Skip to main content

PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Health & medicine fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

13,677 published reviews in this topic

The QuintHealth & medicine

Coronavirus lockdown in India extended till 4 May

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a viral image presented as a screenshot of an India Today bulletin, which said that India’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown had been extended until 4 May. The Quint’s review examined that specific image and compared it with India Today’s bulletin about the lockdown. It reports that the circulating image was altered, rather than evidence of an announcement extending the lockdown. The review says its investigators searched India Today’s lockdown-related videos and identified the image as a modified version of a bulletin uploaded on 24 March, titled “PM Modi Coronavirus Address; Announces Nationwide Lockdown For Three Weeks.” In the original bulletin, the central text said “All-India lockdown from midnight,” while the viral image substituted wording that the lockdown had been “increased till 4 May.” The review also notes that the original bulletin’s lower band said “India under lockdown” and did not give an extension date. The investigation describes additional checks on the image: it compared the broadcast’s layout and on-screen text, checked the date format against another India Today bulletin, and searched other lockdown-related bulletins for the claimed extension. It reports finding no such extension in those broadcasts. Separately, the review cites a government denial on 30 March: the Press Information Bureau said Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba had denied reports that the government would extend the nationwide lockdown. Taken together, the comparison identifies the viral image’s claimed date as altered text, while the cited government statement supplies contemporaneous context about extension reports.

NewtralHealth & medicine

Bolsas de cadáveres en el suelo en el Hospital Ramón y Cajal de Madrid

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerns a video of what appear to be body bags on the floor, circulated with messages asserting that it was filmed at Madrid’s Ramón y Cajal Hospital. The review says the same video was also attributed in circulating messages to the Palacio de Hielo morgue or a hospital in Barcelona, and concludes that the Ramón y Cajal attribution is false. The finding is about where this footage was recorded, not whether the images show bodies. (The article describes them as “lo que parecen ser bolsas de cadáveres”.)

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Vitamine sind gesund, das ist allgemein bekannt. Aber helfen sie auch gegen das Coronavirus? Eine steile These dazu macht in den sozialen Netzwerken die Runde. Vitamin C töte das neuartige Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 "höchst effektiv" ab. Ein angeblicher Beleg: "Die Chinesen" hätten "50 Tonnen Vitamin C unter der Bevölkerung verteilt", und die Zahl der Neuinfektionen sei daraufhin gesunken. Man solle deshalb zur Vorsorge gegen Covid-19 täglich drei Gramm Vitamin C zu sich nehmen.

Publisher’s rating: 50 Tonnen Vitamin C wurden tatsächlich Anfang Februar von einer Chemiefirma in die Provinz Hubei geliefert. Die Menge entspricht aber gerade mal dem Normalbedarf der dort lebenden Menschen für acht Tage. Nach Aussagen von Experten gibt es außerdem keinerlei Beleg für eine virustötende Wirkung von Vitamin C. Eine hoch dosierte Aufnahme wird nicht empfohlen.

The claim combines a reported delivery of vitamin C to Hubei with two further assertions: that it killed the coronavirus and that people should take three grams daily to prevent Covid-19. The dpa fact-check says the shipment did occur, but identifies it as a delivery by the Dutch chemical company DSM, not evidence that vitamin C was distributed as a public health measure. Its account says DSM announced on Twitter on February 3 that it had sent 50 tonnes to the province. The quantity does not support the claim of widespread high-dose use. The article compares the shipment with Hubei’s population of around 60 million: it amounted to less than one gram per resident, or about eight days’ worth at the recommended daily intake of approximately 100 milligrams. It also notes that Wuhan and Hubei were already subject to lockdown measures beginning January 23. The dpa says there is no evidence linking the later decrease in infections causally to the vitamin shipment. On the asserted antiviral effect, the article reports that a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices could not confirm that vitamin C kills viruses, and virologist Stephan Günther said he had no evidence that it kills the coronavirus. It also reports that Professor Jürgen Behr did not recommend high-dose vitamin C for the general population and considered a balanced diet sufficient for normal vitamin C provision. The article therefore does not support taking three grams daily to prevent Covid-19.

Fact CrescendoHealth & medicine

Claim: Air India pilot fathima saved Covid 19 hit Indians from Italy

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerned a social-media post describing a Muslim pilot named Fathima who brought 240 Indians stranded in Italy back to India. Fact Crescendo says the post used a photograph of a female pilot and circulated with a caption naming her Fathima. Its investigation focused on whether the pictured pilot was actually Fathima, rather than on the pilot’s religion.

BR24 FaktenfuchsHealth & medicine

Im Münchener Klinikum Rechts der Isar ist "alles ruhig" und "alles entspannt".

Publisher’s rating: Falsch. Ende März und Anfang April 2020 nahm das Klinikum Rechts der Isar nach eigenen Angaben die Corona-Pandemie durchaus wahr. Mit Stand 1. April behandelte das Klinikum "70 Patient*innen mit Covid-19", davon seien "gut ein Drittel davon auf der Intensivstation", so die Sprecherin weiter. Man habe jedoch wegen Vorbereitung auf die Lage "Kapazität für wesentlich mehr Patient*innen."