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Dear Friend,
In the newsletter this week
* These videos are not from Iran…
* Has digital ID really been scrapped?
* Have porridge ads been banned?
* Government Tracker
* More fact checks...
But first...
Censorship is not a word that should be used lightly. The internet blackout that followed recent protests in Iran has clearly been an act of deliberate sabotage—or censorship, on the part of the authorities in the country. This is in stark contrast, however, to the case of Grok and the spread of non-consensual sexualised deepfakes by the AI chatbot.
We supported the government’s decision to ensure that both the creation and sharing of this manipulated content is deemed a “priority offence” under UK law and urged Ofcom to conclude their investigation into X (xAI have developed and own Grok) as quickly as possible. xAI may now have made changes to Grok to restrict the ability of the bot to digitally undress people without their consent but we should also remember that Elon Musk has accused the UK government of being “fascist” and of seeking to curb free speech. The truth is that this case is entirely about public safety and the protection of fundamental personal freedoms.
Full Fact has highlighted several ([link removed]) issues ([link removed]) with Grok over recent months and, as we have written about, generative AI tools are anything but infallible ([link removed]) . West Midlands police chief, Craig Guildford, had to acknowledge that his force had relied on Microsoft Copilot when producing a report into their decision to ban Israeli football fans from a match with Aston Villa last November, and the tool provided the force with false information. Hallucinations remain a regular feature of all these AI tools which is why it's important not to suspend critical thinking when using them and to conduct your own research. It’s puzzling to understand why West Midlands police could not have made a few calls to determine what they needed for this report.
All of this is why human-centred fact checking is more essential than ever and why therecent decision by the Trump administration to deny US working visas ([link removed]) to Europeans focused on fact checking, content moderation and online safety is so disappointing. As the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) have said in the statement ([link removed]) they released this week, these attacks on those committed to information integrity is a direct assault on our democratic values. “The ban on the visas is, in fact, censorship.”
Best wishes,
Mark
Head of Public Affairs,
Full Fact
More fact checks from this week ↓
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** These videos are not from Iran… ([link removed])
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[link removed]
By: Charlotte Green ([link removed])
There is a near-total internet blackout in Iran right now, which makes it difficult for people to share content or document anti-government protests from within the country. It is therefore possibly unsurprising that we’re seeing misleading footage captioned as if it is from Iran.
One video we looked at (above) was actually filmed in Greece before the current protests broke out in Iran.
Read the fact check → ([link removed])
Another video of a woman burning a portrait of the Supreme Leader of Iran was filmed in Canada.
Read the fact check → ([link removed])
** Has digital ID really been scrapped? ([link removed])
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By: Hannah Smith ([link removed])
It’s been widely reported that the government has “U-turned” on proposals to require mandatory digital ID for Right to Work checks in the UK, less than four months after the plans were first announced.
Yet a series of ministers have insisted there will still be mandatory digital checks on the right to work—at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said: “There will be checks, they will be digital and they will be mandatory.” The chancellor Rachel Reeves also claimed on BBC Breakfast that stories about a U-turn had been “overwritten”, while the Guardian reported that “officials said this was not a U-turn”.
We look at what’s changed—and what hasn’t.
Read more → ([link removed])
** Have porridge ads been banned? ([link removed])
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[link removed]
By: Leo Benedictus ([link removed])
The government’s new junk food advertising ban took effect on Monday and some news outlets reported that ads for porridge oats are banned. If you are a fan of porridge and wouldn’t mind seeing or hearing what the market has to offer then fear not, as this claim is misleading. Only the “less healthy” versions which contain enough added sugar and salt might reach this threshold.
Read more → ([link removed])
Thanks to the Daily Mail and Guardian that amended their articles after we got in touch.
** Government Tracker
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A selection of updates from the last seven days.
** Thursday 15 January
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Is Labour on track to introduce digital IDs for ‘Right to Work’ checks? ([link removed])
** Friday 9 January
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Has the government negotiated new immigration returns arrangements? ([link removed]) Is the government on track to establish a new independent ethics commission? ([link removed])
** More fact checks...
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** Property investor’s video falsely shared as ‘migrant showing off new house’ ([link removed])
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By: Charlotte Green ([link removed])
** Myth that coughing hard can help during a heart attack recirculates online ([link removed])
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By: Evie Townend ([link removed])
** Liz Truss is not entitled to a ‘£125k per year ex PM pension for life’ ([link removed])
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By: Nasim Asl ([link removed])
Get even more facts... ([link removed])
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