Another false headline…
The Sun, which has consistently tried to whip up a moral panic against progressives, has once more had to correct a misleading story.
The right-wing paper published a story last week which falsely claimed that the government spent £8 billion funding ‘woke projects’.
It’s print headline stated: “£8bn research cash used for trans-friendly robots, ‘queer animals’ and TikTok dance…”, while its online headline said: “Govt squander £8BILLION fund on projects like TikTok dancing, ‘queer animals’ & pro-trans robots in latest waste outrage.”
FullFact states: “The report was based on research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) campaign group, which highlighted 26 “woke” projects with a combined cost of about £10.4 million—not £8 billion, which has roughly been the entire annual budget for UKRI in recent years, distributed to projects through a range of other organisations.
“Some of the sums involved are also intended to fund projects over several years.”
The Sun’s false claim was then picked up by other media outlets, including on Times Radio Breakfast on 18 February, where it was said: “[The Sun] have worked out that the government has spent £8 billion pounds on woke projects in this country.”
FullFact says it contacted the TPA which corrected its post, and replaced “£8bn” with “£10m”. It went on to add: “Whether it’s fair to describe any project as “woke” is a matter of opinion.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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