In early April 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised COVID-19 guidance and advised Americans to wear face masks, reviving interest in a viral photograph — purportedly a family portrait from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic th
Publication: coronavirus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Birx Video NOT Evidence of U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Being Inflated
Is the number of coronavirus death in the U.S. being exaggerating due to incorrect reporting methods? No, that's not true: If anything, reports suggest that medical facilities and coroner or medical examiner offices may not have all of the vic
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus Will NOT Simply Be ‘Exterminated’ If Lockdowns Are Lifted
Would allowing everyone, except the most vulnerable, to go on with their lives and forget about the lockdown put an end to the COVID-19 outbreak? No, that's not a safe assumption: The notion of "herd immunity," the idea that letting large numb
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Steam From Boiling Orange Concoction Will NOT Kill COVID-19
Will inhaling the steam from boiling orange peels with garlic, onions and salt kill COVID-19 in your body? No, this is false. Lead Stories already debunked an earlier version of the orange-peel steam recipe. There's currently no cure or vaccin
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘Donation from Warren Buffett’ Advance Fee Scam
According to this email, high-profile billionaire Warren Buffett is giving you three million dollars as part of a charity project. The post ‘Donation from Warren Buffett’ Advance Fee Scam appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Snopes→ ‘Pharma Bro’ Wants Out of Prison to Research Coronavirus
Convicted former drug company CEO Martin Shkreli, known as "Pharma Bro," wants to get out of prison so he can help research a treatment for the coronavirus, his lawyer said.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Microwaving Masks In Plastic Bags Is NOT Safe Way To Sterilize Them
Is microwaving a face mask in plastic baggies a good way to kill COVID-19 particles on the mask? No, it is not. Research shows that hydrogen peroxide will kill the virus on masks, but no proof has been found that microwaving kills the novel co
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Mammoth Unemployment Claims in Their Historical Context’ GIF
In early April 2020, the animated image below spread on Facebook and Twitter, bearing the label “U.S. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (thousands, seasonally adjusted)”; no source for the shocking graph was immediately available. Blurry text
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Is NOT A Hoax Proven By Empty Hospital Lots, Waiting Rooms
Are hospitals around the country empty -- not overwhelmed by coronavirus patients in desperate need of life-saving care or testing? No, that's not true: A viral video claims to provide evidence that media coverage of the pandemic isn't true --
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Is NOT A Hoax Proven By Empty Hospital Lots, Waiting Rooms
Are hospitals around the country empty -- not overwhelmed by coronavirus patients in desperate need of life-saving care or testing? No, that's not true: A viral video claims to provide evidence that media coverage of the pandemic isn't true --
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘CoronaHoax’ Video Offers NO Proof COVID-19 Is Anything But Real and Deadly
Did a video prove the "CoronaHoax Pandemic" was fake as lockdowns continue amid the COVID-19 outbreak? No, that's not true: An hour-long video on YouTube claims there is no real threat and that very few deaths have occurred worldwide from the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘CoronaHoax’ Video Offers NO Proof COVID-19 Is Anything But Real and Deadly
Did a video prove the "CoronaHoax Pandemic" was fake as lockdowns continue amid the COVID-19 outbreak? No, that's not true: An hour-long video on YouTube claims there is no real threat and that very few deaths have occurred worldwide from the
Truth or Fiction?→ Conspiracy Theorists, Celebrities Push Disinformation Blaming Cell Towers for COVID-19
As conspiracy theories — fanned in part by public figures — continue spreading, feeding into a feverish, misdirected blame leveled at mobile phone towers for the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities in Great Britain are investigating a spate o
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hospital NOT Caught Red-Handed Using Dummies In Coronavirus Pandemic Footage
Was a New York hospital "caught red handed" using dummies in coronavirus pandemic footage? No, that's not true: A video report from Channel 4 News about the situation in New York hospitals included footage of overflowing wards and ended with a
Snopes→ California to Lend 500 Ventilators to National Stockpile
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state would lend 500 ventilators to the national stockpile for use by New York and other states experiencing a crush of coronavirus-related hospitalizations, even as he said the nation's most populous state ne
Snopes→ Rate of COVID-19 Deaths, Illness among Black Residents Alarms Cities
Chicago's mayor pledged an aggressive public health campaign aimed at the city's black and brown communities amid alarm that an overwhelming number of African American residents were among the people to die of COVID-19 in early data.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the President of Meharry Medical Advise Sterilizing Cloth Face Masks in the Microwave Between Uses?
Discourse regarding personal protective equipment (PPE, including cloth face masks) was a large part of COVID-19 discussion on social media in early April 2020, including a viral Facebook post that repeats purported advice to sterilize cloth masks by
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Goodwill Did NOT Use COVID-19 As An Excuse To Fire All Employees
Did Goodwill fire all of its employees and use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to do it? No, that's not true: While plenty of Goodwill employees across the country may have lost their jobs as stores have closed due to the outbreak, it's
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Of Mannequin Being Wheeled Into Hospital Does NOT Prove A Coronavirus Cover-Up
Does a photo of a mannequin being wheeled into a New York hospital prove a cover-up about hospital overcrowding and the high death toll due to the coronavirus outbreak? No, that's not true. The picture of the dummy on a stretcher going into a
Truth or Fiction?→ Is New York City Planning ‘Temporary Mass Graves’ in Central Park?
