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14870 | "After the Texas cutoff of aid to women’s health care services including Planned Parenthood clinics, ""over 150,000… women lost the only health care they had. Our Medicaid birth rate shot up. It cost taxpayers over $130 million in one year alone in extra Medicaid birth costs." | "Davis said that after the Texas cutoff of aid to women’s health services including Planned Parenthood clinics, ""over 150,000… women lost the only health care they had. Our Medicaid birth rate shot up. It cost taxpayers over $130 million in one year alone in extra Medicaid birth costs."" There was about that much of a... | false | Corrections and Updates, Health Care, Public Health, Women, Texas, Wendy Davis, | "Wendy Davis recalled recent Texas history while weighing in on the Republican push to defund Planned Parenthood. In a September 2015 interview on MSNBC’s ""The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,"" the former Texas Democratic gubernatorial nominee and state senator responded to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida telling a Des... |
4950 | Walk-in clinics for opioid addiction offer meds first, fast. | Every time she got out of jail, Jamie Cline started hustling again for heroin, driven by an addiction she didn’t understand. | true | Olympia, AP Top News, Opioids, St. Louis, General News, Health, Seattle, U.S. News | “You want to get clean so bad. You know something’s killing you and you can’t stop,” said the 33-year-old who used heroin for 10 years. This spring was different. While in a jail work-release program, she took a medication called buprenorphine. It quieted a voice in her brain that told her to keep using. When she got o... |
15721 | Half of all Americans have less than $10,000 in their savings account. | Bernie Sanders says half of Americans have less than $10,000 in their savings accounts | true | Families, Income, Pensions, Poverty, Wealth, Texas, Bernie Sanders, | "U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, speaking in Austin, bemoaned widening income differences between the country’s very rich and the rest of us. And in his remarks at a South Austin union hall, the Vermont independent mulling a run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination also warned about American failures to save money... |
2850 | Doctors say pressure on ERs may rise, give U.S. failing grade. | People seeking urgent medical could face longer wait times and other challenges as demand increases under Obamacare, U.S. emergency doctors said in a report on Thursday that gives the nation’s emergency infrastructure a near failing grade. | true | Health News | In its latest “report card,” the American College of Emergency Physicians said such reduced access earned the nation a “D+” — that’s down from the overall “C-“ grade from the group’s last report in 2009. Shortages and reduced hospital capacity make it more difficult to access emergency care, the group said. It also war... |
9108 | New study shows supplementation of capsicum extract helps increase metabolic rate | This news release suggests that supplementing the diet with capsaicinoids, the heat producing chemicals in hot peppers, increases metabolism and therefore weight loss. But it relies too heavily on extrapolation to make the claim that capsaicinoids cause weight and fat loss. The release summarizes a small, short-term st... | false | hot peppers,OmniActive Health Technologies,weight loss | The cost of Capsimax (or products containing the Capsimax proprietary supplement) is not mentioned. The release claims that the supplement would increase a person’s metabolic rate which would be equivalent to burning an additional 116 calories a day. The release further suggests that this could translate into 1 pound o... |
33188 | A 2007 Harvard University study proved that areas with higher rates of gun ownership have lower crime rates. | What's true: Gun rights advocates Gary Mauser and Don Kates jointly authored a 2007 paper in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy arguing that higher rates of gun ownership correlated with lower crime rates. What's false: The paper in question was not peer-reviewed, it didn't constitute a study, and it misreprese... | false | Politics Guns, don kates, gary mauser, harvard gun study | Following the Umpqua Community College shooting in October 2015, an undated article on the web site BeliefNet titled “Harvard University Study Reveals Astonishing Link Between Firearms, Crime and Gun Control” attracted significant traction on social media. The article (split up across six pages) didn’t lead with the na... |
11449 | A No-Cringe Fix? Filling Cavities Without The Drill | The headline proclaims that the featured dental sealant means “Filling Cavities Without the Drill.” But the product is not actually approved to fill cavities, as the manufacturer’s web site puts it, the sealant “cannot be used in cases of advanced decay” and it “is not the same as a traditional filling.” The body of th... | false | Oddly, while the story says this product is cheaper than drilling and filling a cavity… and it includes a comment from an expert saying this product is more expensive than other approaches to preventing cavities, it does not say how much this product costs. The story headline promises “Filling Cavities Without the Dril... | |
27175 | A woman who rinsed her nasal passages using a neti pot filled with tap water contracted a fatal “brain-eating” amoeba infection. | While most Balamuthia GAE cases end in death, people have survived this kind of infection. “Several patients” have recovered after treatment with a combination of powerful antimicrobial drugs, according to the 2013 review. This was the second reported case of a Balamuthia infection in Seattle, according to the Times — ... | true | Medical | On 5 December 2018, the Seattle Times published an article whose terrifying headline ensured its own virality: “Rare brain-eating amoebas killed Seattle woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water. Doctor warns this could happen again.” Sadly for those who visited this page hoping to find that the reporting was exagger... |
3479 | Best Buy sees growth in health care technology for elderly. | The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, known for selling TV sets, cellphones and laptops, is looking to health care as a big source of its future growth. | true | Seniors, Health care industry, Health, General News, Consumer electronics, Business | Best Buy Co. said Wednesday that in five years it hopes to provide 5 million seniors with health monitoring services, which can range from sensors placed throughout a home to a pendant worn around the neck. It currently provides the service to 1 million. It’s part of the chain’s deeper push into the $3.5 trillion U.S. ... |
1559 | Moonlight sonata: fish's nocturnal 'singing' secrets revealed. | In one of the marvels of nature, males of a fish species called the plainfin midshipman that dwells in Pacific coastal waters from Alaska to Baja California court females during breeding season using a nocturnal “love song” with an otherworldly sound. | true | Science News | Scientists have wondered what makes these fish sing only at night. A study published on Thursday provides the answer. Laboratory experiments showed that the fish’s vocalization, a low-frequency hum like a foghorn, is controlled by a light-driven internal clock and the hormone melatonin, known to govern sleep and wake c... |
26064 | COVID-19 cases are “up only because of our big number testing.” | If increased testing were the only reason for a surge in new cases, the percentage of positive tests should be dropping or at least remaining about the same. That pattern did occur from early April to early June, a period when the availability of testing expanded significantly. However, that’s no longer the case. Since... | false | Public Health, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, | "President Donald Trump’s explanation for rising counts of U.S. coronavirus cases is that we’re testing more people for the virus. On June 23, Trump tweeted, ""Cases up only because of our big number testing. Mortality rate way down!!!"" Cases up only because of our big number testing. Mortality rate way down!!! https:... |
10565 | Unlocking Puzzles Inside The Brain: ADHD | "Brain imaging for neurological disorders is an exciting, fast-moving and very promising area of research. This segment (and a companion piece aired the day before on autism) reports on clinical application of MRIs and EEGs by a well qualified neurologist. Dr. Fernando Miranda’s clinical work puts him at the forefront ... | false | The segment does not report the costs of the diagnostic procedures or recommended treatments. It also does not report whether these costs are usually covered by insurance. The segment does not make an attempt to quantify the benefits of diagnosis or subsequent treatment. It provides only anecdotes illustrating benefit.... | |
