Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it on your email every Thursday. Less than half of Birdwatch users include sources, and many reveal partisan
Publication: covid-19
Poynter→ Factually: Twitter, your Birdwatch has problems
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it on your email every Thursday. Less than half of Birdwatch users include sources, and many reveal partisan
Health Feedback→ Misleading to compare the safety of COVID-19 and flu vaccines based solely on VAERS reports; VAERS reports alone cannot demonstrate that a vaccine caused an adverse event
REVIEW With the worldwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, claims that the vaccines caused severe adverse events or deaths spread on social media. A meme published on 15 February 2021 claimed that a person is 300 to 900 times “more likely to die” a
Snopes→ Did Biden Set US ‘Back 50 Years’ on Energy Independence Progress?
It is true that 2019 was the first year since 1957 in which the U.S. was energy independent.
Snopes→ COVID-19 Shots Might Be Tweaked If Variants Get Worse
The makers of COVID-19 vaccines are figuring out how to tweak their recipes against worrisome virus mutations.
Snopes→ The Superspreaders Behind Top COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories
The Associated Press collaborated with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab on a nine-month investigation to identify the people and organizations behind some of the most viral misinformation about the origins of the coronavirus.
Snopes→ Marriage and Divorce Amid Pandemic: Couples’ Challenges Abound
According to one expert, the pandemic has been particularly troublesome for spouses whose coping strategies have been disrupted.
Health Feedback→ The CDC didn’t introduce a “major rule change” to inflate COVID-19 deaths; there have been more than 490,000 excess deaths in the U.S. to date
REVIEW An article published by the Gateway Pundit in early February 2021 claimed that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “illegally inflated the COVID fatality number by at least 1,600 percent”. The article received more t
Snopes→ Virus May Never Go Away but Could Change Into Mild Annoyance
Expert: SARS-CoV-2 could just "become another animal in the zoo."
Snopes→ No, Gov. DeSantis Didn’t Tell Biden ‘Go F— Yourself’
The governor of Florida did express unhappiness over potential COVID-19 travel restrictions, but not in so many words.
Snopes→ No, Gov. DeSantis Didn’t Tell Biden ‘Go F— Yourself’
The governor of Florida did express unhappiness over potential COVID-19 travel restrictions, but not in so many words.
Snopes→ Lauded Early in Pandemic, Cuomo Now Panned on Nursing Homes
The New York governor faces intensifying accusations that he covered up the true death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home residents.
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines protect individuals from developing the disease and are necessary tools to end the pandemic along with physical distancing measures
REVIEW To date, more than two million people have died from COVID-19 worldwide. Several vaccines against COVID-19 received emergency use authorization and countries have started their vaccination campaigns. Around the same time, claims that COVID-19
Snopes→ CDC: Strong Evidence In-Person Schooling Can Be Done Safely
The nation’s top public health agency said that in-person schooling can resume safely with masks, social distancing and other strategies.
Snopes→ Cuomo Administration ‘Froze’ over Nursing Home Data Requests
New York state lawmakers and the Department of Justice had asked the Cuomo administration for the nursing home data in August 2020.
Snopes→ Did Dave Ramsey Say He Doesn’t Believe in Stimulus Checks Because if You Need Them ‘You Were Pretty Much Screwed Already’?
The radio host made a comment on Fox News that was received unfavorably by many.
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use prevent the disease and are generally safe based on rigorous clinical trials and ongoing monitoring
REVIEW A video claiming that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous and that healthcare workers who administer them are “war criminals” was published on 2 February 2021. The author of the video, titled “old man in a chair”, is Vernon Coleman, a for
Health Feedback→ Article claiming that masks contribute to cancer development misrepresents a study about lung cancer, which didn’t involve masks at all
REVIEW An article published at the end of January 2021 by the outlet Blacklisted News, identified as a “conspiracy-pseudoscience” source by Media Bias/Fact Check, claimed that mask-wearing over a prolonged period of time contributes to the devel
Snopes→ WHO Team: Coronavirus Unlikely to Have Leaked from China Lab
The WHO team, which included experts from 10 countries, has been considering many theories for how the disease first ended up in humans.
Snopes→ New Variants Raise Worry About COVID-19 Virus Reinfections
Evidence is mounting that having COVID-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants.