On April 6 2020, the New York Post claimed that New York City was considering “temporary mass graves” in public parks such as Central Park in an article bearing the headline, “NYC may temporarily bury coronavirus victims in parks:
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo On Biography Of Boy Who Died From Coronavirus Is NOT Actually Him
Is the photo accompanying a story about the death of a 13-year-old English boy actually the right person? No, that's not true. A biographcal piece on Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who died on March 30, 2020, from COVID-19, features the photo of C
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Make America Great Again’ Breathing Masks
On April 5 2020, social media was alight with speculation — some fond, some alarmed — at the prospect of what appeared to be a new addition to United States President Donald Trump’s merchandise line. The rumor began on Twitter, whenÂ
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus Is NOT Fake; Is NOT A Cover-Up To Allow 5G Deployment
Is the coronavirus fake and actually a governmental cover-up to allow the deployment of 5G network towers? And is the radiation from those 5G towers the real cause of virus deaths? No, none of that is true: A post being shared is filled with d
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump’s Statement That Lupus Patients Are Not Vulnerable To Coronavirus Is NOT Medically Supported
Was President Trump accurate when he stated that a study showed that lupus patients aren't catching the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: The Lupus Foundation of America warns that people with the autoimmune disease are at a higher risk
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Claiming You Cannot Catch Coronavirus Is NOT True
Is it true that you cannot catch the novel coronavirus, as a viral video suggests? No, that's not true: Viruses are contagious. The video is filled with inaccuracies and medically false information. Lead Stories reached out to a medical doctor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Israeli Recipe For Lemon And Bicarbonate Drink Is NOT A Cure For Coronavirus
Is an Israeli recipe for a drink that is made from lemon and bicarbonate a cure for the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true. There is simply no proof for the claim that a recipe of just the two ingredients can beat back COVID-19, which has
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: World Economic Forum NOT A Fascist Cabal Using Coronavirus To Dominate Globe
Is COVID-19 a plan by the World Economic Forum to create a worldwide fascist government? And in this world, will people be rationed 1.2 ounces per week of lab-created protein by a one-world government? No, these claims are not true. Together,
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the United States’ Strategic National Stockpile Website Altered After Remarks by Jared Kushner?
Journalists and social media users alike keyed on to a change to a government website after heavily-criticized remarks by presidential advisor Jared Kushner. On April 2 2020, Kushner was discussing the use of the Strategic National Stockpile as part o
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Walmart NOT Adopting Staggered Schedule Due To COVID-19
Did Walmart and Sam's Club adopt a staggered schedule, allowing shoppers to visit on specific days only according to age groups to help combat COVID-19? No, that's not true: A meme that's circulating on social media to suggest this confusing s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Former Vodafone Boss’ Makes FALSE Claim In Taken-Down YouTube Video That Coronavirus Caused By 5G Tech
Is COVID-19 caused by 5G technology that is killing people around the world? No, that's not true. A video that went viral of a man claiming to be the former "head of the largest business unit at Vodafone," says that coronavirus is not killing
Truth or Fiction?→ Are COVID-19 Patients With High BMIs Being Denied Ventilators?
As the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic became more omnipresent in American life in mid-March 2020, Twitter and Instagram rumors about coronavirus patients with high body mass indices being denied ventilator treatment began to spread. On Twitter on March
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NYTimes Did NOT Invent Doctor Fighting Coronavirus In QAnon Conspiracy Theory
Did the New York Times publish a video featuring an ER physician at Elmhurst Hospital who was peddling lies and doesn't even work at the hospital? No, that's not true: Dr. Colleen Smith does work at the Queens, New York, hospital and offered i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Trump Did NOT Refer To Coronavirus As A ‘Hoax’
Did President Trump refer to the novel coronavirus as a hoax? No, that's not true: Audio and video clips making the rounds have been edited and taken out of context to suggest Trump was calling the coronavirus a hoax. Instead, the president wa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Audio Of Biden Calling Coronavirus A ‘Hoax’ WAS Manipulated
Did U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden call the coronavirus a "hoax"? No, that's not true, and here is some context: The audio on a tweet was manipulated, and Biden never called the novel coronavirus a hoax. The clip was delibera
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO Evidence That 5G Is Being Forcibly Installed In Schools
Is 5G technology forcibly being installed in U.S. schools while people are following stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders put in place by federal, state and local governments to slow the spread of COVID-19? Is the U.S. government sealing it
Truth or Fiction?→ Do You Have to Request a COVID-19 Forbearance for Student Loans?
Social media users’ concern over their student loans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic found themselves dealing with conflicting information — even from the agencies. Prior to the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Se
Truth or Fiction?→ EMS Workers in New York City, Long Island, Receive Orders Not to Transport Patients Who Cannot Be Resuscitated in the Field
In early April 2020, alarming news spread across social media — that Emergency Medical Services teams in New York City and on Long Island were given orders not to transport any patients who could not be resuscitated in the field: Just heard a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Alkaline Diet Does NOT Prevent You From Getting Coronavirus
Does eating an alkaline diet prevent you from getting infected with the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: This claim is a medical myth saying that eating an alkaline diet could prevent someone from being infected with the coronavirus. Th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New York Is NOT Banning Cigarette Sales To Combat COVID-19
Is New York State about to ban cigarette sales to combat the novel coronavirus? No, that is not true: A doctors association has spoken out about tobacco use possibly escalating the toll of the virus, and did call for a ban. But Gov. Andrew Cuo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Coronavirus / COVID-19 Exposed’ Video Does NOT Contain Credible Info
If viruses can survive on surfaces, shouldn't we all be sick? Does 5G give you coronavirus? Is the "new world order" what's behind the epidemic? No, no and no: none of this is true as claimed in a video. The video (archived here) was uploaded