UK Fact Check Politics: Misinformation, Bias & Personal Opinions

UK Fact Check Politics (UKFCP) is an Instagram account with over three-quarters of a million followers and over 6,000 posts. Despite, as the name suggests, the account being dedicated to UK politics, since Israel launched its defensive war against Hamas after the terror groups invasion on October 7th which resulted in the slaughter of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 people, the account has developed a strong anti-Israel stance and contradicted its own claims to be 'unbiased' and has not been 'fact-checking', as their name purports. The account often omits key information, usually to portray Israel in a negative light, often promotes the personal opinions of the accounts founder and holds a strong bias over what sources they use for their posts.

I went through every single post that UKFCP made since October 7th and found that just under 40% of the posts were related to the war in Gaza. Again, this is a UK political Instagram account. This percentage rises if we look at the first 400 posts after October 7th, where nearly 65% of posts were related to the war in Gaza. Unbelievably, not a single one of these posts made any mention of the October 7th massacres. In the same period of time, there were only a small fraction of posts about the dire situation and mass human rights abuses in other countries such as Yemen, China, Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Israel has been singled out by UKFCP as the main perpetrator of evil.

Personal Opinions

As stated many times by UKFCP, they are an unbiased political account and are "a beacon of truth, unearthing

facts and untold stories", as they describe themselves in an Instagram post. However, if we look through their posts from October 7th we can see that this is simply not true. They repeatedly use the Free Palestine hashtag in their posts, clearly aligning themselves with the Free Palestine movement and obliterating any claim of neutrality. One of their posts simply has the caption 'Free Palestine' followed by them asking their followers to 'comment Free Palestine below'. Damningly, they have a joint post with other accounts which makes use of the red triangle emoji. The red triangle first appeared in Hamas propaganda videos in which they mark Israeli targets such as tanks and soldiers with a red triangle before firing upon them or killing them. The red triangle has been used as a symbol of 'Palestinian resistance' and is often used at anti-Israel protests. Whether or not they are using this symbol in a negative way or not, its origins are from a recognised terrorist organisation and the use of it further demonstrates the personal opinion being displayed. Furthermore, the post containing the red triangle is captioned 'A detailed explainer of why you shouldn't vote for the UK Labour Party'. I am not sure how you can claim to be unbiased while advocating against specific political parties. In March UKFCP made a post with the caption "Double standards of the West" and in the post was a picture of the Russian and Israeli national football teams. On top of the Russian national team was text stating that 'four days into war' Russian clubs and national teams were suspended from competing in UEFA/FIFA competitions. On top of the Israeli national team was text saying that '158 days into genocide' Israel would not be banned from soccer competitions, unlike Russia. Here again, we see clear personal opinions and bias on display. This is very common across UKFCP posts, on a recent post simply saying on both the caption and image, '(green tick emoji) Smoking ban in outdoor spaces' and on the next line, '(red cross emoji) Stopping arms sales to Israel and being complicit in genocide'. This is a post clearly promoting the accounts own political stance on political issues. It is also worth noting that UKFCP likes comments on its posts. The comments they like are usually always ones that agree with their political stances and the anti-Israel narrative they are promoting. You cannot claim to be unbiased and then like comments by individuals that contain specific political stances. Comments they have liked include, "It's not really a war tho is it? One side with sticks and stones..." and, in reference to a post about a British Foreign Office official resigning and saying that the UK government 'may be complicit in war crimes' due to arms sales to Israel, "It's not a maybe THEY ARE COMPLICIT".

