Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here.
Daily Debunk
Claim: “So we have more cases than anybody, but we’re doing really well, and we also have a very low — relative to other countries — very low mortality rate. And there are reasons for that.”
-- President Trump, March 30, phone interview with "Fox & Friends.”
Verdict: Misleading
Read the full story at: Associated Press
Social Media Disinfo
Circulating on social media: Memes falsely claiming that a health care workers’ union was “caught hiding 39 million N95 masks" and casting suspicion on the union’s motives.
Verdict: False
Read the full story: "Union’s Search for Face Masks Gets Twisted Online" -- FactCheck.org
Factual Reads on Coronavirus
The coronavirus is washing over the U.S. These factors will determine how bad it gets in each community
As the outbreak rolls across the country, residents are asking: Who will be hit next? And how fast and how hard?
-- Stat, April 1
Estimates of the severity of coronavirus disease 2019: a model-based analysis
Our estimated overall infection fatality ratio for China was 0·66% (0·39–1·33), with an increasing profile with age.
-- The Lancet, April 30
‘We need to be alert’: Scientists fear second coronavirus wave as China’s lockdowns ease
Other countries on lockdown will be watching for a resurgence of infections in Hubei province now that travel restrictions are lifting.
-- Nature, March 30
No, the coronavirus wasn’t made in a lab. A genetic analysis shows it’s from nature
The virus’s genetic makeup reveals that SARS-CoV-2 isn’t a mishmash of known viruses, as might be expected if it were human-made.
-- ScienceNews, March 26
Mathematics of life and death: How disease models shape national shutdowns and other pandemic policies
A Dutch epidemic modeler is producing computer simulations that will help his government decide on what actions to take to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
-- Science, March 25
UK has enough intensive care units for coronavirus, expert predicts
UK deaths from the disease are now unlikely to exceed 20,000, [Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson] said, and could be much lower.
-- NewScientist (UK), March 25
Mapping the COVID-19 outbreak
The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections
Reliable Coronavirus Information
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Federation of American Scientists
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine