Facebook to prohibit ads that discourage vaccines
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 2 min read
Facebook has also said it will start prohibiting Ads that discourage vaccines and will also remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines.
08
Dec
Dec
26
Nov
Nov
Fact-checking medical misinformation
- Jisha Krishnan / 5 years
- 0
- 4 min read
Top fact-checkers from Asia share personal stories, deep insights, and practical tips to tackle the avalanche of health fake news at the Misinformation in Medicine Summit 2020.
No, ‘virus shutout necklaces’ cannot protect you from coronavirus
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 3 min read
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to claim more lives, more and more products are popping up falsely claiming to prevent the disease. One of those products getting popularity now in India is a so-called “virus shut out” necklace.
Vaccine hesitancy due to disinformation campaign, shows BMJ study
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 3 min read
Social media disinformation campaigns are linked to falling vaccination rates, a study published in the online British Medical Journal for Global Health reveals.
Debunking 6 viral claims about COVID-19 remedies
- First Check Team / 5 years
- 0
- 2 min read
There’s no dearth of posts on social media platforms claiming to have found the cure for the coronavirus. Here’s one in Hindi that makes not one, but several claims about COVID-19 cures and prevention.
Three common myths about polio vaccine
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 2 min read
Myths about the polio vaccine continue to reappear. This World Polio Day, we debunk the most common myths about the polio vaccine.
Drinking tea is not a cure for Covid-19
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 2 min read
Claims about tea being a cure for COVID-19 have been doing the rounds since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak. While the popular drink may be beneficial for health in general, it certainly doesn’t have any curative powers against the deadly virus.
02
Oct
Oct
No, China does not hold the patent for drug remdesivir
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 3 min read
A WhatsApp message claims that the patent for the drug remdesivir is held by China and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates will profit from this drug. The claims are false.
21
Sep
Sep
Myths about polycystic ovary syndrome and why they’re misleading
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 3 min read
Since polycystic ovary syndrome is not well understood, there is widespread misinformation about this condition. Misinformation can impact its diagnosis leading to assumptions and generalisations in the absence of facts.
10
Sep
Sep
No, putting basil leaves, camphor inside the mask will not purify the air nor it will protect you from Covid-19
- Varadarajan Ananthakrishnan / 5 years
- 0
- 4 min read
Videos making false and misleading claims about masks are getting wide popularity in India. While one video claims that wearing masks is dangerous, others promote ‘herbal masks’ to purify the air we breathe in. All these claims are false.
03
Sep
Sep
A video claiming coronavirus is like any other flu is false
- Varadarajan Ananthakrishnan / 5 years
- 0
- 5 min read
A video is getting viral on Facebook, Whatsapp, Youtube claiming that COVID-19 is the biggest scandal in the history of mankind. But all the claims are false.
21
Aug
Aug
Labelling garlic as a cure for cancer is false, misleading
- Abeen Bilal / 5 years
- 0
- 2 min read
A Facebook page is promoting the use of garlic to kill brain cancer cells but the claim is false and misleading as there is no scientific evidence to prove that garlic can cure cancer.
14
Aug
Aug
Battling vaccine misinformation: MMR vaccine has no association with Autism
- Nabeela Khan / 5 years
- 0
- 2 min read
There’s scientific evidence to prove that the MMR vaccine doesn’t cause Autism and there is no association between the two.
06
Aug
Aug
No, Vicks VapoRub will not help in reducing belly fat
- Parul Goswami / 6 years
- 0
- 2 min read
There is no scientific evidence to prove that Vicks VapoRub, a topical ointment used for nasal congestion and cough can melt away belly fat and eventually lead to weight loss. The claim is false.
30
Jul
Jul
Beware of apps that claim to check blood oxygen level, hackers are out to steal your data
- Jisha Krishnan / 6 years
- 0
- 3 min read
A viral WhatsApp message in India is asking people to click on a link to download a free app that monitors blood oxygen levels using one’s phone camera. The pandemic is seeing a surge in fake apps and cyber fraud.
