28 May 2021 | Full Fact's weekly news
 FACT CHECK 
No, getting a Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t mean you can connect to Bluetooth
More than 600 people have shared a Facebook post which claims that Covid vaccines give recipients “magnetic” properties, and allows them to be detected by electronic devices via Bluetooth.

This is false. There is nothing in any of the Covid vaccines that would make people magnetic—nor is there anything in them relating to Bluetooth technology.

The vaccines are made up of a number of chemicals, and don’t contain anything capable of transmitting short distance radio waves, which is what Bluetooth is. The vaccines don’t contain microchips, or anything of the sort.

As ‘evidence’, the author posted a screenshot, which she claimed was proof that her smartphone had identified her parents as available devices.

But it’s very common for devices, such as smartphones, to pick up signals from a number of  other available devices that it has never connected to.

These are the devices in the area around you. If you’re at home, you may see your neighbours’ devices listed, or if you are on public transport, your fellow passengers’ tech items.
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FACT CHECK
Are senior civil servants really as privileged as they were 50 years ago?

A recent report from the government’s Social Mobility Commission has received a lot of media attention for its finding that the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is essentially as privileged as it was back in 1967, the last time such a study was undertaken.

One of the key findings to support that conclusion was that, in 1967, 19% of the SCS staff were from low socioeconomic backgrounds, while in 2019 it was 18%.

But, since 1967, society has changed a lot, and the group categorised as being in the lower socioeconomic class is much smaller than it was, now accounting for around 37% of UK workers.

So while the class background of SCS workers hasn’t changed much, it is worth pointing out that nowadays it much more closely matches the class background of the public more generally.

Using another measure of privilege, the report notes that 25% of the SCS, and 59% of permanent secretaries (the heads of government departments), attended independent schools. Back in 1967, their representation in the SCS was much higher, at around 37%.

By contrast, 7% of school pupils in England are currently at an independent school, which has remained roughly the same since 1967.

This suggests SCS employees are still more likely to come from a privileged background than average, but less so than was the case 50 years ago.
What are the socioeconomic groupings?
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FACT CHECK
Dandelion root is not a proven cancer cure

A Facebook post with hundreds of shares made the claim that “dandelion root is able to kill 98% of cancer cells within 48 hours.”

But while laboratory studies, on cells outside of a living being and on cells in mice, have shown some anti-cancer effects, this has not been replicated in humans.

The post doesn’t provide a source for this information, but as previously described by fact checkers Snopes and USA Today, it is likely to have come from a 2016 article which was published on the Health Eternally web site, headlined “Scientists Find Root That Kills 98% of Cancer Cells in Only 48 Hours”.

The US based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre website explains that dandelion has long been used in traditional medicine for a wide range of ailments. It points out, however, that “dandelion has not been shown to treat or prevent cancer”.

Martin Ledwick, Cancer Research UK’s head cancer information nurse, told Full Fact: “There is no scientific evidence that dandelion extract is a useful cancer treatment in humans.

“We would strongly advise anyone considering taking any supplement or unproven treatment to discuss this with their doctor first.”
If it looks too good to be true, it might be
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