On April 15 2020, a viral tweet asserted Trump White House advisor Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox News, stating “this isn’t COVID-1” when discussing challenges posed by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19: Kellyanne Conway: "
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO Evidence China Created, Then Unleashed Coronavirus As Bioweapon
Did China's Communist government create the novel coronavirus in a laboratory and release it into the world as a deadly bioweapon? No, there is no evidence to back up this claim: While President Trump said on April 15, 2020, that the White Hou
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mosques NOT Allowed to Stay Open While Churches Close During COVID-19 Pandemic
Are Islamic mosques being permitted to stay open while churches are being forced to stay closed due to the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: In states where closures are enforced, all houses of worship must close, without exception. In s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Smithfield Foods Are NOT Packaged In China
Are meats from Smithfield Foods, "the world's largest pork processor and hog producer," packaged in China before being shipped to the United States for sale? No, that's not true: This is an old rumor that's resurfaced and prompted calls for bo
Snopes→ Republicans Decry Michigan Governor’s Latest Stay-Home Order
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's decision to toughen rather than relax what already was one of the nation's strictest stay-home orders in response to the coronavirus is hitting opposition in her home state.
Snopes→ Justice Department Takes Church’s Side in 1st Amendment Suit
The Justice Department took the rare step of weighing in on the side of a Mississippi Christian church where local officials had tried to stop Holy Week services broadcast to congregants sitting in their cars in the parking lot.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biological Engineer Did NOT Offer Medically-Supported Information In Viral Video
Did a viral video "crush" Dr. Anthony Fauci and expose Dr. Deborah Birx and the White House coronavirus task force as members of the so-called "Deep State"? No, that's not true: The man who appeared in an online newscast interview has a histor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Soap And Hand Sanitizer Can’t Be Used to Kill Coronavirus Inside Your Body
Why is it so difficult to kill the novel coronavirus once it is inside of the body, especially since simple soap and sanitizer can kill it outside the body? A meme that went viral asks just that question. While medical officials do recommend s
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the CDC Order All Deaths Be Recorded as a Result of COVID-19 — Even Heart Attacks and Accidents?
In April 2020, a conspiracy theory spread on Facebook and Twitter which maintained that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explicitly ordered that all deaths in the United States, regardless of their true cause, be attributed to t
Snopes→ Florida Judge: Get Out of Bed, Get Dressed for Zoom Hearings
Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Bailey made the plea in a letter published by the Weston Bar Association, news outlets reported.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Choose’ or ‘Pick’ Your ‘Quarantine House’ and Other Engagement Bait During COVID-19
Chances are in early April 2020 you saw many “choose your quarantine house” or “pick your quarantine house” memes on social media, the global pandemic version of “would you live in a cabin with no wifi for a month for a m
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Sex Lines Do NOT Have Stimulus Checks Information
Does Calling 1-800-382-5277 or 1-800-746-6373 give Americans information on their coronavirus stimulus checks? No, that's not true: Calling those numbers -- something being pushed on social media -- instead directs callers to sex phone lines.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Stimulus Checks NOT An Advance On Next Year’s Tax Refund
Are the stimulus checks, meant to provide financial relief during the coronavirus pandemic, an advance on 2020 tax refunds -- meaning people who get the checks might see lower refunds next year? No, that's not true: This is a misinterpretation
Snopes→ A Month after New York’s 1st Virus Death, Toll Hits 10,000
New York's coronavirus death toll has now topped 10,000 only about a month after the state recorded its first fatality, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pentagon Did NOT Confirm Coronavirus Accidentally Got Into Chemtrail Supply Chain
Did the Pentagon confirm that the novel coronavirus accidentally got into the chemtrail supply chain? No, that's not true: The site publishing the claim creates satirical content for aviation buffs (think The Aviation Geek Club meets The Onion
Snopes→ Trump’s Disdain for ‘Obamacare’ Could Hamper Virus Response
The Trump administration's unrelenting opposition to "Obamacare" could become an obstacle for millions of uninsured people in the coronavirus outbreak, as well as many who are losing coverage in the economic shutdown.
Truth or Fiction?→ Coronavirus ‘Memo from a Grocery Store Manager’
An April 7 2020 Facebook post — purportedly a message from an overworked grocery store manager — racked up over half a million shares in just a few days. The post, accompanied by an image of (what looked to be pre-COVID-19 pandemic) superm
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Officials NOT Wrong To Impose Safety Measures, And COVID-19 IS A Pandemic
Does the average American have less than two-tenths of one percent chance of getting coronavirus and, even if so, would that mean that U.S. public health officials were wrong to mandate the precautionary measures they have instituted? No, that
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Kroger Did NOT Offer Chance For A Shopping Spree Giveaway Amid COVID-19
Did Kroger decide on Easter to give back to the community, during these hard times, and offer the opportunity for a one-hour shopping spree free of charge? No, that's not true: This is a scam that's been promoted by an unverified Kroger.com Fa
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Swiss Town Project the Union Jack Onto the Matterhorn to Show COVID-19 Solidarity?
