On April 22 2020, screenshots of an image post featuring a “canine coronavirus vaccine” appeared and was circulated alongside captured text about the vial dating back to 2001 (archived here): Text over a battered vial labeled
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Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 496,000 Children In India Were NOT Paralyzed From ‘Bill Gates Polio Vaccine’ From 2000-2017
Were 496,000 children in India paralyzed from "Bill Gates polio vaccine" from 2000-2017? No, that's not true: Posts being shared on social media are filled with false claims about Gates and the vaccinations in India. Further, the claims grossl
FactCheck.org→ Facebook Users Wrongly Tie Dog Vaccine to Novel Coronavirus
Quick Take A viral image on Facebook falsely suggests a vaccine exists for the novel coronavirus by referencing a photo of a vaccine for a coronavirus that infects dogs. The two viruses are not the same. Full Story Facebook users are spreading a ph
FactCheck.org→ Hospital Payments and the COVID-19 Death Count
Q: Are hospitals inflating the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths so they can be paid more? A: Recent legislation pays hospitals higher Medicare rates for COVID-19 patients and treatment, but there is no evidence of fraudulent reporting. FULL QUESTIO
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Linking COVID-19 to Hemoglobin Spreads to Spanish-Speaking Readers
The conspiracy theory pushing the idea that COVID-19 binds itself to patients’ hemoglobin has spread beyond English-language websites, and it is now targeting readers on social media and news organizations in Spanish. This version of the claim,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Jay Leno NOT Dead at 71
Did former Tonight Show host Jay Leno pass away at the age of 71, and was he a lifelong Republican and Trump supporter? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Medical Evidence That ‘Just a Few Drops’ Of Hydrogen Peroxide In The Ear Boosts Immunity To Viruses
Will a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in the ear canal pass through the eardrum to the blood and fight off viruses, including presumably COVID-19? No, there is no medical evidence to substantiate the claim. The eardrum is watertight, and neith
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: March 25 Death Count Numbers Meme Highly Misleading About Coronavirus Pandemic
Do numbers in a photo about worldwide COVID-19 deaths, and other leading causes of death, show that the coronavirus pandemic is a "con" that has been blown far out of proportion? No, that's not true: The picture minimizes the number of deaths
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Did NOT Confess To Lying About COVID-19 Death Numbers
Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confess to lying about COVID-19 death numbers? No, that's not true: The headline inaccurately suggests that the CDC made a "confession." Instead, a viral video offered one doctor's allegation
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biological Engineer Did NOT Offer Medically-Supported Information In Viral Video
Did a viral video "crush" Dr. Anthony Fauci and expose Dr. Deborah Birx and the White House coronavirus task force as members of the so-called "Deep State"? No, that's not true: The man who appeared in an online newscast interview has a histor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Soap And Hand Sanitizer Can’t Be Used to Kill Coronavirus Inside Your Body
Why is it so difficult to kill the novel coronavirus once it is inside of the body, especially since simple soap and sanitizer can kill it outside the body? A meme that went viral asks just that question. While medical officials do recommend s
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the CDC Order All Deaths Be Recorded as a Result of COVID-19 — Even Heart Attacks and Accidents?
In April 2020, a conspiracy theory spread on Facebook and Twitter which maintained that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explicitly ordered that all deaths in the United States, regardless of their true cause, be attributed to t
FactCheck.org→ False Claim of Deadly Coronavirus Vaccine Trial in Africa
Quick Take Posts across social media are falsely claiming that a vaccine trial for the novel coronavirus in Senegal resulted in the death of seven children. The video behind those claims does not show that. And there is no clinical trial for a potentia
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: No ‘Deep State’ Operators Trying To Ban Hydroxychloroquine
Do Big Pharma, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates want to ban hydroxychoroquine? No, that's not true: In fact, not only is the drug not banned -- the federal government is actually conducting clinical trials right now to determine if hydroxychlo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Former Presidents’ Foundations ARE Offering Help, Advice During COVID-19 Pandemic
Are wealthy presidential foundations, including those of the Clintons and Obamas, failing to step up during the COVID-19 pandemic - which has already claimed more than 16,200 lives in the U.S. as of April 9, 2020? That's not necessarily true,
FactCheck.org→ Social Media Posts Make Baseless Claim on COVID-19 Death Toll
Quick Take Viral posts wrongly suggest that the COVID-19 death toll is exaggerated because “the state” has instructed that “anyone who didnt die by a gun shot wound or car accident” be listed as a coronavirus victim. Experts say
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s False Coronavirus Claim About Lupus Patients
President Donald Trump once again touted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. This time, the president falsely claimed that “people with lupus” who take hydroxychloroquine “aren’
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus Is NOT Fake; Is NOT A Cover-Up To Allow 5G Deployment
Is the coronavirus fake and actually a governmental cover-up to allow the deployment of 5G network towers? And is the radiation from those 5G towers the real cause of virus deaths? No, none of that is true: A post being shared is filled with d
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Former Vodafone Boss’ Makes FALSE Claim In Taken-Down YouTube Video That Coronavirus Caused By 5G Tech
Is COVID-19 caused by 5G technology that is killing people around the world? No, that's not true. A video that went viral of a man claiming to be the former "head of the largest business unit at Vodafone," says that coronavirus is not killing
FactCheck.org→ April Fool’s Posts Falsely Claim Students Must Repeat the School Year
Quick Take April Fool’s Day brought a spate of false posts claiming students will have to repeat the school year. While many schools across the U.S. closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, there’s no indication they’ll call for repeat