25761 | Susan Collins Says Sara Gideon’s husband’s law firm “took up to $2 million” from the same federal program she “falsely” attacked Susan Collins over. | Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent in Maine, faces Democrat Sara Gideon in the Nov. 3 election, which could help determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate. The law firm that employs Gideon’s husband received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of between $1 million and $2 million. Gideon attacked Col... | mixture | Campaign Finance, Federal Budget, Coronavirus, Susan Collins, | "Susan Collins, viewed as among the most vulnerable U.S. senators up for reelection Nov. 3, says her opponent is guilty of hypocrisy in connection with the federal Payment Protection Program response to COVID-19. The Maine Repubican’s challenger is Democrat Sara Gideon. Gideon’s husband’s law firm ""took up to $2 milli... |
11302 | Cutting chronic pain without pills | "This broadcast news segment reports on transdermal direct current stimulation (TDCS) as a potential treatment for chronic pain. It makes clear that the trials are continuing and that the possibly encouraging results are preliminary. It also acknowledges that the mechanism by which pain relief occurs remains unknown. T... | mixture | "The reporter says ""That’s the hope…whatever the cost."" No cost was discussed. Granted, this is early research on an experimental approach. But it was given network news time. Our rule of thumb is: if it’s not too early to project possible benefits, it’s not too early to project possible costs. If the story can use ... | |
30075 | George Soros is funding the distribution of prepaid MasterCard debit cards to refugees through the U.N. | The UNCHR has been involved with a program to provide cash to refugees via debit cards to help meet immediate needs, and George Soros has been involved with a program to assist migrants in partnership with MasterCard, but Soros is not funding the distribution of MasterCard debit cards to refugees via the United Nations... | false | Politics, george soros | In November 2018, various conspiracy-pushing web sites glommed onto a dubious post emanating from Europe to gin up hysteria about both refugees and the United Nations. The original story, published on the right-wing Slovenian website Nova24TV, “revealed” that immigrants were spotted in Bosnia and Herzegovina using Mast... |
4886 | California overhauls sex education guidance for teachers. | California has overhauled its sex education guidance for public school teachers, encouraging them to talk about gender identity with kindergartners and give advice to LGBT teenagers for navigating relationships and having safe sex. | true | Relationships, Parental rights, Safe sex, Health education, Health, Sacramento, Gender identity, California, Sex education, Education | LGBT advocates praised the new recommendations for giving attention to a community that is often left out of sex education policies. But some parents and conservative groups assailed the more than 700-page document as an assault on parental rights, arguing it exposes children to ideas about sexuality and gender that sh... |
9850 | Gene Therapy Corrected Rare Bleeding Disorder: Study | This story relayed the findings of a very preliminary study on a new treatment for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome — a rare genetic disorder that leads to serious immune system deficiencies and problems with blood clotting. While the story did convey some caution about the early stage of this research and the potential for ma... | true | HealthDay | We think it’s too early to guess at what any therapy based on this technique would cost, so we won’t flag the story for not mentioning costs. The story says that the therapy resulted in “increased platelet counts” and “improvement of some immune-system cells.” The story should have provided quantitative data and tried ... |
8283 | Coronavirus travel: national advice not all of a piece. | Should travelers avoid parts of the world near coronavirus hotspots? Or go - but then tread carefully? The official advice they receive may depend on whether they live in Amsterdam, Helsinki, Madrid or Lagos. | true | Health News | As the new coronavirus spreads from China, travel guidelines being issued by governments across the world all express notes of growing caution. But they contain subtle differences on where to avoid, how to behave and what to do after a trip. With few exceptions, the prevailing advice of national authorities is to avoid... |
7510 | In virus outbreak, fretting over a name that might go viral. | West Nile virus, Lyme disease, Ebola virus. | true | AP Top News, Health, General News, Flu, Lyme disease, International News, China, New York, Asia Pacific, Virus Outbreak, Ebola virus, U.S. News | And now: 2019-nCoV? “Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?” said Trevor Hoppe, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who has studied the history of disease names. The name, which stands for 2019 novel coronavirus, has been assigned to the virus behind the outbreak of flu-like illnesses that s... |
35734 | Bob and Nancy Strait, an eldery Tulsa, Oklahoma, couple, were beaten and robbed in their home by Tyrone Woodfork. | Tulsa police located the couple’s stolen car in the 5700 block of East Easton Street. An alert driver on 4th and Yale called police when he saw the Plymouth Neon. He followed it to the neighborhood. That’s when more than a dozen police cars stopped the driver. | mixture | Politics | In July 2020, social media users began circulating a meme about “black kid named Tyrone Woodfork” who “severely beat an elderly couple, a Mr. & Mrs. Strait, who had been married for 65 years”, along with the claim that “no national media carried the story” of the crime: Tulsa, Oklahoma… a black kid named Tyrone Woodf... |
9877 | Drink wine, don’t get sunburned | If you’ve been following this site long enough, you can do this review yourself. We only need to show you the lead paragraph: “Important health tip for the summer: Drink more wine! A better protection against harmful sunburns might be a healthy dose of SPF sauvignon blanc, suggests a new Spanish study.” How do you th... | false | MSNBC,skin cancer/sun protection | Costs weren’t mentioned. That’s the least of our issues with this story. We’ll rule it Not Applicable. We’re not told the degree of protection, the success rate of the experiment – nothing about the scope of perceived “benefit” or success. Yet the story boldly proclaims: “Important health tip for the summer: Drink more... |
37460 | Angry emails have gone viral alleging that California Senator Dianne Feinstein, in a appeal for more gun control, made a comment calling all veterans mentally ill. | "Senator Feinstein Said That ""All Vets Are Mentally Ill""" | false | Military, Politics | On March 7, 2013 Senator Feinstein addressed a Senate Judiciary Committee about the need for stricter gun control, noting the rise in cases of post traumatic stress disorder from the war in Iraq and saying, “that a veteran may be mentally ill and should be prevented from purchasing firearms.” This according to a Ma... |
10063 | Kids & Vitamin D: New recommendation: Double the dose | The American College of Pediatrics announced new guildelines doubling the amount of vitamin D recommended for infants, children and adolescents. The new guidelines state that all children should receive 400 IU* per day of vitamin D beginning from the first few days of life to prevent and treat rickets. These guidelines... | true | The story does not provide the cost of vitamin D supplements. It would have been helpful to mention the amount of vitamin D provided in vitamin supplements that children might already be taking. Most consumers are aware of the costs of other sources: milk, fortified cereal, and fish, thus, these did not need to be ment... | |
11963 | On NFL players protesting during the national anthem. | "Walker initially didn’t tell NFL players what they should do, but he did note the right to protest. Less than a month later, he said: ""It is time for players in the NFL to stop their protests during the anthem,"" and he asked the players to stand during the pre-game playing of the anthem. Then Walker went further, sa... | mixture | Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Patriotism, Sports, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, | "Responding to the controversy over NFL players kneeling or sitting during the national anthem, Green Bay Packers players issued a statement saying the ""NFL family is one of the most diverse communities in the world."" We found mixed evidence on that claim. The next day, on Sept. 27, 2017, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ... |
