Loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland murdered hundreds of people during The Troubles. But far right activists flew their flag at an anti-immigration rally despite terror laws banning public support for terrorists.
Two salmon farming companies have been accused of allowing fish to die in pain at three farms in Scotland, after the release of covert video footage.
Only one in eleven major summer festivals analysed by The Ferret has a 50/50 gender split, with representation across all festivals declining at headline level.
On episode 19 of For Fact’s Sake, Paul talked to freelance journalist Sian Norris about her work exposing disinformation around abortion and reproductive rights.
Sian explained the growing threat to abortion rights around the world, how anti-abortion rhetoric can act as a ‘gateway drug’ into far-right and conspiracy views, and the pipeline that carries fringe views about reproductive rights from online spaces to the halls of power.
Elsewhere, Ali explains why a recording of Keir Starmer from the Labour Party conference is almost certainly fake, and on Paul’s Curiosity Corner the boys discuss claims that the Covid-19 vaccine was going to turn millions of Americans into zombies.
Show notes:
You can read more of Sian Norris’ investigations on abortion and disinformation here and here.
Sian is also the author of Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global
Cover image thanks to Wikimedia/FamilyMan88
Posters appeared on social media purporting to be from the local authority, but they are fake.
Conservative candidate Meghan Gallacher made the claim in a special education debate hosted by the BBC.
First Minister John Swinney made the claim in an SNP election leaflet
The UK Information Commissioner is facing criticism for endorsing the Ministry of Defence’s insistence on concealing issues with nuclear weapons because of growing threats from other countries. Secrecy allows “fake news” to fester, say campaigners.
