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Health & medicine fact checks
Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.
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Search by text or image13,675 published reviews in this topic
A machine named MedBed is invented that can cure any disease in 2.5 minutes
Publisher’s rating: False
SEGÚN ESTUDIO, CASOS DE COVID-19 POSITIVOS EN ITALIA HABRÍAN OCURRIDO EN SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2019
Publisher’s rating: Verdadero
“CENSURAN ARTÍCULO CIENTÍFICO QUE DEMUESTRA QUE MUCHAS MUERTES HAN SIDO FALSAMENTE ATRIBUIDAS A LA PANDEMIA”
Publisher’s rating: Falso
a vacina corona não é comprovadamente segura ou eficaz. Não há emergência médica, é uma pandemia falsa.
Publisher’s rating: Falso
Vacina da Pfizer causa paralisia de Bell
Publisher’s rating: ENGANOSO: Quatro casos foram identificados em um grupo de 38 mil voluntários testados com a vacina, mas não foram estabelecidas relações de causa e efeito com a vacina. A paralisia de Bell atinge de 20 a 30 casos em cada 100 mil pessoas por ano no mundo e, desses, 70 a 90% se recuperam completamente.
మెడ్‌బెడ్స్ మీ కండరాలు, చర్మం, వ్యాధిని నిర్ధారించడం, మీ రక్తం యొక్క మైక్రాన్ స్థాయికి తగ్గిస్తాయి
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
Vishvas News examined a viral post showing a woman lying in a body scanner and claiming that medbeds could affect muscles, skin, disease diagnosis and blood at a micron level, as well as cure any disease in 2.5 minutes. The review reports that its investigation traced the images to the 2013 science-fiction film *Elysium*, rather than to a real medical device. It says the film depicts scanners available to wealthy people that can diagnose and cure diseases, matching the extraordinary capabilities attributed to the viral images. The review describes two checks: a Google reverse-image search, which led it to *Elysium*, and a comparison with the film’s YouTube trailer, where it says the images can be seen. It also reports searching Google for “medbed” and finding a research paper about a smart digital medical bed. As described in the review, that paper concerns helping patients carry out certain key actions when nurses are delayed or unavailable; it does not claim the device can cure any disease in 2.5 minutes. Finally, the article quotes Apollo Hospitals critical-care specialist Dr. Nikhil, who argued that a machine able to diagnose and cure a disease in that time would make doctors unnecessary. The review concludes that the pictured machines are fictional and that the viral cure claim is unsupported. Its evidence addresses the specific viral images and the claims attached to them; it does not establish that every device called a medbed is identical to the fictional scanner.
Getting inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines means putting toxic substances in your body like formalin (formaldehyde) and aluminum.
Publisher’s rating: Needs Context
BOMBÁSTICO Idosos tomando vacina do COVID 19 no Reino Unido estão falecendo de 28 vacinados 26 morreram
Publisher’s rating: Falso
CDC recommends people shave their facial hair to prevent Coronavirus
Publisher’s rating: False
இந்த கூற்று நம்மை வந்தடைந்தது. கொரோனா வைரஸ் வருவதைத் தவிர்க்க, மக்கள் தங்கள் முகத்தை சவரம் செய்துகொள்ள வேண்டுமென CDC பரிந்துரைக்கிறது என்ற கூற்றுடன், முகத்தில் வளரும் முடி மற்றும் சுவாசக்கருவி குறித்த விளக்கப்படம் ஒன்று சமூக வலைத்தளங்களில் வைரலாகி வருகிறது
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
ప్రపంచ ఆరోగ్య సంస్థ (డబ్ల్యూహెచ్‌ఓ), ఇండియన్ కౌన్సిల్ ఆఫ్ మెడికల్ రీసెర్చ్ (ఐసీఎంఆర్) హెచ్చరిక జారీ చేసినట్లు విశ్వాస్ న్యూస్ తన వాట్సాప్ చాట్‌బాట్‌లో అందుకున్న వీడియో పేర్కొంది. భారత్‌లో కరోనా వైరస్ మూడవ దశ వ్యాప్తి మొదలు కాబోతోందని, డబ్ల్యూహెచ్‌ఓ, ఐసిఎంఆర్ హెచ్చరిస్తున్నాయని, ఒకవేళ ఇలాగే వదిలేస్తే, భారతదేశంలో కరోనావైరస్‌ మరణాల సంఖ్య మార్చి నాటికి 50,000కు చేరుకుంటుందని హెచ్చరించారు. ఈ వీడియోలో న్యూస్ 24 ఆన్‌లైన్ లోగోను కూడా గమనించవచ్చు.
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The video claim was that WHO and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had warned that India was about to enter a third phase of coronavirus spread and that, if the situation continued, deaths in India would reach 50,000 by March. The video showed a News 24 Online logo. Vishvas News says it received the video through its WhatsApp chatbot on December 1, 2020, and investigated the warning attributed to the two organizations. The review reports that ICMR had said community transmission in India was possible and that the number of cases might take 20 days to a month to increase. It says this was not a prediction of 50,000 deaths in March, and that the review found no corresponding WHO statement. Vishvas News also says it consulted a technical officer in WHO’s South-East Asia Regional Office, who told it that WHO had made no such statement in February or March 2020. As a check against the video’s claimed scale of deaths, the review cites WHO figures for March 28, 2020: 909 cases and 19 deaths across 27 Indian states and union territories. It concludes that WHO and ICMR had not issued the alleged February 2020 warning and describes the video as old and fake. The article also reports that the clip had circulated since February 2020 with a fake News 24 Online logo, and points to breaks in its voice-over and a superimposed logo as signs of manipulation.
Der FPÖ-Generalsekretär Michael Schnedlitz soll mit einem Experiment im Nationalrat bewiesen haben, dass die Antigentests, die auch bei den aktuellen Corona-Massentests eingesetzt werden, stark fehlerhaft seien. In den sozialen Medien wird derzeit das Video des Politikers geteilt, der mit einer Cola-Probe einen scheinbar positiven Test erwirkt. «Cola ist positiv!», kommentiert ein Facebook-Posting (hier archiviert) den Vorfall.
Publisher’s rating: Der Antigentest liefert bei Cola kein technisch korrektes positives Ergebnis. Die säurehaltige Flüssigkeit zerstört die Struktur der Proteine und macht so die Linien auf dem Test sichtbar. Beim Versuch im österreichischen Nationalrat wurden zudem wichtige Arbeitsschritte nicht beachtet.
The claim concerns a video in which FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz used Coca-Cola in an experiment in Austria’s National Council, producing visible lines on an antigen test. The review explains that the appearance of those lines does not establish that the test correctly detected a viral antigen: the test’s lines are protein-coated, and the acidic drink can alter those proteins. It reports that Coca-Cola has a pH of 2.5 and cites an expert who said the experiment showed the test-strip proteins had been destroyed, rather than demonstrating a valid positive result. The review also identifies a procedural problem with the demonstration. Instructions for the Siemens test call for the swab to be mixed with extraction buffer before liquid is applied to the test; the review says the sample must not be applied directly to the strip for Roche tests either. The buffer helps prevent strong pH changes. In Schnedlitz’s experiment, the cola was put on the test without this intervening step, so the strip was exposed to the acidic liquid rather than a properly prepared sample. The visible result therefore cannot be taken as evidence that antigen tests give a technically valid positive result with cola. The review adds that this effect is not specific to coronavirus tests: its cited expert said a similar quasi-positive appearance could be produced on a pregnancy test. It also notes the narrow practical qualification that the effect would matter for human testing if a patient had rinsed their nose with cola beforehand. The excerpt does not provide independent testing results or a detailed account of the video’s provenance; its explanation relies on test instructions, a chemistry reference, Coca-Cola’s stated pH, and expert comments.
Anfang November veröffentlichten das Mainzer Unternehmen Biontech und der Pharmakonzern Pfizer Ergebnisse einer Studie zu ihrem Corona-Impfstoff. Demnach bietet das Produkt einen zuverlässigen Schutz vor Covid-19. Zunächst war von 90,7 Prozent Risikominderung die Rede, mittlerweile liegt der angegebene Wert gar bei 95 Prozent. Doch wurden die Ergebnisse der Studie etwa geschönt? Das behauptet ein Facebook-Post. Angeblich sei die Risikominderung durch die Impfung vorsätzlich falsch berechnet worden, denn mit den echten Ergebnissen habe man «nicht vor die Öffentlichkeit treten» können. Die Minderung liege bei nur 0,39 Prozent und nicht, wie angegeben, bei mehr als 90 Prozent. Zudem sei das Risiko, schwer zu erkranken, nicht untersucht worden.
Publisher’s rating: Die Werte wurden nicht manipuliert, die Berechnung genügt international anerkannten Standards. Denn bei einer Größenordnung von 0,43 Prozent Infizierten entspricht eine Verringerung der Ansteckungsrate um 0,39 Prozentpunkte auf 0,04 Prozent tatsächlich den genannten gut 90 Prozent Risikominderung. Die Zahl der schweren Krankheitsverläufe war in der Gruppe der Geimpften ebenfalls deutlich niedriger als bei den Ungeimpften.
