Daily Debunk
At issue: A 26-minute video promoting various conspiracy theories about COVID-19, public health and the pharmaceutical industry.
Verdict: False
Read the full story: "Fact-checking ‘Plandemic’: A documentary full of false conspiracy theories about the coronavirus," PolitiFact, May 7.
Social Media Disinfo
Circulating on social media: Post claiming a video shows people in Saudi Arabia celebrating the end of a coronavirus lockdown.
Verdict: False
Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse
Factual Reads on Coronavirus
Can COVID-19 survive on my phone?
Yes. That’s why a daily wipe down of “high-touch” surfaces like phones, keyboards and tablet computers is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-- Associated Press, May 7
Covid-19 Without Independent Journalism
[I]n Russia, a journalist with Novaya Gazeta, Elena Milashina, has first been beaten; then threatened by the leader of the Russian region of Chechnya; been denied support and, finally, seen an article about COVID-19 with her byline removed from the newspaper’s website, following a demand by Russian federal authorities.
-- EUvsDisinfo, May 6
Profile of a killer: the complex biology powering the coronavirus pandemic
Scientists are piecing together how SARS-CoV-2 operates, where it came from and what it might do next — but pressing questions remain about the source of COVID-19.
-- Nature, May 4
Three potential futures for Covid-19: recurring small outbreaks, a monster wave, or a persistent crisis
What all three scenarios agree on is this: There is virtually no chance Covid-19 will end when the world bids good riddance to a calamitous 2020.
-- Stat, May 1
Wuhan shows the world that the end of lockdown is just the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis
Despite the lifting of most strict lockdown laws, many stores are still shut, restaurants are restricted to takeaway and even when citizens go outside they still wear protective equipment and try to avoid each other.
-- CNN, April 30
Comparing COVID-19 Deaths to Flu Deaths Is like Comparing Apples to Oranges
The former are actual numbers; the latter are inflated statistical estimates
-- Scientific American, April 28
The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide
Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
-- Nature, April 28
Hello, social distancing. Goodbye, handshakes?
Our hands can carry Salmonella, E. coli, norovirus and respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease.
-- Reuters, April 28
Coronavirus: How to spot fake news, explained by experts
The COVID-19 crisis is prime time for fake news and misleading health advice. Here are seven ways to stop the spread of false information on the pandemic.
-- Deutsche Welle, April 11
The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections
Mapping the COVID-19
Reliable Coronavirus Information
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Federation of American Scientists
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine