As United States President Donald Trump and his supporters continued to try to normalize xenophobic rhetoric surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa came under criticism online for his own effort. “I don’t unders
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Snopes→ Coronavirus Contrasts: Wuhan Offers Hope While Italy Nears Stark Toll
The Chinese city of Wuhan reported no new homegrown infections. Meanwhile, Italy is likely to overtake China's death toll.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Evidence Does NOT Show The WHO Director-General Overstated COVID-19 Fatality Rate
Did the World Health Organization's director-general overstate the COVID-19 fatality rate when he said that it was many times that of the seasonal flu? No, that's false: Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accurately stated that the de
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 5G Technology NOT Believed To Have Caused Coronavirus
Did 5G, the fifth-generation wireless technology, cause the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: These bizarre assertions go against everything we know about how viruses are spread. A viral video making the rounds confuses historical events
Truth or Fiction?→ Imperial College London’s COVID-19 Report, Explained
On March 17 2020, an Imperial College London paper about coronavirus and COVID-19 trajectory models was referenced widely in the news and on social media, causing a considerable amount of concern and drawing global attention. Discourse about the Imper
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
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the United Way’s COVID-19 Helpline Accessible at 866-211-9966?
In mid-March 2020, a Facebook status update screenshot began circulating, advising anyone in need that United Way had a COVID-19 Community Economic Relief Fund which could be accessed by calling 1-866-211-9966: Black text on a pink and purple backgro
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO, Trump Is NOT Promising To Send Americans Checks – Only After Checking People’s Social Media History
Did President Trump tweet that he had ordered the U.S. Treasury to send checks to Americans - but only after checking people's social media posts to make sure they were not unfavorable to the president. No, this is a satirical post: Whle Trump
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 NOT A Scripted Narrative To Justify Closed Borders Or Force Residents To Remain Home
Is COVID-19 virus part of a conspiracy that has a scripted narrative designed to justify closed borders and inspire residents to stay at home? No, that's not true: A conspiracy theory on Facebook claims that the coronavirus outbreak is a move
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
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: List Comparing Mortality Rates With COVID-19 Is NOT Accurate
Is a list of virus outbreaks comparing mortality rates for Ebola, H5N1, MERS and SARS with COVID-19 - the novel coronavirus - accurate? No, it's not: The comparison of the outbreaks is extremely misleading as it doesn't take into account the r
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
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: All U.S. Citizens Are NOT Entitled To $700 Per Week To Stay At Home To Avoid Spread Of Coronavirus
Are all U.S. citizens entitled to $700 per week to stay at home to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: The link in the posts takes viewers to a gorilla giving the middle finger. The post was a hoax related to the co
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Banana A Day Does NOT Keep The Coronavirus Away
Does eating a banana a day keep the novel coronavirus away? No, that's not true: Bananas may be a good source of potassium and other vitamins, but they have not been proven to prevent COVID-19, the scientific name for the novel coronavirus. Th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CNN Did NOT Report Will Smith Death Hoax
Did CNN report that actor Will Smith had died? No, that's not true: The story is another in a string of celebrity death hoaxes, but this one has a twist. A group of hoaxers - likely from the Philippines - has created a series of websites that
FactCheck.org→ Trump Misrepresents Google Coronavirus Website
President Donald Trump and other officials misleadingly suggested that tech behemoth Google was working on a screening website that large numbers of Americans could soon use to see if they should be tested for the new coronavirus. The website, however,
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
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the March Democratic Debate
Summary The first head-to-head debate of the Democratic presidential primary between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders focused on the government’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. We sorted through competing claims th
Snopes→ Can People Who Recover from COVID-19 Become Reinfected?
Medical professionals believe positive coronavirus retests are more likely the result of errors in testing rather than reinfection.
Snopes→ Will Gargling with Salt Water or Vinegar ‘Eliminate’ the COVID-19 Coronavirus?
