Criticism over the failure to conduct immediate, widespread coronavirus testing in the U.S. focused on the availability of test kits from the WHO.
Publication: covid-19
Snopes→ No, a Hair Dryer Won’t Stop Coronavirus
A viral video that claims breathing hot air from a hair dryer could cure COVID-19 demonstrates a basic and dangerous lack of understanding about science.
Snopes→ Are These Vegan Foods Left Unsold During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Even looming food shortages are apparently not enough to prompt some consumers to try soy- and tofu-based products.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Timeline of Trump’s COVID-19 Statements’ Meme
As criticism spread against United States President Donald Trump’s administration for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March 2020, one graphic disseminated on social media listed his multiple attempts to downplay the disease: In thi
Snopes→ Does Using Hand Sanitizer Pose a Danger to Pets?
Ethylene glycol, used in antifreeze, is indeed extremely poisonous to animals. But does hand sanitizer actually contain this chemical?
Truth or Fiction?→ Will Americans Go Into a Four-Week Quarantine on April 1 2020?
In mid-March 2020, completely unsubstantiated but frightening rumors began circulating about a four-week-long quarantine blanketing the entire United States, purportedly to begin on April 1 2020. The rumor spread from person to person in individual
Snopes→ Did Trump Try to Poach Coronavirus Vaccine from Germany?
Confusing and unsubstantiated reports said the United States offered large sums of money to secure a COVID-19 vaccine for exclusive U.S. use.
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Coronavirus Put Dogs at Risk Because Hand Sanitizer Has the Same Ingredients as Antifreeze?
On March 14 2020, a Facebook status update (archived here) claiming that pet owners should be aware that hand sanitizer “has the same ingredients as antifreeze” went viral after an uptick in hand sanitizer use due to an ongoing COVID-19 o
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Amazon Suspending All Non-Essential Shipments Except for Medical Supplies and and ‘High-Demand’ Products?
On March 17 2020, a number of tweets suggested a massive looming disruption in the flow of products from Amazon to customers, claiming that only medical supplies and “high-demand items” would be available for up to a month: BREAKING
Truth or Fiction?→ Did ‘4 GOP Senators’ Self-Quarantine After Voting Against the Coronavirus Relief Bill?
In mid-March 2020, as Republican lawmakers faced criticism online over a bill that would provide sick pay to some American workers, a graphic spreading on Facebook spread disinformation about both the bill’s progress and the way the vote broke d
Snopes→ Does Jared Kushner’s Brother Own a Company Involved in COVID-19 Testing?
Oscar, a digital health-insurance startup that recently set up a service for users to find COVID-19 testing centers, was co-founded by Joshua Kushner.
Snopes→ Has Italy Stopped Treating the Elderly in the COVID-19 Pandemic?
A viral social media post claimed Italian doctors were not treating older patients with coronavirus due to "socialized medicine."
Snopes→ Can You Get Free Baby Formula During COVID-19 Crisis by Calling the Company?
You can't conjure up a giveaway out of thin air.
Snopes→ Did MSNBC Reporter Say ‘I Hope Coronavirus Kills People and Hurts Trump’s Reelection’?
This false rumor demonstrates how one subtle video edit can achieve a huge deception.
Truth or Fiction?→ Has Italy Stopped Treating COVID-19 in the Elderly?
As Italy grappled with the spread of COVID-19, American Facebook users took that as their opportunity to insult a national health service. “Italy has decided NOT to treat their elderly for this virus !!!! That, my friends, is Socialized Health
Snopes→ Is White House Warning of a ‘Mandatory Quarantine’ in a Text Message?
Announcements of a "national lockdown" or "mandatory quarantine" would not be made via viral text messages.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did ‘Nancy and the Dems’ Try to ‘Slip Taxpayer-Funded Abortion’ into a Coronavirus Aid Bill?
On March 12 2020, a Facebook user shared a status update claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the entire Democratic Party tried to “slip taxpayer-funded abortions” into a funding package designed to help blunt the worst effects of
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Trump Will Evoke What Is Called the Stafford Act’ Viral Post
Amid growing concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus strain COVID-19 in mid-March 2020 and lack of information from the United States government, corrosive and weaponized disinformation thrived in the form of chain emails, Facebook posts, and te
Snopes→ Should COVID-19 Patients Avoid Taking Ibuprofen?
French medical advice warned that "adverse effects" of drugs such as ibuprofen had been reported in coronavirus patients.
Truth or Fiction?→ NTNU in Norway Warns about Coronavirus, the United States’ Healthcare and Infrastructure
On March 14 2020, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) advised students abroad to return home in the face of a global COVID-19 pandemic. The warning was for “countries with poorly developed collective infrastructure, for exa
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Companies With More Than 500 Workers Exempt From a Coronavirus Relief Bill?
Shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the House Resolution 6201 that both Democrats and Republicans promised would help American workers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, both parties came under criticism for an exemption that woul
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Two Congressmen Propose a Bill Granting Americans Between $1,000 and $6,000?
A new bill proposed by two Democratic Party congressmen would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for Americans who earned less than $65,000 in 2019 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. News of the bill by Reps. Ro Khanna (California) and Rep.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did 12,000 Americans Die of H1N1/Swine Flu, and Were 275,000 Hospitalized?
