False reports have been circulating online about one of the first participants in the UK's human trials.
01 May 2020 | Facts and news from Full Fact
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** FACT CHECK
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** One of the UK’s first vaccine trial participants has not died
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A number of websites reported that one of the first participants in a coronavirus vaccine trial had died. This is not true, Dr Elisa Granato is alive and healthy. The article that is seemingly the source of the false claims is littered with spelling and grammatical errors, something which would be very unusual from a legitimate publication.
Because the vaccine trial uses a control, it is not even certain whether Dr Elisa Granato was given the coronavirus vaccine. The Oxford Vaccine Trial has said it will not be ‘offering a running commentary’ on the trial, but will publish official updates on its page.
Dr Granato later tweeted a video to prove it ([link removed])
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** FACT CHECK
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** Some context behind the claims that Romanian seasonal workers are taking British jobs ([link removed])
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Following reports in March that a lack of workers could cause fruit to rot in the fields, a number of flights were chartered to fly over experienced farm workers from Romania.
This provoked backlash from users on social media who felt that British workers were being overlooked for these jobs.
A spokesperson from produce company G’s (which chartered two of these flights) explained that the workers being flown in were experienced workers who were needed to train new recruits. These workers, they say, will make up a third of their workforce, while the majority of roles will be filled by UK applicants.
So the number of foreign workers flown into the country seems to be a relatively small proportion of the total roles that need to be filled, and the firms say that these workers’ experience is necessary while less experienced British workers are trained up.
More about the UK’s agricultural labour shortage ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
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** No, Jennifer Saunders has not written a message to fans defending the government’s record on PPE ([link removed])
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A Facebook post purporting to be written by comedian Jennifer Saunders criticised managers of the NHS, private care homes, and local councils for their role in the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), while defending the government. Jennifer Saunders did not write this post.
The post was shared by the Jennifer Saunders Fans’ Facebook page, not by the official verified Jennifer Saunders Facebook page. Be wary of sources and pages on social media that do not have a verified ‘blue tick,’ as they can be run by anyone.
The page has since deleted their post, but variations of the same message - some attributing the message to Jennifer Saunders and some not - is still being shared. The comedian herself urges people to ignore it. We are currently looking into the veracity of the actual content of the message, but for now can at least confirm that Jennifer Saunders did not write it.
The dangers of misattributing quotes ([link removed])
Episode 3 of our podcast is here! ([link removed])
This week we answered our readers’ questions on PPE calculations, the Oxford vaccine trials and fruit pickers.
Listen and subscribe ([link removed])
** In case you missed it... ([link removed])
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Yesterday we launched the first in a series annual reports of which shows the harm bad information can do to our health, our communities and our democracy.
Drawing on our ten years of fact checking, we make recommendations to UK policy makers, media and internet companies for how we can build a culture of accuracy and transparency. With trust deteriorating, the time to act is now.
Catch up on the report ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
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** Also this week...
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* These death figures are correct, but deaths from Covid-19 are still rising ([link removed])
* A picture of the same boy being used in multiple articles is a mistake, not a conspiracy ([link removed])
* Money raised by Captain Tom does not just get given to the NHS in England ([link removed])
* This pandemic-modelling exercise did not predict the coronavirus pandemic ([link removed])
Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
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