What works for colds is unlikely to help an already-infected person stave off the COVID-19 coronavirus disease.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus Has NOT Been Found In Crab Legs
Has the novel coronavirus been found in crab legs? No, that's not true: The story making the rounds was created by a mobile phone app that allows users to make television-style news screenshots. It is a prank, but some people are falling for t
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
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Supermarkets Are NOT Recalling Coronavirus-Infected Toilet Paper
Are toilet paper rolls imported from China infected with the coronavirus and being recalled in stores? No, that is not true. No recalls have been issued, and many experts agree that there is no evidence the novel virus could survive being tran
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Former CIA Officer Selectively Quoted By Iranian Site; Did NOT Say Coronavirus Was Produced In a Lab
Did a former and controversial CIA officer say coronavirus was definitively produced in a lab? No, an Iranian news website selectively quoted as fact what was only speculation from the former CIA agent helping run a site associated with Russia
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s Coronavirus Address
In a short primetime address, President Donald Trump provided false, misleading and incomplete information about the new coronavirus and actions his administration has taken or will take to staunch its spread: In announcing new restrictions on travel
FactCheck.org→ Viral Social Media Posts Offer False Coronavirus Tips
Quick Take Posts are circulating false and misleading tips on social media — in some cases wrongly attributed to Stanford University — about how people can monitor and avoid the coronavirus. Full Story As the U.S. and countries around
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
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: U.S. Election Is NOT Canceled Due To Coronavirus
Is the U.S. presidential election canceled due to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, allowing President Trump to remain in office for four more years? No, that's not true: Obviously, the meme is a joke. However, concerns over congregating in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Memes With Advice For Preventing Coronavirus Are NOT Accurate
Do memes containing advice for preventing the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, offer accurate medical information? No, they're not true: The memes are written in broken English and do not provide qualified medical facts. One of them refers to a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Overview Of Claims Made During Biden’s Argument With Michigan Autoworker Over Guns
Did Joe Biden, a U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, spar with a Michigan autoworker over the issue of gun control? Yes, that's true, and here's some context: Biden and the man, Jerry Wayne, did exchange words at a Detroit, Michigan, auto
FactCheck.org→ Sanders Twists Trump’s Words on Coronavirus/Work
Sen. Bernie Sanders wrongly claimed President Donald Trump said if people have symptoms of the new coronavirus infection, “doesn’t matter, go to work.” That’s not what the president said. Trump was making the point that infectio
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 NOT Found In Toilet Paper
Was COVID-19 found in toilet paper, and does the virus breed in tissue fibers? No, neither is true: A meme making the claim about COVID-19 - which is the medical term for the novel coronavirus - was made by an online prank generator. A virus d
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Searches for International Men’s Day Peak on International Women’s Day?
On March 7 2020, one day before International Women’s Day, @the_female_lead tweeted a screenshot claiming that there is also an International Men’s Day — but searches for the latter spiked around International Women’s Day every
FactCheck.org→ Carter Hasn’t Endorsed in 2020 Primary
Quick Take A popular blog post being shared on Facebook falsely claims that former President Jimmy Carter has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president. The post was lifted — almost verbatim — from an old story about Carter’s support
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NOT 10,000 Deaths In Virus Outbreak in Michigan, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Missouri, Mississippi
Were there 10,000 deaths confirmed in a virus outbreak in Michigan, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Missouri, and Mississippi? No, that's not true: The claim that nearly 200,000 cases of an unnamed "virus" and "10,000 confirmed deaths" is a h
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Every U.S. Election Year Does NOT Have A Disease
Does every U.S. election year have a disease associated with it? No, that's not true: A whiteboard photograph being shared online contains some inaccurate dates and information. It presents a U.S.-centric view of global epidemics and pandemics
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
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Welfare Claim
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that his administration has “lifted 10 million people off of welfare,” a figure that primarily includes the change in the number of recipients of food stamps, but also those enrolled in other progr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Anti-Trump Sign At Bojangles’ Restaurant NOT Put Up By Store
Did an employee of the Bojangles' fast food chicken restaurant place a sign on a door banning customers who wear pro-Trump hats or shirts? No, that's not true: Bojangles' posted on Twitter that none of its employees had placed the sign on the