Its the standard nonsense of looking at short term then stopping looking.

Brutal lockdowns are going to stop transmission. Yes.

But SAGE modelled, Imperial modelled (Report 9) and Lancet reviewed and calculated after events that long term lockdowns (i) just delay and (ii) create a higher infection spike later than you had before.

So shoddy journalism. Yes lockdowns "work" if (i) you never ever want to release them and (ii) if you do release, you dont look more than 2-3 weeks after the event.

Im assuming the "large body of scientific research" didnt involve reading SAGE, SPI-M/IC documents in March when they discuss it.
Ironically, its the one prediction they DID get right.

Had this been an article in the Guardian, I'd be less concerned. But for this to appear on the fullfacts site as if it were the absolute truth is deeply concerning... We will need a well constructed response from Ivor, Mike and others.

The purpose of fact check sites is to add a veneer to the mainstream narrative.

Lets see what Leo Benedictus's background and qualifications are for assessing the situation and weighing up the pros and cons of the scientific evidence on both side. Does he have a hard science background. Has he worked in a career that required a very good working knowledge of mathematics or statistics and the application of rigorous logic to achieve a successful outcome. As assessed by others.

Well it seems he studied English at Oxford and after an unsuccessful stint in advertising wrote a few novels which were moderately successful (among those who mattered in N1) and then drifted into writing for the Guardian. According to his bylines he mostly writes it seems about media, tv and film with the occasional weightier pieces about gay giraffes and Brian Blessed swearing in church. So as you can see we are dealing with a real intellectual heavyweight here...

To say his opinions on this subject are beyond worthless goes without saying. Those of you who have had the pleasure of spending any time with members of the Chattering Classes will know that vacuous does not even start to describe these people. Just how trite their opinions and world view are. And how unrelenting their immense self-regard and self-righteous arrogance is. Every single one it seems suffering from the Dunning-Kruger Effect. At least in my experience.

So exactly the right kind of person to write the type of bien pensant propaganda supporting the official narrative you read on fullfacts.

Oh yeah. He also lives in Brighton. 'Nuff said.

Full Fact applied to the Charity Commission for charitable status in 2009 but was refused. An appeal to the commission's tribunal in 2011 was rejected on the grounds that the stated objective of "civic engagement" was too political. Charitable status was granted in 2014 after the wording was changed to "the advancement of public education".[5][6]

On 11 January 2019, it was announced that Full Fact would be providing fact-checking services to the Facebook platform.

Explains why Oxford CEBM was banned from discussing a peer reviewed, published journal article.
Revenue: £557,154

Good work if you can get it.

Looks to be nothing more than a left-leaning pressure group that despite receiving funding from Facebook, Google et al somehow has charity status.

And that i can see, NO members qualified on a specific field or science to pass judgement at all.