REVIEW An article published by SHTFplan.com on 16 September 2020 and reposted on the website Beforeitsnews.com, titled “the [U.S] government has released their initial plans to force a [COVID-19] vaccine on everyone”, has gone viral in early Oct
Search Results (2919) for: study
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on Trump’s COVID-19 Diagnosis
On Oct. 2, President Donald Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. Here we answer common questions about the risks of the disease, treatments available and the shortcomings of testing. What do we know abou
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Other Countries Have NOT Proved U.S. FDA Was Wrong to Withdraw Approval Of Hydroxychloroquine as COVID Drug
Have other countries proved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endangered thousands of lives by withdrawing approval of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The findings of clinical studies in the U.S. a
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 is at least an order of magnitude more deadly than seasonal flu, according to current estimates
REVIEW An Instagram post by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claiming that COVID-19 is less deadly than flu started circulating on 27 September 2020. The post replicates a table included in a 10 September 2020 update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control a
Logically→ Trump: I brought back manufacturing jobs
In Trump’s first 30 months as president, manufacturers added 499,000 jobs. The sector has been impacted severely due to trade wars and COVID-19.A study published by the Economic Policy Institute in August shows that President Trump has not
Health Feedback→ There have been more COVID-19 deaths than abortions worldwide over two days since June 2020
REVIEW Facebook posts comparing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 with the number of abortions worldwide have circulated since at least March 2020 (see example). Similar posts once again went viral in September 2020, albeit in a slightly diff
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the First Trump-Biden Debate
Summary President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met on the debate stage for the first time and stretched or mangled facts on several topics: Trump exaggerated instances of election “fraud,” misleadingly citing ballots “found i
Health Feedback→ In spite of its relatively small infection fatality ratio, COVID-19 has led to many deaths due to high virus transmission
REVIEW The claim that the COVID-19 pandemic response has been unwarranted has taken many forms. Some involved misleading comparisons with other respiratory diseases like the flu and tuberculosis, while others relied on misinterpretations of COVID-19
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s Weekend Claims
On Sept. 26 and 27, President Donald Trump spoke for about two hours and 15 minutes in five appearances — including one campaign rally in Middletown, Pennsylvania. We’ve compiled many of the president’s false and misleading claims fro
Truth or Fiction?→ Did DACA Recipients Pay $891 Million in Federal Taxes?
Shortly after a New York Times report appeared detailing years of financial dealings by United States President Donald Trump, various online posts took the opportunity to highlight the differences between his own reputed practices and those of commun
Climate Feedback→ Article by The Daily Caller oversimplifies drivers of wildfires and downplays role of climate change
SUMMARY The article in The Daily Caller claims that land management practices enacted during the Clinton administration “paved the way for future debilitating wildfires.” The article received over 45,000 interactions on Facebook as of 28 Sept 20
Health Feedback→ Using face masks correctly does not increase the risk of skin or oral infections
REVIEW Facebook posts claiming that face masks promote bacterial and fungal overgrowth and lead to skin and oral infections (see examples here, here, and here) went viral in late September 2020. As we explain below, these claims are unsupported as s
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines do not modify the human genome and do not involve hydrogels; Hydrogels are not internet-connecting devices
REVIEW Social media posts started circulating on 16 September 2020 claiming that hydrogels will be used for COVID-19 vaccines and for disease-detecting sensors that connect a person’s body to the internet. Hydrogels are hydrophilic chains of mole
FactCheck.org→ Trump Misleads on Reasons for Falling COVID-19 Fatality Rate
For nearly two months, President Donald Trump has touted an 85% decline in the nation’s COVID-19 case fatality rate since April — and has attributed the drop to improvements in treatment. But better treatment is only part of the story. Experts
Full Fact→ How quickly is the outbreak growing?
On Monday 21 September, the Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, and the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, gave a public briefing on Covid-19 in the UK. During the briefing, Sir Patrick presented a chart showing the number of ne
Poynter→ The sheer amount of misinformation is forcing fact-checkers to collaborate
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 Banding together This week a study by the Oxfo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fisher-Price Did NOT Release ‘My First Peaceful Protest’ Playset
Did Fisher-Price release 'My First Peaceful Protest' playset with a house that children can set ablaze? No, that's not true: This is a satirical claim published by a well-known satire website. This satire piece stems from the recent prote
Health Feedback→ The virus causing COVID-19 most likely evolved in natural wildlife populations before spreading to humans
REVIEW On 14 September 2020, the Chinese virologist Li-Meng Yan published a a pre-print (an unpublished draft of a science paper) on the website Zenodo claiming to provide evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was created in a la
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Profusa, Others Have NOT Created An Implantable ‘Chip’ To Connect Us To The Internet And Open Door To ‘Brave New World’
Is it true that the government is about to approve an Emeryville, California company's implantable "chip" that will create "transhumans" and allow government to spy on our health and other data? No, that is not true. The sensor awaiting g
Truth or Fiction?→ CDC Removes ‘Airborne’ COVID-19 Content
On September 21 2020, several prominent tweets suggested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added, then removed guidance indicating that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19) was airborne — meaning it could potentially be
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Early Statements About the Coronavirus
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have made competing claims about Biden’s early statements on the coronavirus. Following the disclosure of comments he made to journalist Bob Woodward in March about downplaying
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Sex With A 4-Year-Old Is NOT Legal Anywhere And No There’s No Effort To Legalize It
Is it legal to have sex with a four-year-old anywhere and is there an effort to make it legal? No, that's not true: It is a false claim made by QAnon promoters who work to convince social media users that there is a global child trafficki
Health Feedback→ No vaccine contains strains of both the flu and the virus that causes COVID-19; COVID-19 is not the flu
REVIEW A claim circulated in September 2020 alleging that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging patients to take an “untested [COVID-19] flu shot”. This claim also suggests that COVID-19 is caused by a strain o
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Deep State Did NOT Unplug RBG After Waiting Until Trump Had No Time To Fill Her Seat
Did the "Deep State" keep Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg alive just long enough so that President Trump would not have enough time to replace her on the Supreme Court, setting up a "combustible state of limbo" for the United States after the
FactCheck.org→ Posts Mislead on Biden’s Role in Social Security Taxes
Quick Take Posts on Facebook and Twitter suggest that former Vice President Joe Biden is responsible for taxes on Social Security, but those posts ignore the political history and mislead on the details. The posts also twist Biden’s proposals on
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Article Accusing China Of Loosing COVID From A Lab Is NOT Tested Science
Did a scientific study prove the Chinese government cooked up the novel coronavirus and loosed it on the world? No, that's not true: The claim is made in a self-published article produced by doctors who identify themselves as part of a po
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Life Insurance Company’s Attempt to Curb Suicide on a South Korea Bridge Precede an Increase in Deaths?
