Claim reviews
German Ministry employee makes unsupported claim that COVID-19 pandemic is a global false alarm in widely circulated yet unsolicited opinion article
CLAIM
German government leaked document declares COVID-19 is “a global false alarm”
SOURCE: Baxter Dmitry, NewsPunch
Published: 10 Jun 2020
VERDICT
Article inaccurately claims that coronavirus vaccine by Oxford researchers caused animal test subjects to develop COVID-19
CLAIM
“Bill Gates’ shoddily-hastened vaccine has been determined to make all animal test subjects get COVID-19 when exposed to the virus“
SOURCE: Anonymous, Montana Daily Gazette
Published: 08 Jun 2020
VERDICT
Significant methodological flaws in a 2020 study claiming to show unvaccinated children are healthier
CLAIM
Vaccinated children are more likely to have adverse health outcomes like developmental delays, asthma, and ear infections compared to unvaccinated children.
SOURCE: Brian Hooker, Neil Miller, Children’s Health Defense
Published: 04 Jun 2020
VERDICT
Facebook posts spread unsupported anonymous claim that face mask use caused a lung infection in a healthy teenager
CLAIM
Wearing a face mask caused a 19-year-old grocery store worker to be hospitalized for a lung infection, due to breathing in her own carbon dioxide and bacteria.
SOURCE: Anonymous, Facebook
Published: 01 Jun 2020
VERDICT
The spread of COVID-19 is not related in any way to the deployment of 5G
CLAIM
“5G plays a part in this ‘plandemic’” ... The cases of COVID-19 are “directly related to electromagnetic radiation exposure by 5G”
SOURCE: Dee McLachlan, Gumshoe News
Published: 29 May 2020
VERDICT
Facebook posts misinterpret a study of 455 contacts of an asymptomatic COVID-19 carrier to claim that asymptomatic spread does not occur
CLAIM
Asymptomatic carriers cannot spread COVID-19; COVID-19 is not contagious; masks are not needed to reduce COVID-19 transmission from asymptomatic carriers
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 28 May 2020
VERDICT
Hand-held UV lights sold online to kill microbes are effective only in specific conditions and can be unsafe when used improperly
CLAIM
UV-C lamps “kill 99.99% of all bacteria, viruses, and mold” on “any surface you want to disinfect” ... “in ten seconds”
SOURCE: Anonymous, Super Charged UV-c
Published: 28 May 2020
VERDICT
To date, no therapy has been proven effective for preventing or treating COVID-19, contrary to claim by Dolores Cahill
CLAIM
There is no need for social distancing because we have a treatment for COVID-19
SOURCE: Dolores Cahill, The HighWire
Published: 28 May 2020
VERDICT
The main cause of death in COVID-19 patients is respiratory insufficiency arising from viral pneumonia, not clotting disorder as claimed in viral social media posts
CLAIM
"Autopsies performed by the Italian pathologists [have] shown that [COVID-19] is not pneumonia but it is disseminated intravascular coagulation"
SOURCE: Chinonyerem Emmanuella, Facebook users, GistFlash, Facebook
Published: 26 May 2020
VERDICT
Mortality in the U.S. noticeably increased during the first months of 2020 compared to previous years
CLAIM
The U.S. is not losing “tons more lives in 2020” compared to 2019 (18,433) ... the increase is virtually non-existent
SOURCE: Candace Owens, Joe Hoft, Facebook, Gateway Pundit
Published: 22 May 2020
VERDICT