Covering COVID-19 is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. If there is one ci
Poynter→ Conservative pundits say Biden and Democrats want more lockdowns. That’s not accurate
Some right-wing commentators are warning that the White House and Democrats around the country are plotting another round of stay-at-home orders and business closures, public-health measures that devastated the economy and divided the nation in 2020, e
Health Feedback→ Family physician Daniel Stock repeated previously debunked misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and control strategies in a Mount Vernon School Board Meeting
REVIEW A viral Youtube video featured a speech by Daniel Stock, self-described as a functional family medicine physician, at a 6 August 2021 Board Meeting of the Mount Vernon Community School Corporation in Hancock County, Indiana. The video receive
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Your Wake Up Call’ Film Does NOT Back Extraordinary Claims Of Election Hack, Chinese Control, With Commensurately Solid Evidence
Was the fifth Mike Lindell election fraud video correct in claiming a major American voting machine company is controlled by Chinese Communist Party investors and that voting machines used in the 2020 election were hacked via the internet
Snopes→ Facebook Fails To Stem COVID Denialism Even as Delta Variant Surges
We documented a sampling of Facebook posts, comments, and a group that continue to push anti-mask and anti-vaccine rhetoric, as well as COVID denialism.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Microwaving A Penny For 1 Minute Does NOT Make A ‘Mini Coin’
Does microwaving a penny for one minute cause it to shrink into a mini coin? No, that's not true: Metals expand when heated -- not shrink. Also, microwaving any metallic item, such as a coin, is dangerous as it can cause sparks and, ultim
Snopes→ Census Shows US Is Diversifying, White Population Shrinking
The U.S. became more diverse and more urban over the past decade, and the non-Hispanic white population dropped for the first time on record, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.
Snopes→ Britney Spears’ Father To Step Down from Conservatorship
Britney Spears' father agreed Thursday to step down from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years, according to reports.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Marine Gen. Berger Did NOT Rebuke Defense Secretary, Did NOT Say ‘No Mandatory Vaccinations for My Marines’
Did the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David H. Berger, reject Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin's announcement that COVID-19 vaccinations will soon be a requirement for all service members, saying, "There will be no mandatory va
Snopes→ No, Bill Lee Did Not Sanction ‘Quarantine Camps’ for Unvaccinated Tennesseans
Pastor Greg Locke either fundamentally misunderstood, or grossly misrepresented, the contents of Executive Order 83, signed by the Republican governor in August 2021.
Snopes→ Do Pez Dispensers Automatically Remove Wrappers?
Many children have attempted this method. Many children have failed.
FactCheck.org→ Biden and Buttigieg Overstate Jobs Impact from Infrastructure Bill
President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg overstated the impact of the bipartisan, Senate-approved infrastructure bill on job creation, likely citing instead an economic forecast that includes the much larger and partisan “h
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Lindell’s ‘Truth vs. The Big Lie’ Numbers Flat-Out Contradict Douglas G. Frank’s Theories About Phantom Voters Being Used To Inject Votes
Did "corrected" vote totals from the 2020 election presented by Mike Lindell at his election fraud Cyber Symposium as "Truth" support the theory that fake ballots were injected into every state's official election returns? No, that's not
Truth or Fiction?→ Goatse Ring
In late July and early August 2021, screenshots of the following tweet circulated with a blast from the past — they appeared to depict a “Goatse ring” purportedly available for retail purchase: When you're a jewelry artist who m
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Vaccine Bandits’ Are NOT Taking Over Los Angeles’ Streets — It’s A Joke
Are "vaccine bandits" abruptly giving unsuspecting pedestrians COVID-19 vaccines and taking over Los Angeles' streets? No, that's not true: The idea was a joke started by a known satirical account on TikTok. The creator of the original vi
Snopes→ About That ‘Nazi Eagle’ on Donald Trump’s Cards
Eagles are common in national symbology, including that of the United States.
Snopes→ The Do’s and Don’ts of Flu Prevention from 1918
A hundred years later and this simple advice still rings true.
Snopes→ Space Station Supplies Launched with a Pizza Delivery for 7
The 8,200-pound (3,700-kilogram) shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts.
