A clip that appears to show Conservative MP George Freeman announcing his defection to Reform UK isn’t real and was very likely made using artificial intelligence. The MP said the video is “entirely fake and false”.

We’ve seen posts being shared online that claim coughing really hard if you’re having a heart attack will save your life. This is incorrect medical advice. Call 999 if you experience symptoms of a heart attack.

With new GDP figures for August 2025 out this week, we’ve updated our Government Tracker monitoring Labour’s pledge to “secure the highest sustained growth in the G7”. 👇

A video claiming AI scanners are being introduced so that authorities can access people’s phones at any time without their permission has been circulating online. But DSIT has told us that the claims are “incorrect and irresponsible”.

A viral video shared with claims it shows “anti-fascists” being attacked is not real, and was made using an image from September 2024. Clues such as the text on a flag changing halfway through are evidence the clip was made using artificial intelligence.

"Speech is only free when it is anchored in truth." In a column for The Guardian today, Polly Toynbee highlights how some politicians are challenging the integrity of fact checkers and the threat of misinformation. Read the article here:

We’ve spotted several videos on social media claiming that the government is introducing a £10 charge for NHS GP appointments from next month. This is false.

The government still won’t tell us what its promise to “train thousands more GPs” actually means. When the health minister Stephen Kinnock was asked about it last month, his answer sounded like the last government’s plan. (And seemed to contain a mistake about the figures.)

It’s been claimed a poll shows Reform UK is on course to win the “biggest landslide in modern history”. Some context here:

Viral social media posts claim Italian PM Giorgia Meloni criticised Keir Starmer’s role in the Gaza peace deal as “cringe”. But we couldn’t find any evidence Ms Meloni ever said this and the Italian embassy in London told us she made no such statement.

On LBC last night shadow home secretary Chris Philp said “unemployment has gone up every single month since this Labour government got elected”. But while unemployment has risen, it hasn’t gone up “every single month”. Our recent fact check has more 👇

Last month the government announced its intention to introduce digital IDs, which will be mandatory for ‘Right to Work’ checks. It’s said this will be introduced by the end of the parliament. Our Government Tracker will be monitoring progress 👇

An image of a person taped to a bin has been shared widely on social media with claims it shows an “Antifa member” who has been put there by “patriots”. But this is actually a piece of performance art in Berlin from 2015.

A post being shared on social media incorrectly identifies two of the last three home secretaries. It includes a picture of deputy prime minister David Lammy - but he’s never served in the role.

Google has ended its support for Full Fact. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce. Support independent, impartial fact checking today: donate.fullfact.org/july-rg-ask?...

At #PMQs today, PM Keir Starmer and shadow housing secretary James Cleverly clashed over comments Mr Starmer claimed Mr Cleverly made about China in 2023. What did the former foreign secretary actually say? Our politics blog has the transcript.

Is the government on course to make the NHS App a “full front door” to the health service by 2028? Our Government Tracker looks at the progress so far 👇 fullfact.org/government-t...

Multiple social media posts wrongly claim that Sir Keir Starmer has pledged £40 billion to rebuild Gaza. This figure appears to be based on an estimate for the cost of rebuilding the territory, not what the UK has committed. fullfact.org/world/starme...

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride claimed last week that under Labour the UK’s national debt “is set to rise every single year until it is the size of the entire economy”. We’ve taken a look at what the figures show. 🔍

New figures out today show an increase in unemployment, as well as a decrease in employment and economic inactivity in June-August compared to May-July. Our updated explainer has the figures 👇 fullfact.org/economy/empl...

Social media posts claiming UK banks have introduced restrictions on cash withdrawals for people aged over 65 are not true. No such policy has been implemented or announced.

A video being shared online is claiming that a new monthly £27 WiFi charge is being introduced for all households across the UK to fund ‘digital infrastructure’. But this isn’t happening. The government confirmed this is “completely false”.

A video appears to show Emmanuel Macron claiming his car was blocked by Donald Trump’s motorcade in New York because he recognised Palestine. But this clip isn’t real. The original footage dates back to a Bloomberg interview in May 2024.

A video shared online with claims it shows a boat in the Global Sumud Flotilla arriving in Gaza actually shows crowds gathering to support the flotilla in Tunisia in September 2025.

