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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

Misrepresented 2018 clip of Bill Gates trigger inaccurate claims that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for livestock could transfer to people through diet
CLAIM
“Bill Gates Vows To Pump mRNA Into Food Supply To ‘Force-Jab’ the Unvaccinated”

SOURCE: Baxter Dmitry, NewsPunch, The People’s Voice, Headline USA

Published: 18 Jan 2023

VERDICT

Possible increases in cancer rates and lower life expectancy in 2021 are primarily driven by effects of COVID-19, not vaccination
CLAIM
“Cancer rates have increased since the introduction of the COVID-19 shots”, which “is driving down U.S. life expectancy”

SOURCE: Joseph Mercola, Children's Health Defense

Published: 13 Jan 2023

VERDICT

Ivermectin hasn’t proven effective in COVID-19 patients so far, despite persistent online claims
CLAIM
Ivermectin is a safe and effective COVID-19 treatment

SOURCE: Colleen Huber, The Epoch Times

Published: 02 Jan 2023

VERDICT

Medical exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines are granted for contraindications, not including history of blood clots or adverse reaction to prior vaccine
CLAIM
Medical exemptions are unavailable even for people who “shouldn't get the [COVID-19] vaccine”, including those with a history of blood clotting or an adverse reaction to a prior vaccine

SOURCE: Dan Bongino, The Dan Bongino Show

Published: 22 Dec 2022

VERDICT

Face masks don’t cause hypercapnia or blood acidity; no evidence indicates that these conditions increase cancer risk
CLAIM
Face masks cause hypercapnia and blood acidity, which might increase cancer risk

SOURCE: Christina Parks, America's Frontline Doctors

Published: 24 Nov 2022

VERDICT

Death of a four-year-old boy in Argentina was due to lung infection, contrary to social media posts implying vaccination was the cause
CLAIM
Death of 4 years old poster boy for vaccination campaign is linked to COVID-19 vaccine

SOURCE: Social media users, Facebook, Instagram

Published: 17 Nov 2022

VERDICT

The presence of titanium dioxide in face masks hasn’t been associated with toxicity or any health problems
CLAIM
Face masks contain a “cancer-causing compound”; “exposure to titanium dioxide ‘systematically exceeded the acceptable exposure level to TiO2 by inhalation’”

SOURCE: Joseph Mercola, Children's Health Defense

Published: 15 Nov 2022

VERDICT

Clinical trial by Moderna found no safety concerns with the COVID-19 vaccine in toddlers, contrary to claim by Joseph Ladapo
CLAIM
According to Moderna themselves: Serious adverse events affected 1 in 200 toddlers. But they still concluded the mRNA vaccine was safe in children

SOURCE: Joseph Ladapo, Twitter

Published: 05 Nov 2022

VERDICT

Photos of blood clots removed during embalming don’t show any link with COVID-19 vaccines; blood clotting risk is much higher after COVID-19 than vaccination
CLAIM
COVID-19 vaccines are linked to an increase in abnormal blood clots observed by embalmers

SOURCE: Matthew Horwood, Twitter, Instagram

Published: 02 Nov 2022

VERDICT

COVID-19 vaccine boosters reduce the risk of infection and hospitalization; they don’t increase the risk, contrary to claims of vaccines’ “negative efficacy”
CLAIM
A study by Kaiser Permanente “shows negative efficacy of the shots against all variants within 150 days”; “the more you inject, the more you infect”

SOURCE: Daniel Horowitz, Conservative Review

Published: 23 Oct 2022

VERDICT