In May 2020 — in the middle of a global COVID-19 pandemic — a screenshot of a dangerously misapplied Facebook fact-checking flag began circulating which falsely and dangerously contradicts best practices around the use of masks in public p
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Greg Evensen’s ‘Heads Up Oklahoma’ Posted By Johnnie Cheadle Is NOT About 2020 Coronavirus
Are Oklahoma police planning to set up roadblocks to enforce a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination law and slap micro-chipped bracelets on people? No, this is not true: A video featuring conspiracy blogger Greg Evensen is from a 2009 speech in whic
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Thousands Upon Thousands’ Of Children Purportedly Kidnapped By A Satanic Pedophile Ring Have NOT Been ‘Pulled From Underground Bunkers’
Have thousands of children been pulled from secret pedophile bunkers and underground cities in a massive rescue operation led by President Trump and Russian President Putin? No, that's not true: It is a false conspiracy theory unsupported by r
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: No Research Proves Mouthwash Could Protect Against COVID-19, But Scientists Say It Should Be Studied
Does research prove that commercial mouthwash could protect against COVID-19? No, that's not true: the effectiveness of gargling with mouthwash on killing the novel coronavirus is "under researched," according to British scientists who suggest
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Ulta Paying Employees for the Duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
On May 10 2020, Ulta Beauty became the subject of a viral Facebook post claiming that the chain continued paying their furloughed employees for the duration of the pandemic: In what appeared to be originally a friends-locked post, the alliterativel
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Worker Did NOT Expose COV-19 Circuit Boards Being Installed in 5G Towers
Did a brave telecommunications worker expose circuit boards being installed in 5G towers bearing markings that read "COV-19"? No, that's not true: the piece of equipment visible in the viral video appears to be a piece of kit stripped from an
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The United States Is NOT The Only Country On Earth Where People Are Protesting Coronavirus Lockdown
Is the United States the only country on Earth that is protesting being on lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak? No, that's not true: There have been COVID-19 lockdown fueled protests around the world. There have been protests in France, Ger
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bill Gates Will NOT Personally Profit From A COVID-19 Vaccine And He Does NOT Own A Company That Will Put A Tracking Microchip In You
Will Bill Gates personally profit from a COVID-19 vaccine and does he own a company that plans to implant microchips in everyone to track them? No, that's not true: Gates has spent more than $300 million of his own fortune to encourage develop
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New York Schools Did NOT Add A COVID-19 Vaccine To The Mandatory School Schedule
Did New York schools add a COVID-19 vaccine to the mandatory school schedule? No, that's not true. A claim warning that New York public schools have added a COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccinations amid the coronavirus outbrea
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Card Does NOT Exempt Anyone From Wearing A Mask In Public
Is a card claiming to exempt the holder from wearing a face mask in public the real deal, sanctioned by the government? No, that's not true: the anti-mask meme circulating on social media is full of mistakes. It claims to have the backing of t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Doctors Are NOT ‘Encouraged’ By Hospitals And AMA To Overcount COVID-19 Deaths
Are U.S. doctors encouraged by hospitals and the American Medical Association to list COVID-19 on a death certificate when the novel coronavirus was not the cause of death? No, that's not true: While hospitals may get additional Medicare or Me
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Pennsylvania Governor Breaking His Own Social Distancing Rules
Is Pennsylvania's governor breaking his own social distancing rules in a photo? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim uses a old photo from a news conference held 11 days before Gov. Tom Wolf issued the first "stay at home" order for P
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Police ‘Forcing A Family’ Out Of Home In Handcuffs NOT Tied to COVID-19 Or HR 6666
Did police violently force a family from their home in handcuffs because they were in violation of House Resolution 6666? No, that's not true. The incident shown in a video is unrelated to the coronavirus or proposed legislation. It happened i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Trump Did NOT Tweet Obama ‘Had 8 Years To Prepair The Next President For A Pandemic And He Failed’
Did President Trump post a tweet blaming President Obama for failing to prepare him for a pandemic and celebrating that there are still more people alive than dead? No, that's not true: this is a fake tweet. The president never wrote this. An
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Ventura County COVID-19 Testing and Removing Children from Homes?
