claim_id stringlengths 1 234 | claim stringlengths 14 491 | explanation stringlengths 1 4.18k | label stringclasses 5
values | subjects stringlengths 0 223 | main_text stringlengths 18 41.7k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16560 | "Every 28 hours"" an unarmed black person is shot by a cop." | "When asked how often an unarmed black is shot by a cop, Hill answered ""every 28 hours."" He then referenced a report issued by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and said ""that every 28 hours an unarmed black person is killed."" Either description is incorrect. The report, which is not an academic work, reaches its c... | false | Crime, Race and Ethnicity, Public Safety, PunditFact, Marc Lamont Hill, | "In the days before the funeral of 18-year-old Ferguson, Mo., resident Michael Brown, two black pundits appeared on CNN to debate what his killing meant for race relations in America. It quickly turned into a shoutfest driven by the opposing political views of conservative radio host Larry Elder and liberal professor a... |
30732 | "Former First Lady Michelle Obama was arrested after acting “unpredictably violent"" during a domestic dispute." | Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered a... | false | Junk News, michelle obama, patriot post, reagan was right | On 1 January 2018, the Patriot Post published an article reporting that former First Lady Michelle Obama had been arrested by DC Metro police following a 911 call over her acting “unpredictably violent”: Michelle Obama was taken into custody by the DC Metro police Monday evening around 9 PM, according to a clerk inside... |
2792 | Over 600 passengers, crew fall ill on Royal Caribbean cruise. | The number of passengers and crew who fell ill aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship climbed to more than 600 on Monday, many of them vomiting and suffering diarrhea. | true | Health News | The updated sick count aboard the Explorer of the Seas, which cut short its Caribbean cruise and was expected to dock in New Jersey on Wednesday, is more than double the 300 originally thought to have been felled by gastrointestinal illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among those ... |
4889 | District sticks to pro-abstinence approach on sex education. | The Millard school district in Omaha is sticking by its pro-abstinence approach on sex education. | true | Omaha, Health, Gender identity, Sex education, Education | The school board Monday night unanimously approved instructional materials for health, which includes sex education for grades 5, 6 and 8 and for high school students. Some parents had urged the board to adopt a comprehensive policy on sex education such as the one employed by Omaha Public Schools. That district’s appr... |
2734 | India's Ranbaxy faces more regulatory scrutiny after U.S. ban. | Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has been hit by more regulatory scrutiny sparked by a U.S. ban on the bulk of its drugs, in a backlash that could bump up compliance costs and erode profitability among some Indian makers of generic drugs. | true | Health News | India’s biggest drugmaker by revenue, like rival Wockhardt Ltd, has had factories stopped from sending drugs and ingredients to its biggest market because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the plants fell short of “good manufacturing practices”. A ban at an Indian plant last month could force Ranbaxy’s U... |
5162 | Labour says UK health service ‘for sale’ in US trade talks. | Britain’s health system became a battleground in the country’s election campaign on Wednesday, as opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson of secretly seeking a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States that would drive up the cost of drugs and imperil the state... | true | Global trade, AP Top News, Race and ethnicity, Religion, Health, General News, Jeremy Corbyn, International News, Business, London, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Europe, United States | With the future of the National Health Service a hot issue in campaigning ahead of the Dec. 12 general election, Corbyn waved 451 pages of documents at a press conference declaring that they covered six rounds of negotiations between U.S. and U.K. negotiators over two years from July 2017. The documents, which have pre... |
29606 | Various rumors about the Target chain of retail stores (see below). | We fact check a number of claims about Target's relationship with veterans' causes, ownership, and purported political stances. | false | Uncategorized, target, target rumors, target.com | FALSE: The Target Corporation does not contribute to veterans’ causes. FALSE: The Target Corporation is French-owned. FALSE: The Target Corporation is Muslim-controlled. FALSE: The Target Corporation provides corporate grants only for ‘gay and lesbian causes.’ FALSE: The Target Corporation does not contribute to the U.... |
11078 | Microneedles may make getting flu shots easier | "This was an unbalanced and incomplete account of a new ""microneedle"" technology for delivering flu shots. We have to wade 300 words into a 500-word piece to learn that the research was primarily conducted in mice, and there’s never even any discussion of what kind of study was actually performed. Almost the entire s... | false | "There is no discussion of costs, which is obviously a huge concern when we’re talking about a vaccine that is recommended for nearly the entire population. Although the cost of the patch is unknown at the present time, the press release from Georgia Tech notes that the hope is that the microneedle patch will cost abou... | |
26281 | “Autopsies prove that COVID-19 is” a blood clot, not pneumonia, “and ought to be fought with antibiotics” and the whole world has been wrong in treating the “so-called” pandemic. | The novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 is a virus. Viruses do not respond to antibiotic treatment; antibiotics work only on bacterial infections. COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness that in some cases causes pneumonia. Another effect, according to the autopsies in Italy, is lung damage caused by... | false | Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "When it comes to treating COVID-19, the world has it all wrong, a Facebook post claims. ""Autopsies prove that COVID-19 is a disseminated intravascular coagulation — pulmonary thrombosis. It is now clear that the whole world has been attacking the so-called coronavirus pandemic wrongly due to a serious pathophysiologi... |
21378 | "Ron Paul Says Rick Perry wrote a letter ""supporting Hillarycare." | It's correct that Perry sent a letter to Hillary Clinton commending her efforts as the head of the president’s health care task force at a time when the president’s general goals and some possible specifics of the plan had been reported. Yet Perry's letter, dispatched more than five months before the plan was finalized... | false | Health Care, Texas, Ron Paul, | "Standing next to the other Texan seeking the Republican presidential nomination, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson suggested during a Sept. 7, 2011, debate that Gov. Rick Perry had flip-flopped on health care. ""You know, the governor of Texas criticized the governor of Massachusetts for Romneycare, but he wrote a re... |
11571 | New laser treatment takes aim at toenail fungus | Near the end of this story, we meet a man named “Richard,” and describes him as “a retiree in Fairfax who did not want his full name associated with toenail fungus”. We wish the Washington Post had considered a similar level of discretion when choosing to pursue this story. Even though it tosses in a few counterpoints,... | false | Washington Post | The story did a good job on this point. It noted that one treatment “costs about $1,000 and is not covered by insurance.” It put this into a larger context by saying, “Last year, Americans spent $354 million on prescription and over-the-counter treatments for toenail fungus, according to IMS Health, a health-care infor... |
27519 | Columbia Records mistakenly released a Byrds album without a title. | Much as we like to think that all aspects of artistic efforts are deliberately infused with meaning, sometimes random chance and coincidence have their say as well. For a similar story involving a different band’s album title, check out our “No Answer” page. | true | Entertainment, byrds, hidden messages, music legends | By 1970 the Byrds, who had started out so promisingly just five years earlier with two #1 hits (“Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”) had undergone more personnel changes than the manager’s office at Yankee Stadium under George Steinbrenner. Gene Clark quit the group in 1966; David Crosby was fired in 1967 and ... |
