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Iria Carballo-Carbajal

Science Editor

Iria earned an undergraduate degree in biology and an MSc in secondary education from the University of Oviedo (Spain). After obtaining her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Tuebingen (Germany), she then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Vall d’Hebrón Research Institute (Barcelona, Spain). Her research has focused on understanding the molecular basis of Parkinson’s disease to search for new potential treatments.

The Science Feedback team

CLAIM REVIEWS

Water fluoridation hasn’t been associated with cognitive or other health problems so far, contrary to widespread claims
CLAIM
“Harvard Study Confirms: Fluoride Reduces Children’s IQ”

SOURCE: Anonymous, Social media users, Herbs, Health, and Happiness

Published: 26 Sep 2022

VERDICT

Mike Adams’ flawed analysis of a clot sent by embalmer Richard Hirschman doesn’t demonstrate any link between blood clots and COVID-19 vaccines
CLAIM
Embalmers find “strange clots” in corpses since the implementation of COVID-19 vaccines

SOURCE: Richard Hirschman, Mike Adams, The Epoch Times, Natural News

Published: 12 Sep 2022

VERDICT

Unsubstantiated claims by Michael Palmer and Sucharit Bhakdi don’t demonstrate that COVID-19 vaccines harm organs
CLAIM
mRNA vaccines cause “vascular and organ damage” that can lead to death

SOURCE: Michael Palmer, Sucharit Bhakdi, Doctors for COVID Ethics

Published: 03 Sep 2022

VERDICT

COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of death, contrary to Mark Steyn’s misleading interpretation of mortality data
CLAIM
“[T]he peak of vaccine mandates in America […] coincides with massive excess mortality among people in the prime of life”

SOURCE: Mark Steyn, GB News

Published: 29 Aug 2022

VERDICT

COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of pregnancy complications; Pfizer’s clinical trial didn’t show increased rate of miscarriage in pregnant women
CLAIM
“44 Percent of Pregnant Women in Pfizer Trial Lost Their Babies”

SOURCE: Naomi Wolf, Daily Clout, War Room Battleground

Published: 23 Aug 2022

VERDICT

Cancer is caused by mutations, not the body’s acidity; eating alkaline foods can’t alter the body’s pH to prevent or treat cancer
CLAIM
Cancer occurs when “your body is full of acidity”; alkalizing your body prevents cancer

SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook

Published: 13 Aug 2022

VERDICT

Justin Bieber’s facial paralysis is caused by a viral infection; no evidence that COVID-19 vaccine played a role
CLAIM
Ramsay Hunt syndrome that caused Justin Bieber’s facial paralysis is linked to the COVID-19 vaccine

SOURCE: Social media users, Steve Kirsch, Facebook, Twitter, Substack

Published: 07 Jul 2022

VERDICT

Monkeypox outbreak triggers conspiracy theories on social media claiming that it was planned or incorrectly linking it to COVID-19 vaccines
CLAIM
Monkeypox is caused by COVID-19 vaccines; a 2021 tabletop exercise portraying a monkeypox pandemic is evidence that global leaders planned the outbreak; the monkeypox vaccine was “ready” before the outbreak

SOURCE: Social media users, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube

Published: 26 May 2022

VERDICT

No scientific evidence supports the claim that consuming apple cider vinegar is a rapid and effective long-term weight control approach
CLAIM
Apple cider vinegar and thermogenic supplements are effective for rapid weight loss

SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook

Published: 20 May 2022

VERDICT

The benefits of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe disease and other complications outweigh the risk of myocarditis, which is higher after COVID-19 itself
CLAIM
“they were not able to find a single healthy child in america that died from COVID-19 […] but one in every 2700 people are getting myocarditis”; “athletes are collapsing on playing fields as for myocarditis and it's from the vaccines”; Moderna patent filed in 2019 is linked to the pandemic

SOURCE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., This Past Weekend with Theo Von

Published: 18 May 2022

VERDICT