Inaccurate Health Posted on: 2020-09-20 No vaccine contains strains of both the flu and the virus that causes COVID-19; COVID-19 is not the flu Claim: The U.S. CDC encourages the use of a “[COVID-19] flu shot” on children. Source: Facebook, Facebook user, 2020-09-15
Misleading Health Posted on: 2020-09-18 The number of COVID-19 cases reported is based on a highly specific diagnostic test for COVID-19; no confusion with flu or common cold is possible Claim: “It's NOT a SECOND WAVE of COVID-19 coming soon. It's the NORMAL COLD / FLU SEASON” Source: Facebook, Facebook users, 2020-09-01
Flawed reasoning Health Posted on: 2020-08-31 False claim shared by President Trump that only 6% of CDC-reported deaths are from COVID-19 is based on flawed reasoning Claim: only 6% of all the 153,504 deaths recorded actually died from Covid, the rest had other serious illnesses Source: Facebook, Facebook users, 2020-08-29
Lacks context Health Posted on: 2020-08-28 A vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 would be useful even if the survival rate from COVID-19 is high Claim: With the survival rate of COVID-19 close to 100% without a vaccine, what exactly will the purpose of the new vaccine be? Source: Facebook, Facebook user, 2020-08-21
Misleading Health Posted on: 2020-08-21 Current COVID-19 mortality rate does not predict the future probability of dying from the disease Claim: “Chance of NOT dying from Covid-19: 99.96%” Source: Facebook, Facebook user, 2020-08-16
Lacks context Health Posted on: 2020-08-16 Sweden’s COVID-19 mortality is higher than in most European countries; no evidence whether or how the absence of lockdown impacted this outcome Claim: “Sweden COVID-19 Death Rate Lower Than Spain, Italy and U.K., Despite Never Having Lockdown” Source: Newsweek, Soo Kim, 2020-08-03
Flawed reasoning Health Posted on: 2020-08-07 Wearing masks aims at slowing SARS-CoV-2 circulation, not protecting against a certain death Claim: If masks were effective and necessary, non-mask wearers should be dead by now Source: Facebook, Facebook users, 2020-07-30
Health Posted on: 2020-07-27 A trypsin-based oral spray reportedly deactivates SARS-CoV-2 in a liquid suspension but has not yet been tested in the mouth Claim: New oral spray “deactivates 98% of the coronavirus” in the mouth Source: Facebook, Hashem Al-Ghaili, 2020-07-20
Partially correct Health Posted on: 2020-07-16 Despite a decline in COVID-19 deaths from a peak in Spring 2020, the number of deaths in July 2020 may not be as low as preliminary data suggest Claim: Deaths from COVID-19 are nearing zero in the U.S. Source: Facebook, Facebook user, 2020-07-08
Inaccurate Health Posted on: 2020-07-10 Nasal swab used for COVID-19 testing does not reach the brain Claim: Nasal swabs used for COVID-19 tests reach the blood-brain barrier and may damage it. Source: Facebook, Facebook users, 2020-07-06