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5674 | Early study results suggest 2 Ebola treatments saving lives. | Two of four experimental Ebola drugs being tested in Congo seem to be saving lives, international health authorities announced Monday. | true | AP Top News, Health, Anthony Fauci, Ebola virus, Business, General News | The preliminary findings prompted an early halt to a major study on the drugs and a decision to prioritize their use in the African country, where a yearlong outbreak has killed more than 1,800 people. The early results mark “some very good news,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which ... |
25839 | “You know what’s in this bill? No medical malpractice suits until 2024, even if they’re not COVID related.” | The bill does not prohibit the filing of medical malpractice lawsuits, but it does set strict standards that must be met for a case to succeed. The standards could restrict the number of cases filed, experts said. Although the bill refers to “coronavirus-related medical liability action,” the definition in the bill for... | false | Health Care, Legal Issues, Public Health, Coronavirus, Charles Schumer, | "Sen. Chuck Schumer rejected a coronavirus relief bill proposed by Republicans in the Senate, calling it extreme and ""a giveaway to corporate interests."" Schumer said the proposal focused on protecting businesses, schools and hospitals from liability. ""You know what's in this bill? No medical malpractice suits until... |
30211 | A.A. Milne created the animal characters in 'Winnie-the-Pooh' to represent various mental disorders. | The idea that Winnie-the-Pooh and his fictional forest friends suffer from various mental disorders is based on second-hand observations made by a group of neurodevelopmentalists more than 70 years after the Pooh works were first published. While these characters may exhibit some of the tendencies typical of the listed... | false | Entertainment, a.a. milne, books, fan theory | In August 2018, coincident with the release of the Disney film Christopher Robin, a new generation of Winnie the Pooh fans were exposed to a popular theory holding that the animal characters who populate the Hundred Acre Wood in A.A. Milne’s most famous works were created to represent various mental disorders: Like si... |
33307 | Former NBA superstar Michael Jordan has died in his sleep of a heart attack. | Reports that former NBA superstar Michael Jordan has died of a heart attack are another celebrity death hoax. | false | Inboxer Rebellion, celebrity death hoaxes, hoaxes, michael jordan | In February 2015, the web site Cronica MX published an article reporting that former Chicago Bull basketball star Michael Jordan had passed away of a heart attacj at the age of 52: This morning the ex basket ball player and also icon of world sports, Michael Jordan, was found dead while in his sleep in his residence i... |
1365 | Britain to hold inquiry into contaminated blood scandal which killed 2,400. | Britain will hold a public inquiry into contaminated blood supplied to patients in the state-run National Health Service which killed at least 2,400 people, the government said on Tuesday. | true | Health News | During the 1970s and 1980s, blood products supplied to the NHS was contaminated with viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C and infected thousands of people with hemophilia or other bleeding disorders. Health minister Philip Dunne said many documents were publicly available which gave a comprehensive picture of events and ... |
24149 | For years now, we have spent more money than we have taken in. | Mayor Annise Parker says that for years, Houston has been spending more than it takes in | mixture | Economy, Texas, Annise Parker, | "With the city of Houston running short about $11 million to fund its budget this year and projecting a revenue shortfall of $100 million for next year — Houston's first-year mayor, Annise Parker, recently floated the possibility of furloughs and layoffs for city employees. ""For years now (in Houston), we have spent m... |
33475 | The U.S. Army secretly feeds new recruits saltpeter in order to suppress their sexual urges. | The rumor doesn’t reside only within the ranks of the service; it also pops up wherever teenage boys or men are housed together. Many believe saltpeter is secretly introduced into the food at colleges, boys’ schools, and prisons, all places where the belief flourishes because the inmates need to explain away their lack... | false | Military, Aphrodisiacs, erectile dysfunction, military legends | A common report by male recruits undergoing basic training is their inability to troop the morning colors, so to speak. Erections that came so easily before boot camp become few and far between. This surprising downturn of events is frequently attributed to the presence of saltpeter in the chow rather than to the power... |
7565 | Scientists fault UK’s pandemic strategy as deaths rise. | As the coronavirus continues to infect people across Britain in what will likely turn out to be Europe’s worst outbreak, the government has come under criticism from scientists, who say it has neglected the fundamentals of epidemic control. | true | Understanding the Outbreak, Epidemics, Europe, General News, Health, London, Pandemics, Virus Outbreak, Europe, Public health, Science | Hundreds of outbreak experts have questioned the U.K’s pandemic response, ridiculing the government’s claim of “following the science.” “There was a sense of fatalism and I think the government ruled out containment options that should not have been ruled out,” said Martin McKee, a professor of European public health ... |
24146 | Hospitals, doctors, MRIs, surgeries and so forth are more extensively used and far more expensive in this country than they are in many other countries.'' | Romney says hospitals, doctors, surgeries used more in U.S. | true | National, Health Care, Mitt Romney, | "While promoting his new book in an appearance on Fox News Sunday on March 7, 2010, Mitt Romney offered an interesting explanation of why health care costs so much in the United States. He said there are undoubtably some bad health insurance companies among the many in the United States, and they should be held account... |
23133 | "Scott Walker Says Gov. Jim Doyle and the DNR have not put hunters first and mismanaged the deer herd; as a result ""the deer population has dwindled." | Scott Walker says the DNR has mismanaged the state’s deer herd and lowered the deer population | false | Environment, Recreation, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, | "Scott Walker’s first deer hunting expeditions gave him a taste of the frustration that has been felt by many Wisconsin hunters: He got skunked. Now, in his bid for governor, Walker has waded into the single most contentious state natural resources issue: the size of the state’s deer herd and how the balance is struck ... |
10875 | Glaucoma Drug-Dispensing Eye Insert Shows Promise as New Option for Patients Struggling to Take Daily Prescription Eye Drops | This news release reports phase 2 trial results of a silicone ring that slowly releases glaucoma medication onto the surface of the eye, potentially eliminating the need for patients to self-administer eye drops. The study was funded by the developer of the device, ForSight VISION5, and appeared in Ophthalmology, the j... | true | Association/Society news release | The news release doesn’t mention costs, despite the fact that investors would need to recoup the enormous cost of developing a device and winning Food and Drug Administration approval. It might be too early to estimate the market price of the ring, but the news release could have helped readers understand financial imp... |
9758 | How Well Does the Newly Approved Weight-Loss 'Balloon' Work? Expert notes it will probably only be effective for short-term weight loss | This story describes a device, ReShape, inserted inside the patient’s stomach that appears to help with weight loss on a short-term temporary basis. Besides the gastric ulcers that struck more than one-third of patients in the study group, we think this device also may also represent a “harm” if it encourages patients ... | true | obesity,ReShape,weight loss | The story does discuss costs. The discussion would be better if it included the cost of implanting the device. The story only told the price of the device in Europe “average price is about $6,200, according to the manufacturer.” But it was not clear whether that price includes fees to the doctor and clinic for insertio... |
9854 | Low-dose lithium reduces side effects from most common treatment for Parkinson's disease | We appreciate that there is a need to get a reader’s attention with the title of any document, including news releases. This headline grabs readers with the suggestion that lithium “reduces side effects of most common treatment for Parkinson’s disease,” a statement that’s simply not supported as no humans with Parkinso... | mixture | Animal research,Independent research center news release | After a misleading headline, the release establishes quickly that the research is in mice and that clinical trials haven’t been performed. And at this early stage of development, the cost of treatment is not an issue. So we rule this Not Applicable. Having said that, if lithium augmentation of carbidopa/levodopa did in... |
