The world is dealing with an unprecedented health crisis caused by a new virus. With new insights in the way COVID19 spreads, in the way the virus behaves and in the way to deal with the pandemic every day, it is now more important than ever to safeguard the information we share is accurate and fact-based. We have to inoculate ourselves against the fake news and misinformation that infect our newsfeeds and timelines at this crucial moment by fact-checking.
For the duration of the pandemic, I will try to give you an overview of the main issues in CoronaCheck, an Australian email newsletter with the latest from around the world concerning the coronavirus.*
COVID LINK to 5G CELL TOWERS DEBUNKED
Image source: Instagram
The stream of misinformation surrounding 5G technology and the coronavirus seems to be exponentially increasing, so much so that it has prompted Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, to address the issue at a recent press briefing where he noted there was “absolutely no evidence about 5G doing anything in the coronavirus space”. Dr Murphy added, “I have unfortunately received a lot of communication from these conspiracy theorists myself it is complete nonsense.”
It prompted the UK government to seek partnership with Twitter; users searching for 5G conspiracy tweets will see a pop-up with the text “the UK government has said there is no evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus (COVID-19)” and directing them to further information.
Recent 5G misinformation consists of a video, viewed thousands of times, which shows a supposed telecoms engineer who is erecting 5G masts in the UK holding up an electrical circuit board and claiming it is “a piece of kit that has COV-19 on it”.
Reuters found that this video was staged; the circuit board isn’t used in 5G technology but was taken from a Virgin Media box for cable television. Virgin Media told Reuters the board was from a “very old set-top box” and had never been inscribed or imprinted with “COV-19”. Virgin maintained
“[The board] has absolutely no relation with any mobile network infrastructure, including that used for 5G.”
Another claim that “radiation pneumonitis”, allegedly caused by 5G, was being misdiagnosed as COVID-19 was also found to be false by Reuters.
REMDESIVIR FACTS
Remdesivir is an experimental antiviral drug, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Gilead and recently approved as a COVID-19 treatment in the US. In Australia, the drug is not yet being used in any clinical trials, although it is expected some hospitals are to receive doses of the drug for use with COVID-19 patients.
Misinformation around many COVID-19 treatments, including remdesivir, has spread rapidly throughout the pandemic. For example, a Facebook post claimed that hydroxychloroquine, another touted COVID-19 treatment mentioned here before, was “91 per cent effective” and cheap, while remdesivir was effective in just 50 per cent of patients and cost US$1,000. “Why is Fauci pushing Remdesivir? It was invented by Fauci and Gates. Its stock is now soaring. Always follow the $$$$$$$.” the post stated, pointing to US infectious diseases expert and White House adviser Anthony Fauci and the much-maligned Bill Gates.
But as USA Today found, neither hydroxychloroquine nor remdesivir had been proven effective against COVID-19, with clinical trials ongoing. Further, Gilead Sciences is the only organisation that could profit from the sale of remdesivir and neither Mr Gates nor Dr Fauci had any involvement in the development of the drug.
Another Facebook post imagines a remdesivir conspiracy centred around Unitaid, which it suggests is Gilead’s “drug patent sharing subsidiary branch”. According to the post, Unitaid has an office in Wuhan and is backed by Bill and Melinda Gates, billionaire investor George Soros and the World Health Organisation. Hillary Clinton, Dr Fauci and Wuhan’s Institute of Virology are also mentioned.
Snopes found these claims to be false. Unitaid is not linked to Gilead and does not have an office near Wuhan. And while the organisation, which invests in innovations to prevent, diagnose and treat several global health issues, is supported financially by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it has no ties to Mr Soros or Dr Fauci. Unitaid is a “hosted partnership” of the WHO but receives no financial support from the organisation.
PNEUMONIA VS THROMBOSIS
Image source: AP/Zhang Yuwei Via Xinhua
Some news stories lately have raised concerns that COVID-19, which has been viewed mainly as respiratory disease, may also have patients die through thrombosis (the formation of blood clots).
Full Fact took a look at claims posted on social media that COVID-19 patients were being misdiagnosed with pneumonia when in fact they were suffering from thrombosis. The posts propagated to fight the disease is with “antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammatories and anticoagulants”.
The fact-checkers found that patients were not being “misdiagnosed” with pneumonia. Rather, both pneumonia and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), which leads to thrombosis, was present in COVID-19 cases. Indian-based BOOM also found that respiratory failure rather than thrombosis was the leading cause of COVID-19 deaths with thrombosis of the lungs “a factor that can further complicate the course of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients,” they said.
Full Fact found that antibiotics were not recommended for treatment, as they are effective for bacterial infections only and no specific antiviral has been shown conclusively to be effective against COVID-19. Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen could help treat COVID-19 symptoms at home, and there was evidence to suggest anticoagulants facilitated the treatment of some patients.
