Faction - Dispelling the myths, delivering the fact

29/01/2025

‘He has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines,’ Senator Ron Wyden said today during the confirmation hearing of Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr. That, to be fair, is an opinion (although it is grounded in fact). It is what he went on to say that eloquently exposes what the likes of RFK Jr are all about. “It has been lucrative for him and put him on the verge of immense power. This is the profile of someone who chases money and influence wherever they lead, even if that may mean the tragic deaths of children and other vulnerable people,’ he said.

There will be many who have subscribed to ‘alternative’ or ‘critical’ ways of thinking that would take issue with that. But these people completely miss all the ads in the likes of The Light, encouraging them to buy Serum A, get a copy of Book B which ‘unmasks the truth’, or place your finances with Broker C who promises not to invest your money in ‘the system’, but will take a tidy cut for themself.

From Alex Jones to Sonia Poulton, Darren Scott Nesbitt to Katie Hopkins, and The Together Declaration to Children’s Health Defense, they all claim to know something – and they’ll share it with you, for a price. That is the reality, they are monetising fear, intrigue and division. But not for the greater good – although they will tell you that their knowledge will benefit you, when you ‘awaken’. There’s money in conspiracies – that reality is what’s starting to unravel! But as long as there is an audience in the growing echo chambers that are the algorithms, people will continue to profit off the back of those willing to listen and turn a blind eye to the real world. The truth is – the real is conspiracy is the conspiracy itself.

A footnote – Donald Trump is exactly the type of personality that would profit from the so-called ‘Great Reset’. He has business interests across property and real estate, finance, and media to name but a few. He is even now pushing digital currency, exactly the thing that ‘conspiracy theorists’ take issue with. But he is being held up by many in the ‘conspiracy’ community as someone shining a light, lifting the lid, turning the tide of tyranny. How quickly they forget, how quickly their narrative changes. And as they do that, President Trump gains power and watches his fortune grow.

10/01/2025

Opinion – based on fact!

“Sit down, shut up!” It’s something we all likely heard from a parent or carer in our formative years. “Children should be seen and not heard” is no doubt another often bellowed phrase we’re familiar with – we’ve perhaps even used them ourselves. They are dated statements from a dated form of parenting, of that there is no doubt. But sadly, they continue to subconsciously occupy the consciousness of those in power, those entrusted with the safety and well-being of the UK’s young.

Children and young adults have perhaps never been as pessimistic as they are today about their lives, their life chances and their value to the world around them – that’s not conjecture, it’s fact! Recent studies have lifted the lid on children and young adults’ views on the matter. Their lived reality is one of isolation and feelings of despair for their future; but above all else, not being heard and being unable to change that.

This is the very crux of the recent grooming gangs scandal that has again hit the headlines. There has much been said about the roots of the scandal, the perpetrators, the apparent lack of appetite for another national inquiry, and the failings of politicians. In truth, this is all a distraction from what really matters. In fact, it simply amounts to the same issue – children and young adults’ voices being ignored, especially those of the victims/survivors of such heinous crimes.

Many, admittedly not all, of those survivors of abuse have little interest in another national inquiry, another cause for them to have to rake over what were unimaginable experiences. They want action, now! There has already been one national inquiry, in addition to numerous other local investigations. Each and every one of them concluded with similar findings, and on one particular issue they echoed each other: that children, the survivors, were simply not listened to. Of course their testimony was heard, in the classroom, at the hospital, in the police interview suite; but they were simply just ignored.

We know that child sexual abuse has and likely is continuing to take place on a bewildering scale even today. We know that some groups seem to be more active in such crimes – yes, Pakistani and other Asian communities have to take a long and very hard look at themselves. But it is not just people with such ethnicity that are capable and are indeed committing such despicable crimes. Let us not forget the shocking behaviour of some of those in positions of trust in the Catholic church and Church of England; nor should we forget some elements of the media and politics, or even aristocracy to name but a few.

But the real issue is not about what ethnicity or social status the perpetrators hold. To focus on that is to once again ignore the real, lived experiences of many of the youngest in our society. The real issue is that we have not acted on the numerous recommendations of the Jay Inquiry, that a taskforce has not been set up to link the – finally – invaluable work carried out by local authorities to get to grips with the issue and share their learnings with others. The real issue is that instead of putting the safety of our young first, we are again ignoring them in favour of arguing amongst ourselves.

If you truly care about the safety and well-being of our children, listen to them. Listen to them now when they say action is needed, not disagreement between older men and women that in reality barely know what being a child in Britain today really means, Mr Musk how on earth could you above anyone else really know? But above all else, listen to them when – god forbid – they share an experience with you that makes you feel uncomfortable. It is then, more than any other time in their young and perhaps still hopeful life, that they should be heard, respected and protected.

