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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.

13,676 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYHealth & medicine

The NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) along with Planning Commission has urged the Government of India to reimpose a nationwide lockdown for 46 days starting from 25 September 2020

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a social-media post alleging that India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), together with the Planning Commission, had urged the central government to impose a 46-day nationwide lockdown beginning 25 September 2020. FACTLY reports that it checked the claim against two points: the status of the Planning Commission and a public statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB). First, FACTLY says a Union Cabinet resolution replaced the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015. That makes the post’s attribution to the Planning Commission inconsistent with the government’s institutional arrangement described in the review. FACTLY also reports that a keyword search led it to a PIB tweet addressing the same lockdown claim. According to the review, PIB said NDMA had issued no such order urging a nationwide lockdown and characterized the news as fake. On that basis, FACTLY concluded that NDMA did not urge the government to reimpose a lockdown from 25 September 2020. The review’s reasoning is specific to the post’s asserted joint recommendation: the institution it names as a participant had already been replaced, and the reported PIB statement directly denies that NDMA issued the claimed order.

FACTLYHealth & medicine

Inhaling steam reaches the coronavirus hidden behind the paranasal sinus and kills it at 70°C

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The post made two connected assertions: that inhaling steam can reach coronavirus hidden behind the paranasal sinus, and that the virus is killed at 70°C. It also recommended daily steam inhalation as a COVID-19 cure. FACTLY examined these assertions by referring to public-health guidance and fact-checking about steam inhalation and heat, rather than presenting a direct experiment on the post’s proposed treatment. The review reports that WHO said steam inhalation does not prevent COVID-19 and warned that very hot steam can cause burn injuries. It also notes that steam inhalation was not listed among WHO’s public advice or the CDC’s protective measures. [S1: “The post claims that inhaling steam helps in reaching the coronavirus hidden behind the paranasal sinus and at 70-degree centigrade, the virus gets killed. Also, the post suggests steam inhalation once a day as a cure for COVID-19.”; “Steam inhalation does not feature in WHO’s list of advices for the public about the virus, nor in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) measures to protect against the virus.”] On the specific temperature claim, FACTLY cites a UNICEF fact-check that called the assertion that coronavirus dies within five minutes at 70°C incorrect. The review relays a clarification from Montenegro’s Institute of Public Health: the available survival evidence came from laboratory “in vitro” studies under ideal conditions, and those studies did not support the post’s claimed timeframe. The institute cautioned that precise survival timeframes could not be suggested from that evidence. [S1: “UNICEF has fact-checked the claim that ‘coronavirus dies within five minutes at 70°C’ and rated the information as incorrect.”; “As for the evidence of survival – evidence is only available from “in vitro” studies – that is, from experiments that analyzed the survival of the virus under ideal conditions.”; “We cannot suggest precise timeframes, but two weeks is certainly not even close to what has been proven in the lab.”] The review also cites a statement from India’s Press Information Bureau that there was no scientific evidence that inhaling hot-water steam kills coronavirus. Taken together, the cited material does not substantiate either the claimed route through the sinuses or steam inhalation as a means of killing the virus or preventing infection. The review’s conclusion is therefore that the post’s claim is unsupported. [S1: “Also PIB through a tweet clarified that there is no scientific evidence to prove inhaling of hot water steam kills coronavirus.”; “To sum it up, there is no scientific evidence to conclude that at 70°C, coronavirus gets killed and steam inhalation prevents one from catching COVID-19.”]

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Sobald auf einer Zahnpasta oder einem Lebensmittel steht, dass darin Fluorid enthalten ist, sieht manch einer seine Gesundheit in Gefahr. Dementsprechend gibt es im Netz einige Empörung über die Behauptung, dass im Mineralwasser des Lebensmittelunternehmens Lidl «auf einmal» Fluorid enthalten (archiviert) sei.

Publisher’s rating: Falsch. Das Mineralwasser der Lidl-Eigenmarke «Saskia» enthält seit jeher Fluorid. Der Gehalt habe sich nicht geändert, so das herstellende Unternehmen. Man weise diesen - im Zuge einer Änderung der Etiketten - seit kurzer Zeit freiwillig aus.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

In den sozialen Netzwerken kursiert erneut ein Dokument mit dem Titel «Rechtsgrundlage zur Corona-Situation» und dem Logo des deutschen Bundesgesundheitsministeriums. Darin wird etwa behauptet, dass Menschen ohne Mundschutz in Geschäften nicht abgewiesen werden dürften. Außerdem dürften Restaurantgäste nicht gezwungen werden, ihre Personalien anzugeben.

