Does Belfast have the 2nd highest number of asylum seekers in the UK, and do almost a fifth of them live in BT12, as claimed by DUP MLA Edwin Poots?

❌ No.
📊Belfast ranks 20th overall.
👥With 0.6% of the local population (1 in 167 people).
➡️ No data confirms the BT12 claim.

Explainer: Who migrates to the UK and what are they entitled to?

🌍 Who comes to the UK, and what are they entitled to?

Most UK migrants are here legally - and unauthorised migrants have very limited entitlements. In this article we unpack the facts behind the headlines.

👉 Read the full explainer here: factcheckni.org/articles/exp...

We recently published an analysis of what is known about Violence Against Women and Girls in Northern Ireland, focusing on the criminal justice system and, in particular, the statistical records maintained by the PSNI.

Who migrates to the UK and what are they entitled to?

🔺Immigration has been a recurring theme in UK, Irish and global politics over the last number of years. In some cases there have been protests, riots and attacks on people who are perceived not to be ‘local’.

Is bad information impacting the communities or groups you work with?

Thousands have benefitted from our training sessions in fact-checking and critical thinking skills.

Find out how NI’s first and only fact checking organisation can support you.

factcheckni.org/training/

If we don’t know what we don’t know - how can any gov dept/agency claim to be making it a priority?

The House of Commons voted on amendments to abortion law last week.

🔺None of the proposals directly affect Northern Ireland.

🔺Based on the amendment that did ultimately pass, coming changes will mean that the law in England and Wales is much closer to how things work here.

Immigration in NI: Did a local bus company recently drop off a “bus load” of migrants in Lisburn? No.

Immigration in NI: Did a local bus company recently drop off a “bus load” of migrants in Lisburn? No.

This is a good example of how photos shared on social media can be misinterpreted or misleading.

Fact check Health in NI: are over 100,000 people here living with diabetes

In a debate in the Assembly several claims were made about diabetes in Northern Ireland.

We’ve taken a look in more depth:

Does NI gave the highest prevalence of mental ill health?

My team are pleased to have contributed to @FactCheckNI’s analysis of this complex issue.

Often the team fact check things that seem very straightforward - and then when unpacked they’re far more complex.

This is a good example 👇

🏡 Housing in NI: Is 90% of social housing segregated?

✅ Yes - according to available data.

🔺It’s important to note that these findings are based on old data. However, while there may be updated figures in future, for now this figure remains the most up to date.

#northernireland #housing

I’m not sure I’ll ever be over Lady Gaga at Coachella. I’ve
always loved her - but that performance; the choreography; the visuals; the vocals…UNREAL.

Housing in NI: Why “vacant domestic properties” are different than “houses without usual residents” and neither actually means just “empty homes”, plus other statistical pitfalls

EXPLAINER:

What’s the difference between 22,500 empty homes and 52,000 houses with no residents? And why does it matter?

#northernireland #housing #factcheckni

A fantastic group - great to hear perspectives and experience; and get such interesting questions.

Sunday Sequence - Duty of Candour - BBC Sounds What difference would it make within the NI health service, and why is it taking so long?

📻 I contributed to a discussion on “fake news” which aired on BBC Northern Ireland “Sunday Sequence” today alongside @pcunliffejones.bsky.social (who’s releasing an important and timely book on the subject).

You can listen back here (from 1.10 in) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Happy international Fact-Checking Dayb

🗓️ Today is International Fact-Checking Day, a global initiative aimed at emphasising the crucial role of accurate information in our interconnected world.

🌍 Misinformation is an international crisis. Fact-checking, and the @factchecknet.bsky.social , is part of the global solution.

Misinformation doesn’t observe borders. Its harmful impact is felt across the world.

Today on #InternationalFactCheckingDay, we get to acknowledge the incredible global network of fact checkers, so many of whom are working in increasingly challenging contexts

Facts matter.

Graphic for NICVA's 'Navigating Social Media in a Post-Truth World' online event.

With misinformation on the rise, how can VCS organisations navigate the challenges of social media while staying true to their values?

Join our discussion with @charitycomms.bsky.social, @factcheckni.bsky.social, @childlawcentre.bsky.social &
@madlinsudn.bsky.social

Book: tinyurl.com/3zwfayvz

You're entitled to your own opinions in your head. But if you choose to express them out loud, it's your responsibility to:

(1) Ground them in logic and facts
(2) Explain your reasoning to others
(3) Change them when better evidence emerges

Fleeting thoughts are just that. Vibes. Often not that well thought out. And that’s normal and FINE. But when you have many, many followers, and there are many people researching/studying/working on and well placed on an issue, I’d defer to them.

Given the work I do - and my belief that we should always be questioning what we’re adding to a conversation - I think it’s always good to regularly remind people that you don’t *have to* tweet/instagram/make a Tik Tok about every fleeting thought you have.

*also I love the idea of WBD (I’m an English lit grad!) but the waste, expense, time on costumes takes away from it IMHO

My hero of the day is our local school - who chose to get kids to bring in their fav books and get a pic of them reading in their fav or an unusual place, rather than doing costumes*📚💕

Donegal days… 🖤

The Education Minister rejected applications from Bangor Academy and Rathmore PS to become integrated.

In response, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison claimed there is “substantial unmet demand for integrated education at post-primary level” in the area.

Is this right? Yes, it is

How to be a critical thinker:

1. Be 10% more skeptical of people you agree with—and 10% more charitable to those you disagree with

2. Find flaws in ideas you like—and strengths in views you dislike

3. Discount sources that peddle one narrative—and learn from those that explore competing ideas

Recent applications for integrated status made by two schools in North Down were rejected by Education Minister Paul Givan,leading to an urgent debate in the Assembly.

In a series of three articles, FactCheckNI takes take a look at some of the things said during that debate:

“Dont mistake familiarity for truth.”

Heard this quote on an audiobook on a topic that was seemingly totally unrelated topic to my work. I don’t think I’ve heard as good a description of confirmation bias before.

Claim: In the two-week Christmas period, police received 1,288 calls about domestic abuse. This is an average of 92 calls a day, which is significantly higher than the rest of the year. Rating: ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION

Domestic abuse in NI: did police receive substantially more calls over Christmas than in the rest of the year?

Yes - the evidence supports this.