Posts on social media claim to show an Associated Press news report saying Donald Trump has been barred from consideration for all Nobel Prizes. This report is fake.

Social media posts claiming UK banks have introduced restrictions on cash withdrawals for people aged over 65 are not true. No such policy has been implemented or announced.

Videos claiming that a new rule will ban pensioners from driving at night have been shared thousands of times online. But this is completely false - and the videos also feature fake audio of the PM.

The latest addition to our Government Tracker is the government’s promise to fast-track decisions on “at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects”. So far, decisions have been made on 26, as we explain 👇

Videos shared online are making false claims about the government launching “one of the harshest crackdowns UK drivers have ever seen” this month. The government hasn’t announced the changes described in the videos, and they appear to use fake audio of the Prime Minister.

In a guest essay for Full Fact, Dr Rachael Kent explains how algorithms and monetisation amplify dubious health claims—and what can be done to make accurate guidance travel faster than panic.

💷 Can asylum seekers claim benefits? 🏥 Do they get free NHS treatment? 📱 What about free iPhones? Our new explainer answers some commonly asked questions about the support given to asylum seekers in the UK.

Viral social media posts claim Sir Keir Starmer has legalised marriage between brothers and sisters or parents and children. False. Marriage between close relatives is illegal in the UK. There are, however, calls for a ban on marriage between first cousins. fullfact.org/culture-and-...

On social media and their website, the Liberal Democrats have claimed “Keir Starmer says everyone in the UK will be required to have mandatory digital ID”. But this isn’t the case, and we can’t find any evidence the Prime Minister said it was.

A video claiming that the government is introducing a new parking policy that will charge drivers for leaving their car in one space for more than 48 hours has been viewed tens of thousands of times. But the DfT has confirmed this claim is totally false. fullfact.org/politics/nat...

We’ve spotted several videos being shared on social media claiming the TV licence fee is set to double for over-65s. But this isn’t true.

We’re grateful to the ONS for changing the way it reports suicide data, following our investigation.

Our latest Government Tracker page takes a look at Labour’s manifesto promise to introduce “new consumer protections on ticket resales” for live events. A consultation took place earlier this year, but new measures are yet to be introduced.

Over the weekend Kemi Badenoch claimed unemployment has gone up “every single month” since Labour took office, and that it’s been left higher by “every Labour government in history”. Neither of these claims is quite right—our fact check has the figures 👇

An episode of Have I Got News for You was briefly removed from BBC iPlayer over the weekend after it contained a factual error about digital ID cards—a claim we'd already fact checked. It’s a clear reminder of why fact checking matters.

Thanks to the Daily Mail for correcting an article, which wrongly said that Korean researchers claimed they had found proof that the Covid vaccines had raised the risk of getting cancer. As we explain, the researchers said no such thing.

The government promised new powers to “bring criminal charges” against water companies which persistently break the law. We’re rating this pledge as “achieved”. Here’s why 👇

An episode of Have I Got News for You has been removed from BBC iPlayer after a factual error: www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/n... We fact checked the claim earlier this week: fullfact.org/technology/d... #FactsMatter

The government pledged to create three new national forests and plant millions of trees in England. So are they on track? Our Government Tracker takes a look 👇

Social media posts have claimed that a video of a man striking women at a station was filmed in London. The footage is actually from Barcelona last year.

A viral photo appears to show a young Keir Starmer decorating a Christmas tree with Jimmy Savile. But this has been edited to include Savile’s face. The original photo shows the PM with an older woman.

Videos claiming that the government is introducing a £15 monthly “clean water levy” for UK households have been widely shared on social media. But this isn’t the case. A government spokesperson told Full Fact the claims are “completely false”.

Recent data shows the government added 5.2 million more NHS England appointments in its first year, beating its pledge of two million. But it also shows that two million was an exceptionally low target, and that the NHS added more appointments the year before.

A TikTok video shared over 20,000 times claims the government is introducing a £100 annual fee for “every dog and cat in the UK” from October. But a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told us this is “completely false”.

The PM Keir Starmer appears to have once again confused *immigration* with *net migration*, when claiming the former increased “four-fold” under the Conservatives. Here’s what the figures actually show 👇

A misleading video gaining traction online claims that anyone who holds savings above £500 in a bank will be placed on a monitoring register under a new government policy coming into force next month. But HMRC has confirmed this is “completely false”.