10505 | Drug may cut menopause after breast cancer chemo | This brief article focuses on a treatment that attempts to preserve fertility for young (under 40) breast cancer survivors. It does a good job of describing the potential benefits but leaves gaps in explaining some of the potential limitations and side effects, in particular the failure to mention the potential advers... | mixture | Cancer,CNN,women's health | Costs of the treatment are not mentioned in the article; rather, the costliness of an alternative, storing eggs prior to treatment, is emphasized. The primary benefit from the described approach to loss of fertility in women of child-bearing age with early-stage breast cancer was described as a lowered rate of early me... |
37414 | Any history of antidepressant use disqualifies a person from the military and/or the draft. | Does Using Antidepressants Disqualify You from a Military Draft? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | After a January 3 2020 United States-led strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad, Iraq, speculation flew about impending war, eventually turning into rumors about an American military draft.On the day Suleimani was killed, news organizations addressed the possibility of war with Iran:A deadly openin... |
11833 | "Eddie Rodriguez Says that ""perpetrators of domestic violence accounted for 54% of mass shootings between 2009 and 2016, according to the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety." | "Rodriguez wrote that according to an Everytown study, ""perpetrators of domestic violence accounted for 54% of mass shootings between 2009 and 2016."" Rodriguez’s statement incorrectly suggests that domestic violence was a precursor to 54 percent of mass shootings. The research he cited did not confirm as much. Rather... | false | Crime, Texas, Eddie Rodriguez, | "An Austin legislator’s imperfect citation of a study led us to gauge whether domestic violence can reasonably be considered a predictor of mass shootings. Answer: No. In a Nov. 9, 2017, email blast to constituents, Democratic state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez noted that the shooter at the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas,... |
11054 | Acupuncture, real or fake, called best for lower back pain | This article reports on the largest randomized controlled trial to date investigating the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating chronic low back pain. It explains that both acupuncture and sham needling are more effective than conventional medical therapies, but that “fake acupuncture works nearly as well as the re... | true | The article states that acupuncture costs $45 to $100 per session. It does not say how this compares to other treatments and whether the cost of care is the same, more or less than alternatives. The story states the proportion of patients who successfully responded to each therapy, and clearly explains that “real” acup... | |
33457 | Fruit must be eaten on an empty stomach in order for the body to absorb it properly. | Must fruit be eaten on an empty stomach in order for the body to absorb it properly? | false | Food, ASP Article, food warnings, fruit | The item quoted below, typically titled “The Correct Way of Eating Fruits,” has been circulating on the Internet since August 2001. It was written in 1998 by Devagi Sanmugam, a chef and culinary writer who lives in Singapore: EATING FRUIT We all think eating fruits means just buying fruits, cutting it and just popping ... |
4836 | Brazil’s environmental workers tell of decline before fires. | As fires burn across the Brazilian Amazon, the vast state of Amazonas has been among the hardest hit, with more than 6,600 blazes recorded in August, 2 1/2 times more than the same month a year ago. | true | Brazil, Deforestation, Caribbean, Rio de Janeiro, International News, General News, Forests, Latin America, Environment | Yet official documents seen by The Associated Press show that Brazil’s government has begun legal procedures to transfer all employees out of three of the state’s four federal environmental protection offices, which are in charge of defending the rainforest from deforestation, land grabbing and illegal fires. It’s part... |
11311 | Virtual reality to help detect early risk of Alzheimer’s | Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann on Thursday batted back calls for the European Central Bank to take a bigger role in protecting the environment, saying it was up to governments and not the ECB to fight climate change. | false | The Guardian | “Monetary policy that explicitly pursues environmental goals runs the risk of being overburdened,” Weidmann said in Berlin. “Politicians with democratic legitimacy must decide how society should combat climate change and they must also bear the responsibility this.” New ECB president Christine Lagarde has promised to ... |
26945 | Viral image Says the coronavirus isn’t new because “Lysol has it listed as one of the viruses that it kills.” | There are seven kinds of coronaviruses that can infect humans and some of the viruses are common. The strain of coronavirus spreading from Wuhan, China, is categorized as the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Lysol says some of its surface cleaning products, including its disinfectant spray, have been effective again... | false | Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Viral image, | "Many social media users are sharing posts that suggest health officials are lying when they claim ignorance about the recent coronavirus outbreak, such as this one from Jan. 31. ""Don’t fall for the B.S. they claim the Coronavirus is new… But regular over the counter Lysol has it listed as one of the viruses that it k... |
4615 | U of Illinois at Chicago gets $12M for Hispanic health study. | The University of Illinois at Chicago is getting $12 million from the National Institute of Health to continue taking part in a national study of health issues facing Hispanics. | true | Race and ethnicity, Hispanics, Health, Chicago, Illinois, University of Illinois, United States | UIC says in a news release that the money will allow it to continue to serve as the Chicago field office for a study that began in 2008 with the collection of health information from thousands of Hispanics around the United States. The release says participants who have been examined and filled out questionnaires have ... |
10839 | Benefit of mammograms even greater than thought | This story reports on the results of a long-term Swedish study showing that 29 years after their first mammogram, women who were invited to get routine screening had a significant reduction in breast cancer mortality compared to those who received usual care. This story failed to meet many of our criteria. For instance... | false | Reuters Health,women's health | This story did not mention the cost or insurance coverage for mammograms, though it did allude to the expense of having additional biopsies and tests to distinguish between a cancerous and noncancerous lesion found via screening. The story reports the percentage difference in death rates, without including absolute nu... |
8323 | AstraZeneca to test impact of cancer drug Calquence on coronavirus patients. | AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) said on Tuesday it would start a clinical trial of its cancer drug Calquence to assess its potential to control the exaggerated immune system response associated with COVID-19 infection in severely ill patients. | true | Health News | Calquence (acalabrutinib) belongs to a class of drugs called Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors which can suppress autoimmune diseases. The drug, which is currently used to treat certain types of blood cancers, has already been approved for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in th... |
30714 | "The ""radiation"" from cell phones is causing mass insanity resulting in ""snowflake"" people." | In recent days Adams has taken time out from his apparent mission of bringing life expectancy back to Dark Age-levels to hawk anti-LGBT hate, fretting in an 8 January 2018 post that the “LGBT mafia” was “indoctrinating” children because primary school textbooks in California now include include the contributions of LGB... | false | Medical, cell phone warnings, cell phones, electronic magnetic pulse | On 15 December 2017, junk science site NaturalNews.com published a screed comparing cell phone use to “Big Tobacco” and arguing the devices should be banned because the radiation they emit is making people insane. The post, written by repeat offender Mike Adams, manages to entwine bigotry and quackery by claiming cell ... |
7800 | McDonald's in U.S., Canada to use only cage-free eggs by 2025. | McDonald’s Corp’s 16,000 U.S. and Canadian restaurants will serve only eggs laid by cage-free chickens within 10 years, the company said on Wednesday. | true | Health News | McDonald’s USA has been buying more than 13 million cage-free eggs annually since 2011. The long-awaited switch is happening as North American egg suppliers are slowly starting to rebuild flocks after the worst bird flu outbreak in U.S. history. The move comes as McDonald’s, the world’s biggest restaurant chain, is pre... |
