REVIEW An editorial article published in the Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents on 16 July 2020 and withdrawn a few days later claimed that the millimeter-length waves used in 5G technology can spontaneously generate SARS-CoV-2
Publication: covid-19
Snopes→ GOP’s Jobless Benefit Plan Could Mean Delays, States Warn
How to handle unemployment is a fiercely contested part of the debate as Congress negotiates the latest relief legislation.
Snopes→ Is Trump Blocking COVID-19 Aid in Favor of Tax Cuts That Would Drain Social Security?
It wasn't the first time the president pushed to add the payroll tax cut to a coronavirus relief package.
Snopes→ Did a Couple Wear Swastika Masks to Walmart?
It was not the first such incident reported during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Snopes→ Is Seasonal Flu More Deadly Than COVID-19?
The real point is: Both diseases can kill. And experts warn we may be dealing with them simultaneously this fall.
Snopes→ Virus-Linked Hunger Tied to 10,000 Child Deaths Each Month
All around the world, the coronavirus and its restrictions are pushing already hungry communities over the edge, cutting off meager farms from markets and isolating villages from food and medical aid.
Snopes→ Did Coronavirus Cause a Dr Pepper Shortage?
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the production of a number of food and beverage products in 2020.
Snopes→ President Trump Again Pushes Unproven Drug as Coronavirus Treatment
In a series of tweets, President Donald Trump also challenged the credibility of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Snopes→ Google To Keep Most of Its Employees at Home Until July 2021
Google has decided that most of its 200,000 employees and contractors should work from home through next June.
Snopes→ Do Teens Spread COVID-19 As Fast as Adults?
The findings from a South Korean study came as health officials issued new guidance to reopening schools around the U.S.
Snopes→ 2 MLB Games Postponed as Marlins Deal with Virus Outbreak
The cancellation of both games was announced about 7 hours before the scheduled first pitch.
Snopes→ Trump’s National Security Adviser Has Coronavirus
National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien is the highest-ranking official to test positive for the virus so far.
Health Feedback→ Sexual transmission of SARS-CoV-2 currently unconfirmed as studies produce conflicting evidence of its presence in the reproductive system
REVIEW This claim is the headline of an article written on 18 July by Paula Froelich for the New York Post. The article reports the findings of a study conducted at China’s Shangqiu Municipal Hospital and published online in the journal JAMA N
Snopes→ Virus Vaccine Put to Final Test in Thousands of Volunteers
The world's biggest COVID-19 vaccine study is underway with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government.
Health Feedback→ A trypsin-based oral spray reportedly deactivates SARS-CoV-2 in a liquid suspension but has not yet been tested in the mouth
REVIEW A video posted on Facebook on 20 July 2020 reports the contents of a press release issued the same day by life sciences company Enzymatica claiming that its oral spray deactivated 98.3% of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro within 20 minutes. However, the h
Health Feedback→ Scientific evidence supports the use of face masks for reducing the transmission of respiratory diseases including COVID-19
REVIEW A Facebook post published in May 2020 by a user named “Caitlyn RN” (see Notes for more information) claimed that masks do not prevent the spread of pathogens, and that wearing a mask can cause oxygen deficiency and hypercapnia (high carbo
Snopes→ How To Make Sure Your Mask Maximizes Protection
Whether or not you agree with a mandate to wear a mask, many of us will do so during our daily business.
Snopes→ Does Your Homemade Mask Work?
Given the wide variety of unregulated face coverings that people are now wearing, how do we know which is most effective?
Snopes→ Will US COVID-19 Deaths Be Double the Number of US Vietnam War Deaths by Fall 2020?
According to one estimate, the COVID-19 pandemic may leave as many as 300,000 Americans dead by end of 2020.
Snopes→ Did 13 ‘Nuns’ Die of COVID-19 at a US Convent?
An outbreak at a Felician convent in Michigan spread quickly.
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Amish People Not Get Coronavirus Because They Don’t Have Television?
