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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

dpaHealth & medicine

Aux Pays-Bas, les médecins ont reçu l'ordre de commencer à euthanasier les citoyens, y compris les enfants, qui souffrent d'un handicap mineur, d'autisme et d'alcoolisme afin de « sauver la planète ».

Publisher’s rating: Non. Ces affirmations sont infondées. L'euthanasie aux Pays-Bas n'est réalisée que sur les personnes qui en font la demande et les médecins qui la pratique doivent suivre des règles strictes. Le gouvernement néerlandais n'a jamais affirmé que cette pratique sauverait la planète.

The review traces the allegation to a July 22, 2023 article on The People’s Voice, which claimed Dutch doctors had been instructed to euthanize people with minor disabilities, autism or alcoholism, as well as children under 12, in order to save the planet. The review says the article invoked a Kingston University study of euthanasia cases from 2012 to 2021, rather than a new government order. The Netherlands had legalized euthanasia in 2001, with the law taking effect in 2002; the review therefore finds that describing the practice as newly “starting” misrepresents the chronology. [S1: “Les publications Facebook qui partagent ces affirmations renvoient à un article publié le 22 juillet 2023 sur le site américain The People's Voice.”; “Les chercheurs ont examiné 927 cas d'euthanasie entre 2012 et 2021”] On the claim of an order to doctors, the review cites the Dutch law’s six care requirements. A doctor must be convinced that the patient’s request is voluntary and carefully considered; doctors decide independently and act only at the patient’s explicit request, and may refuse to perform euthanasia. The study’s figures also do not establish an order: intellectual disability or autism was identified in 39 of the 927 cases examined, and the review notes that these cases involved psychological distress and remained subject to the care requirements. [S1: “Les médecins décident en toute indépendance d'aider un patient à pratiquer l'euthanasie, et ce, uniquement à la demande explicite du patient.”; “Pour 39 de ces patients, une déficience intellectuelle ou un trouble du spectre autistique (TSA) a été indiqué comme étant en cause.”] The review says alcohol featured in one Dutch euthanasia case in 2016, where alcoholism associated with depression was considered unbearable suffering. It distinguishes that case from a general policy targeting people with alcoholism. As for children, Dutch law applies from age 12, with parental or guardian consent required until age 16. A proposal for some children under 12 with grave, incurable conditions had not been adopted when the review was written: it had received support in the lower chamber, but the government’s fall in early July left the proposal unadopted. The review says the claim that euthanasia had begun for these groups to save the planet was invented. [S1: “En 2016, l'alcool a joué un rôle dans l'euthanasie d'une seule personne aux Pays-Bas.”; “Toutefois, le gouvernement néerlandais étant tombé début juillet en raison de désaccords sur la question migratoire, cette proposition sur l'euthanasie n'a pas été adoptée.”; “L'affirmation selon laquelle le gouvernement néerlandais aurait déclaré que les personnes autistes, handicapées et alcooliques devraient être euthanasiées pour sauver la planète est donc une déclaration totalement inventée.”]

dpaHealth & medicine

Nederlandse regering begint met het euthanaseren van mensen met autisme, handicaps en alcoholisme.

Publisher’s rating: Het artikel verspreidt onwaarheden over de situatie van euthanasie in Nederland, verzint citaten en stelt het onterecht voor alsof de overheid recent een euthanasiecampagne begonnen zou zijn.

The claim presented euthanasia in the Netherlands as a newly launched government campaign targeting people with autism, disabilities and alcoholism, supposedly to save the planet. The review says the article’s use of “begins” was misleading: its source was a Kingston University study of Dutch euthanasia cases from 2012 to 2021, not evidence of a new government initiative. The review also says the statement about euthanizing people to save the planet was invented by The People’s Voice, the US website from which Frontnieuws took its information. The study examined 927 cases in the online database of the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees. In 39 cases, an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder was reported as a factor; the review says the condition was the sole reason for the request in 21 percent of those cases and an important factor in 42 percent. It notes that psychological suffering can qualify under the same statutory safeguards as physical suffering. It also describes one 2017 case in which alcoholism, together with depression, contributed to suffering assessed as unbearable—not a new campaign or a policy of euthanizing people simply because they had those conditions. The review explains that Dutch law requires a patient’s explicit, considered request and that the physician must find the suffering unbearable and without prospect of improvement. It distinguishes these individual cases from state action: the government established a legal framework, but physicians independently decide whether to assist a patient who requests euthanasia. The review further says that in July 2023 there was no arrangement for euthanasia for children aged one to twelve; a proposal for certain terminally ill children had been prepared, but after the government fell in early July, it did not appear likely to pass before a new government. Thus, the proposed children’s measure was not evidence that euthanasia had begun for that age group.

dpa Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Produkte mit dem Frosch-Logo tragen mRNA-Impfstoffe gegen das Coronavirus in sich. Hinter allem steckt Microsoft-Gründer Bill Gates.

Publisher’s rating: Lebensmittel mit dem Frosch-Logo enthalten keine Corona-Impfstoffe. Die Rainforest Alliance nutzt das Emblem, um auf aus ihrer Sicht nachhaltige Produkte hinzuweisen. Außer Spendengeldern an die Organisation ist Gates dort nie in Erscheinung getreten.

The claim links two allegations: that food carrying the Rainforest Alliance’s frog emblem contains coronavirus vaccines, and that Bill Gates is behind the supposed scheme. The review identifies the frog as a sustainability certification mark and says the organization uses it to indicate products associated with its view of sustainable production—not to signal vaccines. It reports that the Alliance’s annual report listed more than 54,000 products in 190 countries bearing the green or black frog logo. The review concludes that the emblem has no connection to coronavirus vaccines. (S1)