4887 | Idaho House passes ‘opt-in’ sex education bill. | A bill that would require parents to “opt in” before their children can receive sex education in school has cleared the Idaho House on a party-line vote. | true | Legislature, Education, Health, Legislation, Boise, Sex education, Bills, Idaho Falls, Idaho | The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt of Idaho Falls, now heads to the Senate side of the GOP-controlled Idaho Legislature. The legislation would require parents to specifically opt-in before their children can attend sex education lessons at public schools. That’s the opposite of the current system, in... |
7412 | New frontier in cancer care: Turning blood into living drugs. | Ken Shefveland’s body was swollen with cancer, treatment after treatment failing until doctors gambled on a radical approach: They removed some of his immune cells, engineered them into cancer assassins and unleashed them into his bloodstream. | true | AP Top News, Cancer, International News, Tumors, Washington, Politics, Genetic Frontiers, Health, Business, Seattle, Science, North America, Lymphoma, U.S. News | Immune therapy is the hottest trend in cancer care and this is its next frontier — creating “living drugs” that grow inside the body into an army that seeks and destroys tumors. Looking in the mirror, Shefveland saw “the cancer was just melting away.” A month later doctors at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center ... |
9359 | First marijuana-derived drug approved, will target severe epilepsy | This Washington Post article announces approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the first drug made directly from a compound found naturally in marijuana plants. It is meant to treat rare, genetic forms of severe childhood epilepsy, and the article goes to some lengths to make clear the FDA’s view that the ... | mixture | Epilepsy | Some reports suggest the cost of Epidolex will be high and insurance coverage is unclear. The article should have addressed these issues. Some would argue that FDA approval automatically means that benefits and risks of a new drug have been quantified to experts’ satisfaction. But that is not necessarily the case and r... |
15501 | "John Oliver Says ""Florida is a model"" for successful pretrial release programs." | "Oliver said ""pretrial service programs have succeeded around the country,"" namely Florida, adding, ""And it is a truly frightening state of affairs when Florida is a model for progressive change."" Experts in pretrial justice, several of whom talked with Oliver’s staff, said certain counties within Florida have demo... | mixture | Criminal Justice, Crime, PunditFact, John Oliver, | "Poking fun at Florida is oh-so-easy. So HBO host and news-comedian John Oliver surprised us, and maybe even himself, on Last Week Tonight when he hailed Florida as a model for the country for a component of its judicial system — and not for, say, assaults with a slice of pizza, or something like that. Oliver criticize... |
2617 | Will starving yourself help you live longer? Maybe not. | The longevity diet’s premise is seductively simple: cutting your calorie intake well below your usual diet will add years to your life. | true | Health News | New research published on Wednesday, however, shows the extreme, emaciating diet doesn’t increase lifespan in rhesus monkeys, the closest human relatives to try it in a rigorous, long-running study. While caveats remain, outside experts regarded the findings as definitive, particularly when combined with those from a s... |
10591 | The amazing power of an experimental cancer drug | "This nicely written article describes the highs and lows of a patient treated with the “smart” drug Gleevec, used to fight a rare form of fatal leukemia known as CML as well as a rare cancer known as gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) that is caused by a mutation in a gene named kit. The author, a physician and for... | mixture | "Though a staff-written article in the previous day’s edition of the Boston Globe explained that “smart” drugs are very expensive ($3000 to $8000 per month for breast and lung cancer drugs, respectively), this article failed to mention cost. The earlier Globe article cautioned that such high costs are an important cons... | |
31105 | Fukushima scientists have warned that fish in the Pacific Ocean will never again be safe for human consumption due to radioactive contamination | This claim misrepresents a questionable blog post as a scientific investigation in order to use a flashy quote, and further challenges credibility by mixing together a variety of out-of-date themes based on blog posts from four years before. | false | Science, fish, fukushima, newspunch.com | On 5 August 2017, the conspiracy-peddling website Your News Wire published a story — devoid of any citations or named sources — with the headline “Fukushima Officials: Humans Should Never Eat Fish Again.” “Fukushima scientists,” the writer claims, have concluded that “the days of eating fish from the Pacific ocean ar... |
28915 | "Men's rights activist ""Roosh V"" organized a ""make rape legal"" event across 43 countries on 6 February 2016." | Bayer’s chief executive on Thursday acknowledged the German maker of pharmaceuticals and crop chemicals was facing massive challenges from a wave of lawsuits over an alleged carcinogenic effect of its Roundup weedkiller. | mixture | Politics, daryush valizadeh, make rape legal, return of kings | “We have lost two cases in lower courts. That is why the company is massively affected. You see it in our share price,” CEO Werner Baumann said in a panel discussion at an academic business event in Cologne. “You see it selectively, mainly here in Germany and in France - less so in the USA - in our reputational scores,... |
4081 | Idaho officials confirm 2 cases of vaping-related illness. | Public health officials confirmed Tuesday that two people in Idaho have developed a serious lung disease linked to vaping. | true | Lung disease, Health, General News, Public health, Idaho | The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the two patients, one a minor and the other a young adult, were hospitalized for a time but are now recovering at home. Three more suspected cases were being investigated, said department spokeswoman Niki Forbing-Orr, and said officials expected that number to increa... |
9260 | New HIF-2 kidney cancer therapy more effective than current treatment, study shows | This is a mouse study of a product called PT2399 from a class of drugs called HIF-2 inhibitors that have purportedly been shown to be “more effective and better tolerated than the standard of care drug” in the treatment of kidney cancer. While this is promising research, appropriate language to say that this is a very ... | mixture | kidney cancer,mice studies,UT Southwestern Medical Center | No costs mentioned. If a release claims that a drug is “more effective and better tolerated than the standard of care drug,” it should also be prepared to give some cost specifics. We are told that “mice transplanted with kidney cancer from over 20 patients” found that “the HIF-2 inhibitor PT2399 controlled cancer in h... |
7498 | New Africa coronavirus crisis looms with internal spread. | The coronavirus has now been confirmed in at least 30 of Africa’s 54 countries, officials said Monday, and regional power South Africa warned of a new crisis once the virus begins to spread at home and into crowded low-income communities. | true | Liberia, Health, Ebola virus, Tanzania, Africa, International News, South Africa, China, Somalia, Travel, Virus Outbreak, Europe, General News | The most alarming confirmation of a first case came from Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation with one of the continent’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict. Tanzania, Liberia and Benin also announced their first cases. African nations have begun imposing travel restrictions as many confirmed c... |
35134 | Parents can receive a case of baby formula during the COVID-19 pandemic by calling the number on the back of the company's product. | As a partner for both parents and healthcare professionals, we know our products play a vital role in a family’s life. We are here to help navigate the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and ensure families can access our nutritional formulas, foods and beverages as the response to the pandemic evolves. | false | Medical, COVID-19 | In March 2020, as the COVID-19 coronavirus disease continued to spread around the globe, worried citizens started to stock up on supplies to “wait out the storm” in the relative safety of their homes. As store shelves were temporarily emptied, a viral message started to circulate on social media that claimed anyone loo... |
25804 | “Herd immunity has been reached.” | We have not reached herd immunity against the coronavirus, and scientists say we aren’t close to achieving it in the United States. Scientists estimate herd immunity will probably be reached when 60% to 70% of the population has been infected. | false | Public Health, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "Sharing a graph of COVID-19 testing trends in the United States, a recent Facebook post claims that ""HERD IMMUNITY HAS BEEN REACHED."" ""In fact,"" the post says, ""it was probably reached in May."" The post points to two ""bumps"" in the data. The first bump, it says, reflects when at-risk patients were tested for C... |
10474 | ‘Liberation procedure’ for multiple sclerosis sparks debate | "The article’s tone mimics the roller-coaster nature of these debates: stories of miraculous recoveries, ""groundbreaking"" research by mavericks, yet also caution by skeptical experts, conflicting evidence, and calls for more trials. It could’ve navigated this debate with a bit less emotion and fewer poignant adjectiv... | true | "We read that Paulette O’Leary (of Toronto) paid $13,000 for the procedure at a US medical center. However, as it seems the procedure was performed as part of a clinical trial, we’re unsure how generalizable her costs were to other situations — to what other patients or insurance companies might pay. Since the article ... | |
3982 | Gnat-borne disease turns up in Minnesota deer for 1st time. | Animal health officials say a disease carried by gnats has turned up in Minnesota deer for the first time. | true | North America, Animals, Health, Deer, Minnesota, Animal health | The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirmed the first cases of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease — or EHD — in a small herd of captive white-tailed deer in Goodhue County. Officials say six of seven animals died of the disease earlier this month. The remaining buck appears health and is showing no signs of the disease. ... |
27741 | "A California pastor praised the Orlando nightclub shooting, saying that it's a tragedy more homosexual ""predators"" and ""pedophiles"" didn't die." | "A California pastor praised the Orlando nightclub shooting, saying that it's a tragedy more ""predators"" and ""pedophiles"" didn't die." | true | Politics, orlando nightclub massacre | A California pastor responded to the June 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people and injured over 50 more by praising the gunman and stating that the victims “deserve what they got.” In a sermon delivered the morning after the massacre by Pastor Roger Jimenez of the Verity Bapti... |
11180 | New prostate cancer test shows greater accuracy | "This story reported on early, preliminary results with a new test that might be used for prostate cancer. The story missed an opportunity to put the news of yet another new way to detect prostate cancer into perspective. When giving the facts, rather than the number of biopsies, it would have been helpful to simply sh... | false | "There was no mention of costs – not of the current PSA test, not of what the new test may cost, not of biopsies. The story attempted to explain benefit only in terms of how often false positive test results were avoided, but there was no discussion of how sensitive the test was in correctly identifying prostate cancer... | |
7222 | Romania investigates man who posed as plastic surgeon. | Authorities in Romania are investigating an Italian citizen who allegedly posed as a plastic surgeon in clinics around Bucharest. | true | Bucharest, Romania, Kosovo, Health, International News, Europe | The College of Medics said Tuesday that it hadn’t issued Matteo Politi, who used the alias Matthew Mode, with a license to practice. Romanian health authorities, who must also issue a separate permit to doctors, say he was given one in March 2018 after submitting a fake diploma claiming he’d qualified as a doctor in Ko... |
19217 | "President Obama has worked to change Medicare for the worse"" by ""creating an unelected, unaccountable panel with the power to deny coverage of certain treatments." | Ohio Republican Party says Obama has hurt Medicare, creating an unaccountable panel with the power to deny coverage | false | Ohio, Health Care, Medicare, Ohio Republican Party, | "The Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law known commonly as Obamacare, remains a hot button subject in political campaigns. Not surprisingly, many claims made about the law in the 2010 campaign season are circulating again. Several appear in a brochure the Ohio Republican Party sent to voters in support of M... |
39539 | This is a prayer request from a woman in Texas named Vicky Field. She says her son, Chad was shot in the head in Iraq. | Pray for Chad, a soldier shot in the head in Iraq | true | Appeals, Military, War | Vicky’s son is named Chad Snowden. This prayer request first started circulating in November or December of 2004 and became widely circulated. According to a U.S. Army website, Chad was wounded by a sniper on November 13, 2004 while on patrol in Iraq. An article from May 5, 2005 in the Hood Coun... |
3831 | Pelosi moves on drug prices despite falling-out with Trump. | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is plowing ahead with her bill to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices despite a breakdown in relations with her chief bargaining partner on the issue — President Donald Trump. | true | Seniors, Medication, Health, General News, Legislation, Politics, Business, Medicare, Prices, Prescription drugs, Bills, Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump | The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the legislation would save Medicare $345 billion over seven years, partly because some seniors would no longer have to skimp on costly medicines, and they’d stay healthier. A separate estimate from nonpartisan analysts at the Department of Health and Human Servi... |
38239 | Claims that safflower oil and/or conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) supplements can help you lose weight, particularly in the belly area, have been circulating for years. | CLA Safflower Oil Leads to Weight Loss, Less Belly Fat | unproven | Food / Drink, Health / Medical | There’s not enough scientific data to determine whether or not claims that CLA safflower oil promotes weight loss, and “busts belly fat” — but available research casts serious doubt on those claims. Most safflower oil weight loss claims are based on a single study from 2009. The study, which was published in the Americ... |
34580 | Hillary Clinton disparaged nurses in the 1990s, remarking that they were just overpaid 'maids' or 'babysitters.' | Hillary Clinton has been a major political figure for nearly 25 years. While it’s true that the Internet is not a comprehensive database of everything that ever occurred in the history of the world, evidence of such a controversial public remark that widely “seen” by average citizens would surely have surfaced at some ... | unproven | Politics Politicians, hillary clinton, nurses | A persistent rumor that has been attached to Hillary Clinton for many years now, holding that sometime in the 1990s she made a disparaging remark about nurses. Although this rumor has been circulating for at least a decade now, concrete information about what she actually said, when she said it, or how the public was m... |
5218 | 2020 hopeful Hickenlooper meets Columbine shooting survivors. | Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday met with survivors of the Columbine High School attack and other survivors of the state’s mass shootings just four days before the 20th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. | true | Shootings, Colorado, Health, Columbine - 20 years later, Aurora, Politics, Denver, North America, School shootings, John Hickenlooper, Mental health | Hickenlooper, who is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has been touting gun control measures he signed following the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, which killed 12 people. But Tuesday’s event had a somber tone and barely touched on the reliable Democratic vote-getting issue of gun control, instead vee... |
9037 | Drug shown to reverse brain deficits caused by alcohol | This release reports on an early study using mice to evaluate the potential usefulness of tandospirone, a drug to treat both the anxiety and depression that follows binge drinking, as well as curb the negative effects on neurogenesis (the growth and development of neurons) that alcohol can cause. The release states in ... | false | alcohol consumption,brain cell regeneration,Queensland University of Technology | There is no mention within the release as to the cost of this drug, although it is readily available in both China and Japan. Readers have no indication whether the drug is cheap or expensive, an important factor when evaluating its usefulness among those battling binge drinking and alcoholism. The news release assumes... |
