Claim reviews
Instagram reel promotes the baseless claim that viruses don’t exist, ignoring more than a century of science about infectious diseases
CLAIM
Viruses don’t exist, terrain theory explains why diseases occur
SOURCE: Matt Roeske, Cultivate Elevate
Published: 15 Feb 2024
VERDICT
Claim that myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccines carries serious risk of death is based on flawed study
CLAIM
Study shows myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccination carries serious risk of death
SOURCE: Joseph Mackinnon, The Blaze
Published: 08 Feb 2024
VERDICT
Epidemiological data refutes the claim that polio is renamed to hide the disease and the polio vaccine doesn’t work
CLAIM
Polio vaccine doesn’t work; India had no cases of non-polio paralysis until polio vaccine was introduced; polio was renamed to hide its existence
SOURCE: Jaclyn Simone, Instagram
Published: 01 Feb 2024
VERDICT
Incorrect claim that COVID-19 vaccines caused a 143,233% surge in cancer results from flawed calculations that misuse adverse event reporting data
CLAIM
“Official CDC data: 143,233% surge in fatal cancers among Vaxxed Americans”
SOURCE: Anonymous, The Exposé
Published: 01 Feb 2024
VERDICT
False-positive HIV tests don’t imply that a person is immunodeficient, contrary to claim by Peter McCullough
CLAIM
“The HIV test can turn positive after COVID-19 as well as the vaccine”; “maybe a form of immunodeficiency is there”
SOURCE: Peter McCullough, Rumble, Instagram
Published: 30 Jan 2024
VERDICT
Vaccines don’t cause childhood cancer, contrary to claim by Candace Owens
CLAIM
Vaccines have caused an "explosion" of childhood cancer; vaccine package insert states vaccines weren’t tested for mutagenic effect
SOURCE: Candace Owens, Twitter
Published: 25 Jan 2024
VERDICT
Russell Brand’s YouTube videos use flawed analyses and simplistic correlations to link COVID-19 vaccines to heart issues, cancer, excess deaths
CLAIM
COVID-19 vaccines are associated with an increase in heart conditions, cancer
SOURCE: Russell Brand, YouTube
Published: 23 Jan 2024
VERDICT
Folk remedy of placing raw onions on feet to cure illness lacks scientific evidence
CLAIM
Placing raw onion on the bottom of the feet eliminates illness
SOURCE: Social Media Users, Facebook
Published: 20 Jan 2024
VERDICT
Rat study alleged to link COVID-19 vaccines to autism cannot be generalized to humans and contains important limitations
CLAIM
“COVID-19 Shots Linked to Autism in Vaccinated Rats: Study”
SOURCE: Social media users, The Epoch Times, Substack, Twitter
Published: 18 Jan 2024
VERDICT
Johns Hopkins report on the 2025 SPARS pandemic isn’t evidence that an upcoming pandemic is being planned
CLAIM
“they already have the pandemic planned”; “there’s an 89-page pdf about how they’ll push everything”
SOURCE: Social media users, Instagram
Published: 15 Jan 2024
VERDICT