28296 | A company is developing a lab-grown chicken nugget made from feathers. | What's true: A number of companies are developing lab-grown meat products; cultured nuggets can be grown from cells collected from a feather. What's false: While nuggets can be grown from cells collected from a feather, the company JUST said that its first commercially available products won't use this method. What's u... | mixture | Food | In March 2019, we started receiving queries about “lab grown chicken nuggets made from feathers” that were expected to hit store shelves by the end of the year. While various companies have been working on such meat for awhile, many readers apparently were confused by the meaning of “made from feathers” and were curiou... |
5539 | Niger says cholera epidemic has killed at least 68 people. | Niger’s public health ministry says at least 68 people have died in a cholera epidemic that began in July. | true | Niamey, Health, Cholera, Africa, Epidemics, Niger, Public health | The ministry this week said it has registered more than 3,690 cases of the disease, which is caused by contaminated food or water and can kill within hours if untreated. The epidemic has spread in the central Maradi region and has also affected the northern Tahoua, eastern Zinder and southwestern Dosso regions. The U.N... |
7025 | John Mayer launches foundation focused on veterans. | John Mayer is launching a foundation focused on improving the health of veterans through scientific research. | true | Post-traumatic stress disorder, Health, John Mayer, Entertainment, North America, Music, Veterans | The Grammy-winning singer on Friday announced The Heart and Armor Foundation, which plans to focus on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and meeting the emerging needs of women veterans. Though he publicly announced the foundation on Friday, Mayer has been working on the organization since 2012 alongside vete... |
2623 | Bill Gates' foundation puts money on solar-powered toilet. | Bill Gates is betting the toilet of the future for the developing world will be solar powered. | true | Environment | The world’s leading private philanthropist handed a $100,000 prize to the California Institute of Technology on Tuesday for its work on a self-contained, sun-powered system that recycles water and breaks down human waste into storable energy. Gates is focusing on the need for a new type of toilet as an important part o... |
4940 | Georgia GOP Sen. Isakson to retire over health issues. | Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson’s announcement Wednesday that he will retire at year’s end because of health problems instantly raised Georgia’s status as a must-watch 2020 battleground by ensuring both of its Senate seats will be on the ballot. | true | Johnny Isakson, Georgia, Parkinsons disease, Health, General News, Politics, Elections, AP Top News, David Perdue | Isakson’s pending departure after more than four decades in Georgia politics gives Democrats a surprise opening in a Southern state where the GOP’s lock on statewide elections has shown signs of slipping. The state’s junior senator, Republican David Perdue, is already a top target as he seeks reelection for the first t... |
8990 | Large international study links blood vitamin D levels to colorectal cancer risk | This news release describes an analysis of data from 17 different studies where blood levels of vitamin D were reported. The main finding: higher circulating vitamin D levels are associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer. The release provides a careful and appropriately cautious overview that explains why the stu... | true | american cancer society,colorectal cancer | This release is not reporting on vitamin D supplementation but about circulating levels of vitamin D in the body. Although some readers may not make this distinction, cost is not strictly applicable here and we won’t penalize the release for not mentioning it. Benefits are only presented in relative terms — not absolut... |
12430 | In 2012, you were discussing how you led the effort to defund breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood. | "Ossoff said, ""In 2012, you were discussing how you led the effort to defund breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood."" Handel did say that she led efforts, but she also said at the time that the decision wasn’t entirely hers, and that Komen’s board ultimately approved the move, which was later reversed." | true | Abortion, Georgia, Women, Jon Ossoff, | "The Democratic contender for Georgia’s open congressional seat, Jon Ossoff, accused his Republican opponent of spearheading a controversial decision to cut off funding for breast cancer screenings. Ossoff charged that Karen Handel, while working as a top official at Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, worked to pu... |
35520 | In response to a question in a July 2020 CNN interview about what would happen if a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in schools, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said, “You can’t plan for something that hasn’t happened yet.” | What's true: Betsy DeVos said during an interview that if a COVID-19 flare-up occurred “for a few days, that’s a different situation than planning for an entire school year in anticipation for something that hasn’t happened.” What's false: Devos did not use the exact words, “You can’t plan for something that hasn’t ha... | false | Politics, COVID-19 | Through the summer of 2020, the question of whether U.S. schools should reopen amidst the COVID-19 disease pandemic grew into a contentious political issue. School superintendents across the country were dismayed by President Donald Trump’s push to reopen schools despite the health risks of doing so, and after Educatio... |
36322 | A photograph shows rosaries confiscated from border detainees. | Does a Photograph Show Rosaries Confiscated from Border Detainees? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | In June 2018, a Facebook user shared a post (archived here) featuring a screenshot of a tweet about rosary beads purportedly confiscated from migrants taken into custody by border agents.That post was shared more than 89,000 times in a year. The tweet was originally published on the same date, and it accrued more than ... |
9025 | Researchers find bone density scans can also help identify cardiovascular disease | Using a simple, non-invasive test like a bone density scan to determine the future risk of cardiovascular disease would make sense if such a test was accurate and led to actions that could alter that risk. Unfortunately, the release on the study summarized here is lacking in details needed to gain a good understanding ... | false | bone density scans,Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research | The cost of a bone density scan is not mentioned and this is an important omission. Cardiovascular risk is currently assessed based on the epidemiological data from the Framingham Heart Study. The Framingham Cardiovascular Risk Calculator is based on these data and provides an easily obtained validated 10-year risk ass... |
7079 | USC medical school official feared dean was ‘doing drugs’. | A former vice dean of University of Southern California’s medical school testified he feared the then-dean, Dr. Carmen Puliafito, “could be doing drugs” before Puliafito abruptly quit in 2016. | true | U.S. News, California, Medical schools, University of Southern California | Dr. Henri Ford’s testimony at a state Medical Board hearing marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafito’s possible drug use, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Ford said he expressed concerns about Puliafito’s general well-being to the university’s provost. Puliafito gave... |
27737 | "A North Carolina provider of mental health services is named ""Nutz R Us." | The Carolina Public Press piece dug further into the business practices of Nutz R Us but ultimately did not find any information suggesting that the business intended to change its name. While it appears that the company occasionally contracts with the state of North Carolina, it remains privately held and uninhibited ... | true | Business, mental health, nutz r us, questionable names | Oftentimes the structure of incorporated businesses enables details to escape initial notice, as appeared to be the case with a cluster of North Carolina-based mental health facilities incorporated under the questionable name “Nutz R Us.” Despite its garnering widespread public attention in June 2016, the unpalatable b... |
