“Boris Johnson said that wages are rising. That is a lie, real wages are falling. The average worker is over £1,000 worse off today than they were in 2010 and the government’s own figures show it.” Angela Rayner, 3 October 2021
Full Fact→ Amazon parcels do not pose widespread risk to cats
A Facebook post claims that all Amazon boxes are sprayed with toxic pesticides to kill rodents that can cause chemical burns on the tongues of cats, as well as a number of other potential symptoms including fever, lethargy and shallow breathing. The po
Snopes→ Ship’s Anchor May Have Caused Massive California Oil Spill
A ship’s anchor may have hooked, dragged and torn an underwater pipeline that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the ocean off Southern California.
Logically→ COVID-19 is not an airborne disease.
COVID-19 is mainly spread through droplets and aerosols. Knowing this and protecting yourself against this is not hysteria.
Snopes→ Nobel in Chemistry Honors ‘Greener’ Way to Build Molecules
The work of Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan has allowed scientists to produce molecules more cheaply, efficiently, safely — and with significantly less environmental impact.
Snopes→ Yankees Knocked out Early by Rival Red Sox at Fenway
Not even an appearance by Boston heartbreaker Bucky Dent could help them advance in October.
Poynter→ Vaccines keep people out of the hospital. A viral image of Israeli COVID-19 cases ignores that.
On TikTok and Twitter, opponents of the COVID-19 vaccines have been sharing a table that they claim shows how ineffective vaccines are. One TikTokker, writing in a style designed to thwart efforts to block misinformation, used the table in her video. &
Washington Post→ Jayapal’s claim that ‘the majority of the country’ supports federal funding of abortion
Most polls show consistent opposition to federal funding of abortions but a lot depends on the wording of the survey question.
Snopes→ Missouri Man Executed for Killing 3 Workers in ’94 Robbery
Ernest Johnson died from an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre.
Snopes→ Ex-Facebook Manager Criticizes Company, Urges More Oversight
A former Facebook data scientist told Congress she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Endangered Orangutan Did NOT Approach And Offer Help To A Stranger In A Mud Pool
Did a wild and endangered orangutan offer a helping hand to a geologist who had fallen in a mud pool while searching for the animal? No, that's not an accurate description of the scene captured in this photograph. The man in the water, Sy
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: AMR Ambulance In LA County Did NOT Terminate 30% Of Employees For Refusing Mandated COVID-19 Vaccine
Did the AMR ambulance company in the LA County area recently terminate approximately 30% of its employees for failing to comply with the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate? No, that's not true: The Emergency Medical Technician union, IAEP
Snopes→ Yes, Snapchat Has Tool To Help Youths Run for Office
The new in-app feature shows users upcoming races that may interest them.
Snopes→ Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, and the Nobel Prize Parable
A popular tale claims that an act of kindness greatly impacted the lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy.
Snopes→ Does This Photo Show a Star Being Born?
The formation was said to take place an estimated 1,350 light-years from Earth.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Rupert Murdoch Did NOT Say ‘I Started Fox News To Get Rich,’ Did NOT Refer To ‘Low IQ Viewers’
Did Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch recently say, "I started Fox News to get rich," or "We created a fake story that 'Biden stole the elections' to keep our low IQ viewers returning every day"? No, that's not true: "This report is false,"
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Illinois Vaccine Protesters Were NOT High School Students Who ‘Quit’ — Protesters Were Adults, At District Office
Did high school students in Crystal Lake, Illinois, protest a COVID-19 vaccine mandate by quitting and leaving their shoes outside the school? No, that's not true: The photo was taken outside the Crystal Lake Elementary District 47 School
Snopes→ NYC Public Libraries Will End Late Fees in Push for Equity
Late fees had already been suspended since March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic and will now be permanently eliminated.
Snopes→ Milestone for Bubba Wallace As He Earns 1st NASCAR Victory
Wallace became just the second Black driver to win a race at the Cup Series level.
Truth or Fiction?→ Project Veritas and ‘Nick Karl From Pfizer’
On October 4 2021, Project Veritas — an organization that releases heavily misleadingly edited far-right propaganda videos and pretends they are journalistic “stings” — claimed to “expose Pfizer” through secret vi
The Dispatch→ Do Refugees Get More Monthly Benefits Than Social Security Recipients?