17052 | More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism. | "Abdul-Jabbar said, ""More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism."" While we don’t know what research he was citing to support his point, Abdul-Jabbar’s claim is a stretch based on the polls we found and the pollsters we consulted. Depending on the question, you could argue that as many as about 6 in 10 white... | false | Polls and Public Opinion, PunditFact, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, | "The May 4 Sunday news shows sought outside-the-Beltway perspective for talking about American race relations, booking stars from the basketball and music industries to analyze racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Guests included Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am and former basketball st... |
9440 | IUDs Are Linked To A Lower Cervical Cancer Risk, Study Finds | This is a story reporting results of a systematic review of studies about the relationship of IUDs to cervical cancer. After combing through multiple studies, the researchers identified 16 high-quality studies. Evidence in those studies indicated women with IUDs are 30% less likely to get cervical cancer, the story sai... | mixture | Cervical cancer,IUD | The exact cost of an IUD wasn’t mentioned in the story, but it did allude to the low cost of the product. The story also missed an opportunity to articulate the economic issues associated with HPV vaccine availability, namely the manufacturing cost of the vaccines and the profitability focus of the pharmaceutical indus... |
15906 | Nearly one in five women in America has been a victim of rape or attempted rape. | "Obama said that ""nearly one in five women in America has been a victim of rape or attempted rape."" A well-respected survey by the CDC found that 19.3 percent of women reported experiences that are considered to be rape or attempted rape under the survey’s guidelines. There are other surveys, using a different method... | true | National, Criminal Justice, Crime, Sexuality, Women, Barack Obama, | "On the occasion of this year’s Grammy Awards, President Barack Obama released a public-service announcement targeting sexual violence, particularly against women and girls. In his videotaped statement, Obama mentioned a statistic about the prevalence of rape -- with a frequency that was startling enough to provoke sev... |
7186 | Hawkins mulls Green Party presidential bid. | Howie Hawkins, a three-time candidate for New York governor, is considering a presidential run for the Green Party. | true | Howie Hawkins, New York, Elections, Universal health care, Syracuse | Hawkins announced this week that he has formed an exploratory committee to lay the ground work for a White House campaign next year. Hawkins has run for governor as a Green Party candidate three times, winning more than 100,000 votes to place third in last year’s race. The 66-year-old Syracuse resident is a former Team... |
4169 | Groups want tougher U.S. Steel fine for Lake Michigan spill. | The leaders of 18 environmental and civic groups have joined a push for U.S. Steel to face tougher penalties over a spill of hazardous substances from a northwestern Indiana plant into Lake Michigan. | true | Environment, Indiana, Lake Michigan, Lakes | The groups, which include the Alliance for the Great Lakes, Save the Dunes and the Hoosier Environmental Council, submitted a letter to a federal judge in Hammond arguing that the fine of about $600,000 included in a proposed settlement with the U.S. Justice Department is inadequate. “The proposed civil penalty ... doe... |
7826 | Colorado governor signs recreational marijuana regulations into law. | Governor John Hickenlooper on Tuesday signed into law measures to regulate the recreational use of marijuana in Colorado, including blood-level limits for motorists and setting up a voter referendum to impose a tax on the non-medical sale of cannabis. | true | Health News | Colorado House of Representatives Assistant Majority Leader Dan Pabon said the legislation reflected the “will of the voters” who charged lawmakers with setting up the regulatory system after approving legalization in a vote last November. One of the bills signed by Hickenlooper calls for a referendum in November on se... |
31071 | "An ""anti-fascist"" stabbed a man in Colorado after mistaking him for a white supremacist because of his haircut." | If convicted, Witt could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,650 for falsifying a police report. | false | Uncategorized, alt-right, anti-fascit, antifa | On 16 August 2017, Joshua Witt, 26, posted on his personal Facebook page a photograph of a bloody wound on his left hand, which he alleged was the result of being attacked by a man with a pocket knife who assumed he was a neo-Nazi. Since sharing his story with his Facebook friends, the post has gone viral and his story... |
8390 | North Korean lecturers say there are confirmed coronavirus cases in the country: RFA. | North Korean authorities told citizens in public lectures that there were confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country as early as the end of March, in contrast to official Pyongyang claims that it has not had any confirmed cases, Radio Free Asia reported on late Friday. | true | Health News | The lecturers, speaking to organisations and neighbourhood watch groups, said there were COVID-19 cases within the country, without giving any numbers, Radio Free Asia (RFA) said, citing two sources, one in Pyongyang and one in Ryanggang province. The lecturers said the confirmed cases were in Pyongyang, South Hwanghae... |
10268 | Taking aspirin could increase cancer survival by 20 percent | Aspirin is one of the most well-studied drugs on the planet, in terms of treating headaches, aches, and pains as well as in helping out those who are at risk of heart disease — the biggest killer of people in developed nations. This release promotes a study that looks at the common drug’s effect on the second-biggest k... | mixture | Academic medical center news release,Cancer | The release doesn’t touch on cost but because aspirin is so widely available, and its cost so minimal, we’ll mark this one “not applicable.” We’re told that, during a given span of 5 years, a low-dose aspirin regimen in a patient with colorectal, prostate, or breast cancer is associated with a 15-20% reduction in death... |
14564 | Drug overdoses are now the second-most common cause of death in New Hampshire. | "New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said, ""Drug overdoses are now the second-most common cause of death in New Hampshire."" Drug deaths are a growing cause of death in the state, and have certainly outpaced car accidents, diabetes and breast cancer, the three examples Hassan cited. But overdoses are not the second leadi... | false | New Hampshire, Drugs, States, Maggie Hassan, | "During her recent State of the State address, Gov. Maggie Hassan dropped a startling statistic about New Hampshire’s opioid problem. ""Drug overdoses are now the second-most common cause of death in New Hampshire,"" said the two-term Democrat. ""Today, more Granite Staters are killed by overdoses than by diabetes, bre... |
11355 | Study: New device boosts heart failure survival | Overall, this story does a good job of reporting that a continuous-flow heart assist device performed better than an older, pulsatile-flow model in selected patients with advanced heart disease who were not considered candidates for heart transplants. It highlights the cost as well as the potential benefits of the devi... | mixture | The story notes that the device costs $80,000 and that the implantation surgery costs about $45,000. It featured comments about how this new device will add to the substantial cost of advanced heart failure treatment. The story also pointed out that cost-effectiveness studies have not yet been done. It would have been ... | |
36127 | People should avoid foods colored black with activated charcoal, as the ingredient negates the effect of prescribed medications and oral contraceptives. | Spooky Season, Activated Charcoal in Food, and Medication | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On September 19 2019, a Facebook user shared a warning (archived here) that urged fans of the “spooky season” to avoid foods colored with activated charcoal due to its purported ability to prevent your body from absorbing medications.Alongside images of black-colored pancakes, ice cream, and coffee, text proclaimed:As... |
34513 | "President John F. Kennedy proclaimed that ""nobody can stop an assassination"" just before he was shot and killed in 1963." | Bushfires burned dangerously out of control on Australia’s east coast on Saturday, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds that had firefighters battling to save lives and property, as a change in wind conditions merged several large fire fronts. | unproven | Politics, jfk assassination, john f. kennedy | By late evening, Victoria had 14 fires rated at emergency or evacuate warning levels, and New South Wales had 11 rated emergency, with more than 150 others burning across the states. New fires had started, and others had broken containment lines. “There are a number of fires that are coming together - very strong, very... |