16334 | We were told there would never be a case of Ebola in the United States. | "McCain said, ""We were told there would never be a case of Ebola in the United States."" Based on public statements, Obama and CDC officials have repeatedly said there’s a chance an Ebola case could appear in the United States, but the possibility of an outbreak is extremely low. We found no instance in which an offic... | false | National, Ebola, Health Care, Military, Public Health, Public Safety, John McCain, | "Early Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a second person had contracted Ebola in the United States. The patient is a female nurse in Dallas, who had treated the first patient diagnosed in the United States -- Thomas Eric Duncan, who came into contact with Ebola in Liberia, fell ill in Dal... |
26349 | Under the mayor’s COVID-19 order, Kansas City “churchgoers must register with the government.” | A blog post claimed that Kansas City’s stay-at-home order in response to COVID-19 required churchgoers to “register with the government.” The mayor issued an order, as part of gradually reopening the city, that would have required churches to keep attendance lists for their events in case a coronavirus outbreak was t... | false | Corrections and Updates, Government Regulation, Religion, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Liberty Counsel, | "A group fighting COVID-19 stay-at-home orders that restrict religious gatherings made a reference to Nazi Germany in a post that carried this ominous headline: ""Churchgoers Must Register With the Government in Kansas City."" The post was published by Liberty Counsel, a national conservative Christian organization bas... |
25857 | A common cold can cause a positive COVID-19 test. | A screenshot from the CDC website that appears out of context is a warning about COVID-19 antibody tests, not viral tests for current infections. Antibody tests check for past infections and might tell you if you had COVID-19. But they are unreliable, so if you test positive, it could mean that you have antibodies from... | false | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Viral image, | "Sometimes social media posts blatantly share misinformation about the coronavirus. Other times, it’s implied. An image currently circulating on Facebook falls in the latter category. It’s a screenshot from the website of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a stateside clearinghouse for information ... |
31164 | "In July 2017, President Trump dispatched federal investigators to the hamlet of Islamberg, New York, where they uncovered ""America's worst nightmare""." | A search of news articles about Islamberg returned reports only about violent threats made toward Islamberg (not by anyone living there); credible violent threats toward the hamlet (including several threats and a planned anti-Islamberg rally just before this story appeared, as if to justify them) appear to be rather c... | false | Politics, freedom daily, islamberg, muslims | On 18 July 2017, the Freedom Daily blog published an article with a terrifying sounding title: “Trump Sends Feds In To Raid NY’s Islamberg After 2 DECADES – Uncover America’s WORST Nightmare.” The page gained traction on social media thanks to its alarmist headline, but the text made no mention of President Trump or t... |
26712 | “You’re more likely to die of influenza right now” than the 2019 coronavirus. | Based solely on the numbers, you’re more likely to die if you get the 2019 coronavirus than if you get the flu. But, as of now, the flu is more common in the United States than the coronavirus. Both diseases spread similarly and affect similar at-risk groups. Researchers are still learning more about the severity of th... | mixture | Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, PunditFact, Coronavirus, Dr. Drew Pinsky, | "The 2019 coronavirus has infected more than 113,000 people in 109 countries. But Dr. Drew Pinsky wants the press to focus more on the flu. In a Feb. 3 segment on Daily Blast Live, a live daytime news and entertainment program, Pinsky, an internist and television personality, lambasted press coverage of the coronavirus... |
3946 | Less common flu strain helps boost number of Virginia cases. | The number of flu cases in Virginia is on the increase, and state health officials say a less common type of the virus is turning up more often. | true | Health, Richmond, General News, Flu, Virginia | The Virginia Department of Health says that out of more than 1,800 cases confirmed through lab reports since the beginning of the current flu season, 75% have been identified as Type B, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. “We normally see increases a little later, but it’s not unusual. It’s tracking along with what we... |
10081 | Triumph for Drug to Straighten Clenched Fingers | This story is about the long journey to approval of a new drug called Xiaflex used to treat Dupuytren’s contracture–a condition in which cords of collagen cause fingers to clench involuntarily. While the main story focuses mostly on the financial maneuverings related to the drug’s development, this sidebar provides a v... | true | "The main story estimates a course of treatment will cost about $5400, and the sidebar helpfully compared this amount to some of the other treatment options including surgery and needle aponeurotomy. The sidebar describes the outcomes of the main clinical trial of Xiaflex in absolute terms. It reports that 64% of treat... | |
338 | U.S. states accuse Teva, other drugmakers, of price-fixing: lawsuit. | U.S. states filed a lawsuit accusing Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc of orchestrating a sweeping scheme with 19 other drug companies to inflate drug prices - sometimes by more than 1,000% - and stifle competition for generic drugs, state prosecutors said on Saturday. | true | Health News | Soaring drug prices from both branded and generic manufacturers have sparked outrage and investigations in the United States. The criticism has come from across the political spectrum, from President Donald Trump, a Republican, to progressive Democrats including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for preside... |
9054 | Screening could prevent a quarter of hip fractures in older women | Getty Images This news release describes results of a five-year study in which older women in seven areas of Britain were randomly assigned to either go through a screening procedure for osteoporosis called FRAX, or not. Women who were screened were 28% less likely to experience a hip fracture over the period of study,... | true | hip fractures,older women,University of Birmingham | This release was very thorough in most areas. However, we’re only told that the proposed screening program is “low cost.” But the FRAX screening is just a questionnaire, so there is minimal cost to using it. The costs of screening, of course, arise from those women who go on to get bone density scans and get treated fo... |
10840 | Two New Drugs Show Promise for Patients with Aggressive Breast Cancer | This Penn Medicine news release describes two trials of experiemental breast cancer treatments, neratinib and veliparib with carboplatin, with potential to be used alongside chemotherapy to eradicate residual cancer cells before an operation to remove a breast cancer tumor for patients with aggressive HER2-positive or ... | mixture | Academic medical center news release,Breast cancer | No mention is made of the costs of either neratinib or veliparib/carboplatin. Both treatments are experimental and so do not have a market price, but it should be possible to give a rough estimate of the price range of new cancer drugs when they gain regulatory approval. Although the trials detailed in the news release... |
2757 | Two Obamacare exchanges see more health insurer competition. | At least two U.S. states running their own Obamacare health insurance exchanges expect new insurers to enter their marketplaces and bolster competition in 2015, officials said on Friday. | true | Health News | Kynect, which is Kentucky’s marketplace, and the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange have had separate talks about 2015 with health insurers that could opt to join the online marketplaces set up under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law. Kentucky also expects an expansion of physician networks available wi... |
16406 | "Joni Ernst Says personhood legislation she sponsored would not have restricted access to reproductive services and was ""simply a statement that I support life." | "Ernst said personhood legislation she sponsored would not have restricted access to reproductive services and was ""simply a statement that I support life."" Both Braley and Ernst have exaggerated here. Ernst has a point that the legislation does not literally call for the restrictions on reproductive rights Braley ci... | mixture | Abortion, National, Women, Joni Ernst, | "Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, says his opponent in the Senate race, Republican state Sen. Joni Ernst, introduced legislation that would have severely limited abortion rights in Iowa. Not so, Ernst countered in a recent debate. Braley and Ernst -- who are vying to succeed retiring Democrat Tom Harkin in one of the nation’... |