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Snopes→ Russian Film Crew in Orbit to Make First Movie in Space
A Russian actor and a film director rocketed to space on a mission to make the world’s first movie in orbit.
Snopes→ 2,700-Year-Old Toilet Found in Jerusalem Was a Rare Luxury
The smooth, carved limestone toilet was found in a rectangular cabin that was part of a sprawling mansion overlooking what is now the Old City.
Truth or Fiction?→ Charlie Kirk ‘Cure’ Tweet
On October 3 2021, a tweet attributed to Charlie Kirk appeared on the subreddit r/HermanCainAward — purportedly proposing an alternative cure for COVID-19: Charlie Kirk discovers a cure for Covid that the mainstream medical establishme
Full Fact→ Claim that up to 135,000 children have not returned to school needs more context
A Sunday Times article, published on 3 October, claimed new figures show that between 95,000 and 135,000 children did not return to school in the autumn term. The Sunday Times said this figure does not include “normal absences” or children
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Military Did NOT Disrupt Facebook By Seizing Its Servers On October 4, 2021 — Outage Was Caused By Technical Difficulties
Did the military disrupt Facebook's operations on October 4, 2021, by seizing the social media platform's servers at its headquarters? No, that's not true: Facebook, along with its acquired social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp, e
Snopes→ What Caused the October 2021 Facebook Outage?
The technology giant suffered a major shutdown that lasted about six hours.
Full Fact→ Nebulised hydrogen peroxide shouldn’t be used to treat all respiratory illnesses
A Facebook post claims that nebulized hydrogen peroxide “helps against ALL respiratory infections like colds/flu, sore throat, pneumonia, chest infections”. It has been viewed over 1,000 times. The post also says that you can buy hydrogen p
Snopes→ Alan Kalter, Announcer for David Letterman, Dies at 78
Alan Kalter, the quirky, red-headed announcer for David Letterman for two decades who frequently appeared in the show's comedy bits, has died.
Snopes→ Is Buzz Aldrin’s Mother’s Maiden Name ‘Moon’?
Aldrin's 1969 trip to the Moon was, in some respects, a family visit.
Snopes→ Jury Awards $6.3M to Shannen Doherty in State Farm Fire Suit
The jury found that the insurance giant's failure to pay policy benefits for Doherty's Malibu home were “unreasonable and without proper cause.”
AllSides→ Video: Instagram Posts Spread Texas Lawmaker’s False Claims on Vaccine Testing
https://www.factcheck.org/2021/10/video-instagram-posts-spread-texas-lawmakers-false-claims-on-vaccine-testing/
Snopes→ Physics Nobel Rewards Work on Complex Systems, Like Climate
Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for physics for work that found order in seeming disorder, helping to explain and predict complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.
Snopes→ Hollywood’s Behind-The-Scenes Crews Vote to Authorize Strike
Film and television production in North America is in jeopardy of coming to a standstill after its behind-the-scenes workers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike for the first time in its 128-year history.
Logically→ More children will be seriously injured or killed by COVID-19 vaccines than by COVID-19.
There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines can make children seriously ill or cause death. The statement by Vernon Coleman is false.
Full Fact→ Towards a common definition of claim matching
After Full Fact publishes each fact check, we keep monitoring the media to see if anyone repeats misleading claims. Where appropriate, we can then contact journalists or politicians who have repeated a claim we’ve already checked, without having
Logically→ You are at greater risk from COVID-19 vaccines than from COVID-19 itself.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. COVID-19 can cause severe disease and even death.
Poynter→ Claims that millions of people have died from the COVID-19 vaccine are unfounded
A 52-page report from a pair of anti-vaccine advocates claims to present the truth about COVID-19 vaccines. However, it does just the opposite. The website Stop World Control published the so-called Vaccine Death Report in September 2021, and it was
Washington Post→ McAuliffe ad falsely claims Youngkin ‘took over’ predatory dental clinics
A campaign ad for Democrat Terry McAuliffe says “Wall Street executive” Youngkin was responsible for harming children. But his private equity firm did not acquire the troubled company.
Snopes→ Ozy Media CEO: ‘Premature’ to Shut Down After Week of Scandal
The CEO of Ozy Media said it had been “premature” to shut down the company and that he wants to keep operating, despite a scandal-ridden week that exposed Ozy as an outlet without much of an audience.