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Saturday 2 December 2023 Dublin: 2°C

# factcheck

March
March 2023
Debunked: Video of bus driver collapsing predates Covid-19 and doesn't show vaccine effects
Footage of a 13-year-old steering the wheel was widely shared, as were dodgy claims.
264
0
Mar 28th 2023, 5:03 PM
Debunked: Recent studies indicate masks can be effective at preventing the spread of disease
A 2022 study on mandates for Catalan schoolchildren had been touted as proof masks don’t work.
3.4k
0
Mar 24th 2023, 2:22 PM
Debunked: Leo Varadkar did not say that 'biological males' shouldn't be put in female prisons
In Scotland, non-violent prisoners may still be housed according to their gender expression.
11.2k
0
Mar 24th 2023, 1:14 PM
FactCheck: Did the Government miss its social housing targets for three years in a row?
A report by
Stephen McDermott
The claim was made in a Dáil debate on the eviction ban.
17.0k
0
Mar 23rd 2023, 12:05 AM
FactCheck: The ‘15-minute city’ concept does not involve detaining or punishing people
Conspiracy theorists falsely claim 15-minute cities prohibit eating meat or traveling.
2.1k
0
Mar 21st 2023, 12:26 PM
FactFind: How effective was the eviction ban in reducing homelessness?
Government claims that the eviction ban has not reduced homelessness have been met with strong criticism.
19.1k
0
Mar 11th 2023, 12:05 AM
Debunked: No, the first man to receive Pfizer's Covid vaccine did not die because of the jab
William Shakespeare was the second person to receive the vaccine in December 2020.
2.1k
0
Mar 10th 2023, 3:57 PM
FactCheck newsletter: Despite Covid's lessons about fake news, history is now repeating itself
The anti-migrant playbook is almost identical to how things unfolded in early 2020.
11.1k
0
Mar 5th 2023, 11:30 AM
Debunked: It's untrue that over 20 migrants were jailed for sex offences in six weeks in Ireland
A video circulating on social media makes the claim.
2.8k
0
Mar 3rd 2023, 4:33 PM
February
February 2023
Debunked: No, a Dublin community centre has not been closed because it is housing 150 Somalians
The centre has been the subject of local protests.
1.5k
0
Feb 23rd 2023, 5:29 PM
Debunked: There is no evidence that more 15-year-olds are dying of heart attacks due to vaccines
A claim shared on Irish social media suggests vaccines are killing 15-year-olds.
787
0
Feb 21st 2023, 1:04 PM
FactFind: Is the EU 'forcing' people to eat 'unhealthy' insects without their knowledge?
Cricket flour is already added to food outside the EU, such as Canadian cheese puffs.
32.9k
7
Feb 19th 2023, 7:00 AM
Debunked: Deceptive leaflet distributed in Dublin telling ‘girls to stay indoors’ is a hoax
The hoax leaflet was supposedly sent by the government, though misspelled the Irish translation.
18.6k
0
Feb 14th 2023, 6:49 PM
Debunked: Buses in Santry were not a 'migrant convoy', but were dropping children to athletics
About 1,000 students were taking part in the Leinster Schools Cross Country Championships 2023 in Santry.
28.0k
0
Feb 10th 2023, 5:36 PM
FactFind: Does a new scientific review show masks are useless at stopping disease?
The conclusions of the review are surprising, but have been twisted by anti-mask campaigners online.
17.3k
0
Feb 10th 2023, 1:37 PM
Debunked: Video of fire does not show building contracted to house asylum seekers
Police are investigating whether misinformation incited the attack
327
0
Feb 9th 2023, 12:20 PM
Debunked: Old footage used to claim migrants 'brutally pushed' someone off a train platform in Dublin
There is no evidence to support this claim.
1.1k
0
Feb 8th 2023, 6:56 PM
Explainer: What is the difference between ‘economic migrants’, ‘refugees’ and 'asylum-seekers'?
False claims about asylum seekers often use terms in confusing and contradictory ways
18.4k
0
Feb 4th 2023, 8:30 AM
Debunked: No, 'immigrants’ are not suspects in a Finglas assault case
Gardaí say there’s “a significant volume of misinformation and disinformation” about the ongoing investigation.
794
0
Feb 3rd 2023, 4:26 PM
Debunked: No, ‘100,000 unvetted foreign nationals’ did not receive free accommodation in a year
Figures for people applying for asylum in Ireland are publicly available… and not nearly that high.
20.4k
0
Feb 2nd 2023, 5:28 PM
January
January 2023
Debunked: London Police are not criminally investigating COVID-19 vaccines
Despite accusations of murder, terrorism, genocide, and torture, no credible evidence was given.
