What was claimed
The government is introducing a £27 or £25 monthly WiFi charge for all households to fund digital infrastructure.
Our verdict
This isn’t happening. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has told us this is completely false.
Videos which falsely claim that an extra monthly WiFi charge is being introduced for all households are circulating online. Some versions say the fee will be £25 a month while others say it will be £27.
But this isn’t happening.
We asked the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology about the claims in the video, and it told us: “This is completely false misinformation. The government is not introducing a monthly WiFi charge to fund digital infrastructure.”
The clips, shared on Facebook, feature footage of the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and what seems to be his voice saying that “starting next month” the UK government is planning to bring in the fee to “fund digital infrastructure”.
The voiceover adds: “And now, whether you use WiFi or not, you'll be forced to pay.”
Openreach, the company which runs the UK’s largest broadband network, including the infrastructure, also told us it was not aware of any such plans.
Other videos making similar claims have also been circulating on TikTok, one of which has been viewed almost 75,000 times.
The video at the start of the clip is actually of Mr Starmer speaking in September when the UK government formally recognised the state of Palestine. It is also not in sync with the voiceover on the clip being shared.
And there are clues, from the unnatural cadence and pauses, and the fact that he appears to be criticising his own government’s policy, that this audio isn’t really Mr Starmer speaking. It has probably been generated with artificial intelligence (AI)—although we can’t rule out the possibility that it was faked in another way, for example by using an impersonator. You can read more about how to spot AI audio, and the challenges of doing this, in our guide.
We have recently debunked a number of similar false claims being shared as videos on social media platforms, many of which seem to originate from TikTok, which are spreading misinformation about new rules or limits to personal freedoms. These include false claims that the TV licence fee will double for everyone over 65 and the government is imposing restrictions on essential grocery items.
Before sharing videos announcing these kinds of alarmist changes, first consider whether they come from a trustworthy and reliable source. Our Full Fact toolkit can help you do this.
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 false because the government is not introducing a WiFi charge.
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