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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - November 4


Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni attends the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni attends the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: The United States government has stopped COVID-19 relief to Uganda after President Donald Trump said “he can’t fund a dictator.”

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: PesaCheck

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Claim that a recently republished novel by UK PM Boris Johson’s father, Stanley Johnson, is about “a government releasing a deadly virus into the population as cover for population control through a forced vaccine.”

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse

Factual Reads on Coronavirus


Fighting COVID-19 with herd immunity?
Herd immunity is usually achieved with a vaccine. In the fight against COVID, some countries gambled on natural herd immunity, allowing infection to spread. But most scientists say it's dangerous and may not even work.
-- Deutsche Welle, November 2

Is it safe to lick the ballot envelope? Public health officials take on the new challenge of making voting safe amid a pandemic
In their efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, public health departments are taking on a new responsibility: helping make voting as safe as possible.
-- Stat, October 29

The race to make COVID antibody therapies cheaper and more potent
Injections of antibodies might prevent mild COVID-19 from becoming severe, but the treatments are expensive and difficult to make.
-- Nature, October 28

A Flu Shot Might Reduce Coronavirus Infections, Early Research Suggests
Hospital workers who got vaccinated were significantly less likely to develop COVID than those who did not.
-- Scientific American, October 27

Confronting Misinformation
How to protect society from fear, lies and division.
-- Scientific American, November 1 issue

Improving pandemic preparedness: Lessons from COVID-19
The United States and the world were caught unprepared by the COVID-19 pandemic despite decades of warnings of the threat of global pandemics and years of international planning.
-- Council on Foreign Relations, October 2020

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 COVID-19 Casualties

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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