A Facebook post claimed that BioNTech and Pfizer had deliberately misrepresented their Covid-19 vaccine’s effectiveness: it contrasted a claimed 0.39 percent reduction with efficacy figures above 90 percent, and asserted that the study did not examine severe illness. The review examined those claims against the trial’s reported infection figures and the method used to calculate vaccine efficacy. The review explains that 0.39 is the difference in infection rates, in percentage points, not the relative reduction represented by the efficacy figure. Among participants, the reported rates were about 0.43 percent in the unvaccinated group and 0.04 percent in the vaccinated group. Applying the standard calculation—subtract the vaccinated risk from the unvaccinated risk, then divide by the unvaccinated risk—gives (0.43−0.04)/0.43, or 90.7 percent. The review says this calculation is a standard formula for vaccines and points to the same method on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The severe-disease allegation is also contradicted by the review’s account of the trial: it reports ten severe Covid-19 cases, nine in the placebo group and one in the vaccinated group. It further notes that an FDA review described the vaccinated participant’s case as comparatively mild. The review therefore treats the post’s 0.39 figure as a misleading comparison of percentage points with relative risk reduction, and its claim that severe illness was not assessed as inconsistent with the reported trial evidence.
ධම්මික පැනිය අත්හදා බැලූ වතුපිටිවල රෝහලේ වෛද්යවරයෙක් ඇතුළුව හත් දෙනෙකුට කොරෝනා?
Publisher’s rating: Misleading
The claim joined two reported facts to imply a connection: seven people at Wathupitiwala Hospital had contracted COVID-19, and the hospital’s staff had tested the Dhammika syrup. The review says the circulating story was misleading because the syrup was not tested at the hospital. It distinguishes the hospital from a separate COVID-19 treatment centre about one kilometre away, where the syrup was said to have been tried. The hospital director told the reviewers that the centre’s doctors and staff had no connection with the hospital: “වතුපිටිවල කෝවිඩ් ප්රතිකාර මධ්යස්ථානය ඇත්තේ වතුපිටිවල රෝහලේ සිට කිලෝමීටරයක පමණ දුරින් බවත්, එම මධ්යස්ථානයේ වෛද්යවරුන් ඇතුළු කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට වතුපිටිවල රෝහල සමග කිසිදු සම්බන්ධයක් නොමැති බවත් වතුපිටිවල රෝහලේ අධ්යක්ෂක වෛද්ය බණ්ඩාර අපට පැවසීය.” The director also said the syrup had not been given to the hospital’s doctors, other staff, or patients. The review reports that four infections were identified in PCR testing—two nursing staff and two employees of the hospital’s cleaning contractor—and that subsequent rapid-antigen testing found six further infections among staff and contractor workers, including one doctor. These infections do not establish that those people had taken part in a syrup trial: “ධම්මික බණ්ඩාර නැමැති පුද්ගලයා නිපදවූ බවට පැවසෙන දේශීය ඖෂධය වතුපිටිවල රෝහලේ වෛද්යවරුන් ඇතුළු කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට හෝ රෝගීන්ට ලබා නොදුන් බව ඔහු අවධාරණය කළේය.” The review traces the allegation to a report attributed to MP Nalin Bandara at a media briefing, which described the information as a report he had received by phone. It says the hospital director denied that the syrup had been tested at the hospital, while reporting that any trial was associated with the separate treatment centre. Thus, the presence of infected hospital personnel was not evidence that the hospital had tested the syrup: “ඔහු නැවතත් අවධාරණය කළේ කිසිදු අවස්ථාවක “ධම්මික පැනිය” වතුපිටිවල රෝහලේදී අත්හදා නොබැලූ බවය.”
තමාට සහය දුන් පිරිසට PFIZER එන්නත ලබාදීමට ජනපති තීරණය කල බව හැඟවෙන පරිදි පළවූ සාවද්ය සටහනක්!
