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Dear Friend,
In the newsletter this week
* No, this isn’t real war footage
* What Ukrainian territory does Russia control?
* No, banks won't be reporting £420 withdrawals to the government
* Government Tracker
But first...
The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, says he will stop funding mRNA vaccine research because these vaccines “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections”.
That’s not right.
mRNA Covid vaccines do reduce serious illness and deaths. There isn’t an approved mRNA flu vaccine yet, but a recent trial beat standard flu jabs.
Read the evidence ([link removed])
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Read more vaccine claims
Vaccine claims ([link removed])
Best wishes,
Craig
Audience Engagement Manager,
Full Fact
** Fact checks
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** No, this isn’t real war footage ([link removed])
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[link removed]
By: Evie Townend ([link removed])
We’ve tested screenshots from viral clips using Google Lens. In more than ten cases, the AI overview either repeated the wrong caption or gave different answers for the same image.
Like a beach in Goa mislabelled as Dover, a video game scene treated as real combat, and a Heathrow take-off described as the June Air India crash.
Lens can help you start to verify a claim, but you shouldn’t trust its AI overview verdict.
Read our investigation ([link removed])
** What Ukrainian territory does Russia control? ([link removed])
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[link removed]
With President Zelenskyy meeting leaders in Washington DC this week, after President Trump’s summit with President Putin last week, reports say Russia is pushing for Ukraine to give up the Donbas.
Here’s our explainer on who controls what right now.
Read our explainer ([link removed])
Image courtesy of Sharon Drummond ([link removed])
** Support Full Fact
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Remind me next week ([link removed])
** No, banks won't be reporting £420 withdrawals to the government ([link removed])
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[link removed]
By: Sian Bayley ([link removed])
Widely viewed posts on social media claim that, from September, banks will have to flag cash withdrawals over £420 to the UK’s anti-fraud unit.
There’s no evidence this is true.
Read more ([link removed])
** Government Tracker
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Full Fact’s most recent updates to our tracker of government policy.
** Tuesday 19 August
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Is the government on course to introduce a new Race Equality Act? ([link removed])
** Monday 18 August
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Is the government on track to restore development spending to 0.7% of national income? ([link removed])
** Friday 15 August
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Is the government on course to secure ‘the highest sustained growth in the G7’? ([link removed])
** Also this week...
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** No, the penalty for driving without a licence isn’t changing ([link removed])
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By: Sian Bayley ([link removed])
** Gregg Wallace didn’t really tour a ‘human meat’ factory ([link removed])
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By: Evie Townend ([link removed])
** No, you won’t be fined £5 for sitting on a bench by the council ([link removed])
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By: Sian Bayley ([link removed])
Get more facts... ([link removed])
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