William Ledger

Professor (Obstetrics & Gynaecology)

The Science Feedback team

CLAIM REVIEWS

Sweetgum balls don’t contain Tamiflu’s active ingredient and there’s no evidence of an antiviral effect against COVID-19

CLAIM
Sweetgum balls contain the same active ingredient that Tamiflu contains, which is shikimic acid; It kills viruses including SARS-CoV-2

SOURCE: Social media users, Facebook, TikTok

Published: 27 Jan 2023

VERDICT

Excess deaths in the U.K. remain below the pandemic peak and aren’t linked to COVID-19 vaccines

CLAIM
More people are dying now than at the peak of the pandemic; the COVID-19 vaccines are the cause of the excess deaths seen in late 2022

SOURCE: Antony Newby, Facebook

Published: 13 Jan 2023

VERDICT

Contrary to viral Instagram videos, COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against severe disease

CLAIM
Vaccine effectiveness has fallen from 100% to 20%; the early reported vaccine effectiveness figures were lies

SOURCE: Social media users, Instagram

Published: 08 Dez 2022

VERDICT

COVID-19 vaccines have enhanced reporting requirements for vaccine safety database, so death reports cannot be simply compared to other vaccines

CLAIM
“More people have been killed by the COVID vaccines in the last 20 months than all the other vaccines in the world over the last thirty years combined.”

SOURCE: Pearson Sharp, Twitter

Published: 04 Nov 2022

VERDICT

Complete vaccine coverage in the U.S. could have prevented almost a quarter of COVID-19 deaths

CLAIM
“Quarter of U.S. covid deaths were probably preventable with vaccination”

SOURCE: Philip Bump, The Washington Post

Published: 28 Okt 2022

VERDICT

Neither medical treatments nor errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

CLAIM
“The third leading cause of death is MD-directed treatments”

SOURCE: Peter Glidden, TikTok

Published: 05 Okt 2022

VERDICT

There is no evidence to support claim that Solfeggio frequencies remove toxins from the body

CLAIM
Solfeggio frequencies can regenerate the body, remove toxins, remove negativity

SOURCE: Facebook users, TikTok users, Facebook, TikTok

Published: 30 Sep 2022

VERDICT

Consuming turpentine is dangerous and shouldn’t be used to treat parasites

CLAIM
Consuming turpentine will kill parasites

SOURCE: Social media users, TikTok, Facebook

Published: 08 Sep 2022

VERDICT

The CDC hasn’t classified monkeypox as airborne; transmission is typically through sustained physical contact

CLAIM
CDC has now classified [monkeypox] as airborne and anybody within 15 ft can catch it; [it] is now classified as a form of herpes [...] lasts 2-4 months [and] can lead to being paralyzed

SOURCE: Anonymous, Fathers Matter

Published: 04 Aug 2022

VERDICT

Following COVID-19 vaccination, the spike protein is produced in small quantities in the body, which have not been shown to be harmful

CLAIM
“[Spike] is harmful to the human body in at least eight different ways [and] can persist in the human body for weeks, or even months, after a person gets vaccinated”

SOURCE: Roma Balmakov, The Epoch Times

Published: 25 Mai 2022

VERDICT