A post shared on social media purportedly showing that Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero of the United Kingdom, wrote in The Guardian that Great British (GB) Energy will be “the envy of the world.”
— Pugh Himple (@GBullstein) September 6, 2024
Verdict: False
The headline is fabricated.
Fact Check:
Russia recently expelled six British diplomats, The Associated Press reported. This announcement from Moscow comes after heightened tensions regarding the war in Ukraine with the possibility of Russia being the target of strikes.
A post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, alleges Miliband claimed GB Energy will be a success like Great Britain’s National Health Service. The alleged article includes the logo of The Guardian and follows the outlet’s format, featuring the author’s name in orange and a headshot of them to the right.
The alleged headline reads, “Our GB Energy will become the envy of the world just like our NHS.”
The claim is inaccurate. There is no record of this piece on the Guardian website. Likewise, there is also no record on any of their social media accounts.
The Guardian has been the target of fabricated headlines before and in response to ChatGPT have created a team to “focus on learning about the technology,” according to their report.
Miliband has written an article for The Guardian about GB Energy in the past, but the title and his photo are different. The real article’s headline reads, “Great British Energy is becoming a reality -bringing with it cheap, clean and secure energy.” (RELATED: Did The Guardian Publish A Headline Claiming Islam ‘Embraced The LGBTQ+ Community’?)
He also wrote a piece for The Financial Times in which he claims with GB Energy, “Britain will be an energy superpower once again, exporting clean power to the world and controlling our economic destiny.”
Great British Energy was recently mentioned during the opening of Parliament and includes a plan to commit over £8 billion into the company, according to Energy Saving Trust. The site reported this will be a “publicly owned green power company.”
Check Your Fact contacted the outlet for comment.
This is not the first time misinformation has circulated online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that an X post showed a legitimate ABC News debate poll.