In early April 2020, images of the United Kingdom’s flag projected onto the Matterhorn began circulating — striking photographs that appeared to perhaps be of questionable veracity: The town of #Zermatt in #Switzerland projecting the Un
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Michigan Gov Did NOT Ban Sale Of American Flags During Coronavirus Outbreak
Did Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ban the sale of American flags amid the COVID-19 pandemic? No, that's not true: The Democratic head of the Great Lakes state has not banned the sale of American flags. Supercenter stores, hardware stores and
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New Data Does NOT Reveal That 21 Million Chinese Died Of Coronavirus
Did new intelligence data reveal that 21 million people died in China from December 2019 to March 2020 due to the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: An online article being shared uses a statistic about a drop in cellphone users to make a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump Did NOT Call Coronavirus A ‘Hoax’ Or ‘Political Conspiracy’
Did President Trump refer to the novel coronavirus as a "hoax" or a "political conspiracy"? No, that's not true: Social media posts making the rounds have taken Trump's comments out of context to suggest he was calling the coronavirus a hoax o
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Antennas On Fire In La Spezia, Italy, Were NOT 5G Towers
Did a fire that broke out in La Spezia, Italy, destroy 5G wireless towers? No, that's not true: Local media reports say the fifth-generation cellular network is not available in the city. "5G has nothing to do with it," a newspaper headline re
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: YouTube Video DOES Accurately Describe How COVID-19 Can Kill
Does a video on YouTube purporting to describe the role of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in COVID-19 accurately depict how one can die from the disease? Yes, that's true, experts say, as the video's overarching message -- that people mus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 15 Global Pandemics Did NOT All Originate In China
Did 15 of the deadliest pandemics in global history originate in China? No, that's not true: Internet users are sharing an original infographic that has been altered to claim that most of the world's deadliest pandemics can be traced back to C
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: India Is NOT Suing Bill Gates For Vaccination Deaths
Is India suing Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates because he vaccinated 77,000 girls, many of whom died? No, that's not true: The posts being shared on social media are filled with several false claims. They grossly overstate t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Quinine And Zinc Do NOT Prevent Coronavirus; NO Proof Schweppes Tonic Water Helps
Do quinine and zinc prevent COVID-19, and will Schweppes Tonic Water help? No, neither are true: A chiropractor in St. Louis posted a video in which he touted a quinine and zinc combination as a preventative measure for coronavirus. He also cl
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Using the ‘African Method’ Help Avoid Contracting COVID-19?
Stories about people beating COVID-19 through “traditional” remedies continue to spread online in spite of warnings from health officials. For example, a post from news site NewsOne features what it claims is a “viral video.”
Snopes→ White House Points to Hopeful Signs as Deaths Keep Rising
At the end of a week officials had warned would be this generation's Pearl Harbor, White House officials pointed to hopeful signs that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing, even as President Donald Trump insisted he would not move to reopen t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Top German Doctor Did NOT Seriously Recommend Whiskey to Protect Against COVID-19
Did German virologist Jürgen Rissland seriously recommend drinking whiskey as protection against COVID-19? No, that's not true: A TV segment from German public broadcaster SWR did show Rissland jokingly making remarks about drinking whiskey a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccine Did NOT Kill 7 Children In Senegal
Did "mass vaccination" for COVID-19 start in Senegal, West Africa, and kill "on the spot" the first seven children who received it? No, that's not true: Senegal's health ministry says there is no truth to this story. Plus, a vaccine for COVID-
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: No ‘Deep State’ Operators Trying To Ban Hydroxychloroquine
Do Big Pharma, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates want to ban hydroxychoroquine? No, that's not true: In fact, not only is the drug not banned -- the federal government is actually conducting clinical trials right now to determine if hydroxychlo
Snopes→ Smithfield Temporarily Shuts Pork Plant Due to Coronavirus
A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in South Dakota will temporarily close for cleaning after more than 80 employees were confirmed to have the coronavirus, the company announced.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Comparing Other Virus Death Counts To COVID-19 Does NOT Signal Government Secrets
Did the Asian flu, Hong Kong flu, swine flu and bird flu each kill more people than the coronavirus we face today? And did the government "never ever shut down anything," suggesting that there is something officials aren't telling the public?
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Say Stimulus Won’t Pass Unless Seniors Excluded
Did U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say she won't pass the new and massive economic stimulus legislation to beat back the economic spiral due to COVID-19 unless senior citizens are excluded? No, that's not true: A satirical website that attemp
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘COVID-19 Had Us All Fooled, but Now We Might Have Finally Found Its Secret’ Medium Post
In early April 2020, a post published to Medium.com circulated on social media, titled “Covid-19 had us all fooled, but now we might have finally found its secret.” The post went viral in archived and replicated form even after the site re
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Bans on Plastic Shopping Bags Being Reversed Because of COVID-19?
Citing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least three states took steps to walk back bans on plastic shopping bags, while environmental advocacy groups accused the plastics industry of seizing on the virus for their own purposes. In late March 20
Snopes→ US Charges 2 with Terror Crimes over Threats to Spread Virus
The Justice Department charged two people with federal terrorism offenses for allegedly claiming they were intentionally trying to spread the coronavirus.
Snopes→ First Lady Spreads Easter Cheer to Workers during Pandemic
Melania Trump is spreading some colorful Easter cheer to workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.