The laws introducing a third English lockdown do not make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory
Parliament did vote on new regulations on Wednesday, but these new rules didn’t make vaccines mandatory. 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
A satirical caption in a South African newspaper under a picture of a British woman getting the vaccine has caused confusion
The photo of a woman getting a Covid-19 vaccine has been used as evidence that the media is lying to people. Read
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Health
Millions—not thousands—caught Covid last year
Doctors only report a small fraction of Covid infections through the NOIDs system. Read
Fact check
The time on Boris Johnson’s watch does not prove his televised address wasn’t live
The watch appears upside down to the viewer, but shows 8pm. Read
Fact check
The government has awarded a contract to develop technology that proves you’ve recently had a negative Covid-19 test
This doesn’t mean that vaccination passports are planned. Read
Fact check
2020, the year QAnon aligned with the UK’s fears
Conspiracies that have come to define QAnon in 2020, such as distrust of authority and vaccine scepticism, have always been a big part of UK conspiracy culture. Read
Analysis
The needles in some syringes are supposed to ‘disappear’
Some syringes have a spring which retracts the needle once the dose is administered. Read
Fact check
Some on the Pfizer vaccine trials did get Bell’s palsy, but not more than we’d expect by chance
Four volunteers developed Bell’s palsy after getting a Covid-19 vaccine, but this doesn’t mean they are linked. Read
Fact check
There’s no evidence the Pfizer vaccine interferes with the placenta
One expert said the possibility was ‘vanishingly small’. Read
Fact check
Cambridge Covid-19 test results don’t mean PCR tests are inaccurate
A higher ratio of false positives to true positives are expected when viral prevalence in the community drops. 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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