In May the Ministry of Justice agreed to make a change to the way its suicide statistics are presented. 

The shift—making the specifics of how and when suicides are recorded clearer—was the result of a Full Fact check on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that the suicide rate is “going up”. 

After finding that the rate may not have been rising in recent years, we published the fact check—seen by thousands and included in media coverage of Mr Starmer’s speech. 

Following this, the Royal College of Psychiatrists amended its statement (released by Labour before the speech) to remove a reference to “rising rates of suicide”. 

Researching and writing the fact check also made us realise that coroners’ statistics could be more transparent. So we wrote to the Ministry of Justice asking it to consider a change, which it has now made. 

Full Fact deals with weighty social and political issues and the impact of our work isn’t always clear-cut. The changes we bring about often concern statistics and reports or, on occasion, a politician admitting they got something wrong. 

With one fact check Full Fact had a lasting impact on how the challenging subject of suicide is reported, meaning it can be better understood by everyone. It may make politicians of all parties less likely to use bad information about suicide and could mean any new policy on suicide is better informed.

Every supporter-funded fact check has the potential to have real-world impact like this. In May it was suicides. What difference will your donation make this month?