36000 | After a person's death, embalming their corpse is not required by law and the bereaved are allowed to hold funerals inside a home. | The Good Advice Hidden in a ‘Fun Funeral Facts’ Meme | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | Pointed advice in a popular Facebook meme are solid advice for consumers facing the tough decisions that come with the bereavement process, two experts told us.“People make the mistake of walking into the funeral home and treating the funeral home director almost like he was your minister,” said Joshua Slocum, executiv... |
11426 | Today’s Matters of the Heart: Dr. Nancy’s Personal Wake-Up Call | This long (almost 6 minutes – very long for TV news) segment was, nonetheless, almost completely devoid of evidence and of data. So it rode the single personal anecdote of the network’s medical editor, her vague complaints of feeling “tired, short of breath, just not feeling like myself”, and her path to getting a CT s... | false | "The story indicated that CT angiography was not routine and that it was ‘expensive’. The story failed to provide any framework for understanding how expensive. Does expensive mean several hundred or several thousand dollars? Is it something that is or is not commonly covered by insurance? Is it something that only TV ... | |
9619 | This isn’t hype: Canadian doctors just reversed severe MS using stem cells | The dirty, hot and dangerous work of battling bushfires might be physically exhausting for Raymond Lowe, but he is not stepping aside any time soon. | true | Multiple sclerosis,stem cell therapy,stem cells | Lowe is part of a four-person crew from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) in New South Wales (NSW) state who are all in their 60s and have given up their time over Christmas to tackle some of Australia’s fiercest fires, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Lowe is a volunteer and says that for him, the greatest reward is t... |
29883 | Senator Bernie Sanders said in a speech that cops were to blame for crime. | All of this has led to the tragic reality that we — the United States of America — have more people in jail than any other country on earth. We have more people in jail than China which is an authoritarian state with a population many times our own. And we should lay it all right out on the table. People in American ja... | false | Junk News, bernie sanders, blue news network, criminal justice reform | In February 2019, a bit of text supposedly documenting a portion of a speech delivered by Senator Bernie Sanders, in which the Vermont legislator allegedly blamed police for crime began to circulate on social media: “The way criminals have been treated by law enforcement when they break the law is nothing short of a n... |
26430 | "The Gates Foundation ""has the patent for this coronavirus." | The Gates Foundation has not been assigned any patents related to the novel coronavirus. The philanthropy is funding the development of potential vaccines for COVID-19. | false | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "Bill Gates is one of the leading voices on a timeline for a coronavirus vaccine. Some Facebook users say that’s because the billionaire philanthropist stands to profit from one. An April 20 post includes several claims about Gates and his connection to the COVID-19 pandemic. The one that caught our eye says the Bill &... |
18900 | "Since the federal Violence Against Women Act was adopted in 1994, ""cases of domestic violence have fallen by 67 percent." | "U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore said that since the Violence Against Women Act was adopted in 1994, ""cases of domestic violence have fallen by 67 percent."" Her statement is generally on the money, though a bit dated. It also needs some clarification -- namely that there are factors in addition to the law that are linked to the... | true | Criminal Justice, Crime, Women, Wisconsin, Gwen Moore, | "Domestic violence is so common that one in four women and one in seven men ""have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner,"" according to a national survey done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So, could it also be true that incidents of domestic violence have fallen dramatic... |
16564 | "Police in the United States are allowed to use tear gas even though it ""has been classified as a chemical weapon and banned in international conflict since 1993." | "The meme said police in the United States use tear gas even though it ""has been classified as a chemical weapon and banned in international conflict since 1993."" The Chemical Weapons Convention did outlaw the use of tear gas in warfare, though that went into effect in 1997, not 1993. However, the meme glosses over s... | true | National, Criminal Justice, Legal Issues, Foreign Policy, Facebook posts, | "Law enforcement officers in Ferguson, Mo., have used tear gas extensively in the wake of the police-shooting death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed African-American. The conflict in Ferguson led one PolitiFact reader to ask us to check the accuracy of a social-media meme now circulating that addresses the lega... |
12076 | "The Graham-Cassidy health care bill does ""include coverage of pre-existing conditions." | Trump said the Graham-Cassidy bill does include coverage of pre-existing conditions. The bill does address pre-existing conditions, and if states want billions of dollars in federal aid, they must show they intend to keep coverage accessible and affordable. But the other parts of the bill allow states to give insurance... | false | National, Health Care, Donald Trump, | "President Donald Trump said the latest Republican bill to get rid of Obamacare raises no concerns on coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The question has become a sticking point in the repeal effort. Before the Affordable Care Act, insurers could deny coverage to people who had cancer, asthma or some oth... |
31080 | "Law professor Alice Ristroph wrote in the Atlantic magazine that the 2017 solar eclipse, its path, or those who viewed it, were ""racist." | On 12 January 2017, President Barack Obama took up that suggestion, issuing a memorandum on “Diversity and Inclusion in Our National Parks” that directed federal agencies (among other actions) to engage in conducting “active outreach to diverse populations” and “identifying and making improvements to existing programs ... | false | Politics, conservative tribune, daily caller | In August 2017, two right-wing web sites falsely reported that a law professor had written that a 2017 solar eclipse was “racist.” First, the Daily Caller published an article headlined “The Eclipse Is Racist Because It Fails to Affect Enough Black People, the Atlantic Suggests,” stating that “The Atlantic, a once-grea... |
10553 | Study shows differences in pancreatic cancer treatments | The story felt like a recitation of the journal article, with no evidence of any independent reporting or analysis. To make things worse, it had a glaring error on the quality of life data. Bringing information about this new study to the public is important because it represents a substantial advance in treatment of m... | false | Cancer,CNN | No discussion of costs. One of the online commenters on the CNN website wrote: “What is the cost for these treatments? How long would the person live with no chemotherapy, just drugs for pain management? If a person wants to pay for these treatments on their own dime that’s one thing. But as a society that shares limit... |
7382 | Sanofi walks back after saying US would get vaccine first. | French pharmaceutical group Sanofi promised Thursday that it would make its COVID-19 vaccine, when ready, available in all countries, hours after the company’s CEO said the United States will get first access. | true | Racing for a Remedy, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, International News, Business, Emmanuel Macron, Edouard Philippe, Virus Outbreak, Europe, United States | Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson’s comments that a vaccine would go first to the U.S. prompted an angry reaction from the French government. “Equal access for all to the vaccine is not negotiable,” French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said in a tweet. French President Emmanuel Macron was described by his office as also being “... |
15071 | More preschoolers are shot dead each year than police officers are in the line of duty. | Kristof said that more preschoolers are shot dead each year than are on-duty police officers. For children aged 0-4, that is accurate for the past six years. For children aged 3-5, the statement is true in most years, but not in every year. | true | PunditFact, Guns, Nicholas Kristof, | "The Oregon shootings raise the question of what can be done to reduce the frequency of gun violence. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argued in favor of smaller steps that might enjoy public support, such as requiring safe storage at home and a 10-year ban for anyone convicted of domestic violence or assault.... |
