What was claimed
A picture shows a family from Sheffield welcoming Labour’s decision to remove the two-child benefit limit.
Our verdict
False. This picture is from 2014 and shows a family in Pakistan, not Sheffield.
Picture doesn’t show ‘family in Sheffield’ welcoming removal of two-child benefit cap
A picture shared on social media with the caption “family from Sheffield welcome Labour removing two-child benefit limit” actually shows a father and his children in Pakistan in 2014.
The graphic has been shared on Facebook and Instagram and shows a man with a white beard, wearing sunglasses and a white hat, surrounded by children.
Using reverse image search Full Fact traced the image back to 2014. It was published by news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) with a caption explaining it showed “internally-displaced Pakistani resident Haji Gulzar Khan Wazir, who fled with his family following a military operation against militants in the North Waziristan tribal agency” and was taken with “some of his children in Bannu”.
Join 72,953 people who trust us to check the facts
Sign up to get weekly updates on politics, immigration, health and more.
Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.
The image wasn’t taken in Sheffield, and was first published before the two child benefit limit was first introduced in 2017, let alone scrapped.
In 2017, he told AFP he had 36 children and appeared to still be living in Bannu, Pakistan.
Although it’s possible some may be sharing the image and its caption as a joke, others seem to think it is real, commenting “where is the money coming from to pay for this lot?” and “what a great way to get the Muslim Vote for Labour”.
As part of the 2025 Budget last week, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the two-child benefit cap is to be scrapped in full from April 2026.
The policy, which was implemented under the previous government in 2017, prevents most families from claiming means-tested benefits for a third and any additional children born after April 2017. We’ve written before about the likely impact of the decision to scrap it.
Before sharing images like this on social media, first consider whether they come from a trustworthy and verifiable source. Our guides can help you spot misleading images online.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because this picture is from 2014 and shows a family in Pakistan, not Sheffield.