Fact check: Labour pledges on asylum hotels and likely AI images of Mike Tyson

This roundup of claims has been compiled by Full Fact, the UK’s largest fact checking charity working to find, expose and counter the harms of bad information.

This week we’ve updated our Government Tracker to reflect new information on the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers.

In its 2024 election manifesto the Labour party committed to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds”. Full Fact has taken a look at this pledge and found that since Labour came into government the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers has increased.

On 20 November 2024 Dame Angela Eagle MP, minister for border security and asylum, confirmed that 220 hotels were currently in use, compared to 213 at the time of the July general election. She added that in that period 14 new hotels had opened, and seven had shut.

Ms Eagle said: “It remains our ambition to exit hotels; however, in the nearest future, they remain key to delivering on our legal responsibilities in ensuring people are not left destitute.”

Following former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s recent fight against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, pictures of Mr Tyson apparently draped in a Palestinian flag before the bout have circulated online.

But these are not real, and appear to have been generated using Artificial Intelligence.

No coverage or images from the event showed Mr Tyson displaying support for Palestinians in this way, and his publicist told Full Fact the image was “false”.

Clues that the image is likely AI generated include a missing tattoo on Mr Tyson’s chest, inaccuracies in the flag, and, in some versions, Mr Tyson wearing black shorts which include gibberish text (usually an indication AI may have been used).

False claims on social media have circulated claiming that the government has introduced a new policy providing “free bus fares for immigrants” and suggesting this is linked to the decision to increase the bus fare cap to £3.

While it’s correct that the cap on bus fares will increase from £2 to £3 in January 2025, following an announcement in the Autumn Budget, there is no nationwide scheme giving immigrants free bus travel.

When Full Fact contacted the Home Office about the viral claims, a spokesperson said, via email: “This isn’t true.”

There have been short-term pilots in some areas to offer free bus travel to asylum seekers, including a previous scheme in Northern Ireland and a planned programme in Oxford, but nothing nationwide.

The bus fare cap at £2 was already due to finish by the end of this year, and the £3 is a new cap that is set to be in place from January to December 2025.