26223 | Tom Tiffany Says the state “health secretary says don't go to hospitals or clinics, now the tourism secretary says don't recreate.” | Tiffany claimed that Wisconsin officials asked residents not to recreate outdoors or go to the doctor Officials from the Department of Health Services said that they recommended telehealth visits instead of in-person appointments, to combat the spread of COVID-19 Officials from the Department of Tourism said that ... | false | Health Care, States, Wisconsin, Coronavirus, Tom Tiffany, | "U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican who won an open seat in Congress in a May 11, 2020 special election, is off to Washington -- but still has his sights set on state government and how it is handling the coronavirus crisis. Tiffany, who spent nearly seven years as a state Senator before winning the seat, tweeted this... |
8299 | U.S. coronavirus death toll climbs to over 33,000: Reuters tally. | U.S. coronavirus deaths rose above 33,000 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, even as President Donald Trump laid out White House guidelines for reopening the economy. | true | Health News | The United States is the world’s worst-affected country with fatalities doubling in just a week. Deaths rose by nearly 2,200 on Thursday, with a few U.S. states yet to report, after a record single-day increase of 2,507 Wednesday. Seven Northeastern states on Thursday extended a shutdown to contain the coronavirus outb... |
28554 | On 1 September 2017, a new law will come into force in Texas, making it harder for consumers to get paid for property insurance claims related to weather. | The claims contained in viral Facebook posts on 27 August 2017 are a largely accurate description of the provisions of HB 1774, but they do lack important context and do not make it clear to readers that the law only affects how claims are dealt with in the event that someone decides to sue an insurance company. These ... | mixture | Politics, harvey, hurricane harvey, insurance | On 27 August 2017, as the full damage to Texas from a storm of historic proportions was not yet fully known, a number of social media posts began to spread, alerting readers to a change in Texas law around insurance claims in the event of weather damage. One Facebook user posted the following: EFFECTIVE FRIDAY, the law... |
3820 | Eyeing 2020, House empowers Medicare to negotiate drug costs. | Sharpening their 2020 election message, House Democrats on Thursday pushed through legislation that would empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and offer new benefits for seniors. | true | Seniors, Health, General News, Legislation, Politics, Elections, Medicare, Prices, Prescription drugs, Bills, Nancy Pelosi | The vote along party lines was 230-192. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill would cap Medicare recipients’out-of-pocket costs for medicines at $2,000 a year. It would use about $360 billion of its projected 10-year savings from lower drug costs to establish Medicare coverage for dental care, hearing, and vision, filling major ... |
8119 | Thailand reports 106 new coronavirus cases and three deaths. | Thailand has recorded 106 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, a health official said on Tuesday. | true | Health News | The country now has 827 cases and 4 fatalities since the outbreak began. The three deaths were patients who had other health complications, including a 70-year-old man who had tuberculosis, a 45-year-old man who had diabetes and a 79-year-old man who had health problems, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry ... |
34586 | The Democratic National Convention's organizers published a Craigslist ad seeking actors to replace missing or ejected delegates. | "What's true: A Craigslist ad appeared purporting to seek ""actors"" for a ""national convention."" What's false: The ad was not traced back to the DNC. What's undetermined: Who placed the ad; whether it was a joke or protest." | unproven | Politics Ballot Box, craigslist, dnc walkout, dncleaks | On 26 July 2016, a number of Bernie Sanders’ delegates left the Democratic National Convention as part of a planned walkout, and not long afterwards an advertisement was posted to Philadelphia’s Craigslist purporting to seek hundreds of paid “actors” to fill “empty seats” at a national convention. Given that only one b... |
8008 | Trump says coronavirus guidelines may get tougher; one million Americans tested. | U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that federal social distancing guidelines might be toughened and travel restrictions with China and Europe would stay in place as he urged Americans to help fight the coronavirus with tough measures through April. | true | Health News | Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said more than 1 million Americans had been tested for the coronavirus, which he called a milestone. The president announced on Sunday that the recommendations, which include encouraging people not go gather in groups larger than 10 and to avoid dining in restaurants or ... |
10282 | Celator Announces Phase 3 Trial for VYXEOS™ (CPX-351) in Patients with High-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia Demonstrates Statistically Significant Improvement in Overall Survival | Image shows blue-fluorescing Vyxeos nano-liposomes being engulfed by leukemia cells. Credit: Celator PharmaceuticalsThis is a company announcement of the results of a phase 3 trial of its new chemotherapy drug Vyxeos (cytarabine: daunorubicin) Liposome for Injection (also known as CPX-351) compared to the standard ther... | true | Cancer,industry/commercial news releases | There was no discussion of the costs of the treatment. The news release gave extensive data on median overall survival (9.56 months compared to 5.95 months for patients receiving 7+3, the standard treatment) and the “percentage of patients alive 24 months after randomization” (31.1% in the treatment arm compared to 12.... |
36071 | "Four images of bizarre ""gory"" mushrooms are authentic, unaltered, and representative of specific natural fungi." | The Most Chilling Mushrooms in the World — the Charms of the Fungi Kingdom | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On August 14 2019, the Facebook page “Freaked” shared the following post of the “most chilling mushrooms” in the world, a post that became popular ahead of Halloween that year:Above four purported examples of mushrooms (and another 26 in an album) a caption said:The most chilling mushrooms in the world .. The charms of... |
1023 | Unsubstantiated claims Muslim doctor sterilized women raise tensions in Sri Lanka. | On May 23 Sri Lankan newspaper Divaina, known for its nationalist stance, published a front page article alleging a Muslim doctor had secretly sterilized 4,000 Sinhala Buddhist women after caesarean deliveries. | true | Health News | The doctor, who was not identified in the article, was also described as a member of the National Thowheed Jamath, one of two local Islamist groups blamed for bombings that killed more than 250 people in hotels and churches on Easter Sunday. Reuters has no independent evidence to support these claims. The article was p... |
6346 | Steel mill sorry for spill that killed fish, closed beaches. | A steel company apologized for a spill of cyanide and ammonia that led to a fish kill and prompted the closure of beaches along Lake Michigan. | true | Lake Michigan, Fish, Lakes, Parks, National parks, Science, General News, Indiana, Wastewater, U.S. News | ArcelorMittal issued a statement Friday night saying it “apologizes and accepts responsibility for the incident from the Burns Harbor facility.” The National Park Service closed the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk beach areas at Indiana Dunes National Park and waters out to 300 feet (91 meters). The nearby city of Ogde... |
7966 | China starts to report asymptomatic coronavirus cases. | Chinese health authorities began on Wednesday reporting on asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus as part of an effort to allay public fears that people could be spreading the virus without knowing they are infected with it. | true | Health News | China, where the coronavirus emerged late last year, has managed to bring its outbreak under control and is easing travel restrictions in virus hot spots. But there are concerns that the end of lockdowns will see thousands of infectious people move back into daily life without knowing they carry the virus, because they... |