Truth or Fiction?→ Robin Williams ‘Penpal’ Story
On August 9 2021, a Facebook account shared a screenshot of a comment by a person claiming to have been a penpal to Robin Williams, with a story that included a chance meeting at Disney World (or Disneyland): The text on the screenshot read: As a kid
FactCheck.org→ Post Offers Misleading Advice on Mandatory Vaccines and Unemployment Benefits
SciCheck Digest As some companies mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, a social media post misleadingly tells workers who don’t want the vaccine that they can collect unemployment benefits if they are fired. In most states, workers fired for viol
AllSides→ Biden White House Falsely Accuses Donald Trump of Telling People to Inject Poison to Cure Coronavirus
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/08/11/biden-white-house-trump-inject-poison17474354/ CLAIM: Whi
Snopes→ More Than 9,000 Anti-Asian Incidents Since Pandemic Began
The frequency of anti-Asian incidents reported in the United States so far this year seems poised to surpass last year despite months of political and social activism.
AllSides→ Examining the false claims that got Rand Paul, Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended on YouTube, Twitter
https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/aug/11/examining-false-claims-got-rand-paul-marjorie-tayl/ Two
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump Did NOT Suggest ‘People Inject Versions Of Poison Into Their Veins’
Did Donald Trump suggest "people inject versions of poison into their veins"? No, that's not true: Although he speculated in 2020 that injecting disinfectant could have a curative effect on COVID-19, he stopped short of telling people to
Logically→ Vaccines are a means of population control.
Vaccines are the means of providing active acquired immunity against diseases.
Snopes→ No, Biden Isn’t Letting Thousands of ‘Illegal Immigrants’ into US Without COVID Testing
This is not the first time in history that immigrants have been accused of spreading disease.
Logically→ People need five doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to be fully immunized.
Apart from the elderly and vulnerable groups requiring booster shots, there is no evidence to suggest people need five vaccine doses.
Snopes→ No, the AMA Didn’t Revoke Sen. Rand Paul’s Ophthalmology License
An online source described the alleged revocation of Paul's medical license as "permanent."
Snopes→ Texas Senator Ends 15-Hour Filibuster on Voting Bill
The measure is now once again stalled since Democrats continue to stay away from the state House of Representatives in a standoff that has now entered a 32nd day.
Full Fact→ Higher deportation rates don’t necessarily demonstrate ‘disproportionate targeting’ of Jamaicans
“People from Caribbean countries such as Jamaica appear to be disproportionately targeted for deportation from the UK if they commit crimes” The Guardian, 25 July 2021. The Guardian recently reported that data it had obtained via the Free
Snopes→ Republicans Take to Mask Wars As Virus Surges in Red States
The party's base has opposed mask rules for more than a year and long recoiled at the word “mandate.”
Logically→ 100 companies are responsible for 71 percent of global carbon emissions.
A 2017 report found that 100 fossil fuel producers were responsible for 71 percent of industrial greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2017.
Logically→ The CEO of AstraZeneca bought a house worth $8 million in Australia during the pandemic.
Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, does own a house of about $8 million in Australia, but it is unclear when he purchased it.
Snopes→ Northwest Sizzles As Heat Wave Hits Many Parts of US
The high temperatures in Portland, part of a usually temperate region, would break all-time records this week if the late June heat wave had not done so already.
Logically→ It is safe for people who are allergic to bees to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
The COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people who have severe allergies to food, oral medications, latex, bee stings, or venom.
Logically→ The Pfizer mRNA vaccine has killed more people than any other vaccine in the 30-year history of VAERS.
A causal relationship between reported symptoms to VAERS and the vaccine cannot be established.
Poynter→ The CDC’s pregnancy guidance brings vaccine data deficits full term
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it in your email every Thursday. The void of uncertainty The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Logically→ The zombie frog, a new frog species, has recently been discovered.
In June 2021, German researchers discovered three new species of frog in the Amazon, one of which has been dubbed a "zombie frog."
Logically→ Full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine would result in large-scale loss of life.
Full FDA approval could persuade vaccine-hesitant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a good idea.
Logically→ Water vapor is the biggest contributor to global warming than carbon dioxide.
About 50 percent of the greenhouse effect is due to water vapor, 25 percent due to clouds, 20 percent by carbon dioxide, and the rest by other gases.