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Flora Teoh
Science Editor
Flora obtained a PhD in Biological Sciences from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. During her doctoral studies, she examined how a human-colonising microbe could evolve in response to changes within a mammalian host, and how this process could influence microbial virulence. After a brief stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, she joined Health Feedback in 2018 as science editor.
ARTICLE REVIEWS
Washington Times article by Robert Malone and Peter Navarro relies on inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims about virus evolution, vaccine immunity, and COVID-19 vaccine safety
in Washington Times, by Robert Malone and Peter Navarro
— 15 Aug 2021
"This article has inaccuracies throughout with a clear view to push an anti-vaccine agenda. The picture depicting a skull with eyes and nose made of coronaviruses in the shape of t..
Misleading Wall Street Journal opinion piece makes the unsubstantiated claim that the U.S. will have herd immunity by April 2021
in Wall Street Journal, by Marty Makary
— 26 Feb 2021
"The article’s claim that the U.S. is near herd immunity rests on two numbers: 1) the detection of infections by testing (claimed to be 10 – 25 percent) and 2) the infection fa..
New York Post article makes speculative, unsupported claim that mutation could enable the virus causing COVID-19 to evade handwashing and mask-wearing
in New York Post, by Jackie Salo
— 08 Oct 2020
"The preprint that the article focuses on actually says nothing about the most egregious claim made in the article: that the virus is evolving to get around hand-washing, masks, et..
Telegraph article describing the hypothesis that face masks can variolate a population receives mixed reviews on its scientific accuracy
in The Telegraph, by Georgina Hayes
— 24 Sep 2020
"The Telegraph headline is obviously misleading but the subheading is accurate. Masks don’t give immunity; rather, the argument is that infections are milder or asymptomatic and ..
Potential role for T cells in COVID-19 immunity accurately reported in National Geographic article
in National Geographic, by Carrie Arnold
— 19 Aug 2020
"The article accurately discusses the recent findings about the presence/relevance of T cell response against COVID-19. Indeed, both arms of adaptive immunity, humoral and cellular..
People who do not show symptoms can contribute to significant COVID-19 transmission, contrary to CNBC report
in CNBC, by William Feuer, Noah Higgins-Dunn
— 10 Jun 2020
there is already “abundant data” showing that people who are not showing symptoms—which could include asymptomatic, presymptomatic, and paucisymptomatic individuals—compris...
COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Pittsburgh scientists show promising results in animal studies, but clinical trials still needed before efficacy in humans is known
in Pittsburgh Magazine, by Garret Roberts
— 11 Apr 2020
Scientists who reviewed this article’s scientific credibility found that the reporting was generally accurate. However, they also highlighted a missed opportunity to provide read...
Viral New York Post article perpetuates the unfounded claim that the virus that causes COVID-19 is manmade
in New York Post, by Steven W. Mosher
— 02 Mar 2020
Overall, Mosher’s argument is based on unfounded speculation and scientific inaccuracies. Such claims, which continue to be perpetuated even by public officials, have real-world ...
New York Times accurately reports vaccine-derived polio outbreaks caused by low vaccine coverage
in New York Times, by Associated Press
— 02 Dec 2019
"The content of the article is correct: attenuated polio strain type 2 contained in the oral vaccine can – in very rare cases – mutate and cause disease in under-immunized pers..
Daily Mail article misleads with clickbait headline claiming cowpox-derived virus will “kill every type of cancer”
in Daily Mail, by Zoe Zaczek
— 20 Nov 2019
"This article substantially overhypes early pre-clinical work with a viral therapy that has not yet been tested in even the earliest stages of human clinical trials. The headline i..
