Leo Benedictus

London

Fact Checker at Full Fact

Great writer. Terrible writer. Great writer. Terrible writer.

Articles

How many schools ban mobile phones?

3 weeks ago | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

In truth, there isn’t a completely clear answer to the question of how many schools ban phones. We do know that most secondary teachers said in a survey last year that they work in schools where pupils are not allowed to use phones at all during the day—although many of those schools allow pupils to keep the phones in their possession.
No, Pfizer CEO did not say it planned to halve the world’s population

1 month ago | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed Pfizer announced a goal to reduce the number of people in the world by 50%. Our verdict False. The company’s CEO announced a goal to reduce the number of people who could not afford their medicines by 50%. The video of him saying this was altered.
Wes Streeting overstated the number of people on the NHS waiting list under the Conservatives

1 month ago | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed There were 7.6 million people on the NHS England waiting list when Labour came into office in July. Our verdict This is not correct. There were actually about 6.4 million people on the NHS England waiting list for elective care. This amounted to about 7.6 million cases, because some people were waiting for treatment for more than one thing. What was claimed There are over seven million people on the NHS England waiting list. Our verdict This is not correct.
The Covid-19 virus does exist

1 month ago | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed The Covid-19 virus doesn’t exist. Our verdict False. The Covid-19 virus does exist. It has been isolated many times and continues to be detected in tests. A post on Instagram liked more than 74,000 times shares a video clip in which a woman falsely claims: “The COVID-19 [virus] doesn’t exist”. The clip comes from a longer video interview that the late Dr Lorraine Day gave some time ago, before her death in November 2023. We’ve not been able to find the original source.
The government has not spent £8 billion on ‘woke projects’

2 months ago | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed The government spent £8 billion funding ‘woke projects’. Our verdict This is not correct, and not what the TaxPayers’ Alliance research concluded. £8 billion is roughly the entire annual budget for UK Research and Innovation. About £10.4 million of funding has been allocated to projects that the TaxPayers’ Alliance has described as “woke”. What was claimed Public cash has been spent on aid projects that include providing electric Porsches for Albanian jails.
Covid-19 does exist and germs can cause disease

2 months ago | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed Covid-19 does not exist. Our verdict False. Covid-19 is a real disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been isolated many times. What was claimed Germs do not cause disease. Our verdict Many infectious agents, or germs, do cause diseases in humans. This has been proven many times. A post on Instagram shares a video clip in which a woman claims, among other things, that “COVID-19 does not exist” and “germs don't cause disease”.
Sun article about 550% ‘surge’ in grooming cases based on non-comparable data

Jan 23, 2025 | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed Child grooming cases rose by nearly 550% in eight years, from 1,157 in 2016 to 7,479 in 2024. Our verdict This relies on figures which are not comparable. Since April 2017, statistics for ‘sexual grooming’ cases have included a new offence of ‘sexual communication with a child’. The figures are based on cases recorded by the police, and so may also be affected by changing rates of reporting.
How many children have been the victims of grooming gangs in the UK?

Jan 8, 2025 | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

What was claimed One million children were sexually abused by grooming gangs. Our verdict This is not a reliable estimate. It was made in 2015 by extrapolating figures from Rotherham, but the MP who produced it has since told us it is “completely unreliable”. An inquiry in 2022 said “it is simply not possible to know the scale of child sexual exploitation by networks”.
Argos £2 iPhone promotion is not genuine

Nov 28, 2024 | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

We’ve seen at least two posts on Facebook claiming that Argos is selling Apple iPhone 15s for £2 each as part of a promotion that “not many people know about”. This is not true. Argos told Full Fact that this is not a genuine offer. Both posts tell similar stories.
No, Pfizer’s CEO did not say his company’s goal was to halve the global population - Full Fact

Nov 27, 2024 | fullfact.org | Leo Benedictus

A video being shared on Threads has been edited to make it sound as though Albert Bourla, the chairman and CEO of the drug company Pfizer, said it was their goal to reduce the world population by 50%. In fact, in the original video, recorded at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2022, Mr Bourla said: “One of [the goals for the next five years] was by 2023 we will reduce the number of people in the world that cannot afford our medicines by 50%.