For Fact's Sake

For this episode Ali is joined in his hosting duties by Ferret journalist Jamie Mann, as Sam is on holiday.

We look at whether Russian money is funding Ruth Davidson, and then speak to Dr Kevin Guyan about how the collection of data has historically been used to marginalise LGBTQ+ people, and the controversy over the 2022 Scottish census questions.

Kevin's book Queer Data, Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action is available to buy in paperback now.

Show notes:

• Follow Kevin on Twitter here
• Find out more about his new book here and if you buy it using this link then you can support Kevin, The Ferret and a local independent book shop.

Remember you can tell us what we should fact check by filling out this very short form. 

The FFS Show is only possible thanks to your support. If you want to help us do more fact-checking work, become a member of The Ferret for just £3 per month.

You can subscribe to The FFS Show on your favourite podcast platform.

In this episode of the FFS Show podcast, we're talking about the Ukraine conflict.

Want to know how to avoid sharing false information about Ukraine online?

We spoke to Ernie Piper, from anti-misinformation group Logically, about how Russia propaganda tries to shape online discourse, and some simple tips to avoid falling for it.

Ali and Sam also debunk a false claim that the Covid-19 vaccine is giving people Aids.

• Logically has put together a guide on responsible social media use here.
• More info in the SIFT method for separating fact from fiction online here.
• Follow VoxUkraine and StopFake for fact-checking in Ukraine.

The FFS Show is only possible thanks to your support. If you want to help us do more fact-checking work, become a member of The Ferret for just £5 per month.

You can subscribe to The FFS Show on your favourite podcast platform.

This week on the FFS Show we talk Scottish Independence, pensions, Valentine's Day and have a chat with Andrew Dudfield from Full Fact.

The interview spans several topics around misinformation, fact checking around the world, its implications for new platforms and the future of automated fact checking. 

Thanks to the submission from a listener, we take a look back at the fact check on pensions and Scottish Independence - the big questions, controversies and recent statements. We also look at the common online claim that Valentine's Day was made up by greetings cards companies with some historical FFS lenses. 

Remember you can tell us what we should fact check by filling out this very short form. 

• Follow Andrew on Twitter, here.
• Follow The Ferret on socials, here.
• Send us your ideas for fact checks over at [email protected]

The FFS Show is only possible thanks to your support. If you want to help us do more fact-checking work, become a member of The Ferret for just £3 per month.

You can subscribe to The FFS Show on your favourite podcast platform.

The FFS Show is back with a brand new format, guests, segments, music and more!

This week we fact check a claim about 'negative efficacy' of the Covid-19 vaccines in Scotland, which caused a bit of a stir overseas. We speak to Jenna Corderoy from openDemocracy about Freedom of Information requests in the UK, transparency and PartyGate.

Finally, we launch a new segment where every week a different person asks Ali to fact check a different fact. This week we check how much food production really happens in Brazil.

Notes:

• 2020 was worst year on record for UK government secrecy, here.
• Follow Jenna on Twitter, here.
• Follow The Ferret on socials, here.
• Send us your ideas for fact checks over at [email protected]

The FFS Show is only possible thanks to your support. If you want to help us do more fact-checking work, become a member of The Ferret for just £3 per month.

Listen to episode 22 below and subscribe to The FFS Show on your favourite podcast platform.

The latest episode of The FFS Show looks at a claim about long Covid, and we delve into some of the misinformation about the festive season.

What exactly is long Covid and how many people are suffering from it in Scotland?

In this last episode of 2021, we give you some teasers on what to expect in the coming weeks, and Ali tests whether Sam has learned anything in his time co-hosting the podcast with a special holiday quiz.

The music for this show is by Kevin Hartnell, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

In this podcast we answer the burning questions about people crossing the channel in small boats. Is it illegal? How many people are coming across? Does the UK take more than its fair share of refugees?

We also look back at some festive urban myths and discuss the mundane misinformation we've seen on Instagram and TikTok.

The music for this show is by Kevin Hartnell, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

The latest episode of The FFS Show is all about MPs.

Do they only care about their own expenses and pay? That's what one widely-shared meme suggests, but the pictures it uses to show MPs at different debates are rather misleading.

Also, Sam celebrates this momentous 20th podcast by humiliating Ali in a quiz.

The music for this show is by Kevin Hartnell, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Ali is flying solo on episode 19 of The FFS Show, as The Ferret's COP26 coverage continues.

He interviews environmental journalist Paul Dobson, who explains what is meant by a 'Just Transition', and we look at whether the Scottish Government is living up to its emissions targets.

The music for this show is by Kevin Hartnell, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

The official FFS Show Halloween celebration podcast is finally here. 

Just four days before All Hallows Eve, we are looking at the very real horror of the Scottish Government's missed climate emissions targets with Ferret journalist, Paul Dobson. 

Then Sam tries to catch out Ali with another fiendish quiz. 

The FFS Show is only possible thanks to your support. If you want to help us do more fact-checking work, become a member of The Ferret for just £3 per month.

Listen to episode 18 below and subscribe to The FFS Show on your favourite podcast platform.

On this podcast, we find out whether Andrew Marr was right to doubt Boris Johnson's claim on wages.

Sam puts Ali on the spot over a claim about Bill Gates, leading to the creation of a new discipline: vague fact-checking.

The music for this show is by Kevin Hartnell, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.