BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

Hello, and thanks for downloading the more or less podcast,

with a programme that looks at the numbers in the news, life and social media posts of 1990s British pop icons.

I'm Tim Harford.

Sometimes a topic comes up that's so good we keep resurrecting it and

sending it back out onto the airwaves. This week, that topic is religious persecution,

or rather, the claims made about attacks on churches. You might recall that we covered the topic at the beginning of the year

when we looked into whether something tweeted by a member of a band called Right Said Fred was right.

Too long didn't listen, here's a potted version. Basically, an unspecified member of the Fred band

using their joint account claimed that there had been 9,000 attacks

on churches in the UK. We found that the number actually included crime recorded on the grounds

of any religious establishment. That's mosques, churches, synagogues, etc., plus graveyards, cemeteries,

church buildings, car parks.

The crimes were mainly burglaries and thefts, and also included things such as drug dealing,

sexual assaults and graffiti. But it turns out that this was just one claim about church

attacks among many that are percolating through the internet like the world's

least appetising cup of coffee. Lizzie McNeil did the original report and now, like a Jedi, returns.

Hi Tim. You're back. As was foretold. So what do you have for us this week? Well, actually,

this brings us back to social media because I've noticed the same number circulating,

people claiming that 400 churches have been burnt down in, insert country here.

Have you malfunctioned again?

No, I just mean people on Twitter then insert whatever country after it.

...