Snopes→ Tampa Mayor Frustrated by Maskless Fans After Super Bowl
Throngs of mostly maskless fans took to the streets and packed sports bars as the clock inside Raymond James Stadium ticked down on a hometown Super Bowl win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Snopes→ Officials Plead: Don’t Let Super Bowl Become Superspreader
Health officials fear the game could seed new cases at exactly the wrong time.
Snopes→ Calls Grow for US to Rely on Rapid Tests to Fight Pandemic
Most experts agree that the current U.S. system, which relies heavily on lab testing, is still incapable of containing the virus that is killing more than 3,000 Americans per day.
Snopes→ AP Analysis: Federal Executions Likely a COVID Superspreader
Medical and public health experts repeatedly called on the Justice Department to delay executions, arguing the setup at prisons made them especially vulnerable to outbreaks.
Snopes→ New Orleans to Shut Down Bars during Mardi Gras Weekend
That’s usually among the busiest times of the year, but Mayor LaToya Cantrell says it is an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Snopes→ Coronavirus Cases Drop at US Homes for Elderly and Infirm
Coronavirus cases have dropped at U.S. nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, offering a glimmer of hope that health officials attribute to the start of vaccinations, an easing of the post-holiday surge and better prevention, among other re
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘Covid-19 Lottery Prize’ Advance Fee Scam
According to this email, you have been selected as a winner of the million-dollar Covid-19 relief lotto award. The post ‘Covid-19 Lottery Prize’ Advance Fee Scam appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Health Feedback→ The lethality of COVID-19 is much higher than the flu; the Biden press corps didn’t say COVID-19 was a hoax
REVIEW The coronavirus caused more than 100 million COVID-19 cases and more than 2 million deaths worldwide as of January 2021. However, the impact of the disease has been the subject of disinformation throughout the pandemic. Many claimed that COVI
Health Feedback→ Vaccines are useful even when there is a treatment for a disease, contrary to claim by Lee Merritt in The New American video
REVIEW A video of an interview, published by The New American on 15 January 2021, featured Lee Merritt, an orthopedic surgeon and former president of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). The AAPS has previously published misin
Snopes→ Does COVID Stand for ‘Certificate of Vaccination ID’?
And, does “19” mean “Artificial Intelligence"?
Snopes→ Fauci Warns Against Super Bowl Parties to Avoid Virus Spread
“You don't want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” he told NBC's “Today” show.
Health Feedback→ The American Journal of Medicine didn’t recommend hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19; scientific evidence doesn’t show hydroxychloroquine is effective against COVID-19
REVIEW In late January 2021, social media posts and articles claimed that hydroxychloroquine was effective for the early treatment of COVID-19 patients based on a scientific publication in The American Journal of Medicine. The claim went viral on so
Snopes→ Did ‘Yardi Gras’ Replace Mardi Gras Parades in New Orleans?
New Orleans residents marked the holiday a little differently in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did 20 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses ‘Go Missing’?
Online speculation around former presidential advisor Jared Kushner swirled on social media after stories appeared about ongoing problems facing United States President Joe Biden’s administration as it continued fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, n
Snopes→ Will Coronavirus Really Evolve to Become Less Deadly?
How confident can we be in predicting how evolution will shape the relationship between a pathogen and its host?
Snopes→ Anti-Vaccine Protesters Temporarily Shut Down Vaccine Site
One of the largest vaccination sites in the country temporarily shut down Saturday because dozen of protesters blocked the entrance, stalling hundreds of motorists who had been waiting in line for hours, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Snopes→ Playing Favorites? Hospital Boards, Donors Get COVID Shots
While millions of Americans wait for the COVID-19 vaccine, hospital board members, their trustees and donors around the country have gotten early access to the scarce drug or offers for vaccinations, raising complaints about favoritism.
Snopes→ Journalists Sought for Personal Help by the COVID-19 Curious
CC Davidson-Hiers, a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat in Florida, has lost track of how many requests she's gotten, many from elderly readers who can't navigate online vaccination sign-ups.
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines currently in use stimulate immunity to the same degree as natural infection without exposing the vaccinated person to the risks associated with the disease
On 25 January 2021, the U.S biopharmaceutical company Merck announced its decision to stop the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidates. This article, published on 26 January 2021 by Summit News, reported on Merck’s announcement and claim
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines currently in use stimulate immunity to the same degree as natural infection without exposing the vaccinated person to the risks associated with the disease
On 25 January 2021, the U.S biopharmaceutical company Merck announced its decision to stop the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidates. This article, published on 26 January 2021 by Summit News, reported on Merck’s announcement and claim