9361 | One Blood Test Might Be Enough to Diagnose Diabetes | This story reported on a study that examined data from a long-running U.S. heart disease study to conclude that testing both a patient’s fasting glucose and A1C from a single blood sample is sufficient to confirm type 2 diabetes. Current guidelines call for performing either test once, followed by a second confirmatory... | mixture | diabetes | The story provided no information on how much these tests cost. A check online found CVS drug store offered these tests for $59 apiece. The story referred to the potential for a single test to result in quicker diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, thus “saving patients time and health care costs” and leading to better ... |
8856 | Government sees overhaul of AIDS vaccine effort. | The U.S. government began a major overhaul of its effort to produce an AIDS vaccine on Tuesday, stressing a return to basic scientific research after the failure of a key clinical trial last year. | true | Science News | A woman passes an anti-AIDS poster in Beijing in a file photo. The U.S. government began a major overhaul of its effort to produce an AIDS vaccine on Tuesday, stressing basic scientific research after the failure of a key clinical trial last year. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV Government officials at a summit with AIDS scien... |
36050 | "Legendary performer David Bowie had a one-on-one meeting with one autistic child when the film ""Labyrinth"" originally premiered." | David Bowie Meeting an Child With Autism at ‘Labyrinth’ Premiere | unproven | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On October 27 2019, Facebook user Micah Daigle shared what appeared on first glance to be a secondhand anecdote about a friend’s touching introduction to David Bowie at a premiere of the film Labyrinth in 1986.A photograph of David Bowie holding a mask accompanied the lengthy written post:“My friend told me a story he ... |
16077 | Surveys of teens in high school reveal that knowing a classmate who sells cannabis is 90 times more common than knowing a classmate who sells alcohol. | "James P. Crowley wrote that ""Surveys of teens in high school reveal that knowing a classmate who sells cannabis is 90 times more common than knowing a classmate who sells alcohol."" But he could only cite one survey, and we couldn’t find any others that asked the same question. One data point does not a trend make. I... | mixture | Rhode Island, Children, Drugs, Education, Crime, Polls and Public Opinion, Public Health, Pundits, Marijuana, James Crowley, | "A retired doctor recently included an eye-catching statistic in a commentary in The Providence Journal urging the legalization of marijuana in Rhode Island. ""Surveys of teens in high school reveal that knowing a classmate who sells cannabis is 90 times more common than knowing a classmate who sells alcohol,"" wrote J... |
9606 | Stem cell study for ALS patients shows promise, yet causes pain | A man with ALS participates in a fundraiser for research in New York City. This story describes a small Phase 2 safety-focused trial of stem cell injections to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The trial involving 15 patients tested whether the stem cell injections, previous... | true | ALS,stem cell therapies | There’s no mention of how much this procedure costs. Though this is still in its earliest stages, one could simply mention this issue, as it’s likely to be very expensive. Since this was primarily a safety study, there are no measurable benefits to quantify, and the story lets us know with this statement: “Unfortunatel... |
8707 | Northern Ireland coronavirus restrictions extended by three weeks. | Northern Ireland will keep coronavirus restrictions in place for another three weeks, First Minister Arlene Foster said on Wednesday, keeping the British-run region in line with similar measures in neighbouring Ireland due to run until May 5. | true | Health News | Northern Ireland late last month introduced what the devolved government described as “sweeping powers” to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with many restrictions on businesses tougher than in the rest of the United Kingdom. The British government will make an announcement on Thursday on its review of social-distancing me... |
18512 | "A proposed bill in the Florida Legislature ""would authorize the public hoarding of cats by feral cat activists." | "The American Bird Conservancy said a bill ""would authorize the public hoarding of cats by feral cat activists."" The bill would authorize people to neuter and release feral cats. But it’s difficult to predict how these future cat colonies will be managed and controlled by local ordinances. Is it possible that someone... | mixture | Animals, Crime, Florida, American Bird Conservancy, | "Florida legislators are taking up the usual public policy topics this session: health care, taxes and campaign finance reform. Then there’s the bill about feral cats. Don’t call them feral cats, though. Bills in the Legislature are re-branding them with a more user-friendly name: ""community cats."" Not so fast, say t... |
33640 | Fanta was invented by the Nazis. | Fanta is still a Coca-Cola product, and today it comes in seventy different flavors (though only some are available within each of the 188 countries it is sold in). | false | Business, Corporate Alliances | The histories of a number of popular consumer items have been rumored to have at least tenuous connections with certain unsavory elements. Contemporary lore is rife with product rumors that assert ties to the Ku Klux Klan (e.g., Marlboro cigarettes, Snapple fruit drinks, KFC, Troop clothing, Tropical Fantasy fruit drin... |
2607 | Space shuttle Endeavour home in Los Angeles after final flight. | The space shuttle Endeavour touched down in Los Angeles on Friday on the back of a jumbo jet, greeted by cheering crowds as it ended a celebratory final flight en route to its retirement home at a Southern California science museum. | true | Science News | The 75-ton winged spaceship, ferried by a modified Boeing 747, landed at Los Angeles International Airport shortly before 1:00 p.m. after hop-scotching across the country from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and flying a victory lap over California. Hundreds of office workers stood atop downtown skyscrapers, cheering as the s... |
6511 | Critics protest proposed drilling in Alaska’s Arctic refuge. | Protesters in Alaska urged federal officials to keep oil rigs out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge despite a federal law requiring lease sales in the wilderness area. | true | Wildlife, Anchorage, Arctic, Land management, Alaska, North America, Environment, Business, Laws, Salmon, U.S. News, Fish | At a Bureau of Land Management environmental review hearing in Anchorage, Laura Herman urged that no drilling be allowed because of the effects of extraction on the region and the long-term effects of burning the fossil fuel. Herman, 29, said she was too young to be telling “old-timer” stories about how cold it used to... |
5939 | Rand Paul undergoes lung surgery stemming from assault. | U.S. Sen. Rand Paul underwent lung surgery in a procedure he says stems from injuries suffered when a neighbor tackled him outside his Kentucky home in 2017. | true | Rand Paul, Health, General News, Kentucky, Tennessee, Donald Trump | The Republican lawmaker and former presidential candidate tweeted Monday that part of his lung damaged in the assault was removed during the weekend surgery in Tennessee. The senator is continuing his recovery at home, a Paul spokeswoman said. “I will have to limit my August activities,” the 56-year-old Paul said in th... |
3513 | Frist launches new long-term health care tech company. | Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is launching a new long-term health care technology company backed by more than $40 million in funding, including from the venture capital arm of Google’s parent company. | true | Health care reform, General News, Bills, Bill Frist | A news release Monday says CareBridge will offer a range of services, including electronic visit verification and real-time sharing of detailed clinical information among patients, caregivers, health plans and state officials. It will also feature 24-7 support for patients at high risk of hospitalization and a predicti... |
7418 | Trump says US can never declare ‘total victory’ over virus. | President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believes the U.S. can never declare “total victory” over the coronavirus because too many people have died. But he added that he will count it a win when the virus is gone and the economy fully reopened. | true | AP Top News, Health, General News, Politics, Joe Biden, Business, Virus Outbreak, Economy, Donald Trump | With more than 60,000 Americans fallen to the virus, Trump pointed out that the death rate in the U.S. was lower than in many other countries, and he offered the optimistic prediction that the battered economy would be vastly improved in a matter of months and “spectacular” by 2021. He also said he was considering orde... |
