U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s $100 billion grant program proposed in the H.R. 6666 TRACE bill has been widely misrepresented.
Publication: covid-19
Snopes→ Does Pelosi Want ‘Guaranteed Minimum Incomes’ for ‘Illegal Aliens’ in Next COVID-19 Stimulus?
A right-wing provocateur made the claim in a May 2020 tweet as federal leaders negotiated what to include in their next COVID-19 economic relief package.
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
Snopes→ Is This ‘Social Distancing = Communism’ Protest Sign Real?
At times it seems as if "communism" has become a general term to describe any undesirable action taken by government.
Snopes→ Did Trump Tweet ‘Some Oldies Will Have to Die’?
A routine review of content labeled satire.
Snopes→ Virus Rampages Across Vast Navajo Lands, Close-Knit Families
If Navajo Nation were its own state, it would have the highest per-capita rate of confirmed positive coronavirus cases in the country, behind only New York.
Snopes→ Restart or Re-Stop? Countries Reopen Amid Second-Wave Fears
Countries around the world are facing the delicate balance of trying to restart their battered economies without causing a second wave of coronavirus infections.
Snopes→ Coronavirus Found in Semen of Young Men with COVID-19
The presence of viral RNA in the patients’ semen does not necessarily indicate the presence of infectious virus.
Truth or Fiction?→ Do These X-Rays Show What COVID-19 Does To Your Lungs?
A graphic exhorting social media users to take COVID-19 seriously only added to the disinformation surrounding the disease. The meme, which began circulating on Facebook in May 2020, shows four different chest X-rays. The caption claims that the fourt
Snopes→ ‘Plandemic’: Was Judy Mikovits Arrested Without a Warrant and Jailed Without Charges?
The factually-challenged film “Plandemic” is a social media hit with groups such as anti-vaxxers and QAnon conspiracy theorists.
Snopes→ Is It Dangerous to Wear a COVID-19 Protective Mask For Too Long?
Prolonged usage of certain masks can cause some health concerns.
Snopes→ Aide to Vice President Pence Tests Positive for Coronavirus
An official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of the Vice President's staff — which works next door in the Executive Office Building — are tested less frequently.
Snopes→ Did Pence Deliver Empty PPE Boxes to a Rehabilitation Center?
The vice president had made a joke about carrying an empty box for the news cameras.
Snopes→ Jobless Rate Spikes to Highest Since Great Depression
The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April. It was at a record low of 3.5% as recently as February.
Snopes→ Did Tanzania’s President Expose Faulty COVID-19 Testing by Submitting Non-Human Samples?
Viral social media posts claimed Tanzanian President John Magufuli used samples from a fruit, quail, and goat to uncover wrongful testing practices.
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
Snopes→ Trump Valet Has Coronavirus; President Again Tests Negative
It was the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March.
Snopes→ Does Nicotine Protect Us Against Coronavirus?
A recent paper that examined smoking rates among COVID-19 patients in a French hospital hypothesised smoking might make people less susceptible to COVID-19 infection.
Snopes→ Did Costco Post This Sarcastic Reply to a Customer on Facebook?
Costco's requiring customers to wear face masks in its stores during the coronavirus pandemic has raised hackles — and questions about one brazen Facebook comment.
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
Snopes→ Neiman Marcus Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
The 112-year-old chain is the first department store to be toppled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Snopes→ AP: Trump Admin Shelves CDC Guide to Reopening Country
The guide was supposed to be published on May 1, but agency scientists were told the guidance “would never see the light of day,” according to a CDC official.
Snopes→ 33 Million Have Sought US Unemployment Aid Since Virus Hit
The number who have applied for jobless aid during the crisis so far are the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed in February 2020.
Snopes→ Don’t Hold Your Breath for a COVID-19 Vaccine in 2020
Donald Trump may be “very confident” we will have a vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of the year, but the rest of us should be more cautious.
Snopes→ ‘If This Thing Boomerangs’: Second Wave of Infections Feared
As Europe and the U.S. loosen their lockdowns against the coronavirus, health experts are expressing growing dread over what they say is an all-but-certain second wave of deaths and infections that could force governments to clamp back down.
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
Snopes→ Is This Microsoft Logo/Coronavirus Crop Circle Real?
You don't need a field to create a crop circle hoax.
Snopes→ Did ‘Live and Let Die’ Play as Trump Toured Factory Without COVID-19 Mask?
According to the CDC, everyone should wear some sort of protection over their noses and mouths in public settings where it’s hard to keep distance between other people.
Snopes→ Did Trump Say COVID-19 Deaths Wouldn’t Hurt Anyone as Much as Himself?
During an ABC News interview, the president spoke about reopening the U.S. and what he'd say to those who lost loved ones to the coronavirus disease.
Snopes→ Is NYC’s COVID-19 Death Rate at Least 250x Higher Than Tokyo’s?
A viral tweet from software engineer John McAfee raised questions about social-distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic.
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
Snopes→ Was ‘Proud Boy’ Rob Cantrell Seen Screaming at Cop at Anti-Lockdown Protest?
A photograph truly shows a man screaming near an officer during an anti-lockdown protest.
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
Snopes→ Coronavirus Tests Are Pretty Accurate, But Far from Perfect
It’s surprisingly hard to determine how accurate a coronavirus test is, identify the cause of any inaccuracies and understand how inaccuracies affect the data public health officials use to make decisions.
Snopes→ 2 Russian Doctors Dead, 1 in ICU After Mysterious Accidents
At least three doctors have fallen out of windows in hospitals under mysterious circumstances over the course of the outbreak.
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
Snopes→ Is Kansas City Ordering Churchgoers To Register with the Government?
Sensational headlines suggested the city was singling out churches for heavy-handed surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
Snopes→ Is a Global Conspiracy Promoting Remdesivir Over Hydroxychloroquine for Treating COVID-19?
A sprawling conspiracy theory holds that numerous individuals and organizations schemed to promote Remdesivir over a drug that the U.S. president has touted.
Snopes→ Britain’s Death Toll from the Coronavirus Rivals Italy’s
Official British statistics on people who died with suspected COVID-19 put the country's toll at more than 30,000 as of April 24, or one-third higher than the government count at the time.