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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - June 16


U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable discussion on "America's seniors" in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2020.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable discussion on "America's seniors" in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2020.

Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.

Daily Debunk

Claim: “They’ve come out of this at a level that’s really inconceivable. By the way, the regular flu, other flus, other things, SARS or H1N1, any of them, if you look at the young people they were affected like everybody else, but for whatever reason with respect to COVID, the numbers are very, very low.” -- President Donald Trump, June 15.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story: Associated Press, "AP FACT CHECK: Trump's false security on kids and COVID-19"

Social Media Disinfo

Melinda Gates
Melinda Gates

Claim: Melinda Gates said black people deserve priority access to a COVID-19 vaccine.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: Reuters

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Why COVID-19 Makes People Lose Their Sense of Smell
We’re beginning to understand the mechanism behind this relatively common symptom.
-- Scientific American, June 13

Latin American scientists join the coronavirus vaccine race: ‘No one’s coming to rescue us’
Researchers fear that breakthroughs from abroad will be too slow or inequitably shared to benefit the global south.
-- Nature, June 12

China Vowed to Keep Wildlife Off the Menu, a Tough Promise to Keep
The government has moved slowly to permanently stop the sale and consumption of wild animals in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, raising fears the practice may continue.
-- New York Times, June 7

Coronavirus weekly: racism, COVID-19, and the inequality that fuels these parallel pandemics
The protests against systemic racism and police violence sweeping the globe highlight the intersection between two pandemics: COVID-19 and racism.
-- The Conversation, June 5

How the world can avoid screwing up the response to Covid-19 again
STAT ... asked 11 experts in infectious disease, epidemiology, and pandemic preparedness how to avoid the mistakes, poor decisions, and incompetence of this spring.
-- Stat, June 5

Does drug touted by Trump work on COVID-19? After data debacle, we still don't know
Hydroxychloroquine was shown in laboratory experiments earlier this year to be able to block the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, but this effect has not been replicated in rigorous trials in people.
-- Reuters, June 4

China withheld data on coronavirus from WHO, recordings reveal
Complaints by officials at odds with body’s public praise of Beijing’s response to outbreak
-- Guardian, June 2​

Watch: Antibodies, immunity, and what they mean for Covid-19, explained
The immune system is no wimp. When pathogens cause illness, it kicks into high gear. Cells work together to tag, kill and gobble up invaders as they fight the infection.
-- Stat, May 5

The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide
Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
-- Nature, April 28

The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections

COVID19 Infodemics Observatory

Agence France Presse

Snopes

BuzzFeed

Factcheck.org

Associated Press

Washington Post

TruthOrFiction

Mapping the COVID-19

Reliable Coronavirus Information

World Health Organization

U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Federation of American Scientists

Emergency Physicians

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine​

Pan American Health Organization

Google COVID‑19 Information & Resources

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