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Smallpox not the only infectious disease eradicated by humans
While reporting on the rise of monkeypox, the Times said that smallpox is the only disease ever eradicated by humans. But there has been another—the cattle disease, rinderpest.
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How many jobs has Crossrail created?
After Boris Johnson claimed at PMQs that 72,000 jobs have been delivered by Crossrail, we’ve looked at the numbers.
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A picture of the sky does not show ‘chemtrails’
White vapour trails often seen in the sky are thin clouds of condensation left by aircraft engines—not evidence of a conspiracy to poison the planet.
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Facebook post does show real images of the sun
Despite claims that they’re just CGI artwork, detailed images of the sun being shared on Facebook seem to be real.
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Most Britons are not projected to be obese by 2040
While a Daily Express headline suggests otherwise, the proportion of Britons forecast to be obese or severely obese by 2040 is actually 36%.
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Fake Washington Post screenshot says dachshund is the ‘face of online homophobia’
A story about a dog called Whitney Chewston did appear in another publication, but not in the Washington Post.
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Shadow cabinet member uses misleading £2,600 cost of living figure on BBC, ITV and Sky
The shadow justice secretary used an unreliable Labour estimate for the impact of the cost of living crisis. We have repeatedly asked Labour to stop using this number.
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Post claiming the Pfizer vaccine has only a 12% efficacy rate is inaccurate
False claims circulating on social media about the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine are not based on newly published documents.
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The UN doesn’t have a plan to abolish private land ownership
Both Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030 are non-binding plans intending to improve sustainable development around the world. Both include private enterprise.
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Green levy costs do not make up 25% of energy bills
A claim made by Robert Halfon MP, who is in favour of scrapping green levies, on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and repeated elsewhere is inaccurate.
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Government minister made misleading claim about employment figures
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis is the latest cabinet minister to claim that employment is higher than before the pandemic, when it is not.
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BlackRock doesn’t own 75% of Ancestry
A Facebook claim that the investment management firm BlackRock has a majority stake in the genealogy website ancestry.com is false.
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