Really??

I have an old friend who doesn't live near me who is terrible for emailing malicious or pernicious information just like this one from Facebook. I emailed her several times to say something wasn't true backed up with a with a link. She's an intelligent woman, but she never checked out stuff before forwarding it to lots of people. Every time she was shocked that someone would send out lies. Before Christmas I decided I'd had enough and sent a reply saying I would like her to take me off her friends list for emails because I didn't agree with most of the information she sent me. She is really upset now, but has spent quite a bit of time on the sites in my links and I would like to believe her eyes have been opened. I haven't replied to her last few messages and her Christmas card had a hand written letter inside. She apologised again and said she intended to keep writing to me. She wants to meet up and I can't make up my mind what to do.

Nfk surely you know that this forum is open to anyone - not just those of us who post. Why didn’t you just say on here,that you’ve received a very unpleasant FB post with what you are sure are false figures about the amount of money state pensioners and refugees get and asking for help in how to check the facts?

And here’s another tip- I went on FB and looked at Pip Keeling’s Page - it’s full of utter racist right wing filth. Your friend is now associated on social media with a racist.I don’t suppose she’s job hunting is she but this is how people end up losing jobs or not getting them because employers look at what they post and share on FB,Twitter etc. And you’re associated with her. And Miss many people don’t check the facts for themselves - they just engage in spewing out utter rubbish which fits their racist view of the world - they want such posts to be true and ergo,they are.

Nfk - of course it's nonsense and nasty nonsense at that. I'm not a fan of Mr T but, in this case I'd say the phrase "fake news" is appropriate.

I never thought for one moment Maryeliza that any other gran would take it as being Gospel! I just wanted to know where to get the facts to put this 'friend' right. I'm such an innocent!

I've never heard of fullfacts.org, so its done some good. Presumably everyone here can read, so they can read the facts for themselves.

In case anyone is interested, two other sites I use to check if something is real or true are

Snopes
Hoax-Slayer

I’m going to report it and see what HQ think

PS fullfacts.org is usually my first port of call for information.

You’ve circulated it on here - and no your friend is not a nice person. Being easily led is a sign of stupidity at the best. Message her and say that posting this reflects badly on her and you don’t want to have this sort of racism popping up on your FB Page. When we don’t challenge racism, we endorse it, we are complicit in it.

Nfk sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were going to circulate it, honestly that's not what I meant.

Why would you even want to check this - it’s clearly complete and utter racist rubbish. It’s the sort of thing Britain First post. What is a British Old Aged Pensioner? If people can’t use the right description,it’s highly unlikely they could get figures correct. Lumping illegal immigrants and refugees together is also complete bollocks - illegal immigrants by definition wouldn’t be in the system to claim money. And no one in receipt of the basic state pension alone wouldn’t be entitled to other help. I don’t think this racist FB post should have been posted on here giving further publicity to what anyone with the minimum amount of knowdge about how the system works knows is completely false.

Of course I'm not going to circulate it Wilma- I really wanted to try to stop this person circulating rubbish. She just jumps on awful bandwagons. (I can't unfriend her without upset, and really she's quite a nice person. Just easily led!) Thanks for the link - I shall quote bits at her!!

Fullfact.org looks like a site I can browse happily for quite a while! Thanks!

It's malicious rubbish. Check out the facts about the message here

illegal immigrants and state pensioners

Please, please do not circulate it any where else Nfk or you'd just be helping to stoke the fire.

This article is over six years old and went viral at the time. I'm sad to see it brought back to life.

Illegal immigrants, of course get nothing.
Refugees/ asylum seekers get some sort of accommodation plus a subsistence allowance. When this article was first published it was £36 a week.

You can check it out on full fact.org. Sorry I don't know how to post a link.

Luckily I don’t have FB friends who’d post such blatant rubbish, and the one who once did got short shift. I suggest you unfriend if it was a friend or simply block if it was a FOAF.