Antisemitism through Holocaust Inversion

Tragically, on a couple of occasions, UKFCP has deviated from personal opinions and biases into antisemitism. On July 25th, UKFCP made a post with the caption 'History is always watching'. The post was two black and white pictures, one on top of the other. The top picture was Adolf Hitler and the picture underneath was Benjamin Netanyahu. I don't think I need to say how appalling it is for anyone to post this comparison, let alone a so-called 'fact check' account. By making this post, UKFCP is engaging in Holocaust inversion. As World Jewish Congress states, "Comparing Israeli policy towards Palestinians with Nazi policy regarding Jews is an example of Holocaust inversion, where reality is inverted (the Israelis are cast as the 'new' Nazis and the Palestinians as the 'new' Jews), and an inversion of morality (the Holocaust is presented as a moral lesson for, or even a moral indictment of, 'the Jews')". Again, as I will keep saying throughout this report, UKFCP promotes itself as a 'beacon of truth', 'providing accurate information' and 'fostering real change through education and awareness'. I am not sure that making comparisons of Hitler and Netanyahu is abiding by these self-proclaimed assertions. UKFCP clearly missed their holocaust education classes and have not sought to educate themselves on the holocaust or antisemitism. The holocaust was the systematic annihilation of over 6 million Jews by the Nazi party and its collaborators. Jews were systematically exterminated and at its peak, nearly 15,000 Jews were being murdered every single day with well over 1 million Jews murdered within a period of only a few months in 1942 alone. This is an event in history that is simply unfathomable. This cannot be compared to the war in Gaza. A defensive war launched in retaliation for a terrorist attack that resulted in the death of the most Jews in a single day since the holocaust. A war that has an unconfirmed death toll of just over 40,000 with a large amount of that number being Hamas members and terror operatives. Chillingly, in May, UKFCP made a post that directly compared Auschwitz to Gaza. The post contains two pictures side by side. One of an enormous pile of decomposed human bodies surrounded by a sea of human skulls with the caption 'Auschwitz 1944' above it. The second is a picture of people holding 3 human skulls with the caption 'Gaza 2024' above it. It is vile that UKFCP is comparing the holocaust to the war in Gaza, using one of the most evil events in world history and the worst tragedy faced by the Jewish people against them. UKFCP posit themselves as defenders of human rights, specifically defenders of what they consider to be genocide, yet undermine these same human rights when the genocide is inflicted upon Jews, insisting instead to use it against them.

Misinformation, Bias and Lack of Analysis

UKFCP claim they 'provide accurate information' and an 'unbiased analysis' but when we look into these posts about the war in Gaza, the contradictions start to become even more evident. Not only do they have bias but at no point do they engage in any form of analysis. The sources used in their posts are extremely cherry-picked and UKFCP never references official IDF statements and the very rare occasions where Israeli sources are used, it is because they are critical of Israel. This is an issue as UKFCP is intentionally only referencing sources that fit with their narrative. It is laughable that they are claiming to provide any analysis of any events as this simply is not the case. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word 'analysis' means 'the act of studying or examining something in detail, in order to discover or understand more about it, or your opinion and judgment after doing this'. I have failed to find a single post since October 7th where UKFCP has examined anything in detail or provided an unbiased breakdown of any events that have occurred. I believe they used to have a newsletter that you could sign up to on their website, but after a month I hadn't received anything and they stopped advertising this newsletter in their posts a while ago which leads me to believe they do not issue it anymore. Below, I am going to take two events that UKFCP covered and provide the side of the events that UKFCP failed to provide so that a much more accurate and nuanced version of events can be seen.