9507 | It's Snakes to the Rescue for Heart Patients | Animal studies can reveal important scientific insights and, when appropriately reported, can provide useful news for a broader audience. But this story about the therapeutic use of a compound derived from viper venom could have done more to temper expectations. While there’s a nod to the “early” stage of the research,... | mixture | heart attack | The story did not discuss costs, but our rule of thumb is: If it’s not too early to speculate about benefits, it’s not too early to talk about what the cost might be. The story describes benefits in qualitative terms, “that mice who received the compound had slower blood clot formation than untreated mice.” However, it... |
13623 | "Patrick Murphy Says Marco Rubio ""voted against the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act." | "Murphy said Rubio ""voted against the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act."" Rubio voiced support for the original law, but he and some Republicans in both the Senate and House opposed certain provisions added to the bill pertaining to spending and federal oversight. Rubio voted against the bill in 2012 and 2013, bu... | true | Voting Record, Florida, Patrick Murphy, | "Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy is attacking Marco Rubio, his presumptive general election opponent in the race for Senate, for allegedly voting against domestic violence measures. Murphy lambasted Rubio for having a ""terrible record on women’s health"" in an Aug. 19 post on his website. Murphy’s post said Rubio ... |
9096 | Scientists discover and target brain area in patients with schizophrenia who 'hear voices' | The release focuses on research presented at a conference that found a third of patients who have schizophrenia and experience auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) — meaning they hear voices — responded favorably to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of a specific region of the brain. The release notes that the f... | mixture | European College of Neuropsychopharmacology,schizophrenia,transcranial magnetic stimulation | Cost is not discussed. TMS therapy is already available for the treatment of other mental health conditions, including depression, so cost estimates should not have been difficult to come by. And since costs can reach into the thousands of dollars, depending on the length of treatment, it is not an insignificant issue ... |
28573 | Video clip shows an elephant painting a picture of an elephant. | Video clip shows an elephant painting a picture of an elephant. Is this the real thing, the product of digital trickery, or something else? | mixture | Fauxtography, animals, elephants | The video seen here is “true” in the basic sense that it captures the real phenomenon of elephants who perform the physical process of creating drawings by holding brushes in their trunks and applying them to cards mounted on easels. A BBC News article described an exhibition of such paintings at an Edinburgh gallery i... |
34531 | Coconut oil has a positive effect on cognition and focus. | That doesn’t mean the concept is not possible or even unlikely. Future experimental research on large studies of healthy individuals may complete the drawing of the connecting line yet. | unproven | Food | Coconut oil products have seen an uptick in popularity due to myriad claims of health benefits from their use as a food additive, supplement, or skin product. One notable claim is that ingesting coconut oil (or some of the specific compounds in the oil) can improve focus and restore mental clarity. Unlike many health c... |
8777 | FDA approves 1st therapy to help ease Huntington's. | U.S. health officials have approved the first drug aimed at easing symptoms of Huntington’s disease, an incurable neurological disorder that can cause uncontrollable movements. | true | Health News | The drug, called Xenazine, does not treat the hereditary disease. It is instead designed to help quell the jerky, involuntary body movements that can increase as brain cells waste away, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. While clinical trials showed the drug can help improve movement short-term,... |
37944 | A PBS interview showed that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's hands were a different color than his face. | Was Rudy Giuliani Filmed with Discoloration on his Hands? | mixture | Fact Checks, Politics | As news spread of a rash of coronavirus infections hitting United States President Donald Trump as well as his wife and other Republican allies, online users raised their own questions in October 2020 about the health of Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani.Photos circulated online showed what appeared to be a discoloration ... |
4813 | Syndergaard to DL again due to hand-foot-and-mouth disease. | In the latest bizarre medical development for the baffling New York Mets, ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard is headed back to the disabled list after contracting hand-foot-and-mouth disease. | true | Baseball, Mickey Callaway, Health, New York Mets, Noah Syndergaard, North America, Foot-and-mouth disease, Sports, New York, MLB baseball, Major League Baseball | The team figures it’s likely Syndergaard caught the contagious virus when he made an appearance at a baseball camp for kids last Thursday during the All-Star break. Mets manager Mickey Callaway said that probably explains why Syndergaard weakened and his velocity decreased during Friday night’s victory at Yankee Stadiu... |
11359 | Daily Aspirin Linked to Steep Drop in Cancer Risk | This story says many of the right things about a new study indicating that daily low-dose aspirin appears to lower the risk of death from several common types of cancer. It quotes a researcher who said that the findings should not be viewed as reason for everyone to go out and starting taking aspirin. Unfortunately tho... | mixture | Cancer,HealthDay | The cost of aspirin is not in question. Nevertheless, a broad recommendation to begin taking aspirin daily in middle age would likely be followed by at least hundreds of millions of people, thus the cumulative costs would be large. Also, such widespread use would increase the costs of treating bleeding ulcers and other... |
15462 | Here are the stats: Per population, we kill each other with guns at a rate 297x more than Japan, 49x more than France, 33x more than Israel. | "Obama tweeted, ""Here are the stats: Per population, we kill each other with guns at a rate 297x more than Japan, 49x more than France, 33x more than Israel."" It’s always worth being cautious of international comparisons of crime statistics, given technical limitations with the data. But even if some data sources pro... | true | National, Criminal Justice, Crime, Guns, Barack Obama, | "Ever since nine people were killed by a gunman at a historic African-American church in Charleston, S.C., President Barack Obama has taken to various forums to discuss the issue of gun violence in the United States. In a tweet sent from his @POTUS account on June 20, 2015 -- three days after the killings -- Obama said... |
24456 | "The Democrats' health care bill ""gives a new Health Choices Commissioner the right to look at an individual's tax return to determine what medical benefits or subsidies that person qualifies for." | Conservative group says health care reform bill allows government to pry into tax records | mixture | National, Health Care, Taxes, Concerned Women for America, | "Concerned Women for America, a conservative group, says the Democrats' health care reform bill could allow the government to peek into your tax records. On its Web site, the group states, ""Not only are your medical records at risk under Obamacare, but your financial records too. The proposed bill expressly gives a ne... |
34693 | Swallowing active dry yeast before drinking alcohol will prevent you from getting drunk. | Ultimately, however, the lack of peer reviewed data or research on this topic—for or against the claim—prevents us from making a concrete ruling on the topic at this time. | unproven | Medical, Home Cures | In April 2014, Esquire magazine published an interview with billionaire Jim Koch, the co-founder and chairman of the Boston Beer Company. In that interview, Koch divulged his secret for how to “drink beer all night long and never get drunk” — the secret being to swallow one teaspoon of active dry yeast per beer prior t... |
