This week Full Fact is announcing our new CEO Chris Morris

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Dear Friend,

We are thrilled to announce that Full Fact’s new CEO is Chris Morris. Chris was previously with the BBC, where he was the face and voice of Reality Check, the fact checking service run by the broadcaster.

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During his tenure, Chris covered two general elections, post-Brexit politics, the US Presidential election, the Covid-19 pandemic and other major news events including the COP26 summit.

Before leading Reality Check, Chris spent more than two decades as a senior correspondent covering global news from around the world.
FACT CHECKS


** Full Fact scrutiny of prison officer claims yields correction ([link removed])
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Following the escape and capture of Daniel Khalife, there have been a number of claims made by government ministers regarding prison officer numbers. During an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on 7 September, science and technology minister Michelle Donelan claimed that the number of “frontline” prison officers has “increased by 20% in the last year”.

This isn’t correct. ([link removed]) The Ministry of Justice confirmed to Full Fact that this figure refers to the increase in the headcount number of band 3-5 officers appointed in the year to June 2023, compared to the previous year.

On the same day justice secretary Alex Chalk claimed in Parliament that “since 30 June 2023” there’s been an increase of over 700 full-time equivalent band 3 to 5 prison staff. This isn’t what the latest available published data shows ([link removed]) . Full Fact contacted Mr Chalk and he has subsequently corrected the official Parliamentary record to note that the increase occurred since 30 June 2022.

Ministers should correct false or misleading claims made in Parliament as soon as possible, in keeping with the Ministerial Code which states that they should correct “any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity”. We thank Mr Chalk for doing this.

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** Assessing Labour’s claims about school rebuilding funding ([link removed])
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In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the Labour party claimed that, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak cut school rebuilding spending by “almost half”.

It’s true that over the period Mr Sunak was chancellor, annual spending on school rebuilding schemes in England fell by 41%. But this may be partly explained by variations in annual expenditure, as the Priority School Building Programme wound down and the new School Rebuilding Programme began. The limited information we have on the budget for the School Rebuilding Programme also suggests more may end up being spent on it than the Priority School Building Programme, though full details have yet to be confirmed.

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** Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t raise risk of catching and dying from the disease ([link removed])
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A video falsely claiming that the Covid-19 vaccine raises people’s risk of hospitalisation and death has been shared on Facebook and liked around 2,000 times on Instagram.

As we have said before, when writing about the same claim in another video, it is not true. Full Fact has seen many posts on social media making false claims about the Covid vaccines, and about the pandemic in general. This could lead people to harm their health by making decisions based on incorrect information.

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JOBS


** We're hiring! ([link removed])
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News and Online Journalist

You’ll be one of the fact checkers who are the backbone of our editorial team - working in a team of four focusing on online misinformation and breaking news.

You’ll be responsible for spotting, exposing and tackling bad information, writing a number of fact checks each week, and also writing features and other content as required.

We’re looking for candidates with proven journalism experience and a good understanding of what we do, but prior fact checking experience isn’t necessary. You will need to be able to quickly master and explain tricky, nuanced topics in clear, concise copy - and must have an eye for a story.

£26,700 - £38,535 per annum depending on experience.

Deadline to apply 10am, Thursday 21 September 2023

Full details and how to apply ([link removed])

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MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* WEF has not advocated the slaughter of millions of pets ([link removed])
* How many people died while on waiting lists? ([link removed])
* Independent corrects claim former top civil servant ‘voted for Brexit’ ([link removed])

Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
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All the best,
Team Full Fact

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