305 | Crystal meth and crowded jails: problems mount in Iraqi oil city. | The southern Iraqi city of Basra is struggling to cope with a growing drug problem that has overcrowded prisons and strained police resources, only months after violent protests over poor municipal services. | true | Health News | Basra’s prison system is clogged up and creaking. On a recent day in one police station, Reuters reporters saw about 150 men, their heads shaved, squatting in two small, cramped holding cells. Arrests of drug users and dealers have shot up in the past year, further stretching prison services and police in a sign that... |
39753 | Online marketers guarantee that the Quantum Vision System can give its users 20/20 vision in less than seven days. | Quantum Vision System Guarantees Improved Eye Vision-Reported to be Fiction! | false | 9/11 Attack on America | "The Quantum Vision System appears to be a scam. The Quantum Vision System uses deceptive online marketing and a fictional medical professional to dupe people into purchasing an unexplained “system” that will supposedly give them 20/20 vision in less than a week without surgery. A marketing video that was sh... |
17462 | The minimum wage is mostly an entry-level wage for young people. | "McConnell said ""the minimum wage is mostly an entry-level wage for young people."" The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that indeed half of all workers making a minimum wage are 16 to 24, and another 20 percent are in their late 20s or early 30s. That’s a large chunk of the minimum wage workforce, though about 30 per... | true | National, Income, Mitch McConnell, | "President Barack Obama is expected to take another stab at raising the minimum wage when he delivers his State of the Union speech this week. But Republicans appear ready to stymie that proposal once again. The topic came up Jan. 26, 2014, on Fox News Sunday during a discussion between host Chris Wallace and Senate Mi... |
2143 | Hour of exercise may be too much for busy U.S. women. | Healthy middle-aged women in America will be hard pressed to get in the full hour of moderate exercise it will take to avoid gaining weight as they age, and it may be too challenging for some. | true | Health News | People participate in a YogaWorks class in Santa Monica, California in this handout picture taken early 2009. REUTERS/Handout A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday found that middle-aged women need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the ... |
31401 | If the vial to a mercury-containing vaccine is broken, the building must be evacuated. | We rank this aspect of the claim as false, as the CDC itself disputes the characterization of its own document when used to make the argument and because Mr. Kennedy’s claims rest on comparing two things of completely different scales without providing any relevant context. | false | Medical, anti-vaccine, Centers for Disease Control, mercury | Historically, some vaccines and other injections have contained a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. An early and scientifically unsubstantiated anti-vaccine talking talking point includes the claim that the compound’s presence in childhood vaccines is responsible for an increase in autism rates. The fact th... |
33244 | Wearing certain types of sanitary pads causes uterine and bladder cancer and has resulted in the death of 56 girls. | It is true that synthetic materials of the types used in some high-absorbency feminine sanitary products can trap heat and dampness, which may promote the growth of yeast and bacteria and (in rare cases) create the potential for toxic shock syndrome, but that issue is associated with the use of tampons rather than sani... | false | Medical, menstrual periods, Toxin Du Jour | This warning about the dangers of women wearing various brands of absorbent sanitary pads for more than five hours per day was circulated widely on the Internet in September 2013: Examples: [Collected via e-mail, September 2013] Attention Sisters!! !FORWARD AS U RECEIVE: 56 girls died because of using whisper, stayfree... |
6163 | Bird flu hot spot: Scientists track virus in huge migration. | Huge flocks of famished birds scour the sands of Delaware Bay for the tiny greenish eggs an army of horseshoe crabs lays every spring. | true | AP Top News, Health, South America, Delaware, Flu, North America, Bird flu, Pandemics, U.S. News, Science | It’s a marvel of ecology as shorebirds migrating from South America to the Arctic time a stop critical to their survival to this mass crab spawning. It’s also one of the world’s hot spots for bird flu — a bonanza for scientists seeking clues about how influenza evolves so they just might better protect people. “Eventua... |
11365 | Study: Simple blood test can detect evidence of concussions up to a week after injury | A study of about 600 patients at a non-profit Orlando hospital group showed that two markers in the blood of patients who had blows to the head could predict whether they had suffered head injuries. The news release about the study, published in JAMA Neurology, drew immediate widespread press coverage, including storie... | mixture | Diagnostic tests,Hospital news release,Screening tests | We were glad to see a very brief mention in the release that if the biomarker research is confirmed in larger studies, it might someday replace what the release calls “expensive” CT scans used in emergency rooms to try to diagnose concussion. But there is a tacit assumption that the biomarker would replace the use of C... |
30499 | A trail cam in Alabama snapped a photograph of an unknown creature's horrifying feet in March 2018. | We're not certain where a photograph of a pair of monstrous claws comes from, but it certainly wasn't taken in Alabama in 2018. | false | Fauxtography, werewolf | A somewhat disturbing image of an unknown animal’s feet has been circulating online for several years, alongside a variety of claims about its origins. In March 2018, the photograph was re-purposed and shared as if the creature whose prints it captured had been spotted recently on a game trail in Cleburne County, Alaba... |
36075 | "The University of Oxford banned clapping because it makes ""snowflakes"" anxious." | ‘University of Oxford Clapping Ban’ Rumor | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | In October 2019, a number of tabloids claimed that the University of Oxford had “banned clapping,” a move made at the behest of “snowflakes” made “anxious” by applause.The Daily Mail was one of those outlets, reporting:Snowflake students at Oxford University are latest to demand clapping is banned because applause nois... |
8255 | Top epidemiologist: UK had no time to lose on coronavirus battle. | One of Britain’s top epidemiologists said on Tuesday that the British government got the timing of its coronavirus strategy about right but that there was no time to lose on moving to more stringent measures. | true | Health News | “The measures which have just been taken, the earliest we’d expect to see an effect on the growth of the epidemic is about two to three weeks time,” said Professor Neil Ferguson, an expert on the spread of infectious diseases at Imperial College London. “I think we’re still behind the epidemic seen in other European co... |
13388 | "Dana Young Says she ""voted for a statewide fracking ban." | "A mailer from Young says she ""voted for a statewide ban on fracking."" That vote is in reference to HB 191, which would have set up a temporary moratorium on fracking in anticipation of future regulations. The bill would have authorized a study on which to base further regulation. It was not an outright ban on fracki... | mixture | Environment, Corrections and Updates, Florida, Dana Young, | "In an attempt to position herself as a more environmentally-friendly candidate, state Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, has sent mailers touting her vote for a recent bill targeting fracking. The effects of the legislation Young voted for are not as clear cut as the claim Young makes. A third-party group supporting Young, who... |
35880 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised parents to prepare for a “sudden sleepover” in the event of an emergency, which included COVID-19 outbreaks in schools. | What's true: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered recommendations to parents and guardians in advance of the 2020 academic year, which included advice to prepare for a “sudden sleepover” in the event of an unexpected emergency or natural disaster. What's false: Health officials did not specify that st... | mixture | Politics Medical, COVID-19 | As some schools reopened in fall 2020 following nationwide closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a rumor circulated that health officials had recommended parents and guardians plan for a possible “sudden sleepover” at school in the event of an emergency or natural disaster, which could include COVID-19. Snopes... |