26674 | Joe Biden Says Bernie Sanders voted against the auto bailout | Sanders voted against a set of funds that financed most of the auto bailout, but the funds’ primary purpose was bailing out Wall Street firms, which Sanders strongly opposed. Sanders voted in favor of a standalone meausre providing auto companies with $14 billion, which was separate from the Wall Street bailout funds h... | mixture | National, Economy, Joe Biden, | "As the United States faces economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders argued about their past records on bailouts following the 2008 financial collapse. Sanders said that he voted against the 2008 bailout while Biden supported it. Biden then countered: ... |
6345 | Lawsuit: Georgia jail conditions bad for mentally ill women. | Prolonged solitary confinement and harrowing conditions at a Georgia jail result in a substantial risk of serious psychological harm for mentally ill women held there, a federal lawsuit says. | true | Union City, Georgia, Health, Trials, Lawsuits, Atlanta, U.S. News | Urine and toilet water pool on the floor of cells and meals of moldy sandwich meat are not uncommon at the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail in Union City, the lawsuit filed Wednesday says. Lawyers have observed women in psychological distress lying on the floor, their bodies and the walls of their cells smeared wit... |
18406 | "Ken Tanner Says ""The idea of one casino per tribe is a false one." | Is the idea of one casino per tribe a false one? | mixture | Oregon, Gambling, Ken Tanner, | "The Coquille Indian Tribe wants to turn a bowling alley in Medford into a casino with 600 video gambling machines, adding to another casino it operates in North Bend. Coquille Tribal Chief Ken Tanner told a reporter that the tribe has the right to build a second casino. ""The idea of one casino per tribe is a false on... |
6791 | Walker signs bill lifting Wisconsin mining moratorium. | Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Monday lifting Wisconsin’s moratorium on gold and silver mining, reversing his vote from nearly 20 years ago imposing the ban and brushing aside conservationists’ warnings that the measure will lead to devastating pollution. | true | Wisconsin, Scott Walker, Rhinelander, Environment, Pollution | The governor signed the GOP-authored bill during a mid-day stop at the Oneida County Airport in Rhinelander. The bill’s supporters say lifting the moratorium will re-energize mining in northern Wisconsin and boost the region’s economy. Lawmakers from both parties put the ban in place in 1998 out of concerns about sulfi... |
37548 | Who the hell tries to slip taxpayer funded abortion funding into a #Coronavirus bill? That is just sick Nancy and the Dems | Did ‘Nancy and the Dems’ Try to ‘Slip Taxpayer-Funded Abortion’ into a Coronavirus Aid Bill? | false | Fact Checks, Politics | On March 12 2020, a Facebook user shared a status update claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the entire Democratic Party tried to “slip taxpayer-funded abortions” into a funding package designed to help blunt the worst effects of a global pandemic:Across a black background, white text read:Who the hell tries t... |
9057 | Soy, cruciferous vegetables associated with fewer common breast cancer treatment side effects – Georgetown University Medical Center | This news release rather thinly describes a study designed to demonstrate whether chemicals naturally found in soy-based foods and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale are linked to reduced side effects of hormone-related treatments among breast cancer survivors. Although the release ably describes some of ... | mixture | Georgetown University Medical Center,menopausal symptoms,side effects,soy-based foods | While dietary interventions often are considered inexpensive, they are not free. The cost of adding cruciferous veggies and soy products to the shopping lists of potentially millions of women is worthy of a mention. Beyond vague descriptions of benefits such as “fewer reports of menopausal symptoms,” the news release d... |
31491 | The date of Earth Day was chosen as April 22 by the Unicorn Killer to coincide with Vladimir Lenin's birthday. | A good many historical events and birthdays (including those of Isabella I, Emmanuel Kant, and J. Robert Oppenheimer) have taken place on April 22, but neither any of them nor Ira Einhorn has anything to do with the choice of that day for Earth Day. The true (and more mundane) explanation is that when founder Gaylord N... | false | Holidays, earth day | Earth Day is an annual event celebrated since 1970 on April 22, a day on which events are held around the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The modern Earth Day observance originated with efforts set in motion by Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson amidst the burgeoning environmental movement of 1... |
8875 | Heart defibrillator implants can be hacked: experts. | Implanted heart defibrillators, which automatically shock a fluttering heart back into a normal rhythm, can be hacked from the outside, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. | true | Health News | There is no immediate danger to patients, the team of computer experts, electrical engineers and cardiologists said. But they made one Medtronic Inc device give up patient information off its computer chip, got it to fire improperly, and ran its battery down, all using inexpensive equipment. They offered a way to fix t... |
5285 | Actress-writer Waithe: Films fall short of ethnic equality. | Hollywood is falling short of ethnic equality despite black-led films including “Black Panther,” actress and award-winning writer Lena Waithe said. | true | Los Angeles, Race and ethnicity, Music, Entertainment, Movies, North America, Lena Waithe, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood, TV | There are “a million ‘La La Lands’ every year. How often do we get a ‘Moonlight’? How often do we get ‘Black Panther’?” she said. “What to me will be true equality is when ‘Black Panther’ comes out and it’s just like ‘Captain America.’” Waithe, an actress and Emmy-winning screenwriter with the streaming comedy “Master ... |
2212 | Bulgaria steps up measures to prevent spread of African swine fever. | Bulgaria has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of deadly African swine fever and protect the country’s 600-million lev ($344 million) pig-breeding industry, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday. | true | Health News | The highly contagious disease, which is incurable in pigs but harmless to humans, has spread rapidly across the northern part of the European Union member. The Black Sea state has reported more than 30 cases of African swine fever in several regions, including border provinces with Romania, in July. Bulgaria found thre... |
31122 | The August 2017 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor was called off after the former was arrested in July 2017. | However, we found no reports of Mayweather having been arrested in 2017, and his August 2017 fight against Connor McGreggor has not been cancelled. | false | Fauxtography, connor mcgreggor, floyd mayweather, mayweather arrested | A news report featuring footage of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. walking into a court room was recirculated in July 2017 along with the inaccurate claim that the boxer had been arrested and that his much-hyped August 2017 fight against UFC star Connor McGregor had been cancelled. The video was published to the web site To... |
13384 | "As a result of Chris Sununu’s vote against a Planned Parenthood contract, ""nearly 3,000 fewer"" women and families statewide accessed health care for birth control, cancer screenings and annual exams." | "Democratic candidate for governor Colin Van Ostern said as a result of Chris Sununu’s vote against a Planned Parenthood contract, ""nearly 3,000 fewer"" women and families statewide accessed health care for birth control, cancer screenings and annual exams Sununu, a Republican, did vote against a $639,000 Planned Pare... | false | Abortion, New Hampshire, Health Care, Voting Record, Colin Van Ostern, | "Over the past few years, the issue of Planned Parenthood funding has turned New Hampshire’s little-known Executive Council into a lightning rod for controversy. Now that two executive councilors - Republican Chris Sununu and Democrat Colin Van Ostern - are running for governor, their votes on Planned Parenthood have b... |
10837 | Drug for Irritable Bowel Achieves Goals in Trial | This New York Times story about an experimental drug for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) satisfied most of our criteria. Its few shortcomings, however, were significant and threw the overall story out of balance. First, the story reported on clinical trial results obtained directly from the manufacturer of the drug bein... | true | "The story notes that the new drug would likely cost ""several dollars a day."" We’ll call this satisfactory since we can’t know exactly how much this drug will cost, but we’d suggest that a cost-per-month metric would be a better way to quantify the costs of treatment. It would allow for easier comparison with other r... | |