Key figures including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, and Elon Musk, owner of social media site X, have called for a full national public inquiry into UK grooming gangs.

13/12/2024

Bovaer – fact or fiction?

In recent weeks the online space has been awash with claims ‘our food chain is under attack’, ‘Bill Gates is trying to control us’, ‘even farmers have to wear protective clothing when mixing it’, and ‘it is untested’.

Bovaer is a methane-suppressing food supplement fed to cows as part of their daily dietary feed. It is designed to breakdown in their digestive systems, ultimately into naturally occurring compounds that would ordinarily be there. The aim is to reduce the amount of methane – known to be responsible for more than 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture – by as much as 27%. That is the hope, but trials on farms across the UK are underway to determine whether this is possible in real-world settings.

However, claims have surfaced that Bovaer is not known to be safe, with no scientific testing to prove that. This is incorrect: there are currently 15 years of scientific research behind the product, proving it to be safe for inclusion in livestock feed and that it has no health or safety impacts for humans consuming products sourced from an animal that has been fed Bovaer. The evidence base is there, the feed breaks down as part of the natural digestive process of the animal, and is completely removed from the body by time milk or other dairy products, and meat, are produced for sale.

This research has led to the food additive being approved by food standards agencies the world over, including in the UK, Europe, North and South America and Australia. In fact around 70 countries have tested it, reviewed scientific evidence, held industry-wide discussions and concluded Bovaer is safe for use in this way.

Whilst Bill Gates is active in this research, having invested in a similar product known as Rumin8, he categorically has no links with Bovaer, its research, approval or use. Whilst it is true that the on-farm use of Bovaer is heavily regulated, with farm workers required to follow a set of robust safety measures including the use of protective clothing, this is the case for many agri-products, including food additives and mixers. Farmers are required to follow guidance of this kind in many instances, and are well-versed in doing so – the use of Bovaer is largely nothing they will not have done before.

Global dairy foods supplier Arla has been singled out for criticism because of its support for trials in the UK. Arla supplies its own brand products and numerous other brands, including the likes of Aldi. Morrisons and Tesco. The company is a cooperative, employing 3,500 staff in the UK and partly owned by – and supporting – more than 2,000 dairy farmers directly, about 30% of the UK dairy market. It is not a global corporation, headed by faceless executives; its fortunes have real-world impacts for British farmers. Any boycott of its products is a boycott of farmers’ efforts.

The facts are: there are more than 15 years of research into this product; it has been found to be safe for cows and does not filter down the food chain; Bill Gates has no association; and the risks it poses to on-farm operations are similar to other risks posed by other farming processes.

Whether Bovaer becomes a staple of British diary farmers’ livestock feed remains to be seen. The purpose of any trial is to determine whether the long-term use of a product or process is sustainable and does it have the desired impact? Only time will tell, but for now we know it is safe, we know it has the potential to reduce GHG emissions and thus support farmers in their efforts to ultimately protect their land from the dangers of climate change, and we know there are no ‘shadowy’ figures trying to exercise ‘population control’.

The use of feed additives in farming is not new, their aim is to protect the health and performance of farm animals by improving the quality of their feed. This trial, which has the support of the National Farmers Union (NFU), is just one example of that. ‘Only by exhausting a robust certification process, with health approvals and extensive trials, should any new feed product be introduced into our cows’ diets,’ says NFU Dairy Board chair Paul Tompkins. ‘This latest trial, on a product which has already been approved by the Food Standards Agency as safe for consumers, could help provide some of this evidence.’

See Full Fact for more info:

The methane-reducing cow feed additive is considered safe by food safety authorities in the approved doses. And contrary to some claims online, Bill Gates was not involved in its development.

04/07/2024

With less than two hours to go until polls close across the UK, it’s important to remember that the winner today will be democracy. We can discuss and even disagree on the outcome, but it is a privilege to be able to play a part in shaping it. We only have these days because those before us (some still alive) fought for them. It is on us all to come together as a community, shaped by our shared passion, not divided by our differences. But democracy is under threat, not from politicians that will come and go, but those among us determined to do harm and sow division. Armed with mistruths, unproven claims, down right lies and conspiracies designed to bring distrust and division. They are among us, in our communities, and their legions are growing. We all know one if not more of them. Don’t let their hatred for good, the ease with which they misinterpret, and their retort to truth with bile be what shapes us. The irony, they claim to be ‘enlightened’, wanting to share what they know to help ‘wake’ us from our sleep - but when they are questioned, they shut debate down and block those whishing to explore their opinions. They are the real danger; the real threat to us with all their far-right ideology. They must not win, not when so many have given their lives to stand against it. Today, democracy wins; only together can we ensure it will again.

17/04/2024

Claim: cloud seeding (and the Dubai floods) are linked to the “chemtrail” claims – FALSE!

