Wearing face masks helps reduce the spread of COVID-19, but it only confers partial protection and should be combined with additional public health measures

CLAIM
“Mask mandates do nothing to stop [the spread of] COVID[-19]”; There is “overwhelming scientific evidence” that masks do not work

SOURCE: Yinon Weiss, The Federalist

Published: 11 Nov 2020

VERDICT

A rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths starting in September 2020 contradicts the claim by Michael Yeadon that “the pandemic is fundamentally over in the U.K.”

CLAIM
“the pandemic is fundamentally over in the U.K.”; “We now know that loads of people had prior immunity [...] I believe we are now firmly at community immunity.”; “Viruses don’t do waves.”

SOURCE: Julia Hartley-Brewer, Michael Yeadon, talkRADIO

Published: 10 Nov 2020

VERDICT

There is no evidence supporting the claim that preexisting T cell immunity reduces COVID-19 mortality and infection rate; such cross-reactive T cells predate the pandemic

CLAIM
“the reason why the death rate is so low is because our body has another way to create immunity that goes beyond just the antibodies, it’s called the memory T cells”

SOURCE: Eric Berg, YouTube

Published: 06 Nov 2020

VERDICT

A 2008 study co-authored by Anthony Fauci did not find that masks caused bacterial pneumonia, contrary to viral social media claim

CLAIM
“Most of the victims of the Spanish flu didn’t die from the Spanish flu. They died from bacterial pneumonia. And the bacterial pneumonia was caused by [...] wearing masks”

SOURCE: Anonymous, Facebook

Published: 06 Nov 2020

VERDICT

Brush rake attachments are primarily used to pile up heavy forest debris as part of active thinning, harvesting, and removal projects

CLAIM
“this is [...] a brush rake. It's used for clearing underbrush and debris from the forest floor that builds up and creates fuel for wild fires. Now you can stop looking stupid trying to make fun of Trump telling California to rake the forest.”

SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook

Published: 04 Nov 2020

VERDICT

The number of COVID-19 deaths over the entire pandemic is higher in the U.S. than Europe, even when controlling for population size

CLAIM
The U.S. has “a better handle on [COVID-19] than Europe”; “the disease is less deadly here than it is in most of Europe, based on case fatality data”

SOURCE: I&I Editorial Board, Issues & Insights

Published: 04 Nov 2020

VERDICT

Claim that mouthwash could reduce the spread of COVID-19 has not yet been confirmed by clinical trials in humans

CLAIM
Some mouthwashes could help curb coronavirus

SOURCE: Nyzah McDonald and Evan Hinkley, NewsNation

Published: 02 Nov 2020

VERDICT

The percentage of excess deaths in the U.S. not directly caused by COVID-19 ranges from 14% to 33%; it remains unclear how lockdowns influenced excess mortality

CLAIM
“a third of excess deaths in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic could not be directly attributed to the coronavirus”; “One reason for the high amount of excess deaths not attributable to COVID-19 has been disruptions in health services caused by lockdowns.”

SOURCE: Michael Lee, Washington Examiner

Published: 29 Oct 2020

VERDICT

Fewer flu cases observed in the start of this flu season, but Donald Trump Jr.’s tweet suggesting data manipulation is unsupported and cites inaccurate figures

CLAIM
“We went from 75,000 flu deaths last year in America to almost 0 [...] do you think there may be allocation games being played to manipulate the truth?”

SOURCE: Donald Trump Jr., Twitter

Published: 29 Oct 2020

VERDICT

Sea ice loss due to climate change is the biggest threat to polar bear survival and has already led to declines in some polar bear subpopulations, contrary to “Climate Realism” video message

CLAIM
“In 1950, there were around 10,000 polar bears globally. Today, polar bear populations are near 39,000. Polar bear populations are increasing dramatically as the planet has warmed.”

SOURCE: Andy Singer, Climate Realism, Heartland Institute

Published: 29 Oct 2020

VERDICT