REVIEW An enormous variety of social media posts questioning the safety and efficacy of face masks to control the spread of COVID-19 have backed their claims by citing health authorities such as the World Health Organization (example), the U.S. Cent
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Fauci Did NOT Say In 2005 That Hydroxychloroquine Was Both A Cure And A Vaccine For Coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Wearing Dirty Masks Does NOT Cause Legionnaires’ Disease
Can wearing dirty face masks cause Legionnaires' disease? No, that's not true: Legionnaires' disease, a type of pneumonia, is caused by bacteria called Legionella. There's no evidence to suggest that a person can contract the dis
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Do NOT Wear The White Side Of A Surgical Mask Outward When You’re Not Sick And Want To Keep Virus Out
Do the white and blue sides of surgical masks serve different purposes? No, that's not true. The only correct way to wear the mask is with the blue side facing out, according to a instructional video released by the World Health
Poynter→ Don’t fall for that video. Hydroxychloroquine is not a COVID-19 cure.
Editor’s note: PolitiFact, which is owned by the Poynter Institute, is fact-checking misinformation about the coronavirus. This article is republished with permission, and originally appeared here. If your time is short A video from Breitbart shows
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Herman Cain Died Of COVID-19 Complications, NOT Cancer
Did Stage 4 colon cancer cause Herman Cain's death on July 30, 2020, and not COVID-19? No, that's not true: The 2012 Republican presidential candidate and business executive did have cancer years earlier, but he beat it. He died
Health Feedback→ Still no evidence that hydroxychloroquine can cure or prevent COVID-19
REVIEW This claim first appeared in a 27 July 2020 live stream video (transcript archived here) published by Breitbart News. The video features a group of physicians, self-identified as members of America’s Frontline Doctors, who advocate against
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Aldi DOES Require Masks To Enter Stores
Are shoppers free to enter Aldi stores without a mask? No, that's not true: According to the grocery company, face coverings are required to enter its stores. The claim appeared as a meme in a post (archived here) shared on Faceb
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘New Zealand Rugby Game Today as We Have No COVID Cases’
On July 26 2020, a post to Reddit’s r/Damnthatsinteresting purportedly showed images from a rugby game in New Zealand on the same day, in a stadium full of fans — because the country has successfully suppressed COVID-19: New Zea
Poynter→ This is how you can take oxygen away from those false videos about COVID-19
This was a tough week for those who are at the forefront of the war against disinformation. Two cases of great media impact made it clear that the battles are growing in complexity and that everyone should know by now how they can help to take oxygen a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Florida Is NOT Doing ‘Five Times Better In Deaths’ Than New York And New Jersey
Is Florida doing "five times better in deaths" than New York and New Jersey? No, that's misleading: The comparison is not apt. Daily COVID-19 deaths in New York and New Jersey surged this spring before falling, precipitously, whi
Poynter→ Debunked hydroxychloroquine video demonstrates the danger of domestic disinformation
The headlines sounded the alarms about a threat from abroad. The Associated Press: “US officials: Russia behind spread of virus disinformation.” The New York Times: “Russian intelligence agencies push disinformation on pandemic.” The websites l
Health Feedback→ Baseless speculations underpin a retracted editorial claiming spontaneous generation of SARS-CoV-2 in skin cells exposed to 5G waves
REVIEW An editorial article published in the Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents on 16 July 2020 and withdrawn a few days later claimed that the millimeter-length waves used in 5G technology can spontaneously generate SARS-CoV-2
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc And Zithromax Are NOT A Cure For COVID-19
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The CDC Does NOT Count Pneumonia And Seasonal Flu In The COVID-19 Toll
Did the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just cut the COVID-19 tally from 90,000 to 11,000 in Florida to correct accidental inclusion of pneumonia and seasonal flu? No, the claim was made with no facts or sources to back it
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NIH Did NOT Admit 5G Can Actually Create Coronavirus Within Human Cells
Did the NIH admit 5G can actually create coronavirus within human cells? No, that's not true. The site Infowars.com claimed the National Institutes of Health admitted that 5G technology can create coronavirus within human cells based on a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mandatory Vaccinations Are NOT In Direct Violation Of The Nuremberg Code
Are mandatory vaccinations in direct violation of the Nuremberg Code? No, that's not true: The Nuremberg Code, a set of principles that grew out of the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II, applies to human experimentation, not app
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Rockefeller Agenda For COVID, President Of Ghana Did NOT Read It in Video
Did the president of Ghana release an audio message reading exceprts from a 2010 Rockefeller Foundation document that predicted and planned the coronavirus outbreak? No, that's not true: This is a fabricated agenda and the president, Nana
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NOT Already A Cure For COVID-19
Is there already a cure for COVID-19? No, that's not true: No medicines have been shown to prevent or cure coronavirus, according to global health experts. The race is on, however, to find viable treatments. The claim was reported in an a
Health Feedback→ Sexual transmission of SARS-CoV-2 currently unconfirmed as studies produce conflicting evidence of its presence in the reproductive system
REVIEW This claim is the headline of an article written on 18 July by Paula Froelich for the New York Post. The article reports the findings of a study conducted at China’s Shangqiu Municipal Hospital and published online in the journal JAMA N
Health Feedback→ A trypsin-based oral spray reportedly deactivates SARS-CoV-2 in a liquid suspension but has not yet been tested in the mouth
REVIEW A video posted on Facebook on 20 July 2020 reports the contents of a press release issued the same day by life sciences company Enzymatica claiming that its oral spray deactivated 98.3% of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro within 20 minutes. However, the h
Health Feedback→ Scientific evidence supports the use of face masks for reducing the transmission of respiratory diseases including COVID-19
REVIEW A Facebook post published in May 2020 by a user named “Caitlyn RN” (see Notes for more information) claimed that masks do not prevent the spread of pathogens, and that wearing a mask can cause oxygen deficiency and hypercapnia (high carbo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NOT An Upcoming Shortage Of Dr. Pepper Because Of The Coronavirus
Is there about to be a shortage of the soft drink Dr Pepper because of the novel coronavirus pandemic? No, there is not. The parent company of the Dr. Pepper maker assured Lead Stories that production of the soft drink is "smooth
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New CDC And WHO Study Does NOT Prove ‘No Evidence’ Face Masks Prevent Virus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Maps Of ‘Human Trafficking Hot Spots’ And ‘China Virus Hot Spots’ Do Not Have A Connection
Does a comparison of maps show there is a shocking connection between human trafficking hotpsots in the United States and coronavirus outbreaks? No, that's not true. A meme that has gone viral showing two maps of the U.S. with heavy numbe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Meijer DOES Now Require Masks Of All People Shopping In Company Stores
Are shoppers at Meijer groceries and express stations free to "politely decline" a mask against the novel coronavirus and go on their way, shopping in the stores without pressure? No, that is not true. While Meijer did just change their p
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video ‘Urgent Information On Covid Vacc!ne’ By Dr. Carrie Madej Is NOT All Science-Based Or Factual
Is there a "vaccine that's coming" to fight the novel coronavirus that is funded by Bill Gates and could change human genes to the point where a different species is created that could battle, or replace, humans? No, there is no evidence
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Was NO Shooting Death Of A Child In Florida Counted As A COVID-19 Death
Did the death of a child shot and killed in Florida get added to the state's COVID-19 death tally? No, that's not true: Trump 2020 campaign adviser Brad Parscale made the claim in a tweet (archived here) on July 23, 2020. The tweet, which
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Proof Cat Owners May Have Higher Immunity Against COVID-19
Did an emergency room doctor find that cat owners have a reduced chance of contracting COVID-19? No, that's not true: Dr. Sabina Olex-Condor, a doctor from Poland who lives in Spain, has a hypothesis this may be the case based on a small sampl
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Study Does NOT Conclude Mask Wearers Have Lower IQ
Did a study conclude that face mask wearers have a lower IQ? No, that's not true: This is a satirical claim published on a website that trolls conservatives. The study is fictional. Lead Stories does not fact check satire, but we published thi
Poynter→ How much did protests contribute to Los Angeles’ COVID-19 surge?
PolitiFact and MediaWise are teaming up to debunk misinformation about the coronavirus crisis. To have Coronavirus Facts delivered to your inbox weekly, click here My little brother is a filmmaker in Los Angeles. As a husband and father of two in a pre
Health Feedback→ Primary COVID-19 transmission is by close contact with infected people; nasopharyngeal swab-based testing provides the highest diagnostic accuracy
REVIEW Facebook posts published in July 2020, such as this meme, questioned the need for nasopharyngeal sample collection in which “they have to stick a Q-tip through your nose to the back of your head to swab a sample of COVID” when it would be
Health Feedback→ A proportion of COVID-19 survivors are likely to suffer from long-term health problems, but the actual risks are still unknown
REVIEW A July 2020 post on Quora, which is a question-and-answer website, went viral on Facebook after users began sharing screenshots or copies of the original post (see an example here). The post’s author, Franklin Veaux, attempts to answer the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Florida Motorcycle Death Is NOT Undermining The Accuracy Of State’s Coronavirus Death Numbers
Is an Orlando television station's report -- that a motorcycle fatality got counted as a COVID death -- correct? No, it's not: Orange County, Florida's data correctly lists the motorcyclist, who had tested positive for COVID-19, in the tally f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Preprint Study Did NOT Find Kimchi Helped Lower South Korea’s COVID-19 Fatalities, Only Looked At Europe
Did a study find a diet heavy with kimchi -- spicy fermented cabbage and other vegetables -- helped lower South Korea's COVID-19 fatalities? No, that's not true. A claim that has gone viral asserts that a study proved a connection between kimc
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘It’s Just a Mask, It’s Just a Vaccine’ [Covid Fanfics]
On July 14 2020, Facebook user Ryan Thames shared the following post, along with a claim that temporary behavior intended to curb the rates of a respiratory-borne virus during a pandemic, such as recommending the widespread use of face masks to cut ba
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO ‘New Health Care Act’ To Force Your Whole Family To Take A ‘Killer Vaccine’ For COVID-19
Is there a new health care act in effect or making its way through Congress that would allow the government to place your child in an isolation centre if they test positive for COVID-19 and require your whole family to be vaccinated by a "kill
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Claiming ‘Multiple Scientific Studies’ Show Masks Don’t Work Uses Old Data, Ignores Current Science On COVID-19
Does current science say that face masks don't work to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that leads to COVID-19? No, this is not true. First, a video making the claim that masks -- from N95 to cloth ones -- don't work relies on dated
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Fauci Did NOT Resign From COVID-19 Task Force
Did Dr. Anthony Fauci officially resign from the COVID-19 task force? No, that's not true. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, is currently still a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘OSHA Certified’ Troll’s Analysis Does NOT Burst Face Mask Wearer’s ‘Google Doctor Degree’ — Face Masks Do Help Slow COVID-19 Spread
Is an "OSHA certified" Facebook poster whose job is listed as "Trollin' the Masses" correct in claiming that N95, surgical, and cloth masks don't slow the spread of COVID-19 and they may make you sick? No, that's not true: OSHA (the federal go