online.

Claims Keir Starmer was involved in a court case that “laid the ground” for “illegal immigrants” to receive benefits are misleading.

The 2003 case concerned a specific group of asylum seekers. Most were already entitled to financial support and accommodation.

Going abroad four times a year won’t flag you to HMRC for ‘enhanced customs monitoring’ from August – Full Fact Posts circulating on social media claim the new system will track UK residents who leave the country more than three times within a 12 month period. But no such system exists.

No, the government is not introducing a new system called “enhanced customs monitoring” to track UK residents who leave the country more than three times a year so their declared income, employment status and tax residency can be checked.

Is the government on track to halve sewage pollution from water companies? – Full Fact Full Fact takes a look at the government’s new pledge to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030 compared to 2024.

Earlier this week, environment secretary Steve Reed promised the government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by 2030.

We’ve updated our Government Tracker to include this new pledge 👇

Has Labour carried out ‘record deportations’? – Full Fact We’ve looked at the figures after Labour MP Mike Tapp claimed the government has carried out “record deportations”.

Labour MP Mike Tapp Tweets has claimed the government has carried out “record deportations”.

We can’t find any evidence for this - here’s what the figures do show.

Teaching on conspiracy theories should start in primary schools – Full Fact Early intervention is crucial to breaking a cycle where one in four UK adults struggle to distinguish between true and false information.

✍️ Here's the blog we wrote on this in April👇

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee publishes its report on #MediaLiteracy today.

🗣️ Earlier this year, our Chief Executive Chris Morris gave evidence to support this vital inquiry.

Mis(sing) information: The impact of disappearing archives and data sources – Full Fact Discover how digital decay and disappearing archives weaken public scrutiny and fuel misinformation.

I wrote somethingfor @fullfact.org about the ways in which the disappearing archive makes their work even harder but more important. I'm a trustee & continue to be amazed at their resiliency in an age of AI slop and attacks against those who investigate accuracy.
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Viral video compilation of Texas floods is AI – Full Fact Some clips feature people suddenly appearing or disappearing, a clue the compilation has been made using AI.

A compilation video which claims to show clips of flooding in Texas is AI-generated.

Although there are several real and distressing videos of the Texas floods, this is not one of them.

Resident doctors’ pay: how much do they earn, and what does the BMA want? – Full Fact Resident (formerly “junior”) doctors’ pay is in the news again, after BMA members voted to support strikes. We explain how much different types of resident doctor get paid, and what their union has…

Our thanks to the BMA for correcting a mistake on Jeremy Vine On 5.

It’s not true that resident doctors are paid a half or a third of what they’d get in similar countries—but pay is roughly a third higher in Australia.

Here’s how much they earn👇

Likely AI images of William and Kate shared online – Full Fact The images, which are claimed to be from the state banquet in July, do not match real photographs of the event which hosted French president Emmanuel Macron.

Images that supposedly show Prince William making an emotional speech at a banquet in France, while Kate wipes away tears, have been shared widely online.

But these are not real, and there are strong indications they were created with AI.

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”.

With “asylum hotels” in the news this week, we’ve updated our Government Tracker with the latest information on Labour’s pledge to end the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.

Full details here 👇