Al-Shifa Hospital

UKFCP made multiple posts about the events that took place at Al-Shifa Hospital, which is the largest medical complex in Gaza. What UKFCP failed to report and inform its followers is that there is overwhelming evidence that Hamas used the Al-Shifa hospital complex for their operations. Now, if we look at the actual raid itself, UKFCP omits crucial information as to why the raid occurred. The hospital was first raided in November with the IDF presenting clear evidence that the hospital was being used as cover for Hamas fighters. Journalists were taken into the nearly 200m long tunnel systems that were equipped with multiple rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and electricity which indicate that Hamas operatives were staying there for long periods of time. The IDF also released interrogation footage of a Hamas operative confirming that the hospital was used by Hamas for military means and also confirming, as the IDF believed, that the reason that it was used was because Hamas thought that Israel would not attack them if they had the cover of a hospital. Intelligence from US spy agencies also backs up IDF claims that Hamas was using the hospital complex as a command centre and to hold hostages and that shortly before the Israeli raid in November Hamas and other terror group operatives evacuated, destroying evidence as they left. It is also worth noting that 19-year-old Noa Marciano, who was taken hostage on October 7th, was murdered by her captors at the Al-Shifa hospital, according to the IDF. The second raid, which is the focus of the UKFCP posts, occurred in March and was much more deadly. What UKFCP omit about the March raid is that the IDF stated they killed 200 gunmen, captured a further 500 confirmed terror operatives and discovered countless weapons within the hospital. The IDF also stated that during the raid terror operatives were "firing from inside the Shifa emergency room and maternity ward and throwing explosive devices from the Shifa burn ward" as well as firing mortar rounds within the hospital complex. A Hamas official is also reported to have told a Hezbollah-linked Lebanese newspaper that “Nobody should underestimate the size of the infiltration carried out by the enemy army at Al-Shifa Hospital, nor underestimate the importance of the figures who were arrested or executed”. This seemingly backs up the IDF's previous claim that 'very significant’ Hamas commanders were amongst those taken captive. So then, here we can see a much clearer picture as to why the IDF raided the hospital as opposed to UKFCP's posts that insinuate the IDF was just committing wanton destruction. Innocent civilians were likely killed as a result of the raid, and to further the dire situation of the Palestinian civilian population the hospital was unable to operate due to the extreme damage and only partially reopened at the start of this month. This is the sad and tragic reality of war, especially during urban warfare in densely populated areas, civilians are likely to be killed.

May Ceasefire Agreement

At the beginning of May, ceasefire negotiations collapsed and Israel commenced its offensive into Rafah shortly after Hamas seemingly agreed to the Israeli ceasefire proposal. However, all was not as it seemed. On May 6th, the day the offensive began, UKFCP made 4 posts about the negotiations. The general wording of these posts was that Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire proposal, which Israel then rejected and launched its offensive. At no point in the captions of these posts, or even in the days following as more information came to light, did UKFCP explain why Israel rejected the proposal. UKFCP merely writes in the caption on one post that "Israel has rejected the ceasefire deal - stating that Hamas’s terms are too far-fetched. The siege on Rafah will continue". The wording of the posts very much insinuates that Israel was at fault for the collapse in negotiations and stating that Israel has rejected the ceasefire in order to carry on with its offence very much paints Israel in a negative light, especially when the details as to why are omitted.

If we look at the document issued by Hamas, we can see that they did not accept a proposal but they instead presented a counter-proposal with many changes. As journalist David Horovitz put it in his analysis of the text, "far from containing 'amendments' or a remotely viable counterproposal, it is constructed with incendiary sophistication to ensure that Hamas survives the war and regains control over the entire Gaza Strip". The proposal by Hamas would see a termination of all military operations by the IDF in the first stage of the agreement and a withdrawal of IDF forces away from densely populated areas. The IDF would also have to cease reconnaissance operations for 10 hours a day. The proposal also states that all displaced civilians return to their areas of residence and "the freedom of movement of residents in all areas of the Strip". While the proposal does state that these civilians are to be 'unarmed', with no Israeli forces in the area and no Israeli reconnaissance allowed for 10 hours a day this would effectively allow for Hamas to regroup, rearm and take back full control of significant areas of Gaza. Hamas would be able to do this much more easily due to another clause in the proposal that states from the first day, 600 trucks of humanitarian aid are to be delivered into Gaza daily. These aid deliveries would also contain relief materials and fuel.

