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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

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Dans Zoom, une émission de 48 minutes sur TVLibertés (TVL), la généticienne française Alexandra Henrion-Caude évoque la possible manipulation génétique à l’origine du SARS-COV-2, souligne l’efficacité de traitements (hydroxychloroquine, azithromycine et zinc), et déplore des essais cliniques sur des cobayes en Afrique du Sud, laissant sous-entendre qu’ils ne sont pas volontaires. La vidéo est largement plébiscitée sur les réseaux sociaux.

Publisher’s rating: Le discours comporte de nombreux éléments trompeurs. La généticienne française relève, sur une chaîne créée par d'anciens membres du Front National français, différents arguments qui ne s'appuient sur aucun fait scientifique avéré. Elle soulève beaucoup d’hypothèses. Non, le virus n’est pas une manipulation humaine ; le trio zinc, hydroxychloroquine et azitromycine n’a pas fait ses preuves contre le SARS-CoV-2 ; les essais cliniques du vaccin ont lieu en Afrique du Sud parce que c’est l’un des pays les plus touchés et cela se fait sur base volontaire ; les masques n’affaiblissent pas le système immunitaire …

FACTLYHealth & medicine

Design and first look of Babri Hospital to be constructed in Ayodhya.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a picture of a building marked “Babri Hospital,” presented as the design and first look of a hospital to be built in Ayodhya. FACTLY’s investigation traced the picture to a different project: it reports that a reverse-image search found a similar image on architecture firm SmithGroup’s website, where it was identified as a design visualization for a bed-tower expansion at the University of Virginia hospital. The review says a similar image also appeared on the university’s official website. The review also checked whether the Ayodhya hospital project had been announced. It reports that the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board issued a press release dated 7 August 2020, calling reports about a Babari Hospital and Dr Kafeel Khan fake and saying only its secretary and spokesperson, Athar Hussain, was authorised to speak for the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation. The article further distinguishes the board’s stated plans for land allocated after the Supreme Court’s 2019 Ayodhya verdict: a mosque, research centre, library and hospital. It says the board had not announced construction of a Babri Hospital. Taken together, the image’s identified Virginia provenance and the absence of a board announcement undermine the post’s identification of the picture as an Ayodhya hospital design.

Vishvas NewsHealth & medicine

China Seeks Court’s Approval To Kill 20000 Coronavirus Patients

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines a social-media post alleging that China was seeking court approval to kill more than 20,000 coronavirus patients to prevent the virus from spreading. Vishvas News reports that the post had resurfaced and says it had investigated the same claim previously. It identifies the post’s text as coming from City News, describing that site’s report as containing grammatical errors and noting that the site had published other junk-news stories. The review describes several checks: it says Singapore’s government had debunked the claim, and that Vishvas News looked for confirmation on the website of China’s Supreme People’s Court and the World Health Organization. The review reports that neither website mentioned such a report or decision. These are checks for corroboration, rather than evidence that a court proceeding took place. It also quotes Shamim Zakira, identified as Global Times’ foreign editor in Beijing, calling the circulating story a hoax and fake news. On the evidence and checks recounted in the excerpt, Vishvas News concludes that the post’s claim is false.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Um die Corona-Pandemie einzudämmen, dürfen Ämter in Verdachtsfällen eine Quarantäne verhängen. Was aber, wenn sich Betroffene nicht daran halten - droht ihnen dann eine Zwangseinweisung in die Psychiatrie? Diese Behauptung kursiert auf Facebook. Als Beleg dient das Foto eines Schreibens, in dem ein Gesundheitsamt eine Quarantäne für die Tochter des Empfängers anordnet.

Publisher’s rating: Die Anordnung ist echt. Falsch ist jedoch, dass das Amt mit der Einweisung in eine psychiatrische Einrichtung droht. Sanktionen sind allerdings durchaus möglich.

The Facebook post used a photograph of a letter ordering quarantine for the recipient’s daughter to suggest that a health authority might send people who disobey quarantine to a psychiatric institution. The investigation traced the letter to a standard order from the Karlsruhe district authority. A spokesperson confirmed that it concerned a school in Bruchsal, where a primary-school teacher had tested positive for coronavirus and children were required to quarantine at home. The letter warned that people who failed to comply could be forcibly isolated in a suitable closed facility. But the authority said this wording followed the Infection Protection Act, which does not specify psychiatric institutions; a separated ward in a hospital was given as an example of a possible facility. The investigation therefore found that the letter was genuine, but that the claim it threatened psychiatric admission misrepresented what the letter and law said. The account also qualified how such coercive isolation could be used: Karlsruhe’s district authority said it was reserved for extreme cases and required a judge’s order. It said the measure was not intended to separate a child from their parents. The source additionally notes that serious violations of an enforceable quarantine order could carry a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Um eine Ansteckung mit dem Coronavirus nachzuweisen, wird in Deutschland und in anderen Ländern ein sogenannter PCR-Test verwendet. Angeblich soll er dafür nicht gemacht worden sein: In einem auf Facebook verbreiteten Beitrag heißt es, der Erfinder des PCR-Tests, der Biochemiker und Nobelpreisträger Kary Mullis, habe angeblich erklärt, «dass man diese Tests NICHT beim sogenannten Viruserkrankungen angewendet werden dürfen» (sic).

Publisher’s rating: Eine grundsätzliche Ablehnung seitens Mullis zum Einsatz des PCR-Tests als Viren-Nachweis ist nicht belegt. Die PCR-Methode wird seit Jahren für die Diagnostik in der Medizin verwendet - auch bei Viren.

The claim concerns a Facebook post asserting that PCR inventor Kary Mullis had said PCR tests must not be used for viral diseases. The review traces the allegation to a 1996 English-language blog post about HIV/AIDS denialism. It explains that the blog’s sentence claiming viral-load tests cannot detect infectious viruses was not marked as a quotation and was written by the blog’s author. The surrounding paragraph does quote Mullis as saying, “Quantitative PCR is an oxymoron,” but the review says it is unclear whether he ever said that. The passage relates to doubts about using PCR to detect HIV; it does not establish a general rejection of PCR for detecting viruses. [S1: “Dass Mullis die Verwendung von PCR beim Nachweis von Viren angeblich ablehnt, geht vermutlich auf einen englischsprachigen Blogartikel aus dem Jahr 1996 zurück.”; “Der Satz ist nicht als Zitat gekennzeichnet und stammt vom Autor.”; “Ob Mullis dieses Zitat je so gesagt hat, ist unklar.”] The review also supplies evidence of PCR’s use in viral diagnosis: it says the method can amplify genetic material for analysis and is used, among other purposes, to diagnose influenza. It reports that the WHO published recommendations on 17 January 2020 for detecting the novel coronavirus with PCR, based on a protocol developed by a team including Berlin virologist Christian Drosten. It also notes PCR diagnosis during the 2002–2003 SARS epidemic. These examples address the claim’s broader assertion that PCR is unsuitable for detecting viruses. [S1: “Die Methode kommt bei vielen medizinischen und forensischen Zwecken zum Einsatz, beispielsweise für einen Vaterschaftstest oder die Diagnose der Influenza-Grippe.”; “Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) veröffentlichte am 17. Januar 2020 Empfehlungen über den Nachweis des neuartigen Coronavirus mithilfe eines PCR-Tests.”; “Auch bei der Sars-Epidemie 2002/2003 wurde ein PCR-Test zur Diagnose verwendet.”] The review’s account therefore distinguishes the uncertain, HIV-related statement attributed to Mullis from the much broader claim circulating on Facebook. It does not present evidence that Mullis made a general statement against using PCR to detect viruses; instead, it documents established medical uses and published guidance for coronavirus testing. [S1: “Das bezieht sich auf seine Zweifel daran, den PCR-Test beim HIV-Nachweis zu verwenden.”; “Die Behauptung, dass der Erfinder des PCR-Tests dessen Einsatz bei Viren ablehnt, kursierte bereits in den USA”]

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

In een post op Facebook wordt gesteld dat COVID-19 "gelukkig" voorbij is. Er zouden "geen zieken en doden" meer zijn, "slechts besmettingen", maar klopt dat?

Publisher’s rating: De stelling is fout. Er zijn in de afgelopen dagen wel degelijk nieuwe ziekenhuisopnames geweest en nieuwe doden gevallen.

The Facebook post claimed that COVID-19 was “fortunately” over, with no more sick people or deaths and only infections remaining. The review checked that claim against figures the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported on 4 August 2020. It says the institute publishes statistics for the preceding week each Tuesday. Those figures recorded 44 new hospital admissions and six new deaths in the seven days covered. They also recorded 2,588 new infections over that same period. Thus, the presence of new infections did not mean there had been no recent hospital admissions or deaths: the reported figures directly contradict that part of the Facebook post. The review links to the RIVM’s 4 August weekly update and to the Facebook post, but the supplied excerpt does not describe additional verification steps or reproduce the underlying RIVM document. Its stated conclusion rests on the weekly figures it attributes to the institute.

BR24 FaktenfuchsHealth & medicine

Durch die vielen Corona-Tests steigt die Zahl der entdeckten Neuinfektionen.

Publisher’s rating: Diese Aussage ist verkürzt und Irreführend. Grund: Durch die Tests werden Fälle entdeckt, die zuvor unter Umständen nicht entdeckt worden wären (Personen mit wenigen oder keinen Symptomen). Die Infektionszahlen steigen, weil sich aktuell (Anfang August) mehr Menschen mit Corona anstecken. Eine Korrelation zwischen Anzahl an Tests und Neuinfektionen gibt es nicht

FACTLYHealth & medicine

Recent pictures showing the bad conditions of the hospitals in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The post presented a two-part hospital image as recent pictures of poor conditions in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The review checked the two parts separately and concluded that the post misrepresented both the image’s provenance and, for the Bihar image, its timing. For the portion attributed to Bihar, the review reports cropping that part of the image and running a reverse-image search. It found the same image in an article about rainfall in Bihar dated 29 September 2019. That article identified the scene as a patient being moved from Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in Patna. The review therefore treated this as a real image from a Bihar hospital, but not as evidence of recent conditions: it says the image had nothing to do with the recent floods in Bihar. For the portion attributed to Uttar Pradesh, a similar reverse-image search led to a news article dated 15 July 2020. Its caption described a flooded ward inside Hyderabad’s Osmania Hospital; the review also says an NDTV video showed the same ward. Thus, the image was not from Uttar Pradesh. The review’s conclusion was that an old image from a Bihar hospital and an image from Osmania Hospital were being shared as current conditions in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.