Does a photo show President Barak Obama visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2015 with philanthropist Melinda Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases? No, that's not true: the p
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Did NOT Say "You Can’t Plan For Something That Hasn’t Happened Yet" Regarding Possible COVID-19 Outbreaks In Schools
Did Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education, say, "You can't plan for something that hasn't happened yet," when asked what will be done if there's a COVID-19 outbreak in schools? No, that's not true. Reviewing both the video of her CNN in
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘State of Illinois Definition of a COVID-19 Death’
In July 2020, social media users continued spinning a remark by a top health official in Illinois to claim that death tolls attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic have been inflated around the United States — and to attempt to sow doubt around the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 33 Florida Labs Were NOT ‘Just Busted Cooking The Books’ On Coronavirus Testing
Did 33 Florida labs just get busted for "cooking the books" on coronavirus testing, and is the media silent on the story? No, that's not true: There have been some mistakes with how results are reported in Florida, but there is no evidence to
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The CDC DOES Recommend Buying And Using Face Masks, Even If You Are Healthy
Did Delaware Health and Social Services produce an infographic flyer that stated, "If you are healthy, the CDC does not recommend buying or using face masks"? Yes, this is a real flyer, but it is outdated advice that was revised after COVID-19
Poynter→ Fact-checkers take a look back at their work fighting COVID-19
In the midst of fighting misinformation about COVID-19, some fact-checkers have begun the process of analyzing their work to this point. In Europe, fact-checking organizations Maldita.es, Full Fact, Pagella Politica/Facta, Correctiv, and Agence Franc
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Walmart Can And Does Require All Shoppers To Wear Face Masks; ‘Reference Number’ Will Not Exempt You
Can a shopper at Walmart opt out of wearing a protective face mask by presenting a numbered reference code at the door? No. The nation's largest retailer and its affiliate, Sam's Club, on July 15, 2020, issued a "masks-on" rule for all shopper
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Businesses CANNOT Ignore California Governor’s Shutdown Order Issued By The State Department of Public Health
Can businesses ignore California Gov. Gavin Newsom's shutdown order since it was issued by the state Department of Public Health? No, that's not true. The governor has issued multiple executive orders that people follow the "guidance and direc
Poynter→ In Context: As Trump criticizes, a look back at Fauci’s early coronavirus statements
PolitiFact and MediaWise are teaming up to debunk misinformation about the coronavirus crisis. To have Coronavirus Facts delivered to your inbox weekly, click here. Dr. Anthony Fauci might enjoy the trust of most Americans, but in the White House, not
Poynter→ ‘Unsupported’: a powerful rating to flag COVID-19 conspiracy theories
Public data is the raw material with which fact-checkers work every day. Without it, the credibility of rating information as false — without being able to show the reasoning behind the decision — is weakened, no matter how obviously false
Poynter→ Can an accuracy ‘nudge’ help prevent people from sharing misinformation?
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and accountability journalism, from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network & the American Press Institute’s Accountability Project. Sign up here The power of the pause A couple weeks ago, the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: People Not Wearing Masks Can NOT Be Reported to (281) 330-8004
Can people not wearing masks be reported by calling the phone number (281) 330-8004? No, that's not true: This claim is most likely a joke. The phone number that appears in the claim is the number to reach Houston, Texas, rapper Mike Jones. It
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The CDC Did NOT Say That Cloth Masks ‘Do Not Filter Anything’ And Wearing One ‘Risks Your Health’
Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that cloth masks "do not filter anything" and that wearing one "risks your health, rather than protect it"? No, that's not true: The purported CDC document making those claims is not
Poynter→ Tucker Carlson said coronavirus ‘poses virtually zero threat’ to children, most teachers. That’s mostly false.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by PolitiFact, which is owned by the Poynter Institute, and is republished here with permission. If your time is short Carlson’s language paints a black-and-white picture for children and teac
Health Feedback→ Nasopharyngeal swabs more effective than saliva samples for COVID-19 diagnostic testing according to current evidence
REVIEW This 8 July 2020 Facebook post suggests that at-home testing for COVID-19 using mouth swabs, such as those used to collect DNA samples, could be just as effective as the nasopharyngeal swab method. Earlier versions of the claim questioned the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Kelly Victory’s ‘COVID Facts’ Video Includes Many Claims That Are NOT Facts
Does a video by Dr. Kelly Victory that promises to discuss "COVID facts" deliver all factual claims? No, that's not true: Lead Stories identified at least 10 "facts" that are false, including claims that children are at "virtually no risk" fro
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos DID Not Say ‘Only’ .02% Of Kids Are Likely To Die When They Go Back To School; If So, It Would NOT Add Up To 14,740 Dead Children
Did U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos say that "only" .02% of kids are likely to die when they go back to school during the pandemic and if that happened it would result in 14,740 dead students? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could find
Health Feedback→ People have died from the coronavirus, contrary to article claiming to report pathologist’s “revelations” on COVID-19
Originally published by OffGuardian, this article makes numerous claims about the COVID-19 pandemic that have been republished in other outlets such as GlobalResearch.ca and Australian National Review, both of which have been described as conspiracy we
Health Feedback→ Nasal swab used for COVID-19 testing does not reach the brain
REVIEW A Facebook post shared more than 16,000 times claims that the nasopharyngeal swab (nasal swab), which is widely used to collect biological samples for testing for active SARS-CoV-2 infection (the virus responsible for COVID-19), scrapes and d
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Testing Kits For COVID-19 NEVER Risked Lives
Were people tested for COVID-19 exposed to the coronavirus due to contaminated tests? No, that's not true: Federal officials did send out defective tests in February -- one month into the pandemic in the United States and about six months befo
Truth or Fiction?→ Why Is the Coronavirus Test So Invasive? Would a Cheek Swab Work?