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Big Pharma Is NOT Behind Massive Infection and Death Rates In COVID-19 Conspiracy
Is Big Pharma behind the COVID-19 pandemic and inflating its massive death toll to create a hoax that enriches itself? No, that's not true: The central data-gathering body, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, does not get its
FactCheck.org→ Flawed Comparison on Coronavirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines
Quick Take Facebook posts falsely claim that it “took [President Barack] Obama ‘millions infected and over 1,000 deaths’ to declare the H1N1 flu a health emergency,” but President Donald Trump “declared a health emergency&
Truth or Fiction?→ The COVID-19 Chloroquine Controversy, Explained
On March 30 2020, a number of outlets reported that the Food and Drug Administration had given a limited go-ahead for the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in medical settings in the latest development in what has become a bizarrely (but not e
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump DID Sign 5G Bill, But Exposure Effects Are Misleading
Did President Trump sign a bill that addresses the future of 5G infrastructure? Yes, that's true: the Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020 was signed on March 23, 2020, but a video detailing the potential fallout of expanding 5G technology is exag
FactCheck.org→ No Evidence to Back COVID-19 Ibuprofen Concerns
Q: Does ibuprofen make COVID-19 worse? A: There is no evidence that ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can make COVID-19 cases more severe. You should consult your doctor before changing medications. FULL QUESTION Is it true tha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Kennedy Center Did NOT Give DNC $5M After Getting $25M In Relief From Coronavirus Stimulus
Did the Kennedy Center give the Democratic National Committee $5 mllion after getting $25 million in relief from the government coronavirus stimulus package? No, that's not true: The Kennedy Center did not give the DNC $5 million the day after
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Is NOT Scheduled To Recommend Masks For Everyday Life
Is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention planning, in the next 10 days, to change guidance and advise Americans to wear masks in everyday life? No, that's not true: The federal agency tells Lead Stories that no changes to guidanc
FactCheck.org→ Coronavirus Hasn’t Contaminated Crab Legs
Quick Take A viral post disguised as a TV news report falsely claims that crab legs have been contaminated with the novel coronavirus. The pandemic has affected the flow of seafood from foreign markets, but crab is safe to eat. Full Story A viral Face
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Yelp and GoFundMe Create COVID-19 Fundraisers for Restaurants Without Telling Them?
A push from business owners forced two tech companies to modify an unprompted response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Andy McMillan, owner of a bar in Portland, Oregon — where bars and restaurants were ordered to close down as part of efforts to slow
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO Evidence Of Worldwide COVID-19 Conspiracy Involving U.S. Government, Its Military, 5G Tech And The Illuminati
Is there already a vaccine for COVID-19 that the U.S. govenment is hiding in a wide plot to kill people off? And is the next-generation wireless technology 5G responsible for the novel coronavirus? Further, are the Illuminati also involved in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Your Child Will NOT Be Taken From You If They Have COVID-19
If a child contracts COVID-19 and is hospitalized, will they be separated from their parent while they are treated? No, that's not true. Neither the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the World Health Organization has recommen
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Flu Shot Does NOT Increase Risk Of Contracting COVID-19 By 36%
Does getting a flu shot increase your chances of contracting the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, by 36%? No, that's not true: Doctors told Lead Stories that there is no "cross-effect" between the two, and medical institutions are still recomme
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Proof That Genetic Mutations Responsible For Coronavirus’s Virulence
Did genetic mutations cause the coronavirus to become more dangerous? No, there is no evidence of that. The claim surfaced in a post (archived here) on Facebook. It opened: Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal
Truth or Fiction?→ The #GeneralStrike Hashtag and the Coronavirus Economic Debate
On March 24 2020, #GeneralStrike was among Twitter’s most prominent hashtags in response to calls that people return to work just days after social distancing measures and lockdowns were put in place to lessen COVID-19’s effects and spread
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID Does NOT Stand For ‘Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease’
Does COVID stand for "Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease"? No, that's not true: A meme making the rounds on Facebook claims the acronym of the highly infectious and worldwide virus, COVID-19, or coronavirus, was named for China - wher
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the NYC Department of Health Issue ‘COVID-19 Sex’ Guidelines?
On March 21 2020, Facebook and Twitter users began sharing purportedly official guidelines for COVID-19 and sex, attributed to the New York City Health Department: the NYC department of health says that during the COVID-19 pandemic “you are your s
Truth or Fiction?→ Rapunzel Was Quarantined in ‘Tangled,’ Google the Name of Her Kingdom?
As coronavirus quarantine memes circulated in mid-March 2020, one referenced the Disney film Tangled, first stating that Rapunzel was “quarantined” during the film, and then tacking on people should “Google” the name of her k
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on the Coronavirus Pandemic
Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of a Q&A we published Jan. 30. Much has changed since then. An outbreak of viral pneumonia that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 has sickened more than 200,000 people and
FactCheck.org→ Viral Posts Falsely Align Viruses to Election Years
Quick Take Viral posts on social media claim COVID-19 is no worse than other outbreaks that have occurred in “every election year,” suggesting that the new coronavirus is being “hyped” to hurt President Donald Trump. But most of
Truth or Fiction?→ Is St. Corona the Patron Saint of Epidemics?
As novel coronavirus COVID-19 swept the majority Catholic country of Italy in March 2020, rumors appeared that Italians had begun praying to a St. Corona — who was, incidentally, “the patron saint of epidemics.” A March 11 post to th