CLAIM REVIEWS
Lack of clinical evidence for the claim that dog dewormer fenbendazole cures cancer
CLAIM
Fenbendazole cures cancer
SOURCE: Joe Tippens, Facebook
Published: 24 May 2023
VERDICT
Flawed comparison of cancer mortality between fluoridated and non-fluoridated U.S. cities doesn’t provide sufficient evidence that fluoride causes cancer
CLAIM
Rise in cancer after water fluoridation was introduced shows fluoride causes cancer; “Fluoride amounts to public murder on a grand scale”
SOURCE: Dean Burk, Facebook, YouTube
Published: 22 May 2023
VERDICT
No evidence that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin cure cancer; cancer and multiple sclerosis aren’t caused solely by parasites, contrary to claim by orthopedic surgeon
CLAIM
Cancer and multiple sclerosis are caused by parasites; hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin can cure cancer
SOURCE: Lee Merritt, After Hours with Dr. Sigoloff
Published: 12 May 2023
VERDICT
Sugar isn’t inherently cancer-causing; no evidence that removing sugar from diet cures cancer
CLAIM
Sugar causes cancer; eliminating sugar from the diet can cure cancer
SOURCE: Mark Hyman, Barbara O'Neill, The School of Greatness
Published: 05 May 2023
VERDICT
Hydrogen peroxide given intravenously can be dangerous, has no known medical benefit
CLAIM
Intravenous hydrogen peroxide "enables the body to cure itself of practically any disease"
SOURCE: Farley Malorrus, Facebook
Published: 26 Apr 2023
VERDICT
Analysis by insurance executive Josh Stirling misrepresents official UK data, doesn’t show that COVID-19 vaccines led to 600,000 deaths
CLAIM
“600,000 Americans Per Year Are Dying From COVID Shots Says Top Insurance Analyst”
SOURCE: Josh Stirling, Jonas Vesterberg, The Florida Standard
Published: 20 Apr 2023
VERDICT
High population immunity and low virus circulation the reasons for new Swiss COVID-19 vaccine recommendation, not vaccine injuries
CLAIM
Switzerland stops COVID-19 vaccines due to safety concerns
SOURCE: Anthony Hinton, Twitter
Published: 19 Apr 2023
VERDICT
CGTN video rehashes baseless claim about U.S. biolabs in Ukraine
CLAIM
“U.S. biolabs in Ukraine” could be involved in “possible biological warfare”
SOURCE: William Jones, CGTN
Published: 14 Apr 2023
VERDICT
No evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines cause “shedding”; Pfizer trial protocol doesn’t admit that vaccine shedding occurs
CLAIM
Pfizer admits that vaccinated people can shed the vaccine on unvaccinated people
SOURCE: Kate Dalley, The Alex Jones Show
Published: 31 Mar 2023
VERDICT
Scientific evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase the risk of heart attacks, contrary to Russell Brand video
CLAIM
COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for the rise in heart attacks in young people
SOURCE: Russell Brand, YouTube
Published: 30 Mar 2023
VERDICT
INSIGHTS
Germany-based network of websites and Facebook accounts amplify clickbait content to monetize web traffic via Google AdSense and e-commerce
— 08 Sep 2022
SUMMARY This investigation, which took place between May and August 2022, shows that a network of German- and English-language Facebook pages are using the platform to build an onl...
What do we know about the safety of titanium dioxide in menstrual hygiene products?
— 09 Aug 2022
Photo by Josefin on Unsplash Introduction Social media posts claiming that titanium dioxide in tampons are responsible for reproductive cancers began circulating in early August 20...
Shedding light on LinkedIn’s enforcement of health misinformation policies: A pilot study
— 26 Apr 2022
Summary of findings The career- and business-oriented social media platform LinkedIn has been absent from the public conversation around the topic of health misinformation, as comp...
Infection-induced immunity versus vaccine-induced immunity: Weighing the benefits and risks
— 03 Nov 2021
Introduction Multiple articles and social media posts have debated the strength of infection-induced immunity—commonly referred to as natural immunity—compared to vaccina...
Copypasta of an ICU doctor’s tweet stokes COVID-19 skepticism by mimicking bot-like behavior
— 29 Jul 2021
Introduction The spread of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has put many countries back on high alert. Both the U.S. and the U.K. have seen the Delta variant become the predominant ...
Understanding causality in adverse events after vaccination
— 15 Jul 2021
Introduction Whether you’re watching the news or scrolling through your social media feeds, you’re certain to come across content about COVID-19 vaccines. This is unsurprising�...
“Plandemic: Indoctornation” video rehashes debunked claims and conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines
— 20 Aug 2020
Plandemic is a pseudo-documentary produced by American filmmaker Mikki Willis, whose first instalment was published in May 2020. Featuring an interview with anti-vaccination activi...
Computing Forever interview with Dolores Cahill contains numerous inaccuracies about COVID-19 and vaccines
— 22 May 2020
This video, first published on 11 May 2020, features an interview between Dave Cullen, also known as Computing Forever on YouTube, and Dolores Cahill, a professor at University Col...
“Plandemic” vignette featuring anti-vaccination activist Judy Mikovits contains numerous false and unsupported claims about COVID-19
— 08 May 2020
This video is the first in a series of vignettes preceding a movie titled “Plandemic”. First published on 5 May 2020, it quickly went viral on Facebook, with more than 2.2 mill...
Did the COVID-19 virus originate from a lab or nature? Examining the evidence for different hypotheses of the novel coronavirus’ origins
— 24 Apr 2020
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019, many hypotheses have been advanced to explain where the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) actually came from. Initial re...