The recent rain to hit both Dubai and neighbouring Oman brought weather-related chaos and death on a scale not seen in the region for many years. It isn’t unheard of, but is rare. However, some have used these events to reaffirm their claims of “geoengineering”, suggesting they were related to the “chemtrails” we occasionally see above us. It’s important to note that these “chemtrails” are nothing more sinister than contrails which have been heavily researched and an evidence-based origin. However, the Middle East rains have drawn attention to cloud seeding, which is nothing like what proponents of the “chemtrails” argument would have you believe. Cloud seeding is conducted by using salts, combined with some compounds known to be harmless to people and the environment, to elicit rain. There are no mind – or body – controlling elements to it. The debate on whether weather should be manipulated at all remains open – as it should while we better understand its implications. But it has been occurring since the 1940s, is employed for a host of reasons – including to encourage rain to support agriculture in some of the world’s most challenging climates – and some would argue does have its benefits.

Claim: the mainstream media ignores/covers up issues like this in support of those conspiring against the public – FALSE!

You only need search the Internet for what the mainstream media is saying about the Middle East rains. Many are covering it, many discussing the possibility – or at the very least highlighting claims of it – being the result of cloud seeding. The “usual suspect” outlets – those the conspiracy world often try to portray to be acting as a mouthpiece for the conspirators of the “Great Reset” – covering it include the BBC, Bloomberg, TIME Magazine, NBC News, The New York Times, Reuters, Sky News, The Guardian, CNN, The Times, France24, The Independent, and many more. This does serve to prove one thing: it’s arguably not that the mainstream media is part of the conspiracy and so ignore many “questionable” events, it’s simply that they are doing the job of credible journalists and reporting on a story only when there’s one to tell.

Source: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=d43f5111e59e559f&q=dubai+rains&tbm=nws&source=lnms&prmd=nivmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFg7G-y8mFAxUHXEEAHYj6BwIQ0pQJegQICRAB&biw=1355&bih=566&dpr=2 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation, mitigate hail or disperse fog. The usual objective is to increase rain or snow, either for its own sake or to prevent precipitation from occurring in days afterward.

09/02/2024

Since October 2023 social media users have been encouraged to sign a petition calling on the UK government to ‘End the UK’s membership of the World Health Organization’. The call, largely based on the premise that the WHO has embarked on a programme to ‘strip member states of their sovereignty’, has led to almost 100,000 people to become signatories.
Claims the next step of the ‘Great Reset’ is to strip governments of their ability to self-determine social health policies are rife. Users have argued this is the continuing ‘overreach’ of an unelected body which hands the WHO ‘global control over human health’. Naturally such falsehoods have elicited strong responses. Of course, if it were true, it would be a concerning development for all – young and old, rich and poor, in developed or underdeveloped countries alike. But they are not true. In fact they are false and present a real danger to us all.
The aim of the proposed pandemic treaty is to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and to ensure everyone – not just the rich – has access to support if and when the next pandemic strikes. Yet once more, individuals have attacked an initiative, based on misleading information that simply stokes public fears, infiltrating the minds of the vulnerable to lead them, and us all, to believe dark movements are at play.
These claims are made with the added assertion that no-one has been allowed to challenge the proposals. The public – those pushing this baseless and dangerous narrative argue – has been shut out of the debate and decision-making has been conducted behind closed doors. Many of the meetings have been streamed live; recordings are available via WHO webcasts to be viewed by anyone, anywhere at any time; all documentation both pre- and post-events has been published and remains available to the public; and meetings have included stakeholders form across governments, charities and other independent agencies.
So, what is the agenda being sought by these social media posts, those posting them and the often less than open or reputable groups they represent? That is a question only those responsible can answer, but we can form our own judgements. Perhaps it is to cause division; it’s perhaps because the proposal is intended to support the less privileged in the world; it’s even possible that the enemies of democracy will be better served if we, the people, distrust each other as they are trying to promote. The real danger is those groups, and the social media users doing their bidding. They wish to indoctrinate the most vulnerable in society to their beliefs, with the aim of causing us all harm – disguised as defending our rights.
Governments, charities, and even the WHO itself have all stated – and reiterated many times over – that sovereign rights will be protected and that no element of the proposal supersedes the autonomy of elected governments. Claims otherwise are false, without merit and based on misguided or even deliberately misleading and dishonest opinion and so-called ‘facts’. I urge everyone to gaze beyond the catchy, attention-grabbing social media posts and look for yourself.
Like every entity, the WHO has conducted itself in a questionable fashion on occasion. It has implemented policies that ultimately have, arguably, resulted in more harm than good; and it has made mistakes – which it does acknowledge on occasion. But let’s stop allowing the narrative of the conspiracy theorists to blind us from the truth. Because if we don’t, we may one day look back and regret our own actions. Here’s some good advice to help you know what is true and what’s not: https://www.childline.org.uk/get-involved/articles/how-to-spot-fake-news/