26555 | Facebook post Says the U.S. is developing an “antivirus” that includes a chip to track your movement. | This is a hoax. There is no “antivirus” or vaccine being developed that includes a chip to track movements. | false | Fake news, Technology, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "According to a theory circulating on the internet, the United States government will soon have an ""antivirus"" for the novel coronavirus that involves inserting a chip into your body to track your movements. That's news to us. We came across a lengthy Facebook post that claims an ""RFID chip"" will be included in the... |
28414 | "In 1943 the Supreme Court ruled that no one can be forced to participate in patriotic rituals such as the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, so calling for NFL players to be fired for ""taking a knee"" in protest amounts to calling for the law to be broken." | What's true: The Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) that under the free speech provisions of the First Amendment, public school students cannot be compelled to participate in patriotic rituals such as the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem. What's false: Neither t... | mixture | Legal Affairs, national anthem, national anthem protests, National Football League | National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick sparked a national controversy in 2016 by refusing to participate in pre-game renderings of the U.S. national anthem, “taking a knee” instead to protest police brutality and the oppression of people of color in America. Many of Kaepernick’s fellow athletes in the NF... |
9497 | Blood test by Britain's Angle detects ovarian cancer in study | Promising but preliminary studies of the ability of a blood test to detect the presence of ovarian cancer were heralded in a company press release and picked up in this Reuters story. Although devoid of many evidentiary details, this text’s bigger problem is that it turns unpublished pilot studies into news. The blood ... | false | ovarian cancer | Cost is not discussed here. Cost is always a consideration when discussing a new testing method. The existing blood tests (CA-125 and OVA-1) are relatively inexpensive ($60 and $650 respectively). Although this new method may be more sensitive and specific, its cost effectiveness is uncertain at the moment. Existing te... |
4973 | Recuperating Sanders says he may slow down campaigning pace. | Bernie Sanders began reintroducing himself to the 2020 campaign on Tuesday, venturing outside his Vermont home to say that he doesn’t plan on leaving the presidential race following last week’s heart attack — but that he may slow down a frenetic pace that might have contributed to his health problems. | true | Vermont, AP Top News, Health, General News, Politics, Campaigns, Election 2020, Heart attack, Burlington, Bernie Sanders | “We were doing, in some cases, five or six meetings a day, three or four rallies and town meetings and meeting with groups of people. I don’t think I’m going to do that,” Sanders told reporters when asked what his schedule may look like going forward. “But I certainly intend to be actively campaigning. I think we’re go... |
11301 | Pitt program to prevent diabetes shows promise | "This report takes a useful approach to coverage of a complicated study on diabetes prevention in high-risk groups: It focuses on one local man who participated in the study. By describing his participation in some detail, the reporter does a good job of illustrating the protocol and the health situation the study addr... | false | "The reporter misses an opportunity to say how much it costs to participate in a diabetes prevention program–or to take metformin. A creative reporter could then have compared those costs to the costs of managing diabetes. During a time when costs of health care are so much in the public’s mind, people reporting on tre... | |
5187 | Book: Trump mulled order to close parts of VA health system. | Eager for changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs, President Donald Trump toyed early on with issuing an executive order to close parts of the VA health system without consulting Congress, according to an upcoming book by his former VA secretary. | true | AP Top News, Health, Privatizations, General News, Politics, Business, David Shulkin, Veterans, Veterans affairs, Donald Trump | In the book, obtained by The Associated Press, David Shulkin describes a March 6, 2017, conversation in the Oval Office where Trump explored ways his administration could act quickly to shutter government-run VA medical centers that he viewed as poorly performing. Trump was fresh off his 2016 campaign in which privatiz... |
26487 | “Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer bans buying US flags during lockdown.” | In Michigan, an executive order requires businesses to close areas of the store that are dedicated to carpet, flooring, furniture, garden center and plant nurseries and paint. Michiganders aren’t prohibited from buying American flags. | false | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "Since the first COVID-19 cases were identified in Michigan in March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has tapped her emergency powers to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A recent blog post on TeaParty.org claims that includes prohibiting Michiganders from buying American flags. ""And there it is…"" reads the post’s hea... |
24925 | "Sarah Palin endorsed a Wasilla policy that charged sexual assault victims for their ""rape kits." | Wasilla had the policy, but Palin didn't comment on it | mixture | National, Crime, Bloggers, | "As bloggers have scrutinized every aspect of Sarah Palin’s record as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, many of them have criticized a city policy that sought reimbursement for forensic exams from victims of sexual assaults. The bloggers contend Palin supported the policy and have criticized her for allegedly being insensitive... |
22824 | We have dozens of districts that go for 150 to 200 miles, splitting counties, splintering cities and connecting areas that have very little in common. | "Reform advocate says ""dozens'' of Florida political districts split counties and splinter cities" | true | Elections, Florida, Ellen Freidin, | "Following a polarizing midterm election, and with intensifying partisan bickering over everything from taxes to health care, a group dubbing itself No Labels is hoping to start an earnest discussion about policy over politics. The group, comprised of Democrats, Republicans and independents, launched its website on Dec... |
10155 | Medical Alert: Government Approves New Depression Treatment | This story covers a newly FDA approved for the treatment of major depression disorder: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This story fails to provide any scientific or clinical evidence about the device and the specific patients that it might help. No independent expert was interviewed to provide objective inform... | false | "This story correctly indicates that a typical treatment cost between $6,000 to $10,000. This cost, for 40 minute treatments, several times per week for 4-6 weeks, was verified with the manufacturer. This story relies on the anecdotal experience of one patient to describe the potential benefits of treatment. Potential ... | |
10365 | Targeted Beams: New Machine Speeds Radiation Treatment | "This was a totally uncritical story about a newly approved radiation treatment which can be used against prostate cancer. It describes a modification of an existing treatment (IMRT) that merely decreases treatment time, though not the number of treatments. The quality of life benefit of reducing treatment time by 3 to... | false | "The story states that ""The cost of RapidArc is similar to other radiation therapies. It is covered by Medicare and most insurers"". But that doesn’t tell us the cost, and it seems to suggest that since it is covered by insurers, the consumer need not worry about the costs. In fact, the acquisition of this sort of equ... | |
7393 | China halts work by team on gene-edited babies. | China’s government ordered a halt Thursday to work by a medical team that claimed to have helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, as a group of leading scientists declared that it’s still too soon to try to make permanent changes to DNA that can be inherited by future generations. | true | AP Top News, International News, Hong Kong, Genetic Frontiers , Health, China, Science, Asia Pacific | Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping told state broadcaster CCTV that his ministry is strongly opposed to the efforts that reportedly produced twin girls born earlier this month. Xu called the team’s actions illegal and unacceptable and said an investigation had been ordered, but made no mention o... |
