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Debunking claims that the government spent billions on ‘woke projects’ | LBC analysis
Posted
February 21, 2025
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February 21, 2025
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854
2.66%
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8:33Now PlayingThe Sun newspaper set off a chain reaction across the UK media by publishing the claim on its front page that the government spent £8 billion on 'woke projects'. The problem is, that claim is objectively untrue.
The figure came from a report by the Tax Payers' Alliance, who collated a list of grants it considered 'woke,' like for research into 'Using AI to Connect the LGBTQ and Arts Communities'. But, as fact checking charity Full Fact discovered, this headline figure was some way off the mark.
The independent fact checkers found that £8 billion was actually the entire budget for the UK's Research and Innovation fund. Of that, the amount spent on projects the TPA described as 'woke' was £10.4 million.
Speaking to James O'Brien, Full Fact's Leo Benedictus said, 'from a certain perspective, that is still a lot of money. But the difference between £10 million and £8 billion really, really, really is a lot.'
But the £8 billion figure was still reported unchallenged across the media, from Times Radio to the Today Programme.
After contact from Full Fact, the TPA corrected their Facebook post discussing the report and replaced “£8bn” with “£10m”.
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#jamesobrien #tax #facts #fact #ukpolitics #uknews #woke #misinformation #LBC
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