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL2N2XH0KA/
https://www.factcheck.org/2023/03/scicheck-who-pandemic-treaty-draft-reaffirms-nations-sovereignty-to-dictate-health-policy/
https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/factlab-meta/who--pandemic-treaty--will-not-rob-australia-s-sovereignty
https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-conspiracy-theories-about-the-pandemic-treaty/a-65982226
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4XIl4kwynE
https://inb.who.int/

The INB was established to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

07/02/2024

There is a chronic and deepening mental health crisis in the UK. Sadly youngsters are increasingly becoming prone to poor mental wellbeing, with huge shortfalls in the support they’re provided. The figures are grim: one in five young people (aged 8 to 25 years) are estimated to have been suffering from a mental health disorder last year; the number of referrals to CAHMS has risen by 53% since 2019; and as many as half a million young people are still waiting to access any form of treatment.
But for some that treatment doesn’t reach them before they take their own life. Su***des have been rising since 2008, showing signs of speeding up year-on-year since COVID. Between August 2022 and October 2023, in England alone there were 4,813, with youngsters aged 10 to 24 accounting for almost one in 10 (429). Every death related to mental health is a tragedy, for them, their loved ones and all of us. But the death of a youngster is a life cut short, before it has even had chance to flourish and share its gift with the world. Imagine, a 10-year-old so challenged that they take their own life.
The UK Government needs to act; it needs to ensure that everyone facing a crisis receives the support they need, when they need it. This is a shameful reality in the UK today – the most vulnerable are being let down. Social media too has a big role to play. It is arguably true (and no coincidence) that as its pervasive reach stretches further into our lives, the belief that taking your own life during your darkest moments is being facilitated by the questionable content and ever-more engaging algorithms that are pushing people towards louder and louder echo chambers. These organisations are cashing in on this crisis, without taking the actions needed to prevent them from happening. Together public and private bodies are failing our young.
But we too must do more. Society has an obligation to not turn a blind eye. If we see someone in need, we must recognise and act to support, be compassionate and do what we can to show each other there is a world that you can be a part of, be nurtured in and helped to thrive. As dangerous as social media algorithms can be, so too can we. There is growing evidence that conspiracies and mis/disinformation shared by other social media users can be particularly appealing to those challenged by poor mental health.
If such a person is bombarded by ‘news’ and ‘facts’ that ‘prove’ there are shadowy figures (governments and politicians, organisations, regulators, other influential figures) with ideologies that are self-serving, to the detriment of everyone else, it is no wonder some (thousands if not hundreds of thousands) of people feel hopeless, cut off from the real world. It is all of our responsibility to think: ‘what impact does what I’m sharing have on those seeing it?’. Sadly, and with increasing frequency from growing numbers of people, we are seeing more ill-judged, poorly researched and sometimes blatantly false claims being pushed.
There is a lot to distrust, a lot to question around us right now. Politics, big business and an assortment of other entities should be challenged and, where wrongdoing is suspected, be made to answer. But we have to stop sharing unregulated, unsourced and quite frankly, dangerous content too. People have to take responsibility for what they put out there – sharing content requires you to stress test it first, otherwise your actions might be as dangerous as the actions of those you’re trying to expose.
Su***de is on the rise, stealing the lives of those committing it, and stealing loved ones from those they leave behind. Please be responsible with what your share. Here’s some good advice to help you know what is true and what is not, and potentially dangerous: https://www.childline.org.uk/get-involved/articles/how-to-spot-fake-news/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/one-in-five-children-and-young-people-had-a-probable-mental-disorder-in-2023/
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/near-to-real-time-suspected-suicide-surveillance-nrtsss-for-england/statistical-report-near-to-real-time-suspected-suicide-surveillance-nrtsss-for-england-for-the-15-months-to-august-2023
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X22000719
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7375774/
https://mashable.com/article/mental-health-disinformation-conspiracy-theories-depression

No one's talking about the complex relationship between disinformation and mental health. That changes now.

27/04/2023

In today’s information rich world, it’s often hard to cut through all the noise and make sense of the story. Paradoxically, though, it’s never been easier to share your take on the world around you. We’re awash with information, inundated with opinion and buried by facts – or at least someone else’s.

All too often we’re hearing of the next power grab, a hidden reality hushed up by the political elite, or the forthcoming population control project. The truth is, there is nothing more dangerous than misinformation – but it’s all around us, and only getting louder.

Knowing where facts end, fiction begins and factions start is essential to making the right choices and knowing what impact they will have on the world your share with others. FACTION is here to help! We cut through the hype, question the conspiracy and deliver the facts, leaving you to form your opinion.