4017 | Nearly 50,000 students unvaccinated in Wisconsin. | Health officials say nearly 50,000 children in Wisconsin have vaccination waivers as the school year gets underway, leaving them vulnerable to measles at a time when the number of cases has grown exponentially across the country. | true | Immunizations, Health, Measles, General News, Wisconsin | The Journal Sentinel says figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 1,215 cases of measles this year across the nation, the highest number since 1992. Wisconsin health officials have investigated 382 suspected measles cases since last November and not one case has been confirmed. Immunization rat... |
17572 | "Federal law for Obamacare navigators ""does not bar — or even require screening for — convicted felons, including individuals convicted of identity theft or fraud." | "Sessions said federal law related to Obamacare navigators ""does not bar—or even require screening for—convicted felons, including individuals convicted of identity theft or fraud."" That’s correct, but this claim is missing important meaningful information. For instance, it fails to note that the federal government h... | mixture | Criminal Justice, Health Care, Crime, Texas, Pete Sessions, | "A Dallas congressman charged the Obamacare law with failing to bar convicts from helping Americans shop for health coverage. In an oped article written with Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Republican Pete Sessions suggested the patient ""navigators"" authorized by the Affordable Care Act could include individuals experie... |
28566 | Photographs shows dozens of bomb-sniffing dogs killed by a security company in Kuwait. | What's true: A series of photographs show dozens of dead dogs that were killed in Kuwait. What's undetermined: The reason why the dogs were killed and who was ultimately responsible for their deaths is unknown. | mixture | Fauxtography, kuwait | In June 2016, a series of photographs purportedly showing dozens of dead bomb-sniffing dogs circulated on social media, along with the claim that the animals were killed by Eastern Securities after their contract with the Kuwait National Petroleum Company was cancelled: Eastern Securities or E Sec was awarded a contrac... |
36623 | "A scientist called ""China's Frankenstein"" because he claims he created the first ""gene-edited babies"" has gone missing." | Has a Scientist Who Claimed He Created the First ‘Gene-Edited Babies’ Disappeared? | unproven | Fact Checks, Medical, Viral Content | In November 2018, a scientist from China named He Jankui appeared to have ushered in a new era in humanity — and re-ignited an already heated international conversation about the ethics of editing genes to make “designer babies” — by announcing that he had successfully used gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to modify the D... |
5673 | 2 Ebola patients in Congo “cured” with drugs, say doctors. | Two Ebola patients who were treated with new drugs in the city of Goma in eastern Congo have been declared “cured” and returned to their home. | true | Africa, Health, General News, Ebola virus, International News | Top doctors fighting Ebola quickly used the case on Tuesday to press the message that people can recover from the potentially deadly disease if they seek proper care. Ebola is dangerous but it is also curable with correct treatment, said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Re... |
8848 | U.S. reviewing safety of Glaxo, Bristol AIDS drugs. | U.S. health officials are reviewing the safety of AIDS drugs sold by GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N) after a study showed a higher heart-attack risk compared with other HIV medicines, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. | true | Health News | The FDA said it was still evaluating the data on Glaxo’s Ziagen and Bristol-Myers’ Videx, and that the review “may result in the need to revise labeling for the products.” “Until this evaluation is complete, health-care providers should evaluate the potential risks and benefits” of each HIV drug their patients are t... |
9547 | Mail-Order Tests Check Cells for Signs of Early Aging | Boeing Co’s (BA.N) Starliner astronaut spacecraft made a “bull’s-eye” landing in the New Mexico desert on Sunday, a successful ending to a crewless test mission that two days earlier failed to reach the orbit needed to dock with the International Space Station. | mixture | telomere test | The 7:58 a.m. ET (1258 GMT) landing at the White Sands desert capped a turbulent 48 hours for Boeing’s botched milestone test of an astronaut capsule that is designed to help NASA regain its human spaceflight capabilities. A software problem on Friday caused the capsule to fail to attain the orbit needed to rendezvous ... |
7212 | Lawmakers, first responders sound alarm on 9/11 fund. | More than 17 years after the 9/11 attacks, first responders and their advocates were back at the Capitol Monday urging Congress to ensure that a victims’ compensation fund does not run out of money. | true | Health, Politics, North America, Business, Sept 11 anniversary, Jon Stewart | Members of the New York delegation, joined by first responders, survivors and family members, lamented an announcement by the Justice Department that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is running low on money and future payments may be cut by up to 70 percent. Comedian Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for 9/11... |
33524 | A video clip shows a man being struck by lightning twice. | A video clip purportedly shows a man being struck by lightning two times in quick succession. | false | Fauxtography, accidents | A video clip in circulation online since 2011, appears to be security camera footage recorded during a storm in which a pedestrian is struck by a bolt of lightning, lies on the ground dazed or unconscious for about a minute, gets up and continues walking (while rubbing his presumably aching head), is promptly struck do... |
31421 | Criminals are marking homes with bags tied to trees or colored stickers in order to steal dogs for use in dogfighting events. | Yet again, the warning to dog owners was shared tens of thousands of times. We contacted the Dallastown Police Department in Dallastown, Pennsylvania in an attempt to confirm that police validated the user’s concerns about bags in trees and dog theft. An employee with whom we spoke denied they received any reports of d... | false | Crime, bag in tree dog warning, crime warnings, dell schanze | Warnings about dog-snatchers tagging homes with colored stickers to facilitate the stealing of canines for use in dogfighting events were originally circulated in the suburbs of Perth, Australia, in February 2013 before being relocated to a UK setting the following month: Any dog owners beware, leaflet droppers or anyo... |
37780 | There's a garden in England dedicated entirely to plants that are deadly and can kill you. It's the most dangerous garden in the world. It holds over 100 killers [such as hemlock], strychnine, and nightshade. | Is There a Garden in England Dedicated Solely to Deadly Plants Called the ‘Poison Garden’? | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On June 21 2020, the Facebook page “The Runic Witch” shared the following meme, which described a garden in England “dedicated entirely to plants that … can kill you”:At the bottom of the meme was a photograph of a black gate, the archway of which read “The Poison Garden.” Both doors featured a skull and crossbones sym... |
28334 | A half dozen Trump-related entities were under criminal investigation in December 2018. | A spokesperson for the New York Attorney General’s Office told us that “As a matter of policy we do not confirm criminal investigations.” Neither the IRS nor the New York State Office of Tax Enforcement responded to our inquiries as to whether either body had initiated a criminal investigation against the Trump Foundat... | mixture | Politics, donald trump, russia investigation | President Donald Trump and several of his associates faced mounting legal and political jeopardy in the final days and weeks of 2018. On 12 December, for example, Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and campaign-finance violations related to his involvemen... |
13317 | Of course, there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. | "Trump said, ""Of course, there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day."" Actual instances of voter fraud — such as voter impersonation, ballot stuffing and bought votes — are extremely rare, often unintentional and not on a scale large enough to affect a national election. Trump's alarming cl... | false | National, Corrections and Updates, Elections, Donald Trump, | "Donald Trump tripled down on his baseless claim that the U.S. election system is rigged against him, capping a weekend of lashing out at the media for publishing ""fabricated"" allegations of sexual assault and at Alec Baldwin for impersonating Trump on Saturday Night Live. House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican... |
