Did Oklahoma gunshot victims wind up having to wait to be seen at the hospital because there were too many people who had overdosed on the horse worming medication ivermectin? No, that's not true: Reports in various outlets painted a high
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ivermectin Deworms Livestock AND Treats Human Parasites, But Manufacturer Does NOT Recommend It For COVID-19
Does the use of ivermectin as a dewormer for horses mean it is only a veterinary medicine? No, that's not true: There are ivermectin doses for 1,000-pound animals and different doses and forms to treat rosacea and parasites in humans. But
Health Feedback→ A person’s decision not to vaccinate affects others, as unvaccinated people are more likely to get infected and spread COVID-19
REVIEW
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That 27 U.S. Air Force Pilots Resigned Over COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate
Did 27 U.S. Air Force pilots resign their commissions after the announcement of the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all U.S. active duty and National Guard service members? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evide
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FEMA Is NOT ‘Forcibly’ Vaccinating Hurricane Ida Evacuees
Did the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) force COVID-19 vaccines onto Hurricane Ida evacuees who were leaving New Orleans? No, that's not true: FEMA told Lead Stories this is false and a spokesperson for the mayor said it is not
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer Lab In Madrid Was NOT On Fire, A Nearby Composting Facility Was
Did the Pfizer lab in Madrid suffer a fire or burn to the ground? No, that's not true: Pfizer officials confirmed there was a lightning-caused fire near the pharma giant's lab, but it burned a biocomposting lot near the the Pfizer plant w
Health Feedback→ Germany hasn’t stopped COVID-19 vaccination, contrary to claims made about a simulation game event called “BasisCamp”
REVIEW BasisCamp was a multi-day simulation game event, which took place in August 2021 in Germany. On its YouTube channel, BasisCamp is described as “A Global Pandemic Exit Exercise” organized by members of the Corona Investigation Committee (Sti
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Israeli Health Study Does NOT End Natural Immunity Vs. COVID Vaccination Debate
Does an Israeli study based on medical records of the Maccabi Healthcare Services HMO prove vaccines are less effective than natural immunity? No, that's not true: While the study does indicate people who survived infection with SARS-CoV-
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Test Swabs Sterilized Using Ethylene Oxide Are NOT Unsafe
Are disposable medical swabs that have been sterilized using ethylene oxide gas carcinogenic and considered dangerous? No, that's not true: It is commonly used to sterilize medical equipment and disposable products like swabs and wound dr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Germany Did NOT Halt All COVID-19 Vaccines — This Was Made-Up Scenario
Did Germany halt all COVID-19 vaccines because they are unsafe and no longer recommended? No, that's not true: Clickbait headlines, capitalizing on the language barrier, are representing as factual a multiday broadcast event that made cle
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hawaii Does NOT Say It Has 45k Deaths Because Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Does the state of Hawaii say it has had 45,000 deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true. Neither the state of Hawaii nor a representative of the state made this claim. The claim was made in part by an attorney who is taking
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Supreme Court Did NOT Rule That The COVID Vaccine Is Unsafe
Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe? Did Dr. Anthony Fauci and "Big Pharma" lose a lawsuit to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others over the safety of COVID vaccine? No, neither of those are true: There has been
Poynter→ Thalidomide, morning-sickness drug that caused disabilities, wasn’t FDA-approved for pregnant women
Since the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for adults Aug. 23, many skeptics of the vaccine have gone on social media to challenge the agency’s safety record and credibility. “Thalidomide was a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO ‘COVID-22’ Virus — Social Media Users Glommed Onto A Researcher’s Shorthand For COVID-19 Infections In 2022
Did a new, more-deadly virus arise in August 2021 called "COVID-22"? No, that's not true: social media users grabbed the phrase "COVID-22" from a German news site's interview with an immunologist, causing a worldwide health scare. He used
Poynter→ Cancer and heart disease deaths didn’t disappear during the pandemic
A claim being shared on social media beneath an image of a cowboy is all hat and no cattle. “Might as well resume smoking,” the post says. “No one has died of cancer or heart disease since the COVID-19 thing started.” One post
