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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Health & medicine fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

13,667 published reviews in this topic

YouturnHealth & medicine

அண்ணாமலை ஒரு மனநோயாளி. தூக்கத்தில் கனவு காண்பது இயல்பு. ஆனால் நடைப்பயணத்தில் நடக்கும்போதே கனவு காண்பது அரிய வகை நோய். அண்ணாமலை ஒரு மனநல மருத்துவரை பார்ப்பது நல்லது. – முன்னாள் அமைச்சர் ஜெயக்குமார் பேட்டி

Publisher’s rating: fake

First CheckHealth & medicine

Osteoarthritis only affects old people.

Publisher’s rating: One of the most prevalent myths about osteoarthritis is that it is a “natural process” of old age. Although it is true that elderly people are more susceptible to the disease, it can affect younger people too.

FACTLYHealth & medicine

India Today’s article on Cardioton medication in treating hypertension

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a purported India Today article promoting Cardioton as a way to treat hypertension. According to the review, the article said the medicine had been developed by AIIMS and could clean blood vessels and cure high blood pressure. It attributed the recommendation to 93-year-old chemist Ramchandra Bhargava Sapre, allegedly speaking to India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, and invited readers to obtain discounted medicine through a digital lottery. The review identifies that purported article as fake. To check its provenance, FACTLY says it searched India Today’s official website and social-media accounts for the report, but found no such article. It also checked the purported article’s URL and found that it did not belong to India Today. The review further examined the article’s photographs: it identifies the man pictured as educationist Dr Jagdish Gandhi, not Sapre. It notes that Sapre was India’s first national chess champion and had died in 1999. The review distinguishes the alleged article’s claims from what it says is known about Cardioton products. It describes Cardioton as a name used by multiple products, including herbal dietary supplements marketed for cardiovascular strength and blood pressure; it says the products are not developed and sold by AIIMS. The review also reports that a product caution advises people with conditions including hypertension to consult a doctor, and that its description says it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. It concludes that the purported India Today article is fake and that the asserted blood-vessel-cleansing cure is not established by sufficient scientific evidence.

El Detector / Univision NoticiasHealth & medicine

La fibromialgia se pueda revertir de “forma sencilla y rápida”.

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The review examined a Facebook post claiming that a natural compound could reverse fibromyalgia “de forma sencilla y rápida.” It reports that the post had more than 116,000 views and 1,500 likes as of November 6, 2023. The article says its fact-check drew on information from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the American College of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and also describes keyword searches in English and Spanish. The cited medical sources do not support reversal or a cure. The review says the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and Mayo Clinic state that there is no cure, while the American College of Rheumatology says there is currently no cure and that medication, exercise and therapy may help. It describes symptom management—not reversal—as involving medications, therapies and changes in habits. The article also notes that its search found no record of natural compounds that reverse fibromyalgia; the general-information sites it found mentioned possible symptom relief, not reversal. The post’s accompanying video does not substantiate its claim: the review identifies it as footage about osteoarthritis, not fibromyalgia, and says it neither discusses fibromyalgia nor identifies a compound that would cure it. The article distinguishes the conditions by describing fibromyalgia as causing widespread musculoskeletal pain and osteoarthritis as affecting joints. Thus, both the medical evidence summarized and the mismatch between the post’s claim and its video undermine the assertion that fibromyalgia can be reversed quickly and simply.