As concerns over novel coronavirus strain COVID-19 crested in mid-March 2020, comparisons between the effects of the strain versus that of H1N1 (or “swine flu”) more than a decade before triggered a flurry of fact checks, a Facebook flag o
Truth or Fiction?→ Stephen King ‘Coronavirus Is not Like ‘The Stand’ Response Tweet
On March 11 2020, Facebook page “The Other 98%” shared a screenshot of a popular Twitter exchange between author Stephen King and another Twitter user, during which King denied the COVID-19 global pandemic was “like The Stand,”
Truth or Fiction?→ South Korea Tested 200,000, the CDC Tested 77 in a Week, and the Utah Jazz Tested 58 Players for COVID-19 in Hours?
On March 12 2020, Twitter user @SawyerHackett tweeted that South Korea had managed to test 200,000 people for novel coronavirus strain COVID-19, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only tested 77 people in a week — adding
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Hackers Using Fake ‘Coronavirus Maps’ to Import Malware?
In March 2020, as global fears about the COVID-19 pandemic continued to grow among a morass of disinformation and state-sponsored propaganda, security experts warned about websites using their fear of the novel coronavirus to infect their machines and
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro Test Positive for COVID-19?
A tweet reporting that Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro had tested positive for COVID-19 circulated quickly online on March 12 2020 before being taken down, although after it was removed it still moved around social media in screenshot form. Th
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Trump Caught Saying ‘Fuck’ on a Live Mic?
During a televised address to the nation about the COVID-19 pandemic, United States President Donald Trump was caught twice unaware that he was being recorded. Before beginning the March 11 2020 address, Trump could be heard saying, “A what? Oh
Truth or Fiction?→ Is There a COVID-19 ‘Loophole’ in Blood Donations?
For a brief period of time, a Twitter user’s admittedly “bold and brash” — but wrong — idea about a “loophole” allowing people more access to testing for COVID-19 got widespread traction on the platform. On Ma
Truth or Fiction?→ COVID-19 in Toilet Paper Meme
Around March 9 2020, a meme joking about “COVID-19 found in toilet paper” began spreading on Imgur, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites: On what looked like a screengrab of a news site or television news, text read: Breaking News COVID-19
Truth or Fiction?→ Unsourced ‘Intensivist’ Thread Spreads on Twitter as COVID-19 Hits Italy
In March 2020, as more nations grappled with a novel coronavirus pandemic, social media users continued to promote unsourced chain-letter “messages” online as people searched for reliable and credible information. One of the latest instanc
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘A Cry from Italy’: ‘Heart of Coronavirus’ Outbreak Facebook Post
On March 10 2020, screenshots of a “cry from Italy” attributed to a doctor in Bergamo appeared on several platforms; one iteration on Imgur was viewed more than 100,000 times in just half a day as people searched for reliable information a
Truth or Fiction?→ Was ‘World of Warcraft’ Once Hit by a Virus That Was Subsequently Studied by Researchers?
As the COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus disease) continued to spread in March 2020, social media users flashed back to a “pandemic” that unfolded nearly 20 years earlier — but this one took place entirely in the virtual world. According to
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Washington, DC Priest Expose Hundreds of Churchgoers to Coronavirus?
On March 9 2020, WJLA-TV reporter Sam Sweeney tweeted about a Washington, DC priest’s purported positive coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnosis, adding that the clergy man led Communion services and shook hands with “more than 500” churchg
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Quarantined Kids in in Wuhan Defeat a Homework App by Spamming it With One-Star Reviews?
In a tweet which became a Facebook post, @zenalbatross reported that Wuhan’s clever schoolchildren “defeated the app assigning them homework” by spamming it with one-star reviews to trigger its deletion from an app store: good morn
Truth or Fiction?→ Statement from a Quarantined Kaiser Nurse in California
On March 6 2020, an Imgur post with the title “Thank god for unions, but damn” appeared, purportedly showing a statement “by a quarantined nurse from a northern California Kaiser facility”: The statement was dated March 5 2020
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Rep. Bobby Rush Removed From the House Floor for Wearing a Hoodie?
After Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) donned a gas mask while Congress debated a bill securing emergency funding to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States and beyond, one of his colleagues rebuked both him and an apparent set of
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Call Sean Hannity and Tell People with Coronavirus to Go to Work Anyway?
On March 5 2020, the Facebook page “Crooks and Liars” shared an article bearing the headline, “Trump Calls Up Hannity, Tells People With Covid-19 To Go To Work”: Underneath an embedded video, the site claimed: In just over
Truth or Fiction?→ Corona Beer Didn’t Offer $10 Million to Change the Name ‘Coronavirus’ to ‘Literally Anything Else’ or ‘BudLightVirus’
On March 5 2020, a highly-upvoted r/funny and r/all post displayed the following headline: “Corona beer offers $10 million to change the name Coronavirus to “literally anything else” and an extra $15 million to change it to BudLightv
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Seattle Coronavirus Testing’ Twitter Thread
On March 2 2020, as six patients in Washington state were reported to have died of a novel coronavirus, a Twitter user going by @into_the_brush shared a thread about their purported attempts to be tested for the virus in Seattle. In the first tweet,