319
0
Jan 26th 2023, 1:51 PM
FactCheck: Did the state build more social housing in 2022 than ever before, as Taoiseach claimed?
“We’ve never built more social housing than was the case of the past year,” The Taoiseach said.
18.3k
0
Jan 23rd 2023, 5:06 PM
FactCheck: The European Commission doesn't use the term ‘minor-attracted person’ instead of 'paedophile'
The term caused renewed controversy after featuring in a Scottish police report.
14.0k
0
Jan 19th 2023, 2:16 PM
Debunked: Misleading graph used to argue that non-vaccinated people achieved ‘Zero Covid’
Unvaccinated people appear not to be affected by the disease — until you count deaths
1.0k
0
Jan 12th 2023, 3:44 PM
Debunked: No evidence Ballaghaderreen doctors ‘only see Syrians and Ukrainians’ on Mondays
The National Party candidate who made the claim would not provide verifiable details
18.2k
0
Jan 11th 2023, 5:25 PM
Debunked: Claims that an NFL player collapsed due to a Covid-19 vaccine are completely unfounded
Multiple social media posts have incorrectly claimed that Hamlin’s collapse was caused by a Covid-19 vaccine.
12.5k
0
Jan 7th 2023, 6:30 AM
Debunked: No, refugees are not still being housed at a school in Drimnagh
A number of social media posts incorrectly claimed that pupils may not be able to return to the school today, prompting protests.
18.4k
0
Jan 5th 2023, 5:03 PM
Last year
2022
Debunked: Self-proclaimed ‘inventor’ of mRNA vaccines makes nonsense claims about spike proteins
A COVID-19 infection can unleash literally billions of virions inside the body, each with dozens of spike proteins on their surface.
1.0k
0
Dec 29th 2022, 3:01 PM
FactCheck newsletter: Covid, climate change and Ukraine dominated disinformation narratives in 2022
The ‘unholy trinity’ were prevalent throughout Europe this year.
5.1k
0
Dec 29th 2022, 12:00 PM
FactCheck: The recent cold spell is not evidence against climate change
Ireland has seen significant rising temperatures overall
8.7k
0
Dec 22nd 2022, 2:31 PM
Debunked: Call to take mRNA vaccines off the market relies on dodgy death data
A group, chaired by a US senator, couldn’t think of another explanation for deaths during the pandemic.
1.5k
0
Dec 22nd 2022, 12:02 PM
Debunked: No evidence that a rise in serious Strep A cases is caused by Covid or flu vaccines
More people reported having Caesarean sections shortly after receiving a vaccine than Strep A infections
8.2k
0
Dec 16th 2022, 3:27 PM
'A young girl has lost her life': Unproven claim about homeless death spreads from Facebook to the Dáil
The rumour has circulated widely online in recent days.
63.7k
0
Dec 13th 2022, 9:00 PM
Opinion: How conspiracy communities are using predictable tactics to spread falsehoods about RSV
Aoife Gallagher and Clara Martiny explain how online communities have turned to a new winter virus.
18.9k
0
Dec 11th 2022, 7:00 AM
Debunked: Conspiracy theory 'documentary' repeats long-disproven claims about Covid vaccines
‘Died Suddenly’ is heavy on gruesome medical imagery, but light on facts
6.0k
0
Dec 8th 2022, 1:40 PM
Fermoy latest town to be visited by anti-immigration campaigners and misinformation
A report by
Eimer McAuley
Analysis: Activists exploiting the war and accommodation shortages by whipping up local community sentiment against asylum seekers.
After protests in East Wall, campaigners look to seize on anti-immigration sentiment.
Cork man Derek Blighe has undertaken a tour of the country over the past month to take part in anti-immigration rallies.
Fermoy locals hitting back with counter protest today.
East Wall protesters block Port Tunnel a second time over asylum seeker accommodation
Lynn Ruane: Some refugees are vilified for being from certain places or because they are men
45.8k
55
Dec 3rd 2022, 12:05 AM
Debunked: Asylum seekers, not economic migrants, are being housed at the East Wall building
Multiple false claims were levied against asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees
7.6k
0
Dec 2nd 2022, 3:34 PM
Debunked: There isn't a secret UN army in Louth; the refugees in Carlingford are from Ukraine
Activists tried to film inside refugee accommodation
6.3k
0
Nov 30th 2022, 4:15 PM
Debunk: Turf is not an ‘agricultural crop’; burning it is polluting and unhealthy
It can take 1,000 years for a metre of peat to form.
20.9k
0
Nov 29th 2022, 5:18 PM
FactCheck: Do emissions from making electric cars mean they are not ‘green’?
Tesla has been criticised over the mining needed to make their batteries.
22.7k
0
Nov 24th 2022, 2:27 PM
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