Through the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), the EU supports a European network of fact-checkers, including TheJournal in Ireland. For a monthly roundup of European fact-checks, visit the main EDMO website. Here, we highlight recent fact-checks by TheJournal FactCheck team.
Debunked: Development of Israeli plague vaccine did not coincide with Russian lab worker’s death
Published: 9 October – by David MacRedmond
Online conspiracy theories falsely connect the death of a Russian laboratory worker to the creation of an mRNA plague vaccine in Israel, suggesting the events happened suspiciously close together. The woman’s death in Siberia was first reported on 2 October 2026. Meanwhile, the experimental vaccine was developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University, whose findings after trials in mice were published in Advanced Science in April 2025.
Debunked: Video of Nigerian woman gloating about eating a meal ‘paid for by taxpayers’ is satire
Published: 10 October – by Shane Raymond
A satirical video of a woman eating chips has been shared online with false claims that she is an asylum seeker living off the state. Anti-immigration commentators Derek Domino and Darren Bradley both posted clips that were viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook and Instagram. The full video was posted to the woman’s TikTok account on 4 October.
FactCheck: Have recent public sector pay increases outstripped the spiralling cost of living?
Published: 14 October – by Stephen McDermott
Unions and the government disagree on whether recent public service pay deals have kept pace with rising living costs. Fórsa General Secretary Kevin Callinan told RTÉ radio that the average public servant is at least 5% behind prices for the five years from 2021 through to 2025. Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers countered that negotiated pay deals have protected incomes above inflation.