Weekly Fact-checks
23rd September 2022 - 29th September 2022
#Ukraine
Exaggerated: Fifty-five thousand Russian troops have lost their lives fighting in Ukraine.
During an appearance on the Today programme on 21 September, foreign minister Gillian Keegan claimed that 55,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine. This figure is significantly higher than the death toll suggested by western intelligence services. That doesn’t mean the figure is definitely wrong, but there are legitimate reasons to be sceptical. (Source: Fullfact)
False: Poland takes the first step towards turning Ukraine into a Polish colony
Did Poland "take the first step towards turning Ukraine into a Polish colony"? No, that's not true: Even a Facebook video that made such a claim admits there are no credible media reports or official statements backing this up. (Source: Leadstories)
#Covid-19
False: Newly-released documents have uncovered 158,000 adverse events following the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
The list of adverse events in the “new” documents were not proven to have been caused by the vaccine, nor was the list of adverse events entirely new. The Express article pictured in the social media post was deleted after Full Fact fact checked it in March, and a correction was issued. (Source: Fullfact)
False: The U.S. government owns Moderna's COVID vaccine, giving it an "ulterior motive" for mandating the shots.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which collaborated with Moderna on the shot, told Lead Stories in a September 28, 2022 email that it "neither owns nor co-owns the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine." In addition, the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to purchase hundreds of millions of doses from vaccine manufacturers. (Source: Leadstories)
#Climate Change
False: 2022 had the 17th-hottest summer
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association recently came out with sizzling new findings: 2022 had the third-hottest summer on record, not the 17th. (Source: USA Today)
#Other
False: The BBC reported 5.1 billion people watched the queen’s funeral
The BBC reported on Sept. 20 that a peak audience of around 28 million people in the U.K. tuned in to watch the service, while 32.5 million viewers watched at least three minutes of its coverage. The outlet did not offer a global viewership figure. (Source: USA Today)
False: Footage NASA shared from the DART spacecraft just before it crashed itself into an asteroid isn’t real.
A NASA spacecraft smashed into an asteroid on Sept. 26 — right on schedule. The spacecraft’s intentional collision with the asteroid Dimorphos was NASA’s "first attempt to move an asteroid in space." For decades, conspiracy theorists have denied the existence of space and suggested space exploration is a hoax. The claims are without merit. (Source: Politifact)
False: Fabricated CNN headline saying Uvalde parent was sentenced for shoving police officer during school shooting
A fabricated CNN screenshot purportedly reporting that a parent had been sentenced to eight years in prison for shoving a police officer to protect her children during the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022 has duped some online. No such headline was published. (Source: Reuters)
#Nordics
Ikke dokumenteret: Bestemte Pfizer-vacciner kan føre til død ifølge Vibeke Manniche. Men både forskere og Lægemiddelstyrelsen afviser
Ifølge læge Vibeke Manniche er der markant flere bivirkninger ved nogle batches af Pfizers coronavaccine. Den påstand gentager hun i flere opslag på Facebook. Lægemiddelstyrelsen og to forskere afviser pure, at der skulle være hold i påstanden. (Source: Tjekdet)
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