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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - May 18


U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response event in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2020.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response event in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 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: President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. government gave $7.5 million to the Wuhan Institute of Virology under his predecessor.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: FactCheck.org​

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Video claiming to show 5G telecoms equipment stamped with ‘COV-19’ ready to be installed into a 5G tower​.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Reuters

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Life as a Covid-19 contact tracer: sleuthing, stress, and veering off-script
The task involves a good deal of detective work, profound humility, and tact. It also involves cold-calling people who may be irritated to hear from you.
--Stat, May 18

Coronavirus research updates: ‘Superspread’ at a choir practice infects dozens
Nature wades through the literature on the new coronavirus — and summarizes key papers as they appear.
-- Nature, May 14

Can ‘Team Science’ Yield a Covid-19 Treatment?
[B]ecause there is still much that researchers don’t know about how the virus behaves, actually testing thousands of drugs simultaneously can point to potential therapies that logic couldn’t predict.
-- New York Times, May 13

Racial Status And The Pandemic: A Combustible Mixture
Officials are finding it’s still difficult to talk about race and COVID-19.
-- Kaiser Health News, May 13

This Is the Future of the Pandemic
Covid-19 isn’t going away soon. Two recent studies mapped out the possible shapes of its trajectory.
-- New York Times, May 8​

How to Avoid Burnout in the Middle of a Pandemic
Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged stress. Given the nonstop barrage of stressors these past few months, many of us are probably well on our way to developing burnout, if we aren’t there already.
-- Lifehacker, May 7

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

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

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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