27
Jul
Jul
Unproven COVID-19 treatment list circulates on Whatsapp
- Nabeela Khan / 6 years
- 0
- 3 min read
A photo of a list of treatments claiming to have been recommended to “patients recovering from the hospital” along with a listing of symptoms is circulating on WhatsApp in India. The claims are false with unsubstantiated remedies.
24
Jul
Jul
Home-made blend of onion, lemon and honey will not prevent a heart attack
- Sista Mukherjee / 6 years
- 0
- 3 min read
A video viewed millions of times claims that heart attacks can be prevented by drinking onion juice mixed with lemon and honey. The claim is misleading.
23
Jul
Jul
No, homemade concoctions may not help in passing kidney stones
- Abeen Bilal / 6 years
- 0
- 2 min read
A Youtube video claims that a concoction of onion, cumin, sugar crystals and lemon will help pass kidney stones. But there is no evidence to prove that this mix of ingredients can cure or help in passing kidney stones. The claim is false.
17
Jul
Jul
This video of undignified burial of dead bodies is from Indian state of Karnataka and not Russia
- Sahil Bali / 6 years
- 0
- 2 min read
A video that has been watched hundreds of times on youtube claims that the video highlights how Russia is secretly burying dead bodies. However, the video is from Ballari, a district in the south Indian state of Karnataka which shows the undignified burial of dead bodies.
10
Jul
Jul
No, tying a sack of spices and camphor will not protect you from Covid-19
- First Check Team / 6 years
- 0
- 3 min read
There is no scientific evidence that tying a homemade pouch full of different spices can protect people from Covid-19. The video has been viewed thousands of times but the claim is false and is misleading people.
06
Jul
Jul
Analysing social media response to COVID-19 misinformation
- Nabeela Khan / 6 years
- 0
- 5 min read
Social media platforms are under constant pressure to regulate misinformation. We analysed how the three most popular social media platforms are tackling fake news related to the pandemic.
22
Jun
Jun
No, washing hands with lemon will not protect you from Covid-19
- Nabeela Khan / 6 years
- 0
- 4 min read
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 10 fake claims citing the medicinal properties of lemon or drinking hot lemon juice or mixing lemon with soda, tea have been doing rounds. A new claim saying that washing hands with lemon juice can protect from coronavirus is unsubstantiated. We found that there is no study or data to back up this claim.
12
Jun
Jun
100 fake COVID-19 WhatsApp forwards that we almost believed
- Deepika Khurana / 6 years
- 0
- 48 min read
The spread of dubious claims and false information during the coronavirus outbreak has been rapid on the popular messaging platform – WhatsApp. Here, with the help of our team of doctors and fact-checkers, we debunk the hundred most widely circulated and harmful content and claims related to COVID-19.
05
Jun
Jun
Trends in Covid-19 misinformation in India
- Nabeela Khan / 6 years
- 0
- 4 min read
Amid an unprecedented global health crisis, health journalists faced a double whammy – one to report effectively on the pandemic and the other to fight the tide of misinformation which spread faster than the virus itself. Here is an analysis of how fake news hit India at various stages during Covid-19.
05
Jun
Jun
Having had measles before does not protect you from COVID-19
- Varadarajan Ananthakrishnan / 6 years
- 0
- 2 min read
A video in the Tamil language claims that if someone has had measles infection in his lifetime, he will never be infected with the novel coronavirus. The claim is false.
05
Jun
Jun
EXPLAINER: Why a lot of Covid-19 infographics are wrong?
- Nabeela Khan / 6 years
- 0
- 5 min read
There is a lot of data visualisation about COVID-19 which can be misleading. We identified five common mistakes in data visualisation and how one can spot them.
05
Jun
Jun
10 Twitter posts on Covid-19 that mislead the world
- Abeen Bilal / 6 years
- 0
- 7 min read
We’ve been looking at some of the most widely circulated posts on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter since the start of the pandemic. This week, we have compiled and debunked the 10 claims that are currently circulating.