4284 | Report reveals widespread abuse of women during childbirth. | A new report says more than one-third of women in four low-income countries in Africa and Asia were slapped, mocked, forcibly treated or otherwise abused during childbirth in health centers and suggests that such mistreatment occurs worldwide. | true | Ghana, International News, Abuse of women, General News, Africa, Health, Guinea, Nigeria | The study published Wednesday in The Lancet medical journal says women in Nigeria, Myanmar, Ghana and Guinea also experienced high rates of cesarean sections and surgical cuts to the vagina, or episiotomies, without their consent — and often without a painkiller. “Mistreatment during childbirth can amount to a violatio... |
2691 | Roche aims to 'underwhelm' on SMA drug price to challenge rivals. | Swiss drugmaker Roche plans to price its oral spinal muscular atrophy drug (SMA) risdiplam aggressively to challenge two of the world’s most expensive medicines, Biogen’s Spinraza and Novartis’s gene therapy Zolgensma. | true | Health News | Spinraza’s list price is $750,000 in the first year, and $375,000 thereafter, while Novartis’s gene therapy for the genetic muscle wasting disease lists at $2.1 million, making it the drug industry’s most expensive one-time treatment. Third-to-market risdiplam is due for a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision by ... |
7957 | Countries face 'fights' over facemasks in China: German health minister. | Countries’ procurement agents are fighting each other in China for access to the protective equipment that must play a key role in stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said. | true | Health News | He was responding to a spate of reports of consignments of protective masks destined for European countries being bought up by United States officials, sometimes even as aeroplanes stood ready for departure on the tarmac. “You hear stories of people fighting in the truest sense of the word over these masks in China,” h... |
9834 | Brain stimulation may help some stroke patients | The major difference is that Reuters attempted to put the study’s main finding — a 23% improvement with the new treatment on a test of cognitive abilities — into meaningful terms for readers. And although WebMD quoted more sources (four independent experts compared with Reuters’ one), we think Reuters managed to cover ... | true | Reuters Health,Stroke | The story states that the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) machine costs about $50,000, but it could also have noted — as WebMD did — that there are costs associated with training clinicians to use the machine. In addition, neither story tried to estimate what a course of treatment might cost patients or their i... |
11614 | Breaching a Barrier to Fight Brain Cancer | This story, on a novel approach to infusing chemotherapy for a brain tumor, just goes to show what a careful, engaged reporter can accomplish when given sufficient time and space to write a story. As the story’s ratings show, the reporter follows all health reporting best practices. But the story accomplishes a great d... | true | "Costs of the treatment were not mentioned. But we can understand that in an article about an experimental approach so far from clinical use. With only a Phase I study underway, there is no data to report. The story makes this clear. The story explains that the infusion method has not been proven safe–indeed, that’s wh... | |
10143 | Atkins fares best in study of four weight-loss regimens | This is a story describing a recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association which compared weight loss after a year of following one of four popular diet plans. It is the best comparison of these popular diets to date. The story details the weight loss and changes to the lipid profiles and in... | true | The story did not mention the relative costs for following any of the particular diets mentioned. It did not mention the cost of the books nor the costs associated with dietician visits. The primary outcome of the study was weight loss; after a year, individuals on the Atkins diet were reported to have lost about 10 po... | |
36062 | A pathologist said that Jeffrey Epstein's death looked more like homicide than suicide. | Did a Forensic Pathologist Say That Jeffrey Epstein’s Death Looks More Like Homicide Than Suicide? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On October 30 2019, media and its social counterpart were awash in a bombshell claim that a pathologist said that Jeffrey Epstein’s death looked more like a homicide than a suicide:Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy shows signs of homicide, not suicide, according to forensic pathologist https://t.co/D4RhYb9DvP— fox8news (@fox8n... |
8797 | Group says Herbalife products have too much lead. | Six dietary supplements sold by Herbalife Ltd contain dangerous amounts of lead if taken in the recommended dosages, according to information posted on Monday on a Web site linked to a long-time critic of the firm. | true | Health News | Herbalife disputed the claim, saying its weight-loss and nutritional products met regulatory requirements in all of its markets. “The FDA hasn’t established a general limit on lead in foods, but we are certainly well within their suggested guidelines,” Herbalife spokesman George Fischer said in a telephone intervi... |
24655 | Every year tobacco kills more Americans than did World War II — more than AIDS, cocaine, heroin, alcohol, vehicular accidents, homicide and suicide combined. | Claims that smoking kills more people annually than other dangerous activities combined | true | National, Consumer Safety, George Will, | "Congress recently gave the Food and Drug Administration the ability to regulate tobacco, and George Will is not impressed. He said the new law is flawed because it restricts advertising (new rules could ""merit a constitutional challenge""), because it is supported by the tobacco industry (""a crystalline example of W... |
4288 | Kenya becomes 3rd country to roll out malaria vaccine. | Health authorities in Kenya on Friday started administering doses of the world’s only licensed malaria vaccine to young children in rural areas facing high transmission rates. | true | Ghana, Malaria, Health, General News, East Africa, Africa, International News, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi | Kenya became the third African country to introduce the vaccine, after Malawi and Ghana. The aim is to reach about 360,000 children per year across the three countries. The health ministry described the milestone on Twitter as “a historic day” for the East African country as the health minister launched vaccinations in... |
30483 | "A CDC doctor who swarned the public that flu shots had caused a ""deadly flu epidemic"" was found dead:" | “Dr. Cunningham worked in the chronic disease unit, which is not the infectious disease unit, he had no access to classified material,” [Major Michael] O’Connor [of the Atlanta Police Department] said.”[The CDC doesn’t] believe that his employment would be cause for something like that to occur because he simply doesn’... | false | Junk News, cdc, centers for disease control and prevention, your news wire | On 5 April 2018, the Your News Wire web site published an article reporting that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor who supposedly had warned the public that flu shots had caused a “deadly flu epidemic” was found dead: The body of the missing CDC doctor who controversially warned that this year’s “disa... |
25915 | Quotes President Donald Trump as saying, “Everybody says I’ve done a tremendous job with COVID… I think a little gratitude would be nice. Maybe a big ‘Thank you Mr. President’ is called for.” | This quote can only be found in two opinion pieces that were originally published by the News-Times in Connecticut. Trump didn’t say this quote on the two dates the opinion pieces claimed he did, and there is no evidence he’s ever said it. The newspaper has clarified its post to say it cannot confirm the quote. | false | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump has fixated on gratitude from state leaders and a lack of positive news coverage of his administration’s response. ""We've done a fantastic job,"" Trump said at a press conference in March. ""The only thing we haven't done well is to get good press. We've done a fan... |
11323 | For heart bypass, old way is better | This story reported on the results of a recent study comparing two ways of performing cardiac bypass surgery. It did a good job of providing readers with the insight that avoiding use of a heart-lung machine did not appear to provide either short or long term benefit and that at least for the population studied, long t... | true | The story did not mention how the cost per patient compared for the two procedures, though the journal article indicated that at least within the first 30 days after the operation, costs were similar. The story used absolute risk and compared the relevant outcomes in the two groups studied. The story would have been st... |
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