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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.

13,672 published reviews in this topic

dpaHealth & medicine

'Opeens' zijn er apenpokken, maar pokken waren al in 1980 uitgeroeid.

Publisher’s rating: De wereld is inderdaad in 1980 pokkenvrij verklaard, maar dit geldt enkel voor de pokken. Dat is iets anders dan apenpokken. Er bestaan verschillende vormen. De VS koopt inderdaad Tpoxx in, dat doen ze vaker en is preventief in het geval van een biologische aanval waarbij de pokken zouden worden gebruikt. Wat de beweringen gemeen hebben is dat ze geen nieuwe ontwikkelingen laten zien, en geen bewijs zijn dat deze uitbraak van de apenpokken gepland of onnatuurlijk zou zijn.

The claim links the 1980 declaration that the world was free of smallpox to the appearance of monkeypox cases, implying that the outbreak was suspicious or unnatural. The review says the viral post also pointed to the US purchase of a smallpox treatment, Tpoxx, as part of that argument. It distinguishes smallpox from monkeypox: the 1980 declaration applied to smallpox, not to other diseases with “pox” in their names. The review notes that monkeypox cases had occurred after 1980 and that the virus was first identified in humans in 1970. 【S1】 The review gives a separate explanation for the US drug purchase. Tpoxx was approved in the United States in 2018, and the government had been purchasing it since then; the review reports that it set aside two million doses in 2018 and bought $113 million worth for the fourth quarter of 2021. It says the stockpiling was for preparedness against a possible biological attack involving smallpox, and that the government had stockpiled other smallpox medicines before Tpoxx was approved. Thus, the purchase described in the claim was not presented as a new response to the monkeypox outbreak. 【S1】 The review concludes that the cited facts do not show that the monkeypox outbreak was planned or unnatural. It also notes that Tpoxx, though initially developed for smallpox, can work against monkeypox because the viruses belong to the same family; the review says the medicine had been used in exceptional monkeypox cases before EU approval. 【S1】

THIP MediaHealth & medicine

Monkeypox can spread only through homosexual men

Publisher’s rating: False

Related research does not support the claim that mpox can spread only through gay men. One study excerpt describes the 2022 international outbreak as disproportionately concentrated among men who have sex with men, but it also identifies other routes of transmission: “close physical contact, contaminated materials, and intimate or sexual contact.” Concentration in one group is not the same as transmission being exclusive to that group. The excerpt reports a cross-sectional survey of mpox-vaccination willingness among MSM in Changsha, China; it is not an investigation of every transmission route or a complete accounting of who was infected. Its discussion of the outbreak and transmission routes therefore supports a narrower conclusion: MSM were a priority group during the outbreak described, but the excerpt does not establish that only MSM can contract or transmit mpox.

dpaHealth & medicine

La variole du singe est dans le vaccin d'AstraZeneca contre le Covid-19.

Publisher’s rating: Cette hypothèse est totalement infondée, s’accordent les experts sollicités par la dpa. L’adénovirus de chimpanzé modifié qui sert de vecteur dans le vaccin d’AstraZeneca contre le Covid-19 est tout à fait différent du virus de la variole du singe. Ce dernier n’est pas présent dans le vaccin.

The claim examined is that monkeypox virus was contained in AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and could explain cases reported outside Africa in May 2022. The review describes the allegation as arising from the vaccine’s use of a modified chimpanzee adenovirus, then distinguishes that vector from the virus that causes monkeypox: they are different viruses from different families, despite both having names associated with primates. It reports that immunologists Pierre Coulie and Muriel Moser told dpa the monkeypox virus is not in the vaccine and that the proposed link has no scientific basis. The review explains what the vaccine vector does: it delivers genetic material that enables cells to produce a harmless SARS-CoV-2 protein and prompt an immune response. It says the chimpanzee adenovirus was chosen because people generally have not encountered it and therefore are not already immune to it. That role does not mean the vaccine contains monkeypox virus. The article compares the two viruses to a dog and a cat to underline that their shared association with primates does not make them the same organism. The account also gives a testable implication of the contamination scenario. Coulie said it would require monkeypox virus to contaminate the vaccine; he considered this virtually impossible given the controls on virus production, and said such contamination would be expected to cause many infections occurring immediately after vaccination. The review further notes that France’s Inserm rejected the alleged link, citing the distinction between monkeypox’s poxvirus family and adenoviruses. These explanations address the specific vaccine-content claim, rather than treating the names of the viruses as evidence that one is present in the other.

FACTLYHealth & medicine

A liquid hack that includes Apple cider vinegar leads to rapid and large weight loss without the need for exercise

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

FACTLY examined a social-media post promoting a “10 second liquid hack” as a way to lose weight rapidly without exercise. The post linked to a website featuring a woman’s testimonial about losing weight that way. The video showed apple cider vinegar in a cup and an unidentified white powder being added; the review says it did not establish what the powder was or provide evidence that the mixture caused the claimed results. The review describes limited evidence that vinegar may modestly affect weight, not evidence for the dramatic, rapid result claimed. It cites a 2009 study in which participants consumed no vinegar or one or two tablespoons daily for three months; those consuming vinegar lost “2 to 4 pounds” more than those who drank none. It also mentions a 2018 study in which the vinegar group lost more weight than the comparison group, but gives no further details in the excerpt. FACTLY says larger-scale research is needed to assess vinegar’s effect on rapid, significant weight loss, and notes that large amounts can have side effects and contraindications because of its acidity. The review also distinguishes possible metabolic effects from proof of the advertised outcome: it says some research suggests caffeine and green tea might influence metabolism, but found no evidence that they produce rapid weight loss without exercise. It cites CDC guidance that healthy weight loss involves long-term lifestyle changes, healthy eating patterns, and regular physical activity. Taken together, the evidence described does not substantiate the post’s promise of rapid, substantial weight loss from the liquid hack without exercise.

dpaHealth & medicine

Kans op overlijden is bij gevaccineerde kindere 52 keer hoger dan bij niet-gevaccineerde kinderen.

Publisher’s rating: De bewering is fout. De gebruikte formule waarmee de 52 keer of 5100 procent werd berekend, is niet statistisch solide en houdt geen rekening met de context van deze cijfers. Het ONS concludeert op basis van dezelfde gegevens dat het sterftecijfer voor doden door COVID-19 ‘consistent lager’ ligt bij gevaccineerden dan bij ongevaccineerden – in elke leeftijdscategorie.

dpaHealth & medicine

Albert Bourla, le PDG de Pfizer, a fait part de la nouvelle technologie du géant pharmaceutique au forum de Davos : une pilule avec une puce qui notifie aux autorités que le médicament a été ingéré.

Publisher’s rating: Ces publications sont trompeuses. La vidéo montre Albert Bourla s’exprimer lors du Forum de Davos en 2018. Elle n’est donc pas actuelle. De plus, il parle ici d’une pilule qui a été développée non pas par Pfizer, mais par une compagnie distincte, et qui avait récemment été approuvée par les autorités américaines.

LupaHealth & medicine

“Após obrigar bilhões de seres humanos a vacinar, a Pfizer publica a lista de 1.291 efeitos colaterais graves de sua ‘vacina’. Ainda assim, ele diz que todos devem receber uma nova dose todos os anos. Aqui a lista: Parada cardíaca. - Insuficiência cardíaca. - Trombose Ventricular Cardíaca. - Choque cardiogênico . - Miocardite. - Lesão renal aguda. - Mielite flácida aguda . - Anticorpos antiesperma positivos - Embolia e trombose do tronco cerebral. - Vasculite do sistema nervoso central. - Morte neonatal. - Trombose venosa profunda. - Encefalite do tronco cerebral. (...)"

Publisher’s rating: Falso