For Fact's Sake

Images and videos of the unrest in France have dominated international news in recent weeks.

But many of the claims shared on social media about the protest have been false and deliberately misleading.

Ali and Paul spoke to Sam Doak, fact checker at Logically Facts, about how and why this disinformation is being spread by far-right activists in the UK.

Elsewhere on the For Fact's Sake podcast, Ali fact checks Mhairi Black MP, who has announced she will stand down, and we look into whether Orkney really wants to join Norway.

Show notes:

• Logically's fact checking on the French unrest is here.
• Our Mhairi Black fact check is here.
• More information on Orkney exploring a new home here.

Episode 11 of For Fact's Sake is all about how journalists and fact-checkers are often stifled by legal action.

We spoke to Nik Williams from Index on Censorship (and The Ferret's co-chair) about strategic litigation against public participation, more commonly known as SLAPPs.

A SLAPP is a legal threat that is often aimed at stopping an accurate piece of information from entering the public domain.

Also on the podcast, Ali and Paul look at a bad photoshop of Nicola Sturgeon, and discuss a fake article about the untimely death of (very much alive) celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo.

Show notes:

• You can see the work of Index on Censorship here.
• Our Sturgeon arrest fact check is here.
• Read the full story of Gino D'Acampo's fake obituary in this excellent thread by Michael Marshall.

On this week's podcast, we take a look at social media platform Twitter and the impact of Elon Musk's controversial takeover.

Ali and Paul talk to Vice disinformation reporter David Gilbert about how Musk's stewardship has led to increasing far right and anti-semitic presence on the platform, where Twitter's content moderation has failed, and whether Musk enables far right and conspiracy theories in his tweets.

Elsewhere on For Fact's Sake, we look into the controversy around highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), and assess some inaccurate reporting of Sadiq Khan's recently revealed health scare.

Show notes:

• David Gilbert's reporting on disinformation can be found here.
• Our explainer on HPMAs is here.

On episode 9 of the For Fact’s Sake podcast, Ali spoke to Sophie Maddocks, a researcher and digital rights advocate from the University of Pennsylvania, about the rise of so-called ‘deepfake’ pornography.

Sophie explained the technology behind deepfake porn, how accessible it is, why politicians have not tackled the issue, and the harms caused by image based sexual abuse.

Also on this week’s pod, Ali explains misleading images of crowd sizes at the King’s coronation and on Paul’s Curiosity Corner we discuss a Telegraph column which attacked the foundations of the fact checking profession.

Dieting and fitness advice is rife on social media, but listening to the wrong information can be devastating to people's health and wellbeing.

Ali and Paul spoke to Kirsty Pavey from eating disorder charity Beat about the dangers of bad diet advice that can encourage disordered eating and affect people's mental health.

Elsewhere in the podcast, we take on a claim by the home secretary Suella Braverman about refugees from Sudan, and we look at some historical fact checking on the origins of the Picts.

Show notes:

• Beat's website is here, with advice and support for people living with eating disorders or concerned about a loved one.
• Our full fact check on Suella Braverman's claim.
• More information on the work done by scientists to uncover the truth about the Picts is here.

Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros has once again been in the news, after figures on the American right linked him to the prosecution of Donald Trump.

But its not the first time the former banker has been linked to conspiracy theories around the world.

Ali and Paul spoke to disinformation expert Ernie Piper about the man himself, how to critique him properly, and how blaming George Soros for everything links to anti-semitic tropes which have existed for hundreds of years.

Elsewhere in the podcast, we looked at misinformation around the arrest of Nicola Sturgeon's husband, and explained what was going on with the emergency alerts which will pop up on millions of people's phones on Sunday.

This week's podcast looks at the far right in Scotland and the UK.

Ali and Paul interview Jamie Mann, a fellow Ferret journalist who regularly reports on the activities of the far right.

He told us about the activities of Patriotic Alternative, a far right group which has gained a high profile attaching itself to various protests across the UK, and explained how the far right uses misinformation tactics to spread its message.

Ali and Paul also examined what has been described as the “first mass-level AI misinformation case,” a fake picture of the Pope dressed in a fancy jacket.

Show notes:

• Our reporting on Patriotic Alternative.
• More on the AI picture of the Pope.

In 2022, dozens of people were arrested for planning an attempt to overthrow the German government.

It was linked to the 'Reichsbürger', a disparate movement of conspiracists who believe the current government in Germany is illegitimate.

We spoke to Claire Burchett, an expert on the radical right in Germany, about the so-called 'Reichsbürger plot', the broad set of beliefs behind it, and its links to the far-right and the military.

Ali and Paul also fact-checked some of the statements made in the SNP leadership election, and in Paul's Curiousity Corner we explain a bizarre claim that a bank collapse in the US was caused by its 'woke' policies.

Show notes:

• Some background on the Reichsbürger.
• Our fact check on the SNP leadership debates.

Ali and Paul speak to Dr Lisa Sugiura from the University of Portsmouth about the Incel movement, a misogynistic online subculture that has been linked to violent attacks around the world.

We find out why anyone would want to self-identify as an ‘involuntary celibate’, how Incels interact with other aspects of the so-called ‘manosphere’, and what impact movements like this have on women and girls.

Also on this week’s pod, Ali explains why we are still being charged a fortune for our energy bills. And on Paul’s Curiosity Corner we discuss the Kalergi Plan, a far-right conspiracy which was recently mentioned by a former Premier League footballer.

Show notes:

• Lisa's book, The Incel Rebellion: The Rise of the Manosphere and the Virtual War Against Women, is available now.
• Our explainer on energy bills is here.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

To mark this milestone Ali and Paul spoke to Dr Precious Chatterje Doody, an expert on Russian disinformation.

She told us how the Kremlin’s justifications for the war have evolved in the last year and explained why much of the misinformation it produces is not meant for a Western audience.

Also on episode 3 of For Fact’s Sake, we explore the increasingly prominent conspiracy theory about 15 minute cities, and in Paul’s Curiosity Corner, we discuss online claims that the EU is attempting to sneak insects into our food.

Show notes:

• Dr Precious Chatterje Doody's website.
• Our article on 15 minute cities.