In July 2020, a number of Facebook memes circulated riffing on the same theme — that Amish people in the United States were not developing COVID-19, because they “don’t have television sets.” Variations We observed this claim s
Snopes→ Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Released From Prison Again
A judge has ruled that Cohen's First Amendment rights were violated when he was ordered back to prison.
Snopes→ Did Fauci Lower His Mask at Baseball Game?
The White House Coronavirus Task Force leader has been highly scrutinized throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Snopes→ Trump Calls Off Florida Segment of GOP National Convention
A small subset of GOP delegates will still formally renominate Trump on Aug. 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina, at an event scheduled to last just four hours.
Snopes→ Was a Fatal Motorcycle Crash Listed Among COVID-19 Deaths in Florida?
A case that was initially tallied among coronavirus deaths in 2020 caused some confusion.
Snopes→ Did Trump Wish Ghislaine Maxwell Well During a Briefing?
The claims circulated after a July 2020 White House press briefing on COVID-19.
Snopes→ Why Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine Don’t Block SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Human Lung Cells
HQC can block the coronavirus from infecting kidney cells from the African green monkey. But it does not inhibit the virus in human lung cells – the primary site of infection for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Snopes→ The Constitution Doesn’t Have a Problem with Mask Mandates
It is not always clear why anti-maskers think government orders requiring face coverings in public spaces or those put in place by private businesses violate their constitutional rights, much less what they think those rights are
Snopes→ Does Googling Any 3-Digit Number Followed by ‘New Cases’ Reveal COVID-19 Conspiracy?
On the contrary, testing this conspiracy theory actually proves the opposite of what it imagines.
Snopes→ 1.4 Million Seek Jobless Aid, First Increase Since March
Before the pandemic, the number of weekly unemployment applications had never exceeded 700,000.
Poynter→ How users see Facebook’s labels will determine their effectiveness
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 What does a label really mean? This week, Face
Health Feedback→ Primary COVID-19 transmission is by close contact with infected people; nasopharyngeal swab-based testing provides the highest diagnostic accuracy
REVIEW Facebook posts published in July 2020, such as this meme, questioned the need for nasopharyngeal sample collection in which “they have to stick a Q-tip through your nose to the back of your head to swab a sample of COVID” when it would be
Snopes→ US Signs Contract with Pfizer for COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
The agreement is part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program, under which multiple COVID-19 vaccines are being developed simultaneously.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Coin Shortage? Where Did They All Go in Four Months?’
Despite being identified as disinformation, a Facebook post making light of a shortage of available coins around the United States continued to spread in July 2020. The post, which was published in a Kansas-based conservative group on July 16 2020, ha
Snopes→ Did Christopher Harrington Patent a ‘CV19-N95’ Mask in 2015?
Jokes and conspiracy theories often get mistaken from one another on social media.
Snopes→ Did Betsy DeVos Say Schools Can’t Plan for a COVID-19 Outbreak That ‘Hasn’t Happened Yet’?
The U.S. secretary of education's actual statement came during a CNN interview that went a bit in circles.
Health Feedback→ A proportion of COVID-19 survivors are likely to suffer from long-term health problems, but the actual risks are still unknown
REVIEW A July 2020 post on Quora, which is a question-and-answer website, went viral on Facebook after users began sharing screenshots or copies of the original post (see an example here). The post’s author, Franklin Veaux, attempts to answer the
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘It’s Just a Mask, It’s Just a Vaccine’ [Covid Fanfics]
On July 14 2020, Facebook user Ryan Thames shared the following post, along with a claim that temporary behavior intended to curb the rates of a respiratory-borne virus during a pandemic, such as recommending the widespread use of face masks to cut ba
Snopes→ EU Agrees on $2.1 Trillion Deal After Marathon Summit
The 27 leaders grudgingly committed to a costly, massive aid package for those hit hardest by COVID-19, which has already killed 135,000 people within the bloc alone.
Snopes→ Were Florida Labs Busted for Not Reporting Negative COVID-19 Results?
Percentage rates of positive results got confused at some labs, but one thing remained clear: COVID-19 cases were spiking in Florida in July 2020.