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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.

13,675 published reviews in this topic

BR24 FaktenfuchsHealth & medicine

Klarsichtmasken sind genauso gut wie andere Alltagsmasken, Communitymasken oder Mund-Nasen-Bedeckungen (MNB)

Publisher’s rating: Klarsichtmasken, die einen Spalt zwischen Plastik und Gesicht frei lassen, leisten in der Corona-Pandemie keinen Infektionsschutz. Eine Untersuchung der Hochschule München zeigt, dass sich Aerosole beim Tragen der Maske im Raum stark ausbreiten.

The claim is about clear plastic masks being as effective as ordinary everyday face coverings. The review focuses on a particular kind of clear mask that leaves a noticeable gap between the plastic and the face. It reports that the University of Applied Sciences Munich tested those masks as face coverings and found that the design did not prevent exposure to exhaled aerosols. The review distinguishes this gap-bearing design from certified masks, rather than assessing every possible transparent face covering. The review describes an experiment intended to measure how aerosols spread when affected by these masks. In one setup, a person sat still and exhaled through the nose; the aerosol initially moved downward along the body, then turned forward and spread into the space in front of the person. The researchers said a person seated directly opposite would be exposed. In another setup, a person walked through a room while coughing. The article reports that the resulting aerosol cloud expanded quickly, with the two images taken only two seconds apart, and that people seated behind the walker would face high aerosol concentrations around their faces and upper bodies. The article explains why the tested design differs from a filtering mask: the plastic is air-impermeable, but gaps at the edges allow exhaled air to escape to the sides and downward. It reports that the study was conducted under conditions described by the researchers as realistic and close to everyday use, including situations typical of schools, childcare facilities, offices, and public transport. The evidence presented therefore addresses whether these particular gap-bearing masks provide infection protection; it does not establish that all transparent products have identical performance.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Özlem Türeci, die Mitgründerin von Biontech, soll sich angeblich auf Twitter zur Verfügbarkeit des Corona-Impfstoffes ihrer Firma geäußert haben. «Wenn alles weiterhin gut geht, liefern wir den Impfstoff Ende dieses Jahres und Anfang 2021 aus», heißt es in einem Tweet, der sich als Screenshot auf Facebook verbreitet (hier archiviert). Der Account, der diesen Tweet am 16. November verschickt haben soll, zeigt ein Profilfoto von Özlem Türeci und führt den Benutzernamen «@drtureciozlem».

Publisher’s rating: Der Tweet stammt nicht von Özlem Türeci. Der Twitter-Account mit ihrem Namen ist gefälscht und wurde mittlerweile gelöscht. Biontech zufolge besitzen ihre Firmengründer keine persönlichen Twitter-Profile.

The claim concerns a screenshot circulating on Facebook of a purported November 16, 2020 tweet from an account using Özlem Türeci’s name and photograph. The post said that, if all went well, BioNTech would deliver its COVID-19 vaccine at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. The review identifies the account as a fake, rather than an account belonging to Türeci. The key evidence cited is BioNTech’s public statement that its two co-founders had no personal accounts on Twitter. The review says that the company’s official Twitter account communicated that there were “keine persönlichen Accounts” for the two executives; it therefore concludes that someone was impersonating Türeci. This directly addresses the identity behind the account, not the accuracy of the vaccine-delivery forecast. The review also reports that the tweet and account had been deleted and were available only in archived versions. It says Twitter suspended accounts impersonating both Türeci and co-founder Ugur Sahin in mid-November, and that BioNTech had contacted Twitter about removing fake accounts. Those details support the conclusion that the apparent profile was not an authentic personal account.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Impfungen seien gefährlich, wird seit Jahrzehnten von Impfkritikern behauptet. Nun wollen selbige den ultimativen Beweis dafür gefunden haben: Gibt man in die Google-Suche «Sind Impfungen gefährlich» ein, soll als erster Suchtreffer eine Vorschau zu einer Seite des Robert Koch-Instituts (RKI) erscheinen, in der Sätze zu lesen sind wie: «Impfstoffe enthalten gefährliche Chemikalien, mit denen die Kinder wissentlich vergiftet werden.» Ein Screenshot dieses Suchergebnisses wird derzeit auf Facebook (hier archiviert) geteilt. Dazu der Kommentar: «Tja...wusste ich so oder so...jedoch das(sic!) das kommt wenn mans googelt nicht».

Publisher’s rating: Die Vorschau bei Google zeigt eine Liste von Einwänden gegen das Impfen, die das RKI zusammengestellt hat - und keine erwiesenen Risiken. Auf der verlinkten Seite erfolgt eine Aufklärung über die häufigsten Einwände gegen das Impfen.

The claim interprets a Google preview as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) endorsing statements that vaccines contain dangerous chemicals and deliberately poison children. The review reports that a Google search for “Sind Impfungen gefährlich” did produce the screenshot’s result, as of 7 December 2020, and that the preview listed three numbered statements, including the quoted allegation about dangerous chemicals. But the preview’s wording did not establish that the RKI agreed with those statements. To check what the page meant, the review says it opened the linked RKI page. That page identified the statements as objections to vaccination and linked them to “answers” from the RKI and the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut to the 20 most common objections. The review’s account therefore distinguishes text displayed in the search preview from the purpose and content of the linked page: the numbered items were objections collected for response, not RKI conclusions. As an example of that response, the review describes the discussion of objection 13, concerning allegedly incalculable side effects and risks. It reports that the institutes’ answer said there was no evidence that vaccination caused autism, diabetes, or multiple sclerosis, and that numerous studies instead argued against such a connection. The screenshot thus showed real text associated with an RKI page, but omitted the context that identified it as a collection of claims the page addressed.

Vishvas NewsHealth & medicine

బరేలీ ది సిటీ ఆఫ్ లవ్’ ఫేస్‌బుక్ పేజీలో నవంబర్ 20వ తేదీన చేసిన పోస్ట్‌లో ఈ రైటప్‌ రాశారు, ‘ముఖ్యమైన సమాచారం : రేపు ఉదయం బరేలీలో, పోలీసులచే 30 రోజుల మాస్క్‌ చెక్‌ క్యాంపెయిన్ మొదలవుతుంది’ ఇది చలాన్ నుంచి తప్పించుకోవడానికి ఫేస్ మాస్క్ ఉపయోగించమని ప్రజలను కూడా హెచ్చరిస్తుంది. ఈ పోస్ట్ యొక్క అర్కైవ్ వెర్షన్‌ ఇక్కడ చూడవచ్చు.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a Facebook post attributed to the “Bareilly The City of Love” page. It said that police would begin a 30-day mask-check campaign in Bareilly the next morning and urged people to wear masks to avoid fines. The review says it investigated whether police had actually started such a campaign, rather than whether masks were useful or required in general. The post’s central allegation was that a specific police campaign was imminent in Bareilly. [S1: «ఉత్తర ప్రదేశ్‌లోని బరేలీలో పోలీసులు 30 రోజుల మాస్క్‌ చెక్‌ క్యాంపెయిన్‌ ప్రారంభించినట్లు సోషల్ మీడియాలో ఒక వైరల్ పోస్ట్ షేర్‌ చేశారు. ఫైన్‌ల నుంచి తప్పించుకోవడానికి ఫేస్ మాస్క్ ధరించాలంటూ ఈ పోస్ట్‌ ప్రజలను హెచ్చరిస్తోంది.»] The review describes two checks relevant to that allegation. Its researchers searched online for reporting about the claim and say they found no authentic media reports or official orders about a Bareilly police mask-check campaign. They then contacted Bareilly SP Rohit Singh Sajwan. According to the review, he rejected the claim and clarified that no such campaign was taking place in Bareilly. [S1: «అయినప్పటికీ, బరేలీలో పోలీసుల మాస్క్‌ చెక్‌ క్యాంపెయిన్‌ గురించి ప్రామాణికమైన మీడియా కథనాలు లేదా అధికారిక ఉత్తర్వులు మాకు దొరకలేదు. ఈ దావాను ధృవీకరించడానికి మేము బరేలీ ఎస్పీ రోహిత్ సింగ్ సజ్వాన్‌ను సంప్రదించాము. వాదనలను ఖండించిన ఎస్పీ, బరేలీలో ఇటువంటి మాస్క్‌ చెక్‌ క్యాంపెయిన్‌ ఏదీ జరగడం లేదని మాకు స్పష్టం చేశారు.»] The review’s conclusion rests on the reported absence of corroborating media coverage or official orders and, more decisively, the named police official’s denial. It also says that similar messages circulated on social media without specifying a location; that observation does not independently establish the status of the particular Bareilly post. The review concludes that Bareilly police had not launched the claimed 30-day campaign. [S1: «ఏ ప్రాంతం అనే వివరాలు లేకుండా ఇలాంటి అనేక సందేశాలను సోషల్ మీడియా ప్లాట్‌ఫామ్‌లలో షేర్ చేసినట్లు మేము కనుగొన్నాము.»] [S1: «వైరల్ పోస్ట్ అబద్ధం. పోలీసులు బరేలీలో 30 రోజుల మాస్క్‌చెక్‌ క్యాంపెయిన్‌ ప్రారంభించలేదు.»]

