Claim reviews
Strong evidence lacking to support claim that ivermectin is a cure for COVID-19; there are only limited clinical results at this stage
CLAIM
Ivermectin “is a safe and widely available treatment for coronavirus”; it would “work like a vaccine”
SOURCE: Pearson Sharp, One America News Network
Published: 16 Jan 2021
VERDICT
Rates of global sea level rise have accelerated since 1900, contrary to bloggers’ claims
CLAIM
“there has not been a long-term distinctive change in sea level rise rates in the last 120 years”
SOURCE: Pierre L. Gosselin, Kenneth Richard, NoTricksZone, Watts Up With That?
Published: 15 Jan 2021
VERDICT
Vaccines protect people from diseases, but don’t always prevent disease transmission; research ongoing to determine if COVID-19 vaccines stop transmission
CLAIM
The COVID-19 RNA vaccine “is not a vaccine”; a vaccine has to disrupt transmission by CDC and FDA standards; the vaccine “activate[s] the cell to become a pathogen-manufacturing site”
SOURCE: David Martin, New Earth Project
Published: 12 Jan 2021
VERDICT
COVID-19 vaccine did not cause the death of a Portuguese woman, contrary to social media posts’ suggestions
CLAIM
“Portuguese nurse dies two days after getting the Pfizer Covid vaccine”
SOURCE: Anonymous, Wion
Published: 08 Jan 2021
VERDICT
The CDC reports more than 2.9 million deaths in the U.S. in 2020; there were at least 377,000 more deaths in 2020 compared to previous years
CLAIM
the number of deaths in America in 2020 was not greater than that in 2019
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook, Twitter
Published: 07 Jan 2021
VERDICT
German study did not find wearing face masks harms children; study wasn’t designed to accurately test these effects
CLAIM
”A German study involving over 25,000 children reveals that major negative impacts on the physical, psychological, and behavioral health of children may be far more widespread than reported”
SOURCE: Anonymous, GreenMedInfo
Published: 06 Jan 2021
VERDICT
Nashville bomber died in the explosion, not from COVID-19
CLAIM
“Nashville bomber died from COVID-19”
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 05 Jan 2021
VERDICT
Asymptomatic and presymptomatic people can spread COVID-19
CLAIM
asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 never occurs
SOURCE: Jeffrey A. Tucker, American Institute for Economic Research, The Last Refuge
Published: 04 Jan 2021
VERDICT
The virus that causes COVID-19 exists and was identified and isolated multiple times by independent research groups
CLAIM
“The COVID-19 virus does not exist”; “The virus has never been isolated”
SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook
Published: 01 Jan 2021
VERDICT
COVID-19 antigen tests are highly accurate, but incorrect use on food items such as fruits or Coca-Cola can produce false positive results
CLAIM
Simple cola produced a positive result in the COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, proving mass testing worthless
SOURCE: Michael Schnedlitz, Vaccine Impact, others
Published: 31 Dec 2020
VERDICT