11094 | Drug That Stops Bleeding Could Save Lives | The story also should have done more to examine whether the results of this international study are applicable to patients in the United States and other Western countries. Bleeding from trauma represents a significant cause of death espeicially in developing countries. So, the availability of an inexpensive and easy t... | true | "The story notes that TXA is cheap, but we wish it had put a dollar amount on it the way competing coverage did. The cost of the medication was cited in the press release put out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and could easily have been included. ""Cheap"" is relative. And, pertinent to this issu... | |
97 | Climate change activists target BlackRock in London. | Climate activists targeted BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, in London on Monday, demanding that major financial institutions starve fossil fuel companies of the money they need to build new mines, wells and pipelines. | true | Environment | Extinction Rebellion, which uses civil disobedience to highlight the risks posed by climate change and the accelerating loss of plant and animal species, is midway through a new two-week wave of actions in cities around the world. Activists thronged the financial heart of London on Monday, unfurling banners, addressing... |
2806 | Covidien to stop selling hypertension device. | Covidien Plc said it would stop making a device for treating high blood pressure due to weak demand for the product, raising more doubts about the future of the novel technology. | true | Health News | The decision comes less than two weeks after Medtronic Inc said it was halting clinical trials for its high blood pressure device after the treatment, known as renal denervation, failed to prove effective in a key U.S. study. Medtronic’s move surprised many observers. The devices, which are not available in the United ... |
297 | GSK pharma head flags need for speed in high-pressure drug market. | Doing things one at a time in drug development is not a luxury that GlaxoSmithKline can afford any longer, the head of pharmaceuticals at Britain’s largest drugmaker told Reuters. | true | Health News | Luke Miels, who joined GSK in September 2017 after a contract dispute with his former employer AstraZeneca, said picking the most promising projects and developing them quickly now takes precedence over spreading the risk of failure. “In the past, 10 programs were chosen, a budget for eight was allocated. Usually what ... |
3454 | Immigrant still hospitalized in Iowa, 18 months after crash. | An African man who was trying to build a new life in Cedar Rapids has spent the past 18 months at an Iowa City hospital, recovering from a traffic accident that killed two fellow immigrants. | true | Iowa, Health, General News, Immigration, Iowa City, Africa, Cedar Rapids, Jean, Accidents, Injuries | Jean-Claude Shako suffered head and other injuries in the June 25, 2018, collision while he and four other immigrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo were headed to work at a meatpacking plant in Tama. The collision with a construction vehicle also injured both drivers and a fifth person in the car carrying Shako... |
266 | Cuadrilla to restart fracking at British site. | British shale gas company Cuadrilla said on Thursday it would restart fracking at its Preston New Road site in Britain in the third quarter of 2019 and plans to use a thicker fracking fluid to help reduce earth tremors. | true | Environment | Fracking, or hydraulically fracturing, involves extracting gas from rocks by breaking them up with water and chemicals at high pressure. Operations at the first well at the Preston New road site in Lancashire where halted several times last year because of minor seismic events. British regulations demand work be suspen... |
4913 | Outgoing US Interior secretary defends legacy as he leaves. | As former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke exits Washington chased by ethics investigations and criticism of his actions favoring industry, he told The Associated Press he’s lived up to the conservation ideals of Theodore Roosevelt and insisted the myriad allegations against him will be proven untrue. | true | Cabinets, Politics, North America, Environment, AP Top News, Ryan Zinke, Montana, Billings, U.S. News, Donald Trump | The former Montana congressman also said he quit President Donald Trump’s cabinet on his own terms, despite indications he was pressured by the White House to resign effective Wednesday. During almost two years overseeing an agency responsible for managing 500 million acres of public lands, Zinke’s broad rollbacks of r... |
2749 | We can't beat cancer with drugs alone; prevention crucial: WHO. | Governments must make better use of vaccines and preventative public health policies in the fight against cancer as treatment alone cannot stem the disease, a World Health Organization (WHO) agency said on Monday. | true | Health News | The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said cancer was growing “at an alarming pace” worldwide and new strategies were needed to curb the sometimes fatal and often costly disease. “It’s untenable to think we can treat our way out of the cancer problem. That alone will not be a sufficient response,... |
4492 | Puerto Rico struggles with jump in asthma cases post-Maria. | Shortly after he turned 2, Yadriel Hernandez started struggling to breathe. His doctor prescribed an inhaler and an allergy pill for asthma, and his symptoms were mostly under control. | true | AP Top News, Asthma, Health, San Juan, Latin America, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Hurricanes, Hurricane Maria, U.S. News | Then Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, strewing mold-producing wreckage across the island and forcing many to use fume-spewing generators for power. The boy, now 8, started having twice-monthly attacks and needing nearly four times the amount of medicine he used to take. His mother said weekly power outages in th... |
11424 | Study finds overuse of implanted defibrillators | This story about a study on the overuse of implanted defibrillators packs in more information than many competing stories and hits nearly all of our marks, giving readers good context and a clear understanding of the study and its implications. We would have liked to have seen a bit more background information on the r... | true | Devices,Los Angeles Times | Both stories we reviewed discussed costs, but the LA Times provided more details. “They can be lifesaving in appropriate patients. The devices cost $20,000 to $30,000, and normal hospitalization expenses can bring the total cost to $40,000 or more.” A bit more information would have provided a more complete picture. Wh... |
7839 | "Nobel for quantum ""parlor trick"" that could make super computers." | A French and an American scientist won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for finding ways to measure quantum particles without destroying them, which could make it possible to build a new kind of computer far more powerful than any seen before. | true | Science News | Serge Haroche of France and American David Wineland, both 68, found ways to manipulate the very smallest particles of matter and light to observe strange behavior that previously could only be imagined in equations and thought experiments. Wineland once described his own work as a “parlor trick” that performed the seem... |
27917 | PING provides wounded veterans with free lessons and golf clubs. | Does Ping provide wounded veterans with free lessons and golf clubs? | true | Politics | Example: [Collected via e-mail, May 2011] I don’t know who wrote the article, but have a friend who is a pro golfer. He confirmed that Ping indeed does do this. What a great gesture… and they don’t even use it as a promo gimmick. Now that’s class. This isn’t a joke or cartoon; just something interesting to know… you ... |
3645 | Scientists successfully clone monkeys; are humans up next?. | For the first time, researchers have used the cloning technique that produced Dolly the sheep to create healthy monkeys, bringing science an important step closer to being able to do the same with humans. | true | Sheep, Health, Science, Primates, Monkeys, Cloning | Since Dolly’s birth in 1996, scientists have cloned nearly two dozen kinds of mammals, including dogs, cats, pigs, cows and polo ponies, and have also created human embryos with this method. But until now, they have been unable to make babies this way in primates, the category that includes monkeys, apes and people. “T... |
36865 | After Hillary Clinton condemned Mylan, the maker of EpiPens, for increasing prices of the life-saving devices by 400 percent since 2008, allegations that the price hikes were tied to Mylan’s Clinton Foundation donations went viral. | EpiPen Maker Donated to Clinton Foundation, Hiked Prices | mixture | Health / Medical, Politics | The Clinton Foundation once partnered Mylan, but the partnership didn’t have anything to do with EpiPens. First, we’ll provide a little context. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch came under fire in August 2016 over her company increasing the price of EpiPens by 400 percent since 2008. Hillary Clinton quickly condemned Mylan’s p... |