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Angesichts drohender Infektionen durch die Corona-Pandemie können die Menschen seit Monaten nicht mehr wie gewohnt ausgehen. In Polen hätten viele jetzt aber in einem Supermarkt getanzt und gefeiert, wird in einem Facebook-Posting (hier archiviert) behauptet. Es beinhaltet auch ein Video: «POLEN HAT KEINEN BOCK MEHR AUF KORONA(sic!) DIKTATUR», ist dort zu lesen.

Publisher’s rating: Das Video stammt von 2019 und hat daher keinerlei Bezug zur aktuellen Corona-Pandemie.

The Facebook post presented footage of people dancing in a Polish supermarket as a current reaction against coronavirus restrictions. The review says the video’s original context was shopping in Poland, and reports that a Facebook entry from August 25, 2019, described it as “Lidl shopping in Poland.” That date places the footage before the pandemic, rather than during the period of restrictions described in the post. (S1: “Facebook-Posting vom 25. August 2019” and “«Lidl shopping in Poland», ist dort zu lesen.”)

Vishvas NewsHealth & medicine

உலக சுகாதார அமைப்பு (WHO) மற்றும் இந்திய மருத்துவ ஆராய்ச்சி கழகம் (ICMR) ஆகியவை கொரேனா வைரஸ் பரவல் குறித்து எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளதாக எங்கள் வாட்ஸ்அப் சாட்பாட்டின் வழியே எங்களை வந்தடைந்த காணொலி கூறுகிறது. கொரோனா வைரஸின் மூன்றாம் கட்ட பரவல் இந்தியாவில் தொடங்க இருப்பதாக உலக சுகாதார அமைப்பு மற்றும் இந்திய மருத்துவ ஆராய்ச்சி கழகம் எச்சரிக்கின்றன என்றும், அதனைத் தடுப்பதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகளை செயல்படுத்தமால் இருந்தால், இந்தியாவில் கொரோனா வைரஸால் ஏற்படும் மொத்த இறப்பு எண்ணிக்கை மார்ச் மாதத்திற்குள் 50,000த்தை எட்டக்கூடும் என்றும் அது கூறுகிறது. மேலும் இந்த காணொலியில் நியூஸ் 24 ஆன்லைனின் சின்னம் இருப்பது இங்கே குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது

Publisher’s rating: FALSE