On July 7 2020, Facebook user David D Smith shared the following post, questioning why coronavirus testing was so invasive, particularly when compared to DNA test cheek swabs: Smith included a shiver-inducing image but no citations, writing:
Poynter→ Watch out for COVID-19 hoaxes that suggest technologies misuse your personal data
One of the most important symptoms of COVID-19 is low oxygenation. To measure the amount of O2 in a human’s blood, scientists have developed the oximeter, a small device that resembles a clothespin and is now being sold everywhere. When a patient
Poynter→ How journalists can respond to shifting scientific consensus
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and accountability journalism, from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network & the American Press Institute’s Accountability Project. Sign up here Fact-checking a moving target Over the weekend
Poynter→ Trump falsely claims 99% of COVID-19 cases are ‘totally harmless’
PolitiFact and MediaWise are teaming up to debunk misinformation about the coronavirus crisis. To have Coronavirus Facts delivered to your inbox weekly, click here. I hope you enjoyed the Fourth of July weekend. While I spent time visiting with family
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Doctor’s Claim That ‘No One Has Died From The Coronavirus’ In Europe Is NOT True
Is it true that nobody has actually died from COVID-19 across Europe, and that officials there have identified no antibodies specific to the disease? Also, is it true that there is no pandemic, but merely an "infection"? No, none of this is tr
Health Feedback→ The June 2020 spike in U.S. COVID-19 cases indicates a rising percentage of infections and is not simply an artifact of more testing
REVIEW Dozens of Facebook posts circulated on social media in late June and early July 2020 claiming that the spike in the number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. during the second half of June 2020 was due to increased testing, and not to an
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fauci NOT Married To Ghislaine’s Sister, NOT Getting Rich Off Covid-19 Vaccine
Is Dr. Anthony Fauci married to the sister of accused child sex abuser Ghislaine Maxwell? And is the U.S. government's top infectious disease specialist insisting that Americans wait for a vaccine before reopening because he will make millions
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: PCR Tests For Coronavirus Do NOT Pierce The Blood-Brain Barrier
Do PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests for coronavirus pierce the blood-brain barrier? No, that's not true: There's no way for a nasal swab to reach the barrier without going through bone, according to a leading public health expert who has
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: States Were NOT Ordered To Fraudulently Inflate COVID-19 Cases 15 Times Actual Rate
Were Texas and other states ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization to fraudulently increase by 15-fold the tally of COVID-19 cases? No, that's not true. The CDC gathers data based on the no
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Rashid Buttar Video Does NOT Prove ‘Everyone Could Test Positive’ for Coronavirus And ‘Hardly Anybody’ Has Died From COVID-19
Is it true that "everyone could test positive" for the novel coronavirus that has ravaged the United States and world? And is it true that hardly anyone has died of the disease COVID-19 caused by the virus? No, neither is true. If you just loo
Health Feedback→ Videos use gas sensors to misleadingly claim that wearing a face mask causes oxygen deficiency
REVIEW Different videos have been circulating on Facebook showing people wearing face masks measuring oxygen levels using a gas sensor and claiming that the measurements show that masks create an oxygen-deficient environment, based on the definition
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are mainly detected by highly specific molecular testing, not antibody testing
REVIEW A claim that people can test positive for COVID-19 if they have antibodies for the common cold, with the implication that COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are mainly due to false-positive antibody test (serological test) results, began circulating
Health Feedback→ Internet memes based on hearsay claim that hospital laboratories falsify COVID-19 tests to inflate numbers without evidence
REVIEW This Facebook meme posted on 27 June 2020, claims that a San Francisco hospital lab intentionally falsified COVID-19 tests to inflate the number of positive results. Robert Tayman tweeted on 29 June a viral version of this claim and afterward
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NOT A Spike In Coronavirus Cases Just Because There’s An Increase In Testing
Did the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. spike in recent days because of increased testing? No, that's not true: It's an assertion made without supporting evidence. Data clearly show there is no simple cause-and-effect relationship between
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Did NOT Say The Common Cold Is Counted As A Positive COVID-19 Result
Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that the common cold counts as a positive COVID-19 result? No, that's not true: The CDC was talking about antibody tests, not viral tests, when it said that a positive result may mea
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘In Case You’re Wondering What Utter, Abject Failure Looks Like’: Are These USA, France, Italy, and Spain COVID-19 Charts?
In late June 2020, a series of four COVID-19 charts began spreading across social media, captioned: “In case you’re wondering what utter, abject failure looks like,” purportedly contrasting COVID-19 infection rates in the United Stat
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Covid911 – Insurgency’ Video Pushes Several Falsehoods And Unproven Conspiracy Theories
Is the COVID-19 pandemic a conspiracy manufactured by "Deep State Democrats" and the "mass media" to disrupt, even rig, the upcoming presidential election in a bid to topple Donald Trump? And did the coronavirus provide the perfect cover for t
Poynter→ Infrared thermometers won’t blind you, damage your neurons nor affect your meditation
People who have recently tried to resume their lives by leaving home and going to shops and restaurants have probably stopped at some temperature check control system. Usually, someone with an infrared thermometer in hand points the machine-looking too
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence San Francisco Hospital Faked Positive COVID-19 Tests
Did a nurse prove that COVID-19 tests were being faked at a San Francisco hospital? No, that's not true: The source of the claim is admittedly at least four times removed from the purported false testing and no credible evidence is offered in
Poynter→ Fact-checking Trump’s claims about the coronavirus during his trip to Wisconsin
PolitiFact and MediaWise are teaming up to debunk misinformation about the coronavirus crisis. To have Coronavirus Facts delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, click here. A note to readers: I really appreciate you spending your morning — or afternoo