No evidence John Lennon quote about happiness is real
Despite versions being shared many times online, there’s no evidence the former Beatle ever said it. Read
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Social media
Fact checks of content undertaken as part of Full Fact’s work on the Third Party Fact Checking Programme with Facebook
No evidence inspiring Facebook quote comes from Sir Anthony Hopkins
Advice that people should “say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure” appears to have been written by the founder of an online lifestyle brand in 2015. Read
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A man who arrived in Japan with a fake passport did not mysteriously vanish
It seems that the man himself was real, according to reports at the time. He was arrested, but we can find no evidence that he vanished—let alone that he came from a parallel universe. Read
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Article 61 of the Magna Carta doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay council tax
Those liable do have to pay council tax, and nothing in the Magna Carta stops that being the case. Read
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The Lancet didn’t say Covid-19 vaccines are only 1% effective
This claim appears to be based on a misunderstanding of a 2021 article that suggested a different measure of effectiveness be published alongside the usual measure. Read
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Harrier jets didn’t spell out expletive over Houses of Parliament
The farewell flypast for the jets didn’t even pass London. Read
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Health
There were not 65,000 flu deaths in the winter of 2017/18
We’re not sure where this number comes from, but official estimates suggest it’s more than double the true figure. Read
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Fanta Lemon is not being discontinued in Europe
This seems to stem from a now-deleted tweet from the brand in 2018. Read
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The Rothschilds don’t own Reuters or the Associated Press
AP is owned by a membership made up of other media companies. Reuters is part of Thomson Reuters, which is majority-owned by the Thomson family in Canada. Read
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Clip of French TV shows technical glitch, not election fraud
An error made by France 2 has led to accusations of electoral fraud in the French presidential elections. Read
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Evidence you can rely on
Fact checking claims made by politicians, public figures and viral online content can give you the full picture backed by the evidence.
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