Health Feedback→ Vaccine boosters help maintain protection provided by initial vaccination; boosters have been used for routine vaccinations like tetanus and polio for decades
REVIEW As the number of COVID-19 cases rises again, countries fortunate enough to have vaccinated a large proportion of their adult population against COVID-19 are now debating whether an additional vaccine dose (booster) might be needed for those w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The NIH Does NOT Conduct All Testing Of New Drugs And Dr. Fauci’s Wife Does NOT Control Drug Approval
Does the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hand over all its testing of new drugs to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and does that put Dr. Anthony Fauci's wife, NIH chief of bioethics Christine Grady, in a position to somehow
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Emergency Care To Indian Soldiers Does NOT Show Any Connection To COVID-19 Vaccinations
Does a video of Indian soldiers rendering aid to other soldiers who have collapsed show a strong connection to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: This video appears to show the first aid care rendered during a mass heat stroke inc
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Politicians HAVE Died From COVID-19
Have no politicians died from COVID-19? No, that's not true: Various politicians have died from the disease, both in the United States and around the world. They are not immune. Among the politicians who have died are Herman Cain, a forme
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CNN Did NOT Publish An Article Describing A Healthy 40-Year-Old COVID-19 Victim’s Sentiments Toward Unvaccinated People — It’s Satirical
Did CNN publish an article describing a 40-year-old COVID-19 victim's sentiments toward unvaccinated people? No, that's not true: The satirical story about a severely obese woman who was vaccinated and is now dying from COVID-19 was not p
Health Feedback→ Multiple scientific studies suggest that masking can help limit transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools, contrary to claim in Federalist article
REVIEW It’s back to school season in the U.S. and with rising COVID-19 case numbers, including among children too young to receive the COVID-19 vaccines, American schools have become battlegrounds over disagreements about preventative measures. Ma
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Study Does NOT Say Fully Vaccinated Health Care Workers Carrying 251 Times Viral Load of Unvaccinated Workers Pose Threat To Unvaccinated Patients, Co-Workers
Does a study say fully vaccinated health care workers carry 251 times the viral load of unvaccinated and pose a threat to unvaccinated patients and co-workers? No, that's not true: This is a distortion of what the published paper actually
Health Feedback→ Study in Vietnam showed that Delta infection results in a higher viral load compared to earlier strains, not that vaccinated people are more infectious than unvaccinated people
REVIEW An article published on 24 August 2021 by Children’s Health Defense, an organization that opposes vaccination, claimed that research showed “vaccinated individuals carry 251 times the load of COVID-19 viruses in their nostrils compared to
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Some Federal Agencies, Health Organizations Do NOT Require Employees To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Do seven well-known agencies and pharmaceutical companies listed in a social media post not require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19? Partially, that claim is true: but the list lacks context. The agencies and organizatio
Health Feedback→ Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated its efficacy and safety in several stages of clinical trials before been authorized for emergency use, and therefore isn’t experimental
REVIEW In December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine became the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use in the U.S. Since then, the country has administered more than 202 million doses of this vaccine to its population. On 23 Au
Poynter→ Evidence shows that COVID-19 variants are largely spread among unvaccinated people
A Facebook post authored by someone touting toxicology credentials joined the growing field of inaccurate claims that falsely blame the vaccine for a pandemic that has stretched into a second year. The Aug. 13 post was a screenshot of information tha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Pulse’ Column Does NOT Accurately Describe COVID Risk And Misleads With VAERS Data And Claims The Unvaccinated Are No Threat
Does an opinion column in The Pulse accurately characterize the fatality risk COVID poses and does it correctly describe what is shown by data in the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)? No, that's not true: Without noting that
