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Saturday 2 December 2023 Dublin: 2°C

# Fact check

This week
26th November 2023 - 2nd December 2023
Gardaí put safety measures in place for man wrongly connected to school attack by Gript website
The Garda Press Office has said they were not contacted by the website before it published the article.
Last week
19th November 2023 - 2nd December 2023
Debunked: Fake News site spreads baseless claim of a second stabbing at a school in Ballymun
Fake news quickly spread in the wake of a attack at Parnell Square
Last year
2022
FactFind: Is Navan the largest town in the country without a rail line?
Meath’s county town was promised a rail connection in 2005 but there’s still no delivery date.
FactCheck: Is the protocol stopping Jewish people in the North from practising their religion?
The claim was made by former Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis.
Debunked: No, this photo of a ship in the Antarctic does not prove that the Earth is flat
An image on social media purports to show proof of a flat Earth.
All time
Debunk: How did Omicron get to Australia if no one is allowed in or out?
Hint: They are. The variant was first detected from passengers arriving in Australia from abroad.
Debunked: No, the Covid-19 vaccine figures don't include missed appointments
An independent TD claimed that the official vaccine figures refer to the number of appointments made rather than doses administered.
Debunked: No, this is not a photo of a man attacked by George Nkencho
An image being shared on social media is actually of an Everton football fan attacked in 2019.
FactFind: How has Santa amended his Christmas preparations to cope with the pandemic?
We’re assured not even a pandemic can quench the magic of Christmas.
Debunked: No, Paul Murphy isn't recruiting and training actors to attend protests
The fake advertisement was shared on social media following protests in Dublin at the weekend.
Debunked: It's false to claim Irish and Italian death tolls are 'miscalculated' and 'inflated' by up to 90%
Variations of the same post have been widely shared on Facebook.
Debunked: No, Ireland's golf courses did not reopen on Saturday
A letter claiming to be from Golf Union Ireland stated golf courses were set to reopen on 2 May.
Debunked: No, there wasn't a vaccine for Covid-19 back in 2001
A piece of misinformation being shared widely claims that a vaccine existed 19 years ago. This is untrue.
Debunked: No, Donald Trump didn't tweet he'd 'never let thousands die' in a pandemic back in 2009
The US President says lots of things. But he didn’t say this.
Debunked: No, Queen Elizabeth's coronavirus speech was not recorded on 5 March
A post on Facebook claiming that Queen Elizabeth’s speech regarding the coronavirus outbreak is untrue.
Debunked: No, Queen Elizabeth has not been diagnosed with coronavirus
A post on Instagram claiming that Queen Elizabeth has coronavirus is untrue.
Debunked: No, this 'very urgent' message telling you that your bank details can be robbed by making a phone call isn't true
The latest WhatsApp message doing the rounds is debunked here.
FactCheck: Does this image show an Iranian ballistic missile launch?
Iran launched missile attacks on military bases housing US troops last night – but was this one of the missiles?
Explainer: How does Santa get all the toys made in time for Christmas?
Just how does he do it? It takes an awful lot of hard work.
FactCheck: Nuala O'Loan corrects claim made on Morning Ireland that 90% of abortions a result of morning after pill
The former NI Police Ombudsman made the comments in a Morning Ireland interview yesterday.
FactCheck: Did Nigel Farage coin the phrase ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’?
Nigel Farage has claimed that he used the phase repeatedly during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.
FactCheck: Did Michael Healy-Rae ask a question at yesterday's Oireachtas Sports Committee?
The Kerry TD has been criticised for his contribution to the committee yesterday.
FactCheck: Do all children's letters reach Santa before Christmas Eve?
He’s making a list, and checking it twice.
FactCheck: Is Trump correct that the Democrats passed laws to separate families at the border?
Trump has pinned the blame for the controversial practice at the US border on Democrats, but is he right?
FactCheck: Did Justin Trudeau's eyebrow fall off during a press conference?
Footage online appears to show the Canadian Prime Minister’s eyebrow falling off at a live press conference.
FactCheck: Is the 'Martinelli' virus real and can it hack your phone through Whatsapp?
Commonly shared around WhatsApp groups, it portends great doom coming to your phone.
'I won't be running a similar campaign' - Minister drops 'Welfare Cheats' approach, but says €500m fraud figure 'absolutely accurate'
“It’s difficult to say in hindsight whether I would have run such a campaign or not,” says Minister Regina Doherty.
FactCheck: Does Ireland really have a low rate of homelessness by international standards?
The Taoiseach and Housing Minister have both made the claim in recent weeks.
FactCheck: Are there more homeless people in Ireland now than at any time since the Famine?
Ireland is in the middle of a housing crisis, but are homeless numbers the highest they’ve ever been?
Analysis: Do the statistics back up Joe Schmidt's rebuke about Ireland's attack?
The Ireland head coach was frustrated with suggestions his side play an attritional game.
Get checked: How a team of five people is factchecking the truth about Northern Ireland
A new project called FactCheckNI is aiming to find out the truth behind claims about Northern Ireland.
FactCheck: How many social housing units were actually built last year?
TheJournal.ie’s GE16 FactCheck examines some confusing and contradictory claims about social housing.
Is Sinn Féin really proposing a 73 per cent tax rate?
The opposition party has come under attack for its budget proposals this week.