Bad information often spreads in the wake of a tragic event

10 Feb 2023 | Full Fact's weekly news
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Dear Friend,

Following the tragic events in Turkey and Syria this week, global fact checkers have worked to stop the spread of bad information on social media.

We often see false claims surface in the wake of major news events, well-intentioned or not. We know that people use videos and posts they see online to help identify those affected, or reunite people with missing family members—it’s vital that good, reliable information cuts through the confusion.

You can help by sharing our toolkit on how to spot and challenge bad information online. ([link removed])

Our thoughts are with our counterparts in Turkey and Syria. On Tuesday, fact checkers based in Turkey, Teyit, got in touch to tell us they had been working tirelessly to counter the misinformation that had been quickly spreading, and to ask for support in spotting any misleading content. Syrian fact checkers, Verify-sy, told us they have had to mostly stop their work due to the damage to their homes from the earthquake.

We all have a part to play when it comes to the information we see and share online. When false or misleading claims risk hindering relief efforts, it’s a reminder that bad information ruins lives.

Will Moy—Chief Executive
Full Fact
How to spot false claims online ([link removed])
TURKEY FACT CHECKS
Online footage purporting to be about the earthquake in Turkey
* A video claiming to show a Turkish nuclear power plant exploding following the earthquake is actually footage of an explosion at a fertiliser storage facility in Lebanon. ([link removed])
* Hundreds of thousands of people have viewed a video claiming to show the final moments of a Turkish family who allegedly died during the 6 February earthquake. This is false. ([link removed]) The video was filmed in 2020.

* A video being shared on social media, including by the comedian Omid Djalili, shows a tsunami in Indonesia in 2018 ([link removed]) —not in southern Turkey as has been claimed. This isn’t the only claim circulating about a tsunami; another viral video claiming to show a tsunami in Turkey following the earthquake was actually filmed in South Africa six years ago ([link removed]) .

* A Facebook post claiming to show “rare” footage of an earthquake in Turkey actually features a clip showing an earthquake in Nepal in 2015 ([link removed]) .
* A video shared on Facebook captioned “turkey earthquake today cctv footage” is actually from three years ago ([link removed]) .

CORRECTION

Thank you to the reader who flagged to us that we incorrectly described the UKIP deputy leader as ‘UKIP deputy minister’ in last week’s newsletter.
FACT CHECK
No evidence that Just Stop Oil ‘bankrolls’ the Labour Party ([link removed])

Rishi Sunak has claimed that the Labour Party is being “bankrolled” by the trade unions and the protest group Just Stop Oil.

It is true that trade unions are responsible for a substantial proportion of Labour’s income. During the 2019 general election campaign, for example, the Labour Party registered donations of £5.4 million, of which just over £5 million came from trade unions.

However, we can find no evidence to support the claim that Just Stop Oil itself provides funding to Labour. Some people may donate to both separately. Most notably, an early backer of Just Stop Oil—founder of the energy supplier Ecotricity, Dale Vince—is also a major donor to the Labour Party. But this does not mean that Just Stop Oil itself funds Labour.

The Labour Party is reported to have called on the Prime Minister to correct the record saying his claim was untrue.

Just Stop Oil has said the group doesn’t bankroll Labour and accused the Prime Minister of “making stuff up". Full Fact has contacted Mr Sunak to ask for a correction.


What did the PM actually say? ([link removed])
IMPACT
Our call for change has improved the way the cause of death data is presented

Last month, we contacted the Office for National Statistics (ONS) after we noticed a misleading story ([link removed]) about the number of people dying from flu. In this instance, the Mirror wrongly described flu as a cause of nearly 1 in 10 deaths at the start of 2023. But the data was actually showing deaths with an underlying cause of either flu or pneumonia, or sometimes both, which means it isn’t right to suggest that flu itself was involved in all of them.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this mistake happen. When we spoke to the ONS, we pointed out that describing causes of death as “influenza and pneumonia” might be causing confusion by implying that all these deaths involved both.

We are happy to report that thanks to our call for change, the ONS has now changed the wording on its cause of death data to “influenza or pneumonia”, which should help to avoid future confusion on this topic.

MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* BBC says story Clive Myrie racially attacked in Ukraine ‘completely false' ([link removed])
* £7 million daily cost of hotel accommodation includes cost of housing Afghan refugees ([link removed])
* Vaccine did not cause young woman to lose both her legs ([link removed])

Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
Stop the spread of bad information

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All the best,
Team Full Fact

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