If we look at the hostages, Israel reluctantly agreed to a deal which would see 33 living hostages freed during the first stage of the deal. However, in the new proposal by Hamas, the hostages would be either 'living or dead' and they would free less than half of the 33 that Israel had agreed to. For the record, something that is often missed by people, the hostages are not merely being released due to the goodwill of Hamas, they are being traded for Palestinian security prisoners who are in Israeli prisons, many of whom are murderers and mass murderers. The proposal also removes the Israeli right to veto any of the prisoner choices of Hamas and essentially allows Hamas to pick and choose whoever they want to be released. To quote Horovitz again, "The accumulated consequence of all those changes is that, in the very first days of the deal, Hamas would be able to secure the release of hundreds of the most dangerous and iconic terror chiefs and murderers, including at least 150 serving life terms, in return for the release of very few of the hostages". The proposal also includes a clause in reference to the Shalit deal. In 2011, IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive by Hamas for 5 years, was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel, hundreds of whom were being held for various terror charges. The current leader of Hamas and mastermind of the October 7 massacres Yahya Sinwar was himself released as part of this deal. In the new Hamas proposal, on the 22nd day during the first stage, Israel has to release "all prisoners of the Shalit deal who were re-arrested". If these prisoners were released to the West Bank, as prisoners who were released as part of the November deal were, then this would be seen as a Hamas victory with many high-value Hamas terrorists back in the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority is unable to suppress an incredibly popular Hamas. This proposal then effectively removes a large amount of Israeli leverage, leaves Hamas with most of the hostages, frees a multitude of high-value terrorists that could further divisions in the West Bank and expand terrorism against Israel and allows Hamas to regain control of significant parts of the Gaza Strip and regroup and rearm. It also leaves them with no reason to stick to the agreement past the first stage of the deal. As we can see then, there is no world in which Israel could have agreed to this proposal. UKFCP prides itself on providing an 'unbiased analysis' but seemingly forgot to provide any analysis and instead just reported that Israel rejected the deal and opted to continue with its offensive. All they had to do was read the proposal. The founder of UKFCP himself states "I created UK Fact Check Politics to fact-check, analyse, and update you on the political landscape. Today, amidst the ongoing Gaza-Israel conflict, our role has become more crucial than ever". It is hard to see where they are providing any analysis in any of the posts on the UKFCP Instagram account. They either misunderstand what it means to fact-check and analyse or simply do not want to do the work and are willfully ignorant of the nuanced reality.

Attacks on Israel

A key thing I found during the hours of scrolling through UKFCP's posts is that not only is there not a single post about the October 7th massacres but there are also very few posts about any other attacks against Israel since then either. UKFCP has a multitude of posts on IDF operations in Gaza and the West Bank, but when there is an attack where Israel is the victim there is little to no coverage. UKFCP makes no mention of the constant Hezbollah attacks on Israel's northern border where Hezbollah are firing hundreds of missiles a month into Israel and in some months even firing over 1,000 missiles. In the last 3 months alone there have been 3,253 missiles launched into Israel from Lebanon and Syria, the vast majority emanating from Hezbollah in Lebanon. This consistent bombardment of missiles from Hezbollah since October 8th has left nearly 100,000 Israelis displaced with many dead. With so many Israelis in the north having to evacuate their homes this is perceived as a victory for Hezbollah as one of their main goals is the elimination of the State of Israel as well as the expulsion of Jews from the land. Similarly, there was no post about the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in July or the 3 Israeli civilians shot dead at the Allenby Bridge crossing just this month. There has also been similar silence on the consistent terror attacks from within the West Bank since October 7th where over 100 terror attacks have occurred, according to Shin Bet. This silence on attacks against Israel and Israeli targets is not surprising and further highlights the clear bias the account has against Israel.