Among early May 2020 rumors about “forced testing” Americans for COVID-19 (occasionally with increasingly hysterical rumors about purported home intrusions under H.R. 6666) was a consistent claim that the government sought to remove childr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Fauci Did NOT Serve On Microsoft’s Board of Directors
Did Dr. Anthony Fauci serve on the board of directors of tech giant Microsoft, and was MIcrosoft co-founder Bill Gates Fauci's boss? No, this is not true. Fauci, one of the leaders on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, never served on the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: HR 6666 Is NOT Going To Forcibly Remove People With COVID-19 From Homes As Dr. Rashid Buttar Claims
Does House Resolution 6666 provide funds to forcibly removed people with COVID-19 from their homes as Dr. Rashid Buttar claims in videos? No, that is not true: HR 6666 would not mandate that citizens be removed from their homes if they test po
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: HR 6666 Would NOT Ban Anyone Not Vaccinated For COVID-19 From Churches, Schools, Medical Buildings That Get Money From The Bill
Does House Resolution 6666 ban people not vaccinated for COVID-19 from entering churches, schools, and medical buildings that receive money from the legislation? No, that's not true: No provision in this proposal makes vaccinations mandatory.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That ‘Deep State,’ China Use COVID-19 For Population Control And To Derail President Trump
Is there a conspiracy by "the Deep State" and China to establish "sweeping population control" and "derail" President Trump using the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: A report by a conservative U.S. news network citing "emerging reports
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Obama Did NOT Give $3.7 Million Grant To Wuhan, China, Virology Lab To Study Coronavirus
Did President Barack Obama award $3.7 million to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2015 to study the coronavirus that has grown into a global pandemic? No, that is not true: Government documents show that the money -- actually about $3.4 mill
Truth or Fiction?→ Does House Bill 6666 (the TRACE Act) Allow the Government to Enter Your Home, Test for COVID-19, and Take Your Children or Parents?
In early May 2020, a number of panicked posts about proposed legislation (H.R. 6666, also called the Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone, or TRACE Act) began spreading on social media, including a May 8 2020 video with a massive 2.5 million vie
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: House Resolution 6666 Does NOT Fund Forced Quarantine For Americans With COVID-19
Does House Resolution 6666 include billions of dollars to fund forced quarantining for Americans who test positive for COVID-19? No, that's not true: the bill earmarks funding to improve Americans' health through mobile testing units in medica
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the California Department of Social Services Mandating COVID-19 Testing for Eligible Families — and Threatening to Place Children in Foster Care?
In early May 2020, a letter attributed to California’s Department of Social Services circulated on Facebook. It purportedly mandated that recipients of programs like MediCal and CalFresh immediately submit to testing for COVID-19 antigens or ant
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bill Gates Did NOT Say The Catholic Religion May Have To Be Suspended Forever
Did Did Bill Gates say that the Catholic religion may have to be suspended forever because of the COVID-19 pandemic? No, that's not true: While the billionaire philantrophist has predicted that "mass gatherings" may not return until vaccinatio
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ventura County Will NOT Forcibly Remove People Infected With COVID-19 From Their Homes Into Quarantine
Did the Ventura County public health director say that the California county will be forcibly moving people infected with COVID-19 out of their homes into quarantine? No, that's not true. The video of Public Health DirectorDr. Robert Levin giv
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mike Pence Did Not Deliver Empty Boxes Of PPE To A Hospital As Seen In Jimmy Kimmel Video
Did Vice President Mike Pence deliver empty boxes of PPE to a hospital as a publicity stunt? No, this is not true: Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel mocked a video of Pence delivering boxes that were "empty" to a health care center amid t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Reveal That Coronavirus Vaccine Was Patented By Bill Gates In 2006
Does a viral video reveal there is a coronavirus vaccine patent owned by Bill Gates? No, that is not true: A video by Dr. Rashid Buttar claims there is a coronavirus patent owned by a pharmaceutical company that is owned by Bill Gates. There a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Hydroxychloroquine 60¢ a Pill, Remdesivir $1000 a Dose, Now Do You See Why They are Pushing the New Drug and Not the Old One?’
