Claim reviews
Claim that mouthwash could reduce the spread of COVID-19 has not yet been confirmed by clinical trials in humans
CLAIM
Some mouthwashes could help curb coronavirus
SOURCE: Nyzah McDonald and Evan Hinkley, NewsNation
Published: 02 Nov 2020
VERDICT
The percentage of excess deaths in the U.S. not directly caused by COVID-19 ranges from 14% to 33%; it remains unclear how lockdowns influenced excess mortality
CLAIM
“a third of excess deaths in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic could not be directly attributed to the coronavirus”; “One reason for the high amount of excess deaths not attributable to COVID-19 has been disruptions in health services caused by lockdowns.”
SOURCE: Michael Lee, Washington Examiner
Published: 29 Oct 2020
VERDICT
Fewer flu cases observed in the start of this flu season, but Donald Trump Jr.’s tweet suggesting data manipulation is unsupported and cites inaccurate figures
CLAIM
“We went from 75,000 flu deaths last year in America to almost 0 [...] do you think there may be allocation games being played to manipulate the truth?”
SOURCE: Donald Trump Jr., Twitter
Published: 29 Oct 2020
VERDICT
Masks are effective at reducing COVID-19 primary transmission through respiratory droplets; the CDC acknowledges airborne transmission via aerosols can also occur
CLAIM
“CDC says [the SARS-CoV-2] virus was never airborne, rendering masks worthless”
SOURCE: Owen Shroyer, Banned.video
Published: 25 Oct 2020
VERDICT
Volunteer who died in a COVID-19 vaccine trial in Brazil did not receive the vaccine
CLAIM
“Coronavirus horror: Volunteer in Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine trial DIES”
SOURCE: Bill McLoughlin, Erin Elizabeth, The Daily Express, Health Nut News
Published: 25 Oct 2020
VERDICT
The group World Doctors Alliance spreads misinformation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus, and the reliability of diagnostic tests
CLAIM
COVID-19 is a type of flu and is not a pandemic; PCR tests are up to 94% false positive; only 98 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in Ireland.
SOURCE: World Doctors Alliance, Doctors For Truth, Facebook, YouTube
Published: 22 Oct 2020
VERDICT
Claims that flu cases are used to inflate COVID-19 case counts are misleading, based on inaccurate numbers
CLAIM
“Flu cases down by 95%” between 2019 and 2020 for the weeks 40 to 41; flu is being diagnosed as COVID-19, leading to fewer flu cases being recorded
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 22 Oct 2020
VERDICT
COVID-19 is more deadly and more contagious than seasonal flu and may also cause long-lasting damage to survivors
CLAIM
“The coronavirus is no more deadly or dangerous than seasonal flu”
SOURCE: Anonymous, Zero Hedge
Published: 20 Oct 2020
VERDICT
No evidence that coronavirus genetic sequences were fabricated, contrary to preprint by Li-Meng Yan and colleagues
CLAIM
Fabricated genetic sequences were used to support the hypothesis that the virus arose naturally
SOURCE: Li-Meng Yan, Zenodo, Zero Hedge, The National Pulse
Published: 16 Oct 2020
VERDICT
Mask use does not increase risk of COVID-19 as viral social media posts claim
CLAIM
More people who wear masks become sick with COVID-19 compared to non-mask wearers, therefore masks don’t work or are making us ill
SOURCE: Jordan Davidson, The Federalist
Published: 14 Oct 2020
VERDICT