Confusion

UKFCP seem to be confused about who they are and what their goals are. They claim to be an account dedicated to UK politics, however, we can see this is not true due to nearly 40% of their posts being related to the war in Gaza. They also claim to be unbiased and claim to be providing accurate analysis of events, both of which are also not true. Even more troubling is that UKFCP are using these false claims in their requests for donations. They have made multiple posts asking their followers for donations and I have not been able to figure out what these donations are for. If they were consistently providing an in-depth analysis of events taking place then I could understand the need for donations as these things take time and effort to produce. However, UKFCP is not doing this and a very large amount of the accounts posts since October 7th have just been reposts of news reports from mainstream media outlets such as the BBC. I have failed to see why UKFCP would need donations and what the donations they have received could have been used for. In these requests for donations, they use very emotive language. For example, in a December post, they say "Your contribution helps us continue our mission and fight against the forces trying to silence our voices" as well as "The path ahead is uncertain, but our resolve is not. We refuse to be a casualty in the war against truth. But to stand strong, to continue being your reliable source of unfiltered truth, we need your help, so please make a contribution today if you can, and forward this message to your friends and family". They conveniently don't explain who is trying to 'silence' them or go into any detail about what these donations will be put towards and even go as far as asking people to send their request for donations to friends and family. It is not clear how many people are involved with the UKFCP account, but I suspect that it is just the founder, Rustam Wahab. I suspect this as in some of the account's posts, UKFCP is referred to as 'my account' and there are posts at protests in London where the caption reads 'Some great signs/placards I managed to capture'. There are also posts simply titled 'I need your help'. This use of first-person singular pronouns alludes to Rustam being the sole user of the account. This would explain why the account has such strong biases and personal opinions often come to light in the posts as it is likely only run by a single person who is essentially using it as their personal account to promote their own political agenda. However, I will continue to refer to UKFCP in the plural and not as a singular person as I do not have definitive proof of this, rather just a strong suspicion. I want to also highlight a post that UKFCP made on May 28th. The post was in relation to the 'All Eyes on Rafah' Instagram story that was shared tens of millions of times. In their post, UKFCP cynically wrote in the caption, "Every story I open today has this image. People who haven't had a word to say in support of Palestine in the last 7 months. People who haven't once condemned Israel for war crimes, for genocide. But now it's a trend they're hitting add yours to look as though they care". Here, UKFCP are insinuating that they are in fact the most virtuous and that people who have just started speaking on the war in Gaza are not as virtuous as them. It is worth noting as well that UKFCP are accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide in this post as well as a plethora of others, something which Israel has not been found guilty of. Bandwagoning is a real thing, but what UKFCP don't realise is that they themselves have hopped onto the bandwagon. I went back through their posts before October 7th and struggled to find any in relation to the Palestinians or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There were zero posts about Israel or Palestine for at least a year prior to October 7th. Even in the 2022 clashes in Gaza, there were no posts made about this. In the post, UKFCP ask, "What was the death toll at when you decided their lives meant a thing?". Well, I will ask them, at what point did you decide that this conflict was worth speaking on, as it seems that it was only after October 7th when people came out en masse against Israel that you decided to join them. UKFCP are accusing people of joining in with a trend yet fail to see that they are guilty of the same thing. I have no issue with campaigning for the Palestinian cause, which you can start at any point in time, but do not try and use it to present yourself as more virtuous than others, especially when you are misguided in your own activism.

Conclusion

In this report, I have provided clear evidence that disproves UKFCP's claims to be unbiased and demonstrated that UKFCP does not provide accurate analysis of any events. UKFCP has a clear anti-Israel bias, demonstrated through its use of hashtags and cherry-picked sources and on a couple of occasions their antisemitism has slipped out as they have engaged in Holocaust inversion and distortion. It is shameful, that despite all of this they continue to promote themselves as a pillar of truth and ask for donations to support them. They are a large and influential account yet provide an incredibly poor standard of journalism while misleading their followers through misinformation. UKFCP seem to be experiencing an identity crisis, confused about who they are and what they stand for. But what they do know for sure, as we have seen very clearly from the progressive left post-October 7th, is that to them, Israel is the root cause of all evil.