7533 | Amid virus, Saudis close Islam’s holiest sites to foreigners. | Saudi Arabia on Thursday closed off the holiest sites in Islam to foreign pilgrims over the coronavirus, disrupting travel for thousands of Muslims already headed to the kingdom and potentially affecting plans later this year for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual hajj pilgrimage. | true | Dubai, AP Top News, Iran, Religion, United Arab Emirates, International News, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, Flu, Ramadan, Travel, Epidemics, United Nations, Asia Pacific, Virus Outbreak, Europe, General News, Health, Islam | The unprecedented move, which wasn’t taken even during the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide, showed the growing worry about the virus across the Middle East, which has more than 360 confirmed cases. The region’s hardest-hit nation is Iran, which is Saudi Arabia’s biggest nearby rival, with the d... |
26496 | “Mass vaccination for COVID-19 in Senegal was started yesterday (4/8) and the first 7 CHILDREN who received it DIED on the spot.” | There is not yet a COVID-19 vaccine. Seven children weren’t vaccinated and then died in Senegal. | false | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "Scientists around the world are racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19 and some trials are underway. There aren’t, however, ""mass vaccinations"" happening in Africa that are causing kids to die, as a recent Facebook post claims. ""Mass vaccinations for COVID-19 in Senegal was started yesterday (4/8) and the firs... |
2377 | "Britain sets out plans for first ""3-parent"" IVF babies." | Britain proposed new regulations on Thursday that would make it the first country in the world to offer “three-parent” fertility treatments to families who want to avoid passing on incurable diseases to their children. | true | Health News | The move was praised by doctors and but feared by critics, who say the technique will lead to the creation of genetically modified designer babies. The technique is known as three-parent in vitro fertilization (IVF) because the offspring would have genes from a mother, a father and from a female donor. The British plan... |
5853 | US sexually transmitted disease hit another high. | Health officials are reporting another record increase in infections from three sexually transmitted diseases. | true | Health, Sexually transmitted diseases, Chlamydia, Syphilis | More than 2 million new cases of chlamydia (kluh-MID’-ee-uh), gonorrhea (gah-nuh-REE’-uh) and syphilis were reported in the United States last year — the most ever. The diseases are treatable with antibiotics. Rates for all three have been rising for several years. Health officials have said better testing and diagnosi... |
6691 | Apollo 11 at 50: Celebrating first steps on another world. | A half-century ago, in the middle of a mean year of war, famine, violence in the streets and the widening of the generation gap, men from planet Earth stepped onto another world for the first time, uniting people around the globe in a way not seen before or since. | true | Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, AP Top News, Apollo 11 moon landing, General News, Moon, Michael Collins, U.S. News, Science | Hundreds of millions tuned in to radios or watched the grainy black-and-white images on TV as Apollo 11′s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969 , in one of humanity’s most glorious technological achievements. Police around the world reported crime came to a near halt that midsummer Sunday... |
9464 | New Product Is First to Claim It May Reduce Peanut Allergies | This New York Times story covers the health claims of Hello, Peanut!, a powdered peanut product that allows parents to gradually expose their infants to peanuts, in accordance with pediatricians’ and allergists’ advice that the practice reduces the risk of children developing peanut allergies. The recently released, up... | true | allergies,peanuts | The story cites the product’s cost: $25 for the introduction kit and and $20 for the maintenance kit, which lasts for about three weeks. The story does not indicate how many weeks that proper use entails, but the randomized trial cited by the AAP in forming their recommendations (the Learning Early about Peanut Allergy... |
38336 | A viral blog post titled “This Antibiotic Will Ruin You” warns about the long-term health dangers of flouroquinolones antibiotics that go by common names like Cipro, Levaquin, Avalox, and generics that end in “oxacin,””ox” or “quin” | Health Warnings About Flouroquinolone Antibiotics | true | Health / Medical | Health warnings about the dangers of flouroquinolone antibiotics that went viral in March 2017 are based on credible scientific studies — but there’s disagreement among researchers about how much risk flouroquinolones poses to normal people. Warnings about flouroquinolones went viral in March 2017 after a post appeared... |
32456 | Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein has stated that she opposes the use of vaccines. | Dr. Stein’s stated position is that she “supports vaccinations” and acknowledges that “we have a real compelling need for vaccinations,” so it’s not true to say that she is on record as holding an anti-vaccination political position. However, her somewhat equivocal statements surrounding that issue allow for a fair bit... | false | Medical, green party, jill stein, reddit | Scenes of dissent and disunity at the July 2016 Democratic National Convention raised the profile of Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, considered a secondary choice by some supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders. While Stein’s campaign made inroads with disgruntled progressives, a counterpoint repeatedly emerged: Accord... |
41712 | The gap in UK life expectancies is falling. | Not true. The life expectancy gap between rich and poor, and between the northeast and London, is rising. | false | health | Men in Teesside have the same life expectancy as those in Ethiopia. Men in one very deprived ward of Stockton have the same life expectancy as men in Ethiopia, according to figures from the World Bank in 2017. This isn’t the case for Teesside as a whole. The gap in UK life expectancies is falling. Not true. The life ex... |
7719 | Desperate Mongolians send children into countryside to escape choking winter smog. | Mongolia has extended school winter holidays in the world’s coldest capital and many families have sent children to live with relatives in the vast, windswept grasslands to escape choking smog and respiratory diseases such as pneumonia. | true | Environment | The temperature is expected to drop to minus 32 degrees Celsius (minus 26F) in Ulaanbaatar on Monday night, as residents burn coal and trash to try to keep warm and concentrations of smog particles known as PM2.5 routinely exceed 500 mg per cubic meter, 50 times the level considered safe by the WHO. Mongolia, a former ... |
1615 | Once 'King,' cotton farming on a long decline in U.S. south. | Fields along the Mississippi River Delta once gleamed white in the autumn with acre upon acre of cotton ready to be picked. | true | Environment | But to see the decline of a cash crop once nicknamed “King Cotton” one need look no further than the 300 acres (121 hectares) that Michael Shelton farms in Clarksdale, Mississippi, about 75 miles (120 km) down river from Memphis. The fields were recently cleared of wheat and soybeans, and just one long row of cotton, w... |
7529 | Virus death rate still uncertain as mild cases are missed. | How deadly is the coronavirus that exploded from China? The answer reflects a hard reality about fast-moving outbreaks: As cases pop up in new places, the first to get counted are the sickest. | true | AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Flu, China, United Nations, Death rates, Virus Outbreak | A straight count of deaths reported worldwide suggests the new virus may be more deadly than the flu, according to the head of the World Health Organization. “Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died. By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected,” said WHO Director-Ge... |
23098 | I lost my health insurance and my doctor because of Obamacare. | Republican House candidate Reid Ribble says he lost his health insurance and doctor because of federal health care reform | false | Health Care, Wisconsin, Reid Ribble, | "When it comes to federal health care reform, for many the biggest concern is the most personal one: Can they keep their doctor? During the fierce debate over the proposal, President Barack Obama repeatedly assured voters they could keep their doctors. Now comes Reid Ribble, a Republican challenging two-term U.S. Rep. ... |