EXERCISE
Many are turning to exercise to relieve boredom and stay fit and healthy during the coronavirus restrictions. Some online claims, however, have suggested that exercise may weaken the immune system. One advertisement linking to an article claims that a “window of opportunity” exists in the hours after strenuous exercise which can leave people vulnerable to infection from viruses.
USA Today’s fact-checkers found that the “window of opportunity” theory has been around for decades, supported by at least one study that found “vigorous workouts could have a temporary negative effect on the immune system”. But as to the long-term effects of exercising, several scientific studies suggested regular exercise promotes good health and reduces the risk of infections.
John Campbell, of the University of Bath’s Department of Health, told USA Today that “People should not fear that their immune system will be suppressed by exercise, placing them at increased risk of coronavirus.”
FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.
As the US grapples with soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases and the highest number of deaths in the world, Republicans are blaming former Democratic president Barack Obama for having left the current administration poorly placed to cope with the pandemic.
During an online discussion hosted by President Trump’s re-election campaign, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it may no longer be that pandemics are a once-in-100-year occurrence, and he wanted to be ready for the next one.
“Clearly, the Obama administration did not leave to this administration any kind of game plan for something like this.”
But fact-checkers at the Washington Post, CNN’s Fact First and Politifact found that claim to be false, and that the Obama administration had left behind a 40-page National Security Council “playbook” on fighting pandemics.
“McConnell is wrong to say the Obama administration left “no game plan” to deal with a pandemic,” the Washington Post concluded. “The Obama team crafted a detailed document setting forth questions and policies that should be considered, as well as put in place programs that might have helped spur action sooner.”
Senator McConnell later conceded in a Fox News interview: “I was wrong.”
Things that don’t cure and/or prevent COVID-19
#26: Brown sugar
“There is no official cure for COVID-19 as of May 21, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There are several clinical trials being conducted to test potential cures, but consuming brown sugar is not one of them.” – Rappler
*The facts in this article are derived from the Australian RMIT ABC Fact Check newsletters which in turn draw on their own resources and those of their colleagues within the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), of which RMIT ABC Fact Check is a member.
7 Responses to “COVID-19 Fact and Fiction #10”
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So, even if the purported 5G unit was “a piece of kit that has COV-19 on it”, what, it broadcasts Covid-19 by way of the 5g telephone lines? Sure! Can’t you see those lines all over the place, blotting out the sky, with the virus being pumped through them?
McConnell has no difficulty with lying vigorously, and saying “Sorry,” IF he gets caught. Of course, one can bet that the “Sorry,” does not grab the attention of the sheep in the same way the initial frigging lie does! and do not doubt that he is fully aware of that.
Brown sugar is good for cooking, baking, a Rolling Stones song, and little else. What idiocy! But, then, the purveyors of this sort of misinformation would have a very hard time underestimating their audience!
You just wonder how these idiotic conspiracies originate. Does someone sit around and say, “What’s the DUMBEST thing we can come up with that Trumpkins will still believe?”
They are all like Billy Madison.
It’s amazing, imho, that folks can get caught up with these false attention getting headlines, and take action for what they imply. Plus, not checking and carefully scrutinizing the source(s) and links.
BBMM is an as-, and he doesn’t even need to say anything, because when he opens his mouth, he lies all the time.
Gee, what a shame that brown sugar can’t cure covid? Wouldn’t that be wonderful if it did.
Nameless, your video is priceless, as I say and think what the emcee said, at least 50x’s a day…
Thank you, Lona for your informative and great post!
Thanks Lona. There’s a method to Republican’s madness. If they can fill the international discussion with enough different flavors of bullszhit, folks get inundated to the extent that they no longer know what to believe.
I can tell yu, free for nothing, who started the 5G insanity. Not, unfortunately, the name of the person, not any personal data,, but the exact kind of person. It was a person who has a vested interest in disrupting communication, in order to facilitate the prevalence of false information, and particularly within the United States. Someone like, say, Putin. Or the CEO of a bot factory.
Also, thanks, Lona, for some information on blood clotting. Your post probably goes to the extent of out present actual knowledge of this.
Excellent post, Lona.
Amazes me how these fools come up with all of these off the wall misinformation.fake facts.
Must have nothing better to do with these daily lives. They make me think of the foolish so-called leader we have who only speaks false information each time he opens his mouth.
Appreciate all that you put into this article.
Thanks Lona
Thanks Lona–included a couple I hadn’t run across yet.
Read a research article recently examining the origins of conspiracy theories. One finding was that the origins are of two types: 1. To explain something puzzling or mysterious; and 2. Created for a propaganda purpose like to discredit someone (think pizzagate). I think it probable that you have some of both types in this selection.