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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.

13,677 published reviews in this topic

NewtralHealth & medicine

Un ferrocarril estadounidense ha transportado el COVID-19

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The claim concerned an image of a railcar bearing a “COVID-19” inscription, circulated with messages alleging that the train had been seen in Texas in September 2019 carrying biological materials linked to the pandemic. Newtral’s investigation traced the image’s earliest version to a Reddit post by user “r/funny” on March 14, 2020, with the caption “Figured out how it’s spreading.” The post was later deleted. The review says the image then spread across social media, with the Texas story attached in Spain and different conspiracy claims accompanying it in France and Portugal. To identify the railcar, the investigation used reverse-image searches, including a search of a wider-framed version circulated in France. It identified the vehicle as a GATX railcar. GATX’s investor-relations director told AFP Factual that the image was manipulated, that GATX cars do not carry such an inscription, and that it would not be permitted under industry requirements. The review also notes visual discrepancies: GATX cars do not have inscriptions in the railcar’s upper-right area, and the lettering differs from the company’s typeface. The review further reports that U.S. railcar markings must follow Association of American Railroads rules: two or four letters followed by up to six digits and an indication of ownership. The displayed “COVID-19” does not fit those parameters. Together, the image’s documented online appearance in March 2020, the manufacturer’s response, the visual differences, and the marking rules contradict the claim that the pictured railcar bore the inscription as an authentic marking or was evidence of a COVID-19 shipment in Texas in September 2019.

NewtralHealth & medicine

La OMS decreta la suspensión de toda y cualquier actividad de medicina

Publisher’s rating: Falso

The headline claimed that the World Health Organization (WHO) had decreed the suspension of “toda y cualquier actividad de medicina” (all medical activity). Newtral’s review says the accompanying text was narrower: it concerned dentistry, stomatology and dental medicine, and exempted urgent cases. The review also notes that the text itself did not mention the WHO. To check whether the WHO had made the alleged announcement, Newtral says it contacted a spokesperson for the WHO’s Regional Office for Europe by email. The spokesperson told the outlet that the organization had made no announcement suspending dental activity during the Covid-19 pandemic. The guidance quoted by Newtral instead said dental providers should follow recommendations from government health authorities and professional bodies. The review traces the dental suspension to a different source: Portuguese Government Order No. 3301-A/2020. It reports that the order did suspend dentistry and stomatology activities in Portugal because of coronavirus, while the additional recommendations in the accompanying text came from Portugal’s Ordem dos Médicos Dentistas, not the WHO. Thus, the headline attributed a limited, Portugal-specific measure to the wrong organization and broadened it to all medical activity.

台灣事實查核中心Health & medicine

【錯誤】網傳「重要信息：新冠肺炎病毒是一種大病毒。 病毒的直徑為400-500微米...」？

Publisher’s rating: 錯誤

The claim reproduces a message attributed to UNICEF that says the coronavirus is 400–500 micrometers across, so any mask can block it; it also asserts that the virus does not travel through the air and recommends measures including drinking hot water and gargling salt water. The Taiwan FactCheck Center examined these specific claims, consulting two named virus specialists and referring to earlier reports on hot water and salt-water gargling. The review identifies the message’s claims in its quoted text: “病毒的直徑為400-500微米，因此任何類型的口罩都可以防止進入我們的身體” and “喝熱水和晒太陽就足夠了.” The specialists said the virus is about 120 nanometers across, not hundreds of micrometers. One explained that a micrometer is 1,000 times larger than a nanometer, and the other emphasized that viruses are nanometer-scale. The review also distinguishes the virus itself from the larger respiratory droplets that can carry it: droplets may be blocked to some extent by ordinary masks, but masks vary in protection, and people caring for or closely approaching patients need medical masks or N95 masks. On transmission, the experts said the virus can both travel in the air and attach to surfaces; droplets can remain airborne for a time in enclosed spaces. Thus, the message’s claim that it cannot spread through the air is misleading. The review further reports that how long coronavirus remains on surfaces depends on environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, and acidity; it does not support the message’s fixed survival times for metal, cloth, or hands. It says 26–27°C does not inactivate the virus, drinking hot water does not prevent infection, and salt-water gargling does not clear virus that has entered the respiratory tract. The conclusion addresses the claims as a set, rather than treating one measure or one surface-survival estimate as proof of the message’s broader advice.

FACTLYHealth & medicine

Image of the people who died of Coronavirus in Italy

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The image was shared as showing people who had died from coronavirus in Italy. FACTLY reports that the photo was not connected to recent coronavirus deaths there: it was taken in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2014, during an art project commemorating 528 victims of the Katzbach Nazi concentration camp. The investigation says it reverse-image-searched the photo and found it in a 2014 South China Morning Post article credited to Reuters. It then used Reuters’ description to identify the scene as people lying in a pedestrian zone in Frankfurt as part of the commemorative art project. That earlier setting and purpose contradict the claim that the image showed coronavirus victims in Italy.