Claim reviews
Baseless speculations underpin a retracted editorial claiming spontaneous generation of SARS-CoV-2 in skin cells exposed to 5G waves
CLAIM
5G generates coronavirus in human skin cells
SOURCE: Massimo Fioranelli, Alireza Sepehri, Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents, GreenMedInfo, InfoWars
Published: 29 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Sexual transmission of SARS-CoV-2 currently unconfirmed as studies produce conflicting evidence of its presence in the reproductive system
CLAIM
“Coronavirus may be sexually transmitted and cause male infertility”
SOURCE: Paula Froelich, New York Post
Published: 27 Jul 2020
VERDICT
A trypsin-based oral spray reportedly deactivates SARS-CoV-2 in a liquid suspension but has not yet been tested in the mouth
CLAIM
New oral spray “deactivates 98% of the coronavirus” in the mouth
SOURCE: Hashem Al-Ghaili, Facebook
Published: 27 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Scientific evidence supports the use of face masks for reducing the transmission of respiratory diseases including COVID-19
CLAIM
Masks do nothing to prevent the spread of pathogens
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 27 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Primary COVID-19 transmission is by close contact with infected people; nasopharyngeal swab-based testing provides the highest diagnostic accuracy
CLAIM
“Ever wonder why they have to stick a Q-tip through your nose to the back of your head to swab a sample of covid but a droplet of saliva will infect a whole village at one time”
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 23 Jul 2020
VERDICT
A proportion of COVID-19 survivors are likely to suffer from long-term health problems, but the actual risks are still unknown
CLAIM
“For every one person who dies: 19 more require hospitalization; 18 of those will have permanent heart damage for the rest of their lives”
SOURCE: Franklin Veaux, Quora
Published: 22 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Infant deaths did not decrease during the pandemic due to a reduced use of vaccines; vaccines are not associated with sudden infant death syndrome
CLAIM
Vaccines are a cause of sudden infant death death syndrome; infant deaths decreased dramatically during the lockdown, when the number of vaccines administered was reduced
SOURCE: Mark Blaxill, Amy Becker, Health Choice, Children’s Health Defense
Published: 17 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Despite a decline in COVID-19 deaths from a peak in Spring 2020, the number of deaths in July 2020 may not be as low as preliminary data suggest
CLAIM
Deaths from COVID-19 are nearing zero in the U.S.
SOURCE: Facebook user, Facebook
Published: 16 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Saliva might be an accurate, less-invasive alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 diagnosis; more research is needed to standardize its use in molecular testing
CLAIM
There is no need to use nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing, mouth swabs can be used instead
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 14 Jul 2020
VERDICT
People have died from the coronavirus, contrary to article claiming to report pathologist’s “revelations” on COVID-19
CLAIM
“no one has died from the coronavirus”
SOURCE: Rosemary Frei, Patrick Corbett, OffGuardian
Published: 12 Jul 2020
VERDICT
