Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

It’s been a varied today for BBC Verify Live, so here’s a quick recap of where our coverage has taken us.

We started by verifying footage showing the aftermath of a Ukrainian strike on a Russian dam over the weekend, later following up with specialist satellite imagery analysis to assess the impact of flooding caused by a breach in it.

After the accidental release of a high-profile sex offender from a British prison on Friday, we showed how the number of prisoners released in error in England and Wales has reached a record high.

Our data team has also been looking at the background of a highly critical report about the UK’s asylum accommodation system, including:

• Where in the country they are being housed
• How many people are living in hotels

Plus, is this picture AI-generated? Nope, it’s just an optical illusion.

We’ll be back tomorrow morning with more, so please do join us then.

Home Office spending on asylum seeker accommodation is under intense scrutiny, after MPs found it had wasted billions of pounds.

BBC Verify’s policy and analysis correspondent Ben Chu has taken a closer look at the figures:

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The system used to distribute asylum accommodation across the UK needs urgent reform, according to a report by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

MPs said the government had wasted billions through poorly managed contracts and criticised the method used to decide where asylum seekers are housed.

The report found that when allocating people to self-catered accommodation - such as houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) - officials did not take into account how many asylum seekers were already living in hotels in the same area.

This has led to “clusters” of asylum accommodation in some of the UK’s most deprived areas, where housing is cheaper and local services are already under pressure, the committee said.

For example, the North West of England had 27 asylum seekers in accommodation for every 10,000 usual residents, the highest rate of any UK nation or English region.

The South East had the lowest, at seven per 10,000.

The committee concluded this was “unfair on local authorities and unacceptable”.

As of the latest figures to June 2025, asylum seekers were being housed in 305 of the UK’s 361 local authority districts.

Hotels were more commonly used in London and the South East, while the North East and North West had higher concentrations of shared housing like HMOs.

Phil Leake
BBC Verify data journalist

The amount of aid entering Gaza has significantly increased and less of it is being intercepted since the ceasefire took effect, according to new United Nations figures, external.

The UN data shows that between 10 and 26 October, an average of 1,159 tonnes of aid was collected each day from Israeli-controlled crossings. This is up by 48% from 782 tonnes per day between 23 September and 9 October, the day the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal was signed.

Since the UN began publishing figures in May, the majority of aid leaving a crossing has been intercepted in transit. The UN says this has been carried out “either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors”.

But the number of interceptions before the aid reaches its intended destination have dramatically fallen under the ceasefire. Only 6% of aid has been seized since 10 October, down from 80% between 21 May and 9 October.

There have been no recorded interceptions at all since 13 October.

The UN figures cover only some of the aid distributed in Gaza. Data from all aid providers are published by Cogat, the Israeli government body responsible for the co-ordination and facilitation of humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Cogat figures have not been updated since 10 October, external.

Barbara Metzler
BBC Verify senior data scientist

I’ve been analysing specialist satellite imagery to assess the impact of flooding after a Ukrainian attack on a Russian reservoir dam in the Belgorod region this weekend.

These Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite pictures show an increase in water levels south of the breach. Earlier we verified footage showing water gushing downstream after the site was damaged.

SAR imagery is captured with a type of sensor that uses microwave signals that can penetrate clouds, rain and darkness. Water surfaces reflect radar signals in a distinctive way, appearing much darker than land or vegetation.

This makes SAR a very suitable means of analysing this incident, when poor weather was obstructing the view of normal satellite images.

By comparing images taken before and after the attack, I can see there has been some flooding and raised water levels along the river south of the dam.

See the graphic below for what that looks like.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

An optical illusion in a picture posted by US politician Roy Cooper has led to false claims that the image was generated using artificial intelligence.

Deformed digits, hands and limbs are often a red flag indicating AI, because many AI generators struggle to replicate their complex geometry.

So you can understand why false claims that North Carolina Senate candidate Roy Cooper used AI to fake this picture of him greeting a group of children have gathered millions of views.

At first glance, the palm of the boy in grey shaking hands with Cooper appears to be elongated because his fingers reappear on the other side of Cooper’s hand.

A closer look shows how a simple optical illusion is the reason, with the protruding fingers actually belonging to a boy wearing a black top standing next to the one shaking Cooper’s hand.

By adjusting the brightness and contrast of the photograph, we can more clearly see the second boy’s sleeve behind the shaking hands, which blends into the dark background in the original picture.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

The artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, which is owned by social media firm X, has wrongly characterised a video from a US Marine flypast in California as being of a US military exercise near Venezuela.

The footage shows a large number of military aircraft flying in formation down a beach and has spread widely online.

One post by the Tehran Times, a newspaper considered to be heavily supportive of the Iranian government, gathered more than a million views on X and falsely claimed it shows a “US military exercise just off the Venezuelan border”.

When asked by X users if this was true, Grok repeatedly confirmed the false claim, even incorrectly insisting that specific military aircraft are visible in the footage.

The video is actually from a 250th anniversary celebration and live fire demonstration by the United States Marine Corps on 18 October.

Reverse image searches indicate that the footage was first uploaded to TikTok that day and we’ve pinpointed the precise coordinates from where it was taken to a military base close to the Camp Pendleton in California, where the anniversary commemoration took place.

The individual behind the account has posted other videos from the same location and appears to be a member of the US military.

The Tehran Times corrected its claim about 24 hours later in a post which has gathered far fewer views than the original false claim, which it still has not deleted.

Grok is no longer repeating the false claim. Asked why the error took place, the chatbot’s creator xAI responded saying “Legacy Media Lies”.

Emma Pengelly and Fridon Kiria
BBC Verify and BBC Monitoring

A Ukrainian drone strike on a fuel depot in a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine last night has been shared online.

We’ve geolocated the video to an oil depot near a railway line in the city of Starobilsk in Luhansk region by matching a row of fuel tanks seen in the video to a high-resolution satellite image captured earlier this year.

It shows a large fire burning following the attack - and was seemingly filmed by a second military drone in the area.

According to the social media post sharing the footage from Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, the attack happened in the early hours of this morning and targeted full tanks of fuel and a nearby warehouse.

Image source, Telegram/Ukraine Special Operations Forces

Elsewhere, Russia’s Ministry of Defence says air defences shot down 193 Ukrainian drones last night. Forty were flying over the Moscow region, 34 of which were heading to Moscow, according to the ministry. We’re analysing video said to show an attack on Russia’s capital.

Meanwhile, last night Russia launched 100 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. It said air defences repelled most, but 26 hits were recorded in nine different locations.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

A new report from MPs, external has described the British government's handling of the asylum accommodation system as "failing”.

The Home Affairs Select Committee was particularly critical of the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, a practice started under the previous Conservative government and continues under Labour.

Just over 32,000 people were living in hotels in the most recent figures to June, which are typically used when there is not enough suitable self-catered housing available.

In total about 103,000 people were being housed through the asylum support system. Nearly two-thirds were in dispersal accommodation - which is usually shared, self-catered housing like houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

Hotels are more expensive for the government than other accommodation and the practice has seen significant protests in recent years.

The number of people in hotels fell in the first half of 2025, but the totals for June were 8% higher than the previous year, just prior to the last general election.

Labour has committed to ending their use by 2029.

While waiting for an outcome on their asylum claims the Home Office is responsible for housing people who would otherwise be homeless.

• You can read more about how the government is meeting its pledges on illegal immigration and asylum here

Kumar Malhotra and Peter Mwai
BBC Verify

Image source, Telegram

We’ve been looking at footage coming out of the city of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which has been bitterly contested between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than a year.

In the last 24 hours, the RSF has posted a number videos of fighters celebrating the capture of the Sudanese army’s 6th Division headquarters, which is located close to key government buildings in the heart of the city.

We were able to match features in parts of these videos to buildings seen at the army base on Google Earth.

In one video, the sign for the 6th Division is clearly visible and a symbol that matches images found on a Facebook page dedicated to this army unit.

In another video showing RSF fighters, the distinctive twin minarets of the Sultan Ali Dinar mosque - a major landmark in the city close to the base - were briefly visible in the background.

We also have reverse image searched multiple frames from the videos, which confirm they are new.

In recent weeks the RSF had been steadily taking control of areas near the army base.

The RSF has now claimed full control of el-Fasher, but Sudan’s government has contested this and said its forces still control some areas.

Lucy Gilder
BBC Verify journalist

Convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu is one of hundreds of criminals to have been mistakenly released by the justice system in recent years.

These cases are different from an escape, which is when a prisoner intends to run from authorities.

There were 262 "releases in error" in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025, according to the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures. , external

This is the highest on record and up 128% on the year before. It’s also much higher than a decade ago, when 49 prisoners were mistakenly released.

The MoJ says these releases in error from prison or courts can happen because of "misplaced warrants for imprisonment or remand, recall notices not acted upon, sentence miscalculation or discharging the wrong person on escort".

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor told the BBC's Today programme one major factor is how busy prisons are with "incredibly high" turnover of prisoners going to court, being transferred to other jails or being released.

He also suggested that confusion caused by various early release schemes and inexperienced staff taking on large caseloads are to blame.

Kayleen Devlin
BBC Verify senior journalist

We’ve verified footage showing damage to a dam in Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine after a Ukrainian strike over the weekend.

In one video which emerged yesterday, water can be seen gushing through a breach in the dam, as well as significant damage to structures on the top of it.

Satellite imagery also indicates flooding downstream, which our experts are examining.

On Saturday, Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram that the dam had been struck by a Ukrainian drone.

The attack was later confirmed by Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, who wrote on Telegram that a drone strike carried out by his forces caused the water level to drop by around one metre.

Image source, Telegram

Adam Durbin
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning from BBC Verify Live.

Today we’re looking at footage of a breach in a dam in the Belgorod region of Russia, which a Ukrainian drone commander has said his forces carried out over the weekend.

Video circulating on social media shows water pouring out of the dam and there are reports of flooding in the surrounding area - so we’ll also be examining satellite imagery to see what we can say about the impact of the damage.

In Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have claimed control over the long-besieged city of el-Fasher in Darfur. We’ve verified footage of RSF fighters celebrating after seizing a military base, but the Sudanese Armed Forces have contested the claim they have lost control of the key city. The team are keeping an eye on what we can say from any new footage from el-Fasher that emerges online.

Plus, our fact-check are examining the numbers of wrongfully released prisoners, after convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu was let out of Chelmsford prison and spent the weekend on the run in London. He’s since been recaptured after a major manhunt.