Who we are

Full Fact’s mission is to build a better information environment to restore trust. We believe that facts matter. That means we’re fighting for a world where we can all trust the information that shapes our lives.

As a team of independent fact checkers, journalists, technologists and policy experts, we work hard to give people access to accurate information, based on verifiable facts, so they can make informed choices on the issues that matter to them.

We know bad information ruins lives, and false or misleading claims affect us all. As fact checkers we’ve seen first hand how bad information can promote hate, damage people’s health, and hurt democracy.

That’s why we find, expose and counter the harm it does.

The damage is corrosive, but we cannot afford to reach a point where no one believes anything any more. We deserve better.

That’s why Full Fact fights for the right information to reach the people who need it most, whether that’s individuals making decisions about their health or who to vote for; or politicians debating the future of our country.

Our principles are simple. Anyone making serious claims in public debate—fact checkers included—should be prepared to:

• Get their facts right
• Back up what they say with evidence
• Correct their mistakes.

What we do

We fact check claims made by politicians, public institutions and the media, as well as viral content online. We focus on facts, not opinions. We all deserve information we can trust.

We follow up on our fact checks by holding public figures and institutions accountable, and encouraging corrections or retractions. We call out those who fail to respond.

We build world-leading AI tools which allow small groups of people to fact check false or misleading claims at internet scale. Our tools have been used in more than forty countries around the world.

We advocate for stronger safeguards against misinformation online, and campaign for better laws. We are determined to protect freedom of expression while also protecting people from harm.

We focus on critical thinking and provide bespoke training to help people to stay informed, spot falsehoods and navigate the digital world more confidently.

How we do it

We are impartial. Full Fact doesn’t take sides. We fact check claims, not people. Our board includes representatives of different viewpoints and we have rigorous safeguards in place to ensure our impartiality. We understand that impartiality does not mean fake balance.

Full Fact is a registered charity. We are independent. We have fundraising guidelines in place to ensure neutrality, and it’s thanks to the support of thousands of people and organisations that our independence is protected.

We are transparent. Ultimately, it is for you to judge for yourself whether we succeed - we would encourage readers and viewers to judge our individual fact checks and our output as a whole. We provide links to all sources so that you can check what we’ve said for yourself, and draw your own conclusions.

Our history

Full Fact was founded in 2009 and launched the following year by a cross-party group of trustees. Our aim was to raise standards in UK public debate by empowering people with reliable facts and holding public figures to account.

After an initial application was rejected by the Charity Commission, Full Fact achieved charitable status in 2014 with objectives focused on the “advancement of public education”.

As the organisation grew, and the use of social media accelerated rapidly, we began to focus on a wider variety of false and misleading information online, alongside our fact checking of claims made in UK political debate.

We added a specific focus on health misinformation during the Covid 19 pandemic, and it remains a priority for our editorial team. We employ a qualified medical professional to add clinical expertise.

Full Fact has developed automated fact checking technology for more than a decade, and our AI tools can now monitor millions of sentences every day, in text audio and video. Our tools identify claims and, if necessary, match them with fact checks that have been written previously.

We moved into our current offices in London in 2022, but have become a remote first organisation, with more than 40 staff based around the UK.