17934 | I’ve never supported legislation that invades people’s choices about contraception. | "Cuccinelli, in a carefully-worded statement, says he’s never supported legislation that ""invades people’s choices about contraception."" While he’s never cast a vote on legislation that explicitly restricted birth control options, Cuccinelli for a decade has been one of the strongest anti-abortion voices in Virginia.... | mixture | Abortion, Sexuality, Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, | "Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli is combating accusations that he’s tried to restrict the types of birth control Virginians could use. ""I’ve never supported legislation that invades people’s choices about contraception,"" Cuccinelli told reporters on Aug. 27 while campaigning in Northern Virginia. Hi... |
9365 | Automatic texting helps ease stress of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients | This story covered a four-month randomized feasibility trial to see how well a text messaging system relieved stress of women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Based on an abstract presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, the story provided some interesting data, such as older women were... | false | breast cancer | How much would a texting system cost? Who would pay for it? Would it require extra staffing at the doctor’s office? This story left us wondering. The story reported that women with the texting tool “reported an overall lower level of distress and a higher quality of life during their therapy” and “felt they had better ... |
10178 | Calcium tied to lower cancer risk in older people | This report on a study about the links between calcium intake and cancer risk does several important things well: It puts these findings in the context of other research It translates the calcium amounts into dietary choices It describes the methodology and conclusions clearly, and includes useful caveats It makes th... | true | It’s not necessary to compute the marginal extra costs, if there are any, of a diet high in calcium. The study cites a few benefits linked to supplements, but they are not central enough to the story to require discussion of costs. The reporter generally does a good job explaining which levels of calcium intake showed ... | |
22011 | "Medicare ""only has about 50 percent of it paid for by either premiums or payroll taxes, and the rest is deficit spending ... or debt spending." | Pawlenty says half of Medicare paid for with deficit spending | mixture | National, Medicare, This Week - ABC News, Tim Pawlenty, | "In an appearance on ABC's This Week on May 29, 2011, Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said the hard reality is that Medicare is ""going broke."" Medicare, Pawlenty said, ""only has about 50 percent of it paid for by either premiums or payroll taxes, and the rest is deficit spending and debit spending, or... |
7579 | Veterans with PTSD, anxiety turn to beekeeping for relief. | Gently lifting a wooden frame containing dozens of Italian honeybees, Vince Ylitalo seemed transfixed as he and several other veterans inspected the buzzing insects. | true | New Hampshire, Anxiety, Health, Manchester, General News, Insects, AP Top News, Bees, Iraq, Veterans, U.S. News | “This is really cool,” he said, pointing to a bee with blobs of orange pollen on its hind legs. Ylitalo, who has battled PTSD after serving nearly 40 years in the military including two tours in Iraq, didn’t seem bothered by the bees swarming around his head or crawling all over the entrance to their hive. Instead, the... |
8038 | German town converts gym hall to hold virus quarantine offenders. | A German town has turned a gymnastics hall into a facility to hold potential offenders against quarantine rules that stipulate a 14-day isolation period for those who test positive for the coronavirus and those who come into contact with them. | true | Health News | Equipped with 20 camping beds, mattresses, and toilets stacked with toilet paper - an increasingly hard-to-find commodity, the hall in the western town of Menden is empty for now. But council head Sebastian Arlt said he was open about who the facility might be used for. “We might house the homeless. It might also be us... |
28576 | An image accurately states the rights a rape or sexual assault victim universally has in the wake of an attack. | The rape and sexual assault flyer posted to Reddit offers a mixture of true, false, and likely region-specific information, running the risk of confusing rape and assault victims in the critical hours after an attack. Reference to the upper end of forensic and prophylactic services could lull individuals into a false s... | mixture | Crime, rainn, rape, rape awareness | On 2 August 2017, a Reddit user shared a photograph of an information flyer regarding rape and sexual assault to the subreddit r/interestingasfuck: The poster did not provide a source or context for the image, and appeared to interact on Reddit primarily in the form of submissions. The flyer read: DID YOU KNOW after a... |
2295 | Hangover cure is elusive but symptom relief fizzles and flows. | Revelers are preparing to ring in the New Year with parties and celebrations, and those whose heads are still ringing will spend their first waking hours of 2015 searching for hangover relief. | true | Health News | Although there are drinks, tablets and home-made remedies, a cure for the throbbing headache, nausea, fatigue and thirst that can follow a night of drinking has remained elusive. “There are no hangover cures,” said Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National... |
5551 | Justice Ginsburg reports she’s on way to ‘well’ after cancer. | Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Saturday she’s “alive” and on her way to being “very well” following radiation treatment for cancer. | true | Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme courts, Cancer, Pancreatic cancer, General News, Politics, U.S. Supreme Court, Radiation therapy, AP Top News, Courts, Health | Ginsburg, 86, made the comments at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington. The event came a little over a week after Ginsburg disclosed that she had completed three weeks of outpatient radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and is now disease-free. It is the fourth time over the p... |
29068 | Letter from Indiana state representative accuses the Girl Scouts of being a radicalized organization that promotes abortions and homosexuality. | Letter from Indiana state representative accuses the Girl Scouts of being a radicalized organization that promotes abortions and homosexuality. | mixture | Politics Sexuality, abortion, ASP Article, girl scouts | In February 2012, Indiana state representative Bob Morris sent the above-quoted letter to House Republicans to explain why he refused to add his name to a resolution celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts (a resolution which was passed unanimously by the rest of the Indiana House), maintaining that the Gi... |
12958 | Miami-Dade is "the first community in the world to break the cycle of local transmission of the Zika virus. | "Gimenez said Miami-Dade is ""the first community in the world to break the cycle of local transmission of the Zika virus."" The CDC says that Wynwood, an area in Miami, was the first to break local transmission in September. The last of four local transmission zones was lifted Dec. 9. There are some caveats about Gime... | true | Public Health, Florida, Carlos Gimenez, | "Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said that in 2016 the county became a global leader in fighting the mosquito-borne Zika virus. ""We were the first community in the world -- let me repeat that -- the first community and I believe the only community in the world to break the cycle of local transmission of the Zika virus... |
9823 | Red wine prevents breast cancer? I’ll drink to that! | It’s ironic that we just published two blog pieces last week that mentioned surrogate markers (both links appear in our comments below), and along comes this story trumpeting a finding that involved only surrogate markers – without any of the expected caveats. The LA Times publishes an excellent Healthy Skeptic column.... | mixture | breast cancer,red wine | Not applicable. The cost of red wine is not in question. The story suggests benefits throughout: But the study it reported only pointed to surrogate markers – hormone levels – not to any outcomes that are immediately meaningful in women’s lives. The limitations of this finding simply weren’t discussed. Readers would be... |
8197 | Venezuela expands quarantine as number of coronavirus cases climbs to 33. | Venezuela will implement a nationwide quarantine after detecting 16 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, President Nicolas Maduro said, adding that the total number of cases in the South American country had risen to 33. | true | Health News | The country began a quarantine on Monday in a handful of regions, but many across the country went out anyway, saying they could not afford to stay indoors or skip work as the once-prosperous OPEC nation suffers an economic collapse marked by shortages of basic goods and a collapse in public services. In a state televi... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.