Off the back of the PM’s rose garden speech Full Fact is calling for an end to political parties using speculative stats

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Dear Friend,

In the newsletter this week...
1. How much do rail sector workers earn? (#body1)
2. 9.4 million people are classed as economically inactive, not unemployed (#body2)
3. Picture of police kneeling in front of Muslim men is AI-generated (#body3)
4. Also this week... (#morefacts)

But first...

The Prime Minister’s rose garden dialogue might help him turn the page on our recent political story. Still, we mustn’t mistake a tonal reset for ‘fixing the foundations’ of a more honest political culture.

Sir Keir Starmer talked about a ‘societal black hole’ and the tough budgetary decisions that were ahead. However, meaningful steps are urgently required to wean political parties from their dependence on speculative statistics ([link removed]) . On this, Labour and the Conservatives are not as far apart as Mr Starmer might wish.

If the Prime Minister truly wants to advance the cause of transparency in British politics, he should seek to equip the public with the skills, tools, and confidence to spot misinformation in all its forms, including those that hide in plain sight with half-truths at their heart.

The government may achieve this by delivering on its ambitions to weave these skills throughout the education system, and to revisit the Online Safety Act, but it should chart a bolder course from the outset. Rosy rhetoric is pleasant, but underwhelming.
Best wishes,

Chris Morris, CEO—Full Fact


** How much do rail sector workers earn? ([link removed])
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The Times has changed an article which overstated the average salary of rail staff excluding drivers, after being contacted by Full Fact. The paper originally claimed that rail staff other than drivers earn an average of £49,000.

This overstated the average salary of non-driver rail staff. The median annual salary for rail sector workers excluding drivers is around £39,500.
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** 9.4 million people are classed as economically inactive, not unemployed ([link removed])
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A post on Meta social media platform Threads claiming “9.4 million Brits are unemployed” is missing important context.

Around 1.44 million people in the UK meet the official definition of ‘unemployed’, meaning they are actively seeking work, and able to start working within two weeks. The 9.4 million figure refers to the number of people in the UK aged 16-64 who are economically inactive, which includes students, long-term sick and retirees.
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** Picture of police kneeling in front of Muslim men is AI-generated ([link removed])
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A picture appearing to show a number of police officers kneeling as though in prayer in front of a group of men in Islamic dress has been shared widely on Threads.

This is not a real photo. It has been generated using AI.

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Discover our Politics Live blog ([link removed])
* Video of Michelle Obama’s DNC speech where she seems to call herself a gay man is altered ([link removed])
* Kamala Harris and Tim Walz video in front of a communist poster has been edited ([link removed])
* Old photo of Donald Trump used to claim assassination attempt was ‘fake’ ([link removed])

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Team Full Fact


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