Publisher’s rating: False
The review examined a social-media post claiming that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had decided to provide free Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, starting in January, to every Sinhala Buddhist—described in the post as 6.9 million people. The post framed the supposed decision as a benefit for the president’s supporters. The investigation reports that the post was shared on Facebook and that similar messages were seen circulating on WhatsApp. (“ජනවාරි මාසයේ සිට 69 ලක්ෂයක සිංහල බෞද්ධයකුටම Pfizer සමාගම විසින් නිපදවන ලද කෝවිඩ්-19 එන්නත නොමිලේ ලබාදීමට ජනාධිපතිතුමා තීරණයක් ගෙන ඇති බවට සමාජ මාධ්ය තුළ සංසරණය වන පුවත අසත්ය පුවතක් බව අපට අනාවරණය විය.”; “වට්සැප් හරහා මෙවැනි සටහන් හුවමාරු වූ අයුරක් ද අපට දක්නට ලැබුණා.”) To assess the post’s framing, the review compared the figure of 6.9 million with the 2019 election result and cited the president’s public statement that his responsibility was to serve all citizens, including people who had not voted for him. It also says it checked mainstream media reports, Health Ministry announcements and the president’s social-media accounts, finding no announcement of the alleged vaccine decision in those sources. (“2019 ජනාධිපතිවරණයෙන් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ජයගත්තේ ලක්ෂ 69ක ජනවරමක් ලබාගනිමින්.”; “ජනාධිපතිවරයා වශයෙන් මගේ වගකීම වන්නේ රටේ සියලුම ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් සේවය කිරීමයි.”; “ප්රධාන මාධ්යයේ වාර්තා පරීක්ෂා කළ නමුත් එවනි තීරණයක් පිළිබඳව ප්රවෘත්තියක් දක්නට නොතිබුණි.”; “මේ පිළිබඳව අපට සෞඛ්ය අමාත්යාංශයෙන් කිසිඳු නිවේදනයක් දැකගනන්ට ලැබුනේ ද නැත.”) The review further reports that it referred the post to the president’s media division and that an officer said no such decision had been made. It distinguishes that denial from the reported, still-in-progress work on bringing vaccines into Sri Lanka: a committee had been appointed, but the review says no final decision had yet been made about importing and distributing vaccines. (“ජනපතිතුමන් මෙවැනි තීරණයක් ගෙන නොමැති බවත්, එය සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම සාවද්ය සටහනක් බවත් අප හා එක්වු මාධ්ය නිලධාරියකු පැවසීය.”; “ලංකාවට කොවිඩ්19 එන්නත් ගෙන ඒමේ කටයුතු පිලිබඳ මුලික වැඩ කටයුතු සිදුවෙමින් පවතින බවත් ඒ පිලිබඳ කමිටුවක් පත්කර ඇති බවත් මාධ්ය මෙසේ වාර්තා කර තිබුනා.”; “මේ දක්වා කොවිඩ්19 එන්නත් ලංකාවට ගෙන්වීම සහ බෙදාදීම පිලිබඳ අවසන් තීරණයක් ලබාගෙන නැහැ”)
Dr. Roger Hodkinson, um dos principais patologistas do Canadá, diz que a pandemia é uma farsa
Publisher’s rating: FALSO: Ao contrário do que alega um tuíte que reproduz afirmações inverídicas atribuídas a um médico canadense, a pandemia de coronavírus é uma realidade e os testes PCR são eficazes para detectar a presença do vírus.
Impfgegner machen vermehrt Stimmung gegen die bevorstehende Corona-Impfung. Nun soll vermeintlich in Nordeuropa ein Kind nach einer solchen Injektion schwer krank geworden sein. «Das norwegische Mädchen Charlotte (6) erhielt den Corona-Impfstoff und kann nicht mehr laufen», heißt es in einem Facebook-Beitrag vom 7. Dezember 2020 (hier archiviert). Es soll nach einer Impfung mit dem Präparat des Pharmaunternehmens Pfizer angeblich an Narkolepsie erkrankt sein, einer chronischen Störung des Schlaf-Wach-Rhythmus.
Publisher’s rating: In Norwegen wird noch gar nicht gegen das Coronavirus geimpft. Der Fall des Mädchens ist von 2009 und hat einen anderen Hintergrund.
The Facebook post described Charlotte as a six-year-old who had received a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and could no longer walk, and attributed her alleged narcolepsy to that injection. The review traces the story to a different vaccination and a much earlier event: in November 2009, when Charlotte was six, she received a vaccine against swine flu. The article says that some time later she began developing symptoms of an illness subsequently diagnosed as narcolepsy. It identifies a November 2020 report in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet as the source of the account of Charlotte’s history. The timing rules out the post’s account of a COVID-19 vaccination as the cause of this case. The review states that, as of December 14, 2020, no COVID-19 vaccine had been authorized in Norway or the EU, and that Norway expected to begin vaccination in early 2021, initially for risk groups such as older people. It also notes that Norway’s public health institute was not then recommending COVID-19 vaccination for children under 18. Thus, the post recast a reported case following a 2009 swine-flu vaccination as a case caused by a Pfizer COVID-19 shot before COVID-19 vaccination had begun in Norway. The review places Charlotte’s illness in the context of reports of increased narcolepsy cases after the 2009–2010 swine-flu vaccination campaign. It says studies found an association between the Pandemrix vaccine, made by GSK, and narcolepsy risk in children, adolescents, and young adults. That background concerns a different vaccine and does not support the post’s claim about a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination.