Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor incorrectly cited statistics about serious cases of COVID-19 among children during oral arguments over the Biden administration’s efforts to mandate vaccines for certain Americans. “We […] The post Fa
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Interim Final Rule Re: Chimeric Viruses Does NOT Confirm COVID-19 Is Man-Made Virus
Does a CDC rule concerning chimeric viruses confirm that COVID-19 is man-made? No, that's not true: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the rule cited by the Hal Turner Radio Show has nothing to do with the origin of SARS-
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Swabs Labeled ‘Positive’ And ‘Negative’ Are NOT Manipulated To Predetermine Results — They’re Control Swabs
Are COVID-19 tests that are labeled "positive control swab" and "negative control swab" manipulated to deliver predetermined results? No, that's not true: The SARS-CoV-2 test packaging shown in a photograph on social media are included in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FEMA Did NOT Forcibly Vaccinate Autistic Children In NY School — School, FEMA Denies It
Did the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) vaccinate autistic children at the Rockland Institute for Special Education (RISE), a special education school in New York, without their parents' consent? No, that's not true: Both RISE
Health Feedback→ Testing in general reveals infections, it doesn’t create them; COVID-19 isn’t the same as the common cold
REVIEW A meme featuring Glinda the Good Witch from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, captioned with the words “If you stop testing it all goes away and people just have colds like before”, began circulating in late December 2021 on Facebook, Insta
Logically→ According to Europe’s top health officials, face masks don’t protect against COVID-19.
Previously, U.S. and European health authorities didn't recommend mask-wearing. However, we now know mask-wearing can reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Poynter→ No, Tylenol doesn’t ruin your ability to fight COVID-19
As the highly transmissible omicron variant fuels a surge of COVID-19 cases across the country, treatment advice has ramped up on social media. Some users are warning against the use […] The post No, Tylenol doesn’t ruin your ability to fight C
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Rare Polio Vaccine Breakthrough Infections DO Happen
Are people who get two or three shots of the polio vaccine 100% protected, with no breakthrough cases ever? No, that's not true: The statement that someone would "have questions" if they had gotten two or three polio vaccines and still go
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Flurona’ Is NOT A New Disease — It’s Slang For Overlapping Flu And COVID-19 Infections
Is "flurona" a new cross-breed virus resulting from combination of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and seasonal influenza? No, that's not true: Flu and SARS-CoV-2 can't combine their DNA to create a new virus, according to a professor of microbiolog
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer CEO HAS Had Vaccine — Old Interview Is Taken Out Of Context
Did the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, recently explain why he hasn't gotten the COVID-19 vaccine yet? No, that's not true: The video in this post is an outdated interview from 2020. That's when Bourla said he was waiting his turn as he di
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer COVID Inoculations Are NOT Doing ‘More Harm Than Good’ As Canadian Anti-Vaccine Group’s Presentation Charges
Does the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination do more harm than good? No, that's not true: The video by the Canadian Covid Care Alliance (CCCA) in the Rumble post saying so recycles many previously debunked claims about the COVID vaccine. The Pfiz
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Are NOT ‘Deadly Experimental Shot’
Are the injections against COVID-19 "deadly experimental shots" and not vaccines? No, that's not true: Medical science classifies all three injected preventatives as vaccines and former President Donald Trump, whose Operation Warp Speed s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Study Backing MATH+ Treatment Protocol For COVID-19 WAS Retracted After Hospital Questioned Data
Was a study supporting the MATH+ treatment protocol for COVID-19 retracted after a hospital questioned the data used in it? Yes, that's true: The study backing the experimental and controversial regimen was pulled December 15, 2020, after
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Report From German Government Agency Does NOT Show Majority Of Omicron Cases Are In Vaccinated People
Does a report from the German public health agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI) show that 95% of those infected with the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are vaccinated? No, that's not true: This calculation is based on incomplete d
Poynter→ Claims that six-month Pfizer data show its COVID-19 vaccine causes more illness than it prevents are false
A headline widely shared on Facebook alleges that Pfizer’s own data show that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine causes more harm than good. “Alarming Six Month Pfizer Data Show COVID Vaccine […] The post Claims that six-month Pfizer data s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 89% Of New UK COVID Cases Are NOT ‘Among Fully Vaxxed’ – Just People 60 And Above
Do fully vaccinated people account for 89% of COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom? No, that's not true: The actual percentage is less than half that number and the claim misleadingly attributes the figures to The Lancet science journal.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hydroxychloroquine CANNOT Be Made At Home By Boiling Grapefruit And Lemon Peels In Water
Can hydroxychloroquine be made at home by boiling grapefruit and lemon peels in water? No, that's not true: This claim is "totally false," Dr. Joseph Fortunak, professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Howard University, told
Poynter→ No, public health officials aren’t passing off the common cold as the omicron variant
In February 2020, as the earliest COVID-19 cases cropped up in the U.S., the late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh told his listeners there was no need to worry. “The […] The post No, public health officials aren’t passing off the co
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Study Does NOT Say Vaccinated People Are More Likely To Be Infected With COVID-19 Than Those Without The Shot
Does a study say vaccinated people are more likely to become infected with COVID-19 than those who don't get the shot? No, that's not true: One of the study's co-authors says the writer of an article about their work got it wrong. "Interp
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: BinaxNOW COVID Home Test Kit Is NOT For Use With Water
Did a woman find that there was evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in tap water because she tested the water with a COVID-19 home test kit? No, that's not true: The reading at the end of the video shows an invalid test result, not a positive COVID re
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Did NOT Admit That COVID Tests Are Invalid
Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admit that COVID-19 tests are invalid? No, that's not true: The claim relies on a lab alert issued on the CDC's decision to retire the use of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nC
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Africa DID Have Half The COVID Deaths Of US In 2021, While Africa Has 4 Times The Population And Only 7% Vaccination Rate
Did Africa have half the COVID-19 deaths in 2021 that the United States had, with four times the population and just a 7% vaccination rate? Yes, that's mostly true, but not the whole story: The figures are ballpark, but there's no reason
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence We Can ‘Eat Our Way Out Of This Pandemic’ By Eating Leeks
Can we "eat our way out of this pandemic" by eating leeks? No, there's no evidence that's true: An author's claim relies on studies by other people, none of which say that eating leeks prevents COVID-19 infections. A spokesperson for the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That Vaccines Cause Brain Damage
Do vaccines cause brain damage? No, there's no evidence that's true: Although vaccines are not risk-free, there is an almost universal consensus in the medical community that they are safe and save millions of lives each year. A person is
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mafia Assassins Were NOT Sent To Rome To Avenge Pope Francis’ ‘Death’ — He Wasn’t Killed
Were Mafia assassins dispatched to Rome during the Christmas holiday season to avenge the murder of Pope Francis? No, that's not true: The pope was alive on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Additionally, the claim primarily relies on seve
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Omicron Variant Is NOT Spreading Faster Than Any Other Virus In History – But It Is Close
Is the omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading faster than any virus in history? No, that's not true: The omicron variant is extremely contagious but does not spread as quickly as measles, which is the most infectious virus. Dr. Claudia Hoy
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ICC Does NOT Have A ‘Case’ Before It Concerning Crimes Purportedly Related To COVID-19 — It Has A Complaint
Does the International Criminal Court (ICC) have a "case" before it concerning serious crimes related to COVID-19? No, that's not true: Although a complaint was filed alleging crimes committed against people in the United Kingdom related
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID Testing Does NOT Instantly Detect Specific Variant — Further Analysis Is Needed
When a new variant is found to be spreading, does the old variant instantly disappear? Do people test positive for specific COVID-19 variants if they take a rapid antigen or a PCR test? No, neither of these assumptions are true: The initi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: It Is NOT ‘Odd’ That COVID-19 Vaccine Was Developed So Quickly
Is it "odd" that the COVID-19 vaccine was developed so quickly? No, that's not true: There are many reasons that explain how the vaccine was developed faster than other vaccines. Among those are that the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, th
Health Feedback→ Joe Rogan interview with Peter McCullough contains multiple false and unsubstantiated claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines
REVIEW The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast hosted by actor and comedian Joe Rogan, interviewed cardiologist Peter McCullough in December 2021. During the interview, which spanned about two hours and 45 minutes, McCullough made multiple inaccurate, m
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: WHO Director-General Did NOT Say Countries Are Giving COVID-19 Booster Shots To Kill Children
Did the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus say that countries are administering COVID-19 booster shots to "kill children"? No, that's not true: A WHO spokesperson told Lead Stories that Gheb
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 10,000 Medical Experts Did NOT Start Nuremberg 2 Trial Against World Leaders for Crimes Against Humanity
Did a team of 1,000 lawyers and 10,000 medical experts start a second Nuremberg trial against world leaders and public health organizations for pandemic-related crimes against humanity? No, that's not true: Spokespersons for the Centers f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Cherry-Picked Snippet Of CNN’s Dr. Leana Wen Does NOT Accurately Convey Her Advice About Masks As COVID-19 Protection
Did CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen say, "Don't wear a cloth mask. Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations"? Yes, she did say that when speaking about the possibility of New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio canceling the New Y
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Statistic Does NOT Paint Complete Picture Of Risks Associated With COVID-19, Vaccines
Does the claim that one in 100 vaccinated individuals were admitted to the hospital or died with heart issues tell the whole story? No, that's not true: The claim is based on a study that concluded the absolute risk of myocarditis -- infl
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vaccination Death Rate Is NOT 2.905% In FDA Data
Is the COVID-19 "vaccination death rate" discovered in FDA data 2.905%? No, that's not true: The numbers used are not from the Food and Drug Administration, they're from an analysis of adverse event reports prepared by Pfizer for the FDA
Poynter→ These 6 tips will help you spot misinformation online
I’ll never forget the moment the mob breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. As a senior multimedia reporter with MediaWise, I was tracking misinformation about the […] The post These 6 tips will help you spot misinformation online ap
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Canada’s Data Do NOT Prove COVID-19 Vaccine Is Either A Failure Or That Omicron ‘Preferentially Infects’ The Vaccinated
Do data from Ontario, Canada prove COVID-19 vaccines are either a failure or that omicron "preferentially infects vaccinated people"? No, neither of those choices is true: Using only raw data, the claim-maker draws a misleading conclusion
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New ‘Study’ Does NOT Warn That COVID-19 Vaccines ‘Dramatically Increase’ Risk Of Heart Disease
Does a new "study" from the American Heart Association (AHA) warn that COVID-19 vaccines "dramatically increase" the risk of heart disease? No, that's not true: The claim is based on an abstract, not a study, and it does not represent the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Does NOT Admit Vaccinated Parents Are Killing Unvaccinated Kids
Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admit that parents vaccinated for COVID-19 are killing their unvaccinated children? No, that's not true: The claim is made by a non-scientist citing a paper that mixes vaccination informa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Omicron Variant Is NOT Just Common Cold Or RSV Infection — It’s Separate And Unique
Is the CDC just calling the common cold or RSV the omicron variant? No, that's not true: The omicron variant is a mutated version of the original COVID-19 virus. While the common cold and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are viral infect