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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

Video toont prof. Christian Peronne in het Luxemburgs parlement, met verschillende uitspraken hoe onveilig en gevaarlijk de coronavaccins zijn.

Publisher’s rating: Professor Christian Perronne doet meerdere foute uitspraken over de coronavaccins en de pandemie. Zo zijn de vaccins niet experimenteel, voorkomen ze wel degelijk ernstige ziekte en heeft de Code van Neurenberg helemaal niets met de vaccinatiecampagne te maken. Er is evenmin bewijs dat het aantal kankeroverlijdens in de VS toeneemt door de vaccins en in India vaccineert men wel degelijk.

watson.chHealth & medicine

Ivermectin wirkt gegen Covid.

Publisher’s rating: Die Behauptung ist irreführend.

The claim under review is that ivermectin works against Covid. Watson traces its spread to an Inside Paradeplatz article published on 1 February 2022, based on a Reuters report about Japanese company Kowa. The key distinction is that Kowa’s reported finding came from a preclinical study with Kitasato University, while the clinical Phase III trial was still underway and had no results available. The review says the preclinical result concerned antiviral activity against Omicron, not demonstrated effectiveness in people. Watson reports that Reuters initially described ivermectin as effective against Omicron in a Phase III trial, then corrected its headline and acknowledged that the original version had wrongly claimed clinical confirmation in humans. The review explains that preclinical testing takes place outside people, such as in cells or animals, so a laboratory antiviral result cannot establish that a treatment benefits patients. It also notes that the company’s announcement did not explain how it reached its conclusion. The review concludes that evidence for ivermectin as an effective Covid-19 medicine remained unsubstantiated. It cites meta-analyses and the WHO as finding human-trial data inconclusive, and quotes Swissmedic saying the Japanese announcement allowed no conclusions about effectiveness in people. Swissmedic’s warning was that further testing, including proper clinical trials, would be needed to establish whether the substance provides more benefit than harm.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Das Sozialministerium Sachsen fordert in einem Faltblatt dazu auf, auch engste Familienmitglieder, die sich gegen die Coronamaßnahmen aussprechen, umgehend dem Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz zu melden.

Publisher’s rating: Der Flyer «Sachsen muss wieder in Deutschland integriert werden» stammt nicht wie angeben vom Sozialministerium. Das Ministerium behält sich rechtliche Schritte vor.

The claim concerns a flyer circulated in Saxony that appeared to urge citizens to monitor people around them and report them to the state intelligence agency. The review examined whether this flyer was an official publication of the Saxon Social Ministry. It identifies the document as a forged flyer titled “Sachsen muss wieder in Deutschland integriert werden,” not a ministry leaflet. The ministry’s design was imitated, but the review says the text was invented and the ministry distanced itself from the document. The review describes the wording that prompted concern: citizens were supposedly told to watch for “seditious tendencies” in their private surroundings and report the relevant people to the state intelligence agency. It says images of the flyer were circulating on Facebook and that the document had also been distributed in mailboxes. These details connect the investigation to the flyer described in the claim, while distinguishing the flyer’s contents from an authentic government instruction. The key evidence reported is the ministry’s denial of authorship: it said the texts were fabricated, and that its logo and visual presentation had been misused. The review also reports that Saxon Minister-President Michael Kretschmer publicly stated that the flyer was not genuine. Thus, the evidence supports the claim that such language appeared on the flyer, but not that the Social Ministry issued the instruction.

dpaHealth & medicine

Claire Bridges, une mannequin de 20 ans doublement vaccinée, développe une myocardite et se fait amputer les deux jambes.

Publisher’s rating: Claire Bridges a en effet été victime de graves problèmes médicaux et sa famille a bien indiqué qu’elle avait été vaccinée contre le Covid-19. Cependant, aucun lien n’est établi entre la vaccination et ses problèmes de santé. Celle-ci était positive au Covid-19 lorsqu’elle a été admise à l’hôpital. Elle souffrait par ailleurs de problèmes cardiaques depuis sa naissance.

The claim concerns Claire Bridges, a 20-year-old Florida student who also worked as a model. Social media posts described her myocarditis and the amputation of both legs, with some presenting the events as a consequence of her being “double vaccinated.” The review says Bridges was hospitalized in Tampa in mid-January after testing positive for Covid-19 and reporting severe leg pain. It reports that doctors diagnosed myocarditis, pneumonia and other conditions, and that the damage to both legs led to amputations. [S1: « Claire Bridges, une étudiante de 20 ans qui faisait aussi du mannequinat, a été hospitalisée à Tampa, en Floride, à la mi-janvier. »; « La jeune femme a été admise à l’hôpital avec le Covid-19 et une forte douleur aux jambes. Elle a ensuite été diagnostiquée avec une myocardite, une pneumonie et d’autres conditions médicales. Les dommages à ses deux jambes étant trop graves, une amputation a dû être effectuée »] The evidence in the review does not establish that vaccination caused Bridges’s illness. It says her family reported that she was vaccinated, but that the family’s account did not attribute her complications to the vaccine. Instead, the review notes that the family referred to “Covid myocarditis,” suggesting Covid-19 as the doctors’ favored explanation. It also reports that her father rejected the vaccine-reaction claim in a Facebook response. [S1: « Toutefois, les complications médicales qu’elle a subies sont présentées comme étant un résultat de la vaccination contre le Covid-19. Or, sa famille ne sous-entend cela à aucun moment. »; « elle dit bien que Claire était vaccinée mais parle de « myocardite Covid », ce qui semble indiquer que la thèse privilégiée par les médecins est que le Covid-19 était à l’origine de sa myocardite. »; « En réponse à un commentaire sur un de ses posts Facebook, il qualifie cette affirmation de « fake news ». »] The review also identifies an important omitted medical detail: Bridges had severe heart disease from birth. It says that her Covid-19 infection combined with an underlying condition increased her risk of complications. These details provide context for the reported illness, but the excerpt does not establish a definitive medical cause for every complication. [S1: « Le fait que Claire Bridges souffre d’une sévère maladie cardiaque depuis sa naissance n’est pas non plus mentionné dans les publications Facebook. »; « Avoir contracté le virus en plus de présenter une maladie sous-jacente augmentait ainsi les risques de Claire Bridges de développer des complications »]

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Doppelt geimpfter, zuvor gesunder Frau müssen die Beine amputiert werden.

Publisher’s rating: Die Frau erkrankte Medienberichten zufolge trotz Impfung an Covid-19. Im Krankenhaus verschlechterte sich ihr Zustand. Sie hat zudem eine Vorerkrankung des Herzens.

The claim concerned a young woman in Florida who was said to have been double vaccinated and previously healthy before her legs were amputated. The review describes her case as involving severe illness after she contracted Covid-19, and finds that the “previously healthy” description omits an important fact: she had a pre-existing heart condition. The supplied review does not establish when she was vaccinated. According to the review’s account of local media reports and information attributed to the woman’s father on a fundraising website, the 20-year-old was admitted to a hospital in Tampa in mid-January. She had Covid-19 as well as leg complaints; doctors diagnosed heart and muscle conditions. The review reports that she later suffered cardiac arrest, required resuscitation, and developed kidney failure and circulation problems. Doctors then decided to amputate her legs. The evidence does not establish that vaccination caused her condition. The review says her father reported that she was vaccinated but nevertheless contracted Covid-19, and that the timing of vaccination was unknown. It also reports that the father described a diagnosis of Covid-related myocarditis and that the woman had a congenital heart condition. The case therefore does not support presenting her as previously healthy or attributing the amputations to vaccination.

dpaHealth & medicine

En utilisant une lampe UV, on peut voir les résultats des tests PCR sont prédéterminés.

Publisher’s rating: Les tests visibles dans la vidéo sont des tests antigéniques et non des tests PCR. Le fait qu’une lampe à rayons UV fasse ressortir les bandes n’est pas anormale, et ne prouve absolument pas que les résultats sont déterminés à l’avance, explique une experte auprès de la dpa.

The Facebook video at issue shows a violet light passing over three test cassettes. Its caption claims that UV light exposes results already set on PCR tests. The review distinguishes what is shown from what the caption alleges: the cassettes are rapid antigen tests, not PCR tests. The cited scientist, Marie-Luce Delforge, explains that PCR tests are performed in laboratories with specific machines and do not use these cassettes. The review describes the cassettes as the format used for rapid antigen tests, which detect viral proteins. The review reports that UV or another kind of light can make bands beneath an antigen cassette’s membrane visible. Delforge says the bands correspond to areas where antibodies are fixed and can bind viral antigen if it is present in the sample. Their visibility under a lamp, therefore, does not establish that a test result was predetermined. She also cautions that the angle of the light can make the control band, test band, or both stand out, depending on what someone wants to demonstrate. The review notes that the video’s origin was not clearly established. It describes the clip as circulating on Facebook and says a Spanish-language Telegram channel and a German blog were named in the images. The available excerpt does not establish who made the video or how the three cassettes were prepared, so it does not independently resolve those details.

dpa Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Nur die Fidschi-Inseln haben strengere Maßnahmen als Deutschland. Eine Studie der Universität Oxford bescheinigt der Bundesrepublik eine besonders harte Corona-Politik.

Publisher’s rating: Der Beitrag ist irreführend. Die angeführte Stingency-Studie beachtet die strengsten Corona-Maßnahmen, die irgendwo in einem Land gelten. Werden also ein einem Landkreis die Schulen geschlossen, bewertet der Index das so, als würden in der ganzen Bundesrepublik die Schulen geschlossen. Das erklärt Deutschlands hohen Score.

dpaHealth & medicine

Jongens hebben geen baarmoeder, maar krijgen toch een vaccin tegen baarmoederhalskanker.

Publisher’s rating: De vaccinatie helpt tegen langdurige besmetting met het humaan papillovirus (HPV). Zo’n besmetting kan op lange termijn niet alleen baarmoederhalskanker, maar ook kanker bij de penis, anus, schaamlippen, vagina en mond- en keelholte veroorzaken. Ook jongens lopen dat risico dus. Bovendien helpt het om verdere verspreiding van het virus te voorkomen, als ook jongens de prik krijgen. Tenslotte is de vaccinatie veilig bevonden en niet verplicht.

The claim responds to social-media posts questioning why boys without a uterus are invited for an HPV vaccination commonly called a cervical-cancer shot. The review explains that the nickname reflects one well-known cancer associated with HPV, not the full range of cancers linked to infection. It says HPV can also lead to cancers affecting the penis, anus, vulva, vagina, and mouth and throat, so boys face risks of their own. The review describes HPV infections as often clearing on their own, but says that sometimes infection persists in cells and can lead to cancer years later. It cites the Dutch Cancer Society for the estimate that cancer usually develops more than 10 to 15 years after infection. The vaccine is described as protecting against long-lasting HPV infection; the review gives cited estimates that it can prevent at least 74% of HPV-related cancers in women and 81% in men. The review also explains that vaccinating boys is intended to reduce their own risk and contribute to population-wide protection by limiting transmission. It says the vaccination is not compulsory. Thus, the posts’ framing leaves out both the cancers HPV can cause in males and the broader transmission rationale for vaccinating boys.