35249 | Medicare is paying hospitals $13,000 for patients admitted with COVID-19 diagnoses and $39,000 if those patients are placed on ventilators. | What's true: It is plausible that Medicare is paying hospital fees for some COVID-19 cases in the range of the figures given by Dr. Scott Jensen, a Minnesota state senator, during a Fox News interview. What's false: However, Medicare says it does not make standard, one-size-fits-all payments to hospitals for patients a... | mixture | Politics, COVID-19 | In mid-April 2020, social media users shared a meme implying that hospitals had a financial incentive to inflate the number of COVID-19 patients they were admitting in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. The meme contained red text that said, “So, hospitals get an extra $13,000 if they diagn... |
4815 | The way you speak now was shaped by what your ancestors ate. | The way most of us speak today is shaped in part by how long ago our ancestors gave up chewing tough, raw meat. | true | Science, Language, North America | It’s widely known that languages evolve as societies develop and change, but the sounds we utter are also shaped, literally, by the placement of our jaw — and that is influenced by how we chew our food, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science. Language study often focuses on cultural factors, “but our work s... |
12544 | "Robert Pittenger Says the Republican plan to replace Obamacare, ""absolutely does not eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions." | "Pittenger said that the Republican AHCA health care plan ""does not eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions."" While insurers technically would still be required to offer coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, the AHCA would weaken protections for those people. Insurers would be able to charge peop... | false | Families, Health Care, Public Health, Regulation, States, North Carolina, Robert Pittenger, | "One of the key sticking points over U.S. House Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is what will happen to people with pre-existing health conditions if this new plan passes. North Carolina Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger supports the bill. He said Tuesday that people still would be able to buy health in... |
10278 | Yoga May Help Low Back Pain. Mental Effects? Not So Much | It is an interesting point to explore, since the study authors mentioned it as well. But the journalist could have dug a little deeper and noticed the study was never designed to prove this point—and didn’t. So the Wall St. Journal led with a mischaracterization of the study results. The study found that yoga and inten... | mixture | Back pain,Wall Street Journal | The Wall St. Journal article did not discuss the costs or cost-effectiveness of any of the interventions. For a short article, the Wall St. Journal story framed and quantified the benefits adequately. The article didn’t discuss adverse events related to yoga or intensive stretching. Yet the authors of the study reporte... |
4271 | Business owner ready to fight looming federal ban on Kratom. | Jeremy Haley, a Denver business owner and entrepreneur, received a notice from the Drug Enforcement Administration on Aug. 30 that the natural substance he had been selling for nearly 5 years — first out of his home, then out of his storefront — would soon be considered more dangerous than methamphetamine. | true | CO State Wire, Health, Denver, Asia, Environmental health | “This is our freedom on the line,” Haley said. “If they make it Schedule I, technically they’ll be treating it the same as heroin. And that could have me locked up in jail for life.” Less than a week after the DEA’s notice of intent to temporarily place kratom — a product made from the leaves of a southeast Asian tree ... |
41745 | [Then-Vice President] Biden, he calls [Ukraine] and says, 'Don’t you dare prosecute, if you don’t fire this prosecutor' — the prosecutor was after his son. | President Donald Trump, in a lengthy interview on Fox News, made several statements that were false, misleading or not supported by the evidence. | mixture | automakers, China, North Korea, nuclear weapons, trade, | President Donald Trump, in a lengthy interview on Fox News, made several statements that were false, misleading or not supported by the evidence:In a wide-ranging interview that aired May 19 on “The Next Revolution,” Trump and the show’s host, Steve Hilton, discussed foreign policy, international trade, the economy, po... |
6859 | Oklahoma quakes tied to how deep wastewater is injected. | A new study finds that a major trigger of man-made earthquakes rattling Oklahoma is how deep — not just how much — fracking wastewater is injected into the ground. | true | Hydraulic fracturing, Oklahoma, Earthquakes, North America, Science, U.S. News, Wastewater | Scientists analyzed more than 10,000 wastewater injection wells where 96 billion gallons of fluid — leftover from hydraulic fracturing — are pumped yearly. The amount of wastewater injected and the depth are key to understanding the quake outbreak since 2009, they reported in Thursday’s journal Science . The quakes inc... |
9433 | Fecal transplant via a pill? Newsweek’s coverage points out possible selection bias of study participants | This Newsweek story reports on the results of a small study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study compared two methods of delivering a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), via a colonoscopy or with an oral pill, to treat Clostridium difficile infection. An FMT involves taking feces from ... | true | fecal transplant | The story does a good job of pointing out one advantage of the pill approach compared to delivery via colonoscopy–the reduced cost. “There was a significant difference in cost. Though the procedures were done in a Canadian hospital, the FMTs delivered by colonoscopy cost nearly $500 USD more than the capsules, which co... |
17984 | "Obamacare-caused paperwork will annually absorb 190 million hours or more--and Mount Rushmore could be built 1,547 times over ""with the paperwork." | "Cruz said the Affordable Care Act would ""add paperwork burdens totaling nearly 190 million hours or more every year."" He went on to say that Mount Rushmore could be built 1,547 times over ""with the paperwork."" Based on the 190 million figure, that mount count is ridiculously off, premised on the notion that one pe... | false | Federal Budget, Health Care, Texas, Ted Cruz, | "Ted Cruz, the junior Republican senator from Texas, said the health care overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama would create mountains--or at least Mount Rushmores--of paperwork. In Senate floor remarks on July 30, 2013, Cruz said: ""According to federal agency estimates, Obamacare will add paperwork burde... |
35232 | "Financier George Soros owns the lab in Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 coronavirus disease was ""developed." | The theory that SARS-CoV-2 was manufactured in, and escaped from, a lab in Wuhan is based solely on the proximity of infectious-disease labs near a potential source of the COVID-19 outbreak. Several “scientific” claims have been made or manufactured to further bolster the notion that something nefarious is going on wit... | false | Politics, COVID-19 | As the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic spread across the globe in March 2020, conspiracy buffs shared memes and videos featuring variations on a common theme — the SARS-CoV-2 virus was a human-made creation developed in a Chinese lab owned by all-purpose boogeyman George Soros for the purpose of causing economic ... |
12515 | Bill Zedler Says a federal program that collects reported side-effects of vaccinations doesn’t accept possible outcomes extending to road accidents, heart attacks or suicides. | Zedler said a federal program that compiles reported side-effects of vaccinations doesn’t take in reports of extreme results such as road accidents, heart attacks and suicides. It looks to us, from our sampling, that some results such as suicides are rarely reported as related to vaccinations. Still, the CDC-run VAERS ... | false | Health Care, Public Health, Texas, Bill Zedler, | "Addressing a physician during testimony about Texas laws affecting vaccinations, state Rep. Bill Zedler said a federal program that gathers reports of vaccination side-effects doesn’t draw in all kinds of outcomes. The Houston physician disputed Zedler on that, leading us to roll out the Truth-O-Meter. We heard about ... |