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine IS Approved By The FDA
Is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine not approved by the FDA? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on August 23, 2021. The agency made the announcement publicly, sharing the approva
Poynter→ Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was vaccinated against COVID-19 in March
A clip from an interview with Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert Bourla has been circulating on social media. In it, he was asked why he hasn’t yet received his COVID-19 vaccine. He responded that as soon as he can he will, but he doesn’t want to cut t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FDA Approval Of COVID-19 Vaccine Is NOT Illegal; ‘Doctor’ Does NOT Prove ‘Criminal’ FDA Regulation Violations
Is the FDA approval of the COVID-19 vaccine illegal, and does a "doctor" prove the Pfizer informational insert with its vaccine shows criminal regulation violations? No, that's not true: The claims made on the Stew Peters show by a guest
Poynter→ COVID deaths of Broward County teachers did happen, despite claims otherwise
A CNN report on Aug. 13 stated that in a 24-hour span, four Broward County, Florida, schoolteachers had died from COVID-19 and at least three of them were unvaccinated. The Broward Teachers Union later corrected the announcement that served as the b
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Man Touted By Others As ‘Ph.D., Oxford’ Did NOT Make True Statements About COVID-19 Vaccines To A School Board — Did NOT Attend Oxford University
Does a doctor share evidence of vaccine harm to an Ohio school board? No, that's not true: A man who appeared at a school board meeting in Ohio repeated multiple COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories that Lead Stories has previously debunk
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Yale Professor, Ivermectin Maker Say The Horse Dewormer Is NOT Proven Effective Against COVID-19 — Mississippi Hospitalized Man After Dose
Has ivermectin been proven a safe and life-saving treatment for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The manufacturer of the drug, Merck, says its scientists find no evidence ivermectin works as a COVID-19 treatment and are concerned by the lac
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: More Than 75 Doctors Did NOT ‘Walk Out Of A South Florida Hospital Rather Than Treat The Unvaccinated’ — It Was A Demonstration
Did more than 75 doctors walk out of a south Florida hospital rather than treat unvaccinated COVID-19 patients? No, that's not true: The event was not a "walkout," as the doctors did not interrupt their workday to gather for what one part
Health Feedback→ Janci Chunn Lindsay’s claims that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe are inaccurate and unsupported by scientific evidence
REVIEW In early August 2021, several posts (see examples here, here, and here) claiming that COVID-19 vaccination will cause fertility problems, blood clotting, and increase the chances that the virus bypasses previous immunity to it (immune escape)
Poynter→ COVID-19 vaccination does not violate the Nuremberg Code
A man calling himself the “vaccine police” posted a video on Facebook making unsubstantiated claims about COVID-19 vaccines and the people administering them at a Walmart pharmacy in Missouri. The video uploaded on Aug. 16 runs for more t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘The Shot’ Is NOT Failing — It Prevents Most Infections And Reduces Symptoms Of Breakthrough Infections
Is a meme correct in implying vaccination ("the shot") is not working to prevent COVID-19? No, that's not true: Since it uses an image of a comedian's fictional rapper character, "Ali G," it may be satire. But the apparent reference to va
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Scientifically Speaking,’ The Vaccinated Are NOT The Disease Vectors ‘Spreading The Mutant Variants’ of COVID-19
Are people vaccinated against COVID-19 "superspreaders," serving as the transmitting vectors for the virus that caused the midsummer 2021 increase in hospitalizations, and did the delta variant and other new forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: HIPAA Does NOT Protect People From Having To Reveal Their COVID-19 Vaccination Status
Does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, more commonly known by its acronym HIPAA, protect people from having to reveal their COVID-19 vaccination status at a restaurant, bar or similar business or organization? No, t
Health Feedback→ Video shared by Sebastian Gorka Facebook page shows nurse making false and unsubstantiated claims about ivermectin, COVID-19 PCR tests, and COVID-19 vaccine safety
REVIEW On 13 August 2021, the Facebook page “America First With Dr. Sebastian Gorka” published a video of nurse Nicole Whitley, who made several claims about ivermectin, COVID-19 vaccine safety, and the COVID-19 PCR tests. Sebastian Gork