On September 17 2020, the following post was shared to r/therewasanattempt, which described a purported initiative to curb suicides on South Korea’s Mapo Bridge: to stop suicide from therewasanattempt An image showed two
FactCheck.org→ Report Resurrects Baseless Claim that Coronavirus Was Bioengineered
Quick Take A paper that has not been peer-reviewed reaches faulty conclusions to advance the unsubstantiated claim that the novel coronavirus was bioengineered in a Chinese lab, according to immunology and microbiology experts. The paper’s claims
Full Fact→ £1.5bn GDP boost from UK-Japan trade deal is not on top of existing EU-Japan deal benefits
Last week the government announced that the UK and Japan had secured a free trade agreement (FTA), the first major trade deal made by the UK since it left the EU. The Department of International Trade (DIT) said: “Government analysis shows
Health Feedback→ Cloth masks are effective at reducing virus transmission because it spreads in respiratory droplets, which are larger than smoke particles and the pores in fabric
REVIEW Memes appeared on Facebook in late August 2020 claiming that cloth masks are ineffective at reducing virus transmission because smoke particles are larger than virus particles and cannot be filtered by cloth masks (see examples here and here)
FactCheck.org→ Trump Spins Quotes by/About Biden
In campaign rallies in Nevada, President Donald Trump twisted remarks made by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and gave a disputed description of comments by Biden’s former chief of staff. Biden said that local law enforcement using
Full Fact→ Covid-19 kills far more than 0.1% of the people who catch it
“Lockdown happened because we were told that Covid could kill one percent. But Covid was never going to kill more than about 0.1 percent – max.” RT.com, 6 September 2020 An opinion article on RT.com, a Russian state news site in Eng
Snopes→ Astronomers See Possible Hints of Life in Venus’s Clouds
Several outside experts — and the study authors themselves — agreed the potential sign of life is tantalizing but said it is far from the first proof of life on another planet.
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Facebook Offering to Pay Conservatives to Delete Their Accounts?
A Facebook page catering to right-wing users shared a post in September 2020 misconstruing a new study by the platform as being an incentive program for users in their political sphere. The September 2020 post claims that Facebook “is offering
FactCheck.org→ Trump Exaggerates Progress, Credit on Future COVID-19 Vaccine
In a Labor Day press conference and at a rally in North Carolina the following day, President Donald Trump made several unsupported or inaccurate statements about a COVID-19 vaccine and distorted comments made by the Democratic ticket. Trump charged D
Full Fact→ Testing: Where are we?
The issue of Covid-19 testing has hit the headlines again in recent days, with reports both of tests not being available in certain areas of the country, and of an increase in how long it is taking to process certain tests. Back in spring and early sum
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There is NOT An ‘Irrefutable Paper Trail’ To Prove COVID-19 Is Lab-made
Is there an "irrefutable paper trail" that shows COVID-19 was manufactured in a laboratory? No, that's not true: Screenshots taken from the rapid-fire display of documents in the video making that claim show only that a number of scientis
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘New’ Research Is NOT New, Does NOT Find Average 50- To 64-Year-Olds Have A 1-in-19.1-Million Chance Of Dying From COVID-19
Does a "new" scientific paper definitively show that people aged 50-64 have a 1-in-19.1 million chance of dying from COVID-19? No, this is not true. The paper, which is not new as it was posted June and studies a one-week period in May, h
Logically→ AstraZeneca -Oxford vaccine trials for COVID-19 has been halted after a patient under trial fell ill.
AstraZeneca temporarily paused its COVID-19 vaccine trial due to an unexplained illness in a study participant, who is said to recover soon.
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally a Super-Spreader Event?
September 8 2020 marked approximately one month from the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, and it heralded purported news that the widely-attended gathering served as a “super-spreader event” during an ongoing COVID-19 pand