34684 | Purina's Beneful brand dog food is causing dogs to become ill and die. | We are pleased that after hearing arguments from both sides, the Judge dismissed all claims. Today’s ruling confirms what millions of pet owners already know – that Beneful is a safe, healthy, and nutritious dog food that millions of dogs enjoy every day. | unproven | Critter Country, ASP Article, beneful, Crusader Habit | In January 2007, Huntsville, Texas, resident Robert Barley switched the diet for Pearl, his 5-year-old German Shepherd/Labrador mix, and started feeding her Beneful brand dog food. Soon afterwards the seemingly healthy dog died. Around the same time another resident of Huntsville, Janet Rambeck, also began feeding Soon... |
7561 | ‘Murder Hornets,’ with sting that can kill, land in US. | The world’s largest hornet, a 2-inch killer dubbed the “Murder Hornet” with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state, where entomologists were making plans to wipe it out. | true | AP Top News, Spokane, General News, Washington, Insects, Science, Invasive species, Health, U.S. News | The giant Asian insect, with a sting that could be fatal to some people, is just now starting to emerge from winter hibernation. “They’re like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face,” said Susan Cobey, a bee breeder at Washington State University. “It’s a shockingly large hornet,” said Tod... |
11973 | Seventy-three percent of our veterans are graduating from drug courts. By contrast, I think most of the people in the very good drug court program — the graduation rate’s like 53, 55 percent. The point of that is that drug courts are working for veterans. | "Our ruling Greitens said, ""73 percent of our veterans are graduating from drug courts. By contrast, I think most of the people in the very good drug court program — the graduation rate’s like 53, 55 percent. The point of that is that drug courts are working for veterans."" Greitens said, ""73 percent of our veterans ... | true | Health Care, Legal Issues, Public Health, Veterans, Missouri, Eric Greitens, | "In his August Facebook Live video, Gov. Eric Greitens encouraged viewers to submit their questions. One viewer asked, ""What do we do for our veterans except use them as our reason to get mad when it fits our agenda?"" In response, Greitens touched on providing jobs for veterans, in addition to citing the rate of vete... |
1257 | UK doctors reveal separation of twins joined at the head. | Two-year-old twins joined at the head have undergone successful surgery at a British hospital to separate their skulls, brains and blood vessels, doctors said on Tuesday. | true | Health News | The highly complex surgery involved multiple operations on Safa and Marwa Ullah, who were born in Pakistan in January 2017 with a condition known as “craniopagus” in which the girls’ skulls and parts of their brains were joined and intertwined. “Craniopagus is an exceptionally rare and complex condition,” said David J.... |
21952 | "Commercial buses in the United States have ""a stellar safety record, a safety record that exceeds that of any other commercial mode or surface transportation mode." | Bus association head says buses safest mode of commercial transportation | mixture | Public Safety, Transportation, Virginia, Peter Pantuso, | "A May 31 bus crash north of Richmond that left four dead and more than 50 injured has prompted a re-examination of bus safety. The bus was traveling from North Carolina to New York City’s Chinatown district when it swerved off I-95, struck an embankment and flipped over in Caroline County. Driver Kin Yiu Cheung faces ... |
33240 | Medicare regulations require that doctors ask patients whether they own guns. | Medicare regulations do not require that doctors ask patients whether they own guns. | false | Politics Guns, guns, medicare | This March 2012 item combines a claim that Medicare regulations require doctors to ask patients whether they keep guns in their houses with a 2009 piece about VA patients’ being reported to Homeland Security and losing their concealed carry permits for answering “yes” to any one of three diagnostic questions. In the fo... |
34642 | A recent uptick in Zika virus infections is linked to the introduction of a genetically modified mosquito farm in Brazil in 2012. | Finally, no aspect of the rumor made any clear or distinct connection between Zika and genetically modified mosquitoes. The claims simply pointed to an outbreak after the introduction of the mosquitoes in 2012, without any additional elaboration on how one might have affected the other. If genetically modified mosquito... | unproven | Uncategorized, brazil, genetically modified mosquitoes, gmos | In January 2016, a number of news outlets reported an outbreak of the Zika virus across a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries, appearing to originate from Brazil. On 23 January 2016, BBC published an article that confirmed the virus as a suspected factor in a sharp increase in the incidence of microcephaly... |
17296 | "American Petroleum Institute Says ""Bill Clinton and George Bush both say build the Keystone XL." | "The American Petroleum Institute ad says, ""Bill Clinton and George Bush both say build the Keystone XL"" pipeline. While their evidence is two years old, it’s not fabricated. Since voicing support of the pipeline in 2012, Clinton has not publicly weighed in on the controversy. But his backing of the project was not a... | true | Environment, National, Climate Change, Energy, Jobs, American Petroleum Institute, | "March 7 is the last day the U.S. Department of State will hear public comments on Keystone XL, a proposed pipeline that would carry diluted oil sands from Western Canada to Nebraska and then to refineries on the Gulf Coast. With the closing of the 30-day comment period, six years of contentious debate between environm... |
28024 | Massachusetts has certain strict gun-ownership requirements and the lowest rate of gun deaths in the United States. | What's true: Massachusetts requires gun-license applicants to provide character references; first-time applicants must complete a one-day safety training course; and many police departments require an in-person interview before approving license applications. Massachusetts regularly has either the lowest or second-lowe... | true | Politics | After a spate of mass shootings in early August 2019 in the United States, gun violence once again became a major topic of political debate in the country, and many expressed their views on potential solutions to the problem. The left-leaning Facebook page Occupy Democrats suggested that tighter gun-ownership regulatio... |
15341 | "The United States is ""fighting with Iraqis to defeat ISIS along with Iran. But in Yemen we're fighting Iran with Iraqis and Saudis." | "Stewart said the United States is ""fighting with Iraqis to defeat ISIS along with Iran. But in Yemen we're fighting Iran with Iraqis and Saudis."" As Obama pointed out, Stewart's claim is off on a few points — Iran is not an official ally of the United States against ISIS even though both countries are fighting the t... | mixture | Iraq, Military, PunditFact, Jon Stewart, | "President Barack Obama thanked retiring Daily Show host Jon Stewart for being a ""great gift to the country"" in the commander in chief’s seventh and final appearance on the show with Stewart as its leader. ""I can’t believe that you’re leaving before me,"" Obama said, adding that he would be issuing a new executive o... |
9080 | Ibuprofen better choice over oral morphine for pain relief in children after minor surgery | This news release reports the outcome of a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of ibuprofen and oral morphine for managing pain in children who had received a range of minor orthopedic surgeries. No difference was found in self-reported pain for the two groups, but more adverse effects were reported... | mixture | Canadian Medical Association Journal,pediatric medicine | Readers are likely aware that non-prescription strength ibuprofen is readily available at a low price. The release doesn’t mention how much oral morphine costs, however. Thus, readers can’t tell whether ibuprofen might not only save children some unpleasant side effects, but save their parents money as well. This news ... |
7385 | Tensions rise as Texas governor readies to lift more rules. | Two weeks into the reopening of Texas, coronavirus cases are climbing. New outbreaks still crop up. And at Guero’s Taco Bar in Austin, which offers the occasional celebrity sighting, a log of every diner and where they sat is begrudgingly in the works. | true | AP Top News, General News, Greg Abbott, U.S. News, Virus Outbreak, Austin, Public health, Texas, U.S. News | “It seems like a huge invasion of privacy,” said owner Cathy Lipincott, who is nonetheless trying to comply with Austin’s local public health guidelines by asking, but not requiring, customers to give their information. Few states are rebooting quicker than Texas, where stay-at-home orders expired May 1. With cases sti... |
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