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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.

13,668 published reviews in this topic

dpaHealth & medicine

L'étude de Cochrane prouve que les masques sont inefficaces.

Publisher’s rating: La méta-analyse dont il est question résume des recherches sur plusieurs virus respiratoires. L’infection par le SARS-CoV-2 (le virus qui cause la maladie Covid-19) n’en est qu’une petite partie. L’étude de l’organisation Cochrane ne permet, que de manière très limitée, de tirer des conclusions sur l’efficacité des masques contre les infections au Covid-19. Dire que l’étude prouve l’inutilité des masques est faux.

The claim that the Cochrane study proves masks are ineffective overstates what the review can establish. The dpa article describes the Cochrane work as a meta-analysis of research on several respiratory viruses, with SARS-CoV-2 accounting for only a small part of the evidence. It reports that the 78 studies included work on influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and SARS, and that most concerned respiratory-virus seasons through 2016 rather than the Covid-19 pandemic. The article says the review’s authors found that community mask use was likely to have little or no effect on the occurrence of illnesses such as influenza and Covid-19, but also stressed limitations in the evidence. They cited risk of bias, differences in outcome measurement and relatively low adherence to the measures studied as obstacles to drawing clear conclusions. The article therefore says the review permits only limited conclusions about mask effectiveness against Covid-19; it does not establish that masks are useless. The account also reports that Cochrane’s German branch cautioned against broad interpretations of the study on social media, and that the review authors described research gaps. The article separately cites other scientific work suggesting masks can reduce infection risk, including a 2020 synthesis and a 2021 PNAS study. Those examples provide additional context, but the central point is the limited and mixed scope of the Cochrane evidence—not proof of ineffectiveness.

PA MediaHealth & medicine

A court has ruled against drugs giant Pfizer, saying the company’s chief executive had misled people about the safety of vaccines.

Publisher’s rating: Missing context: Pfizer did not get found guilty in court. In fact there was no court case. No court said that the Pfizer vaccine was not safe. Instead the body run by the pharmaceutical industry’s trade body found that Pfizer’s chief executive had erred when speaking to the BBC and might have led people to believe there was no need to be worried about side effects and that benefits outweighed the risks when vaccinating young children.

dpaHealth & medicine

Un responsable des CDC américains admet que les vaccins contre le Covid-19 provoquent des maladies graves et mortelles.

Publisher’s rating: La vidéo relayée sur les réseaux sociaux est un extrait d’une réunion du comité consultatif sur les vaccins de la FDA, qui s’est déroulée le 26 janvier 2023. La vidéo complète, d’une durée d’environ 9h, est disponible sur YouTube. Des médecins et experts de différents organismes y interviennent pour s'entretenir sur les vaccins contre le Covid-19.

dpaHealth & medicine

Thailand annuleert contracten met Pfizer na coma prinses.

Publisher’s rating: Er is geen enkele aanwijzing dat Thailand van plan is om het contract met Pfizer te annuleren. Dit werd door het departement voor Ziektebestrijding op Facebook bevestigd. prinses Bajrakitiyabha ligt volgens haar artsen in coma ten gevolge van een infectie, veroorzaakt door mycoplasma.

The claim combines two assertions: that Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s coma followed a vaccine booster, and that Thailand consequently decided to cancel its Pfizer contract. The review reports that online posts attributed the alleged cancellation to microbiologist Sucharik Bhakdi, but found no announcement from the Thai government supporting it. It also reports that the Department of Disease Control called Bhakdi’s statements fake news on Facebook. The review separates the contract allegation from the princess’s medical condition. It says the palace issued three statements about her condition, none of which mentioned a vaccine as its cause. According to the treating doctors, her condition was attributed to heart-rhythm problems caused by Mycoplasma. The review notes that the princess’s vaccination status was not publicly known, so the available information did not establish the claimed vaccine connection. For the contract question, the review reports that Thailand had approved Pfizer’s vaccine in June 2021, and that it found no Thai government announcement that the country was cancelling its Pfizer contract. Together, these findings undercut the asserted link between the princess’s coma and a government decision to end the contract.

日本ファクトチェックセンターHealth & medicine

コロナワクチンでタイ国王の長女が被害を受け、タイはファイザー社との契約を無効にする

Publisher’s rating: 誤り

The review says the princess’s illness was attributed to a mycoplasma infection, which caused heart inflammation and a serious arrhythmia. It also reports that Thailand’s Department of Disease Control rejected the claim about canceling the Pfizer contract, and a National Vaccine Institute official said there were no plans to review contracts with Pfizer or other COVID-19 vaccine makers.

MediaWiseHealth & medicine

Damar Hamlin nearly died due to the COVID-19 vaccine

Publisher’s rating: Not Legit

MediaWise examined the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine caused Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin to collapse during an NFL game on Jan. 2. Its account says the claim circulated online after his collapse, including a post alleging that Pfizer had killed him. The review’s conclusion was that the vaccine did not cause the collapse, but its explanation also distinguishes between what was known and what remained unconfirmed at the time of the investigation. (S1: “Fans and viewers were frightened when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed in the middle of an NFL game on Jan. 2.”; “On Instagram, one person wrote: ‘Pfizer kills a Black man on live TV and then tells us that we’re not supposed to talk about it.’”; “The COVID-19 vaccine did not cause Damar Hamlin’s collapse.”) The review reports that Hamlin was alive and recovering, and that he appeared at a Bills game three weeks after the collapse. It also states that his vaccination status had not been confirmed. That means the excerpts do not establish whether he had been vaccinated; they do directly undercut claims that he died, and they do not provide evidence linking vaccination to the incident. (S1: “First of all, Hamlin is alive — breathing, walking and talking.”; “He even attended a Bills game three weeks after his collapse, sitting in a box and waving to fans.”; “we still don’t know Hamlin’s vaccine status: It’s never been confirmed.”) For a possible explanation, the article cites experts who considered commotio cordis the most likely cause: a blow to the chest at a precise place and moment can trigger a dangerous heart rhythm or cardiac arrest. The account presents this as the likely explanation, not as a confirmed diagnosis in the excerpt. It also quotes sports cardiologist Matthew Martinez saying he was not aware of a COVID-vaccine-related cardiac complication in professional sports. Taken together, the review’s stated reasoning is that the claim lacked evidence and that an impact-related heart event was the more plausible explanation—not that Hamlin’s vaccination status or a definitive diagnosis had been established. (S1: “experts say his collapse is most likely linked to a condition called commotio cordis.”; “This is when a blow to the chest, delivered at exactly the right place at exactly the right time, can cause a dangerous heart arrhythmia or cardiac arrest.”; “To date, I am not aware of a single COVID vaccine-related cardiac complication in professional sports,”)