On May 1 2020, a Facebook user shared the following post, which contained the claim that antiviral medication remdesivir had replaced hydroxychloroquine as a favored hopeful treatment for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 because the former medica
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a May 6 1993 ‘Simpsons’ Episode Feature an ‘Asian Flu’ And ‘Murder Bees’?
Almost every major global event has a purported Simpsons episode predicting it, and COVID-19 was no different — but a variation of the 2020 claim that The Simpsons predicted COVID-19 snapped back with a second claim the same episode also pre
Truth or Fiction?→ Researcher Behind Retracted Paper Launches Anti-Fauci Campaign
The researcher-turned-anti-vaccine activist whose work was publicly redacted by a leading journal resurfaced in May 2020 to attack National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci and accuse him of spreading disinformation
Truth or Fiction?→ COVID-19 HIPAA Face Mask Exemption ‘Passes’
Chances are in early May 2020 you saw at least one Facebook post depicting a somewhat-official looking printable document: A viral image claiming that Americans in any state where masks had been mandated or otherwise advised in public places were spe
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Admit That Reopening Businesses Would Lead to More COVID-19 Cases?
In the middle of announcing his plan calling for workers to resume business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was recorded admitting that he knew it would spur an increase in cases of the disease. “How do we know reopening busin
Truth or Fiction?→ Was ‘Proud Boy’ Rob Cantrell Photographed at a Right-Wing Protest in Michigan?
The photograph that came to symbolize the hypocrisy present in an anti-government protest in Michigan on April 30 2020 became the center of an unfounded allegation concerning its origins. The image, showing an unidentified man yelling at a group of po
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Fauci Has NOT Been ‘MIA’ And He Did NOT Illegally Send NIH Money To The Wuhan Virology Lab
Did Dr. Anthony Fauci disappear for days at the end of April because he had illegally sent $3.7 million to a virology lab in Wuhan, China? No that's not true. His schedule is a matter of public record, he never went MIA, and he didn't sign the
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Venice in Quarantine’: Did Flamingos Flock to Quiet Canals?
Quirky or uplifting news was in high demand as the COVID-19 pandemic dragged on, which was likely the reason that a Facebook post (“Venice … in quarantine,” archived here) purportedly showing flamingos in the deserted canals of Venic
Truth or Fiction?→ Are COVID-19 Doctors Reporting Bizarre Blood Clotting and Strokes in Otherwise Healthy Young Patients?
On May 3 2020, Twitter user Bess Kalb tweeted that her father, an intensive care unit doctor, claimed that COVID-19 damaged blood and vascular systems of victims like “sticking your finger in an electric socket”: My dad is an ICU doctor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Death Rate In NYC Is NOT 200 Times Higher Than World’s 10 Largest Cities
Is the rate of coronavirus-related deaths being reported out of New York City 200 times higher than the death rates of the world's largest 10 cities? No, that's not true: A meme making the claim uses inaccurate numbers for the total deaths in
Lead Stories→ IFCN Press Release: New WhatsApp chatbot unleashes power of worldwide fact-checking organizations to fight COVID-19 misinformation on the platform
Poynter's International Fact-Checking Network led the creation of the chatbot to make its database of more than 4,000 COVID-19 hoaxes easy and accessible to people around the world. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 4, 2020) -- The Poynter Institute's
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The CDC Did NOT Simply Make 30,000 COVID-19 Deaths Disappear
Did the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make 30,000 COVID-19 deaths disappear "just like that," proving the American people were lied to as part of some social experiment? No, that's not true: On May 2, the CDC reported their l
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hydrochloroquine is NOT A Drug Being Held Back, And Studies ARE Underway For Vaccines That Will NOT Be Immediately Injected in People.
Is it true that "thousands of doctors" say hydrochloroquine "cures" COVID-19 patients," but the cure won't be valid until a major study is done? And is it true that once a vaccination against the novel coronavirus is manufactured, it will be q