Publisher’s rating: Das Schreiben ist nach Angaben des deutschen Gesundheitsministeriums eine Fälschung. Über Regelungen zur Maskenpflicht entscheiden die Bundesländer.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Mehrfach kursierte in den vergangenen Monaten die Behauptung, dass die Corona-Pandemie nur inszeniert sei. Nun heißt es bei Facebook, ein aktuelles Video liefere den Beweis dafür. «Hier entstehen die Bilder für BILD & ARD/ZDF», steht in einer Videobeschreibung (Beitrag archiviert, Video archiviert). In anderen Varianten heißt es: «Alles nur Schauspielerei und Show» oder «DIE CORONA LÜGE». In dem Clip sind junge Frauen in Krankenhausbetten zu sehen. Sie tragen Masken und teilweise Sauerstoffschläuche in der Nase. «Also wir liegen hier und simulieren, wie man gut sehen kann, weil das das neue Corona-Testzentrum ist, ja und jetzt ein Testdurchlauf vorgenommen wird. Wir haben bestimmte Aufgaben bekommen», sagt eine der Frauen im Video. Am Ende ergänzt sie: «Und ich kriege für das Ganze hier Geld.»

Publisher’s rating: Das geteilte Video zeigt keine Fernsehaufnahmen. Es handelt sich um eine Übung im Corona-Behandlungszentrum Jafféstraße (CBZJ) in Berlin am 10. September. Ärzte und Pfleger trainierten dabei die Abläufe in dem Reserve-Krankenhaus - zusammen mit Statisten, die Patienten dargestellt haben, wie der Klinikbetreiber Vivantes mitteilte.

The Facebook posts presented footage of women in hospital beds as proof that the pandemic was staged, pointing to a woman saying that they were simulating patients and that she was being paid. The review identifies the footage as a training exercise at Berlin’s Corona Treatment Center Jafféstraße (CBZJ), not a production of television news footage. The exercise took place on September 10, with doctors and nurses practicing procedures for the reserve facility alongside people acting as patients. The review reports that Vivantes said the exercise was held in case rising infections made it necessary to use the reserve facility. About 50 Vivantes employees and roughly 70 extras took part. The presence of paid actors therefore reflects their role in the exercise: Vivantes said all extras received an expense allowance of 50 euros, regardless of their assignments. The review also reports that the cameras visible in the video were operated by Vivantes employees for internal documentation, not by television journalists. The account is consistent with the video’s setting and provenance described in the review: the clips came from Instagram user “officialmelisa,” apparently one of the extras, and showed the Vivantes logo and the CBZJ designation. The review notes that the beds and corridor also matched the treatment center. Thus, the footage showed staged patient roles in a documented hospital exercise; it did not establish that the pandemic itself was staged.

Vishvas NewsHealth & medicine

కూల్డ్‌రింక్స్‌లో ఎబోలా వైరస్‌ సోకింది

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim under review came from a WhatsApp message warning people in India not to drink Maaza, Fanta, 7UP, Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew and Pepsi. It alleged that a worker at one of the companies had introduced blood contaminated with Ebola into the drinks, and said the warning came from Hyderabad police and had been reported by NDTV. Vishvas News says the message and accompanying images were circulating on social media. The investigation reports checking the Hyderabad police website and the Telangana police’s official Twitter account, where it found no warning or announcement supporting the message. It also searched NDTV’s website and YouTube channel using keywords, found no such report, and contacted NDTV Hyderabad bureau chief Uma Sudhir, who confirmed that NDTV had not broadcast it. The article further says its search found no reports supporting the contamination allegation. The article distinguishes the claim from the image’s apparent visual evidence: it says the first photo showed a 2015 police seizure of a counterfeit Coca-Cola production site, not evidence that the named drinks were contaminated with Ebola. It also cites the CDC’s qualification that Ebola is generally not transmitted through food, while noting an exception involving the handling and consumption of bush meat in some parts of the world. These details do not provide evidence of contamination in the drinks described by the viral message.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Im Internet kursiert die Behauptung, dass Schutzmasken zur Eindämmung der Corona-Pandemie der Gesundheit schaden. Unter ihnen sammele sich zu viel Kohlendioxid (CO2). Als Beleg wird ein Video (hier archiviert) verbreitet, in dem die Luft unter einer Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung beim Atmen mit einem CO2-Messgerät analysiert wird. Binnen kurzer Zeit zeigen sich dabei deutlich erhöhte Werte. Dies beweise, dass beim Tragen einer Maske eine CO2-Vergiftung drohe.

Publisher’s rating: Die Messung in dem Video ist irreführend. Zum einen macht die Luft unter der Maske nur einen Bruchteil der Luft aus, die man einatmet. Außerdem ist das Messgerät nicht für diesen Einsatzzweck gedacht. Das Tragen einer Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung ist für gesunde Menschen grundsätzlich unbedenklich und führt nicht zu einer CO2-Vergiftung.