Tesco has reintroduced a traffic light system that was used during the pandemic to signal when customers could enter stores, with a video showing the system in use at a store in Swindon.
This is not true. Lights were accidently turned on for a brief period at a Tesco store in Swindon, as can be seen in the video, but Tesco has confirmed it has not reintroduced the system controlling the number of customers who can enter at any of its stores.
Multiple posts on social media have wrongly claimed the supermarket chain Tesco has reintroduced a traffic light system, and suggested this could be to prepare for an “imminent” lockdown.
The claim stems from a video first shared on Facebook by former parliamentary candidate Martin Costello on 27 August. It shows Mr Costello at the entrance to a Tesco store where green and red lights do appear to be in operation.
Tesco introduced a traffic light system at certain stores in October 2020 to signal when customers could enter, to comply with social distancing rules during the pandemic.
In the video, Mr Costello says: “What do we have here at Tesco’s in Swindon? We’ve got the traffic light system back in operation. Do they know something we don’t? Perhaps some lockdown’s heading our way.”
While his original post has 1,700 views, Mr Costello’s video has been shared many times on both Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Many of the posts sharing the video have the caption: “Lockdown preparations underway in Swindon! Tesco's have reintroduced the traffic light scheme to control numbr [sic] of people in the shop. Do they know something we don't? It suggests to me that another lockdown is IMMINENT! ”
However, Tesco has confirmed to Full Fact that the traffic light system has not been reintroduced at any of its stores. It told us that lights were switched on briefly by accident at a Tesco Extra store in Swindon.
Tesco also replied to a user on X saying: “I have spoken with the Duty Manager at our Swindon store who have advised [sic] it was accidentally turned on. I can confirm we are not operating any Covid traffic light system.”
When contacted by Full Fact, Mr Costello said he believed the traffic light system was on for longer than a brief period and questioned how it could have been turned on accidentally when it appears to be manually operated. We put this to Tesco, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Mr Costello also denied claiming the traffic light system was reintroduced that day, and said he hadn’t claimed a lockdown was “imminent” but had instead suggested it as a “possible hypothesis”.
While Mr Costello originally posted the same caption as above, he has since edited his Facebook post and it now says: “Are lockdown preparations underway in Swindon? Tesco's had the traffic lights that control number of people in the shop running despite claims a few days later that it was 'accidentally' turned on (and off constantly)... Do they know something we don't? It suggests to me that another lockdown could well be IMMINENT! [sic]”
The traffic light system was listed on Tesco’s Covid-19 risk assessment forms (which were updated in line with developing government guidelines) between October 2020 and December 2021, but it’s not listed for England in the latest versions of the forms updated in March and April 2022. It stopped being used at each store’s discretion as pandemic restrictions eased across the UK.
We’ve previously written about a number of false claims concerning supermarkets as part of our work tackling online misinformation, including that Tesco was “sacking 4,300 workers”, an Asda staff member threw a bucket of water over a homeless person and that Asda self service checkouts use facial recognition for targeted advertising.
Image courtesy of SNN95
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because Tesco has confirmed it has not reintroduced the traffic light system, which controls the number of customers who can enter, at any of its stores. Lights were turned on by accident at its Swindon Tesco Extra store.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.
