Our work fact checking bad health information is now more important than ever
06 March 2020 | Facts and news from Full Fact
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** FACT CHECK
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** The new coronavirus: fact checked
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You’ve probably seen a variety of claims about the new coronavirus in newspapers, online or from friends and family.
Chances are, not all of it was accurate. We’ve come across false or misleading stories on both social media and traditional news outlets. This week alone, we've fact checked claims that children are immune from it, and plenty of dodgy advice on how it can be cured.
Bad information can pose a serious threat to people’s health. Amid the current outbreak of the new coronavirus, the stakes are high - members of the public may depend on news outlets and political leaders when making potentially life-saving decisions.
We’re all susceptible to bad information, and we’re all responsible for what we share online. Taking a moment to think about what we’re reading, where it might have come from, and whether it might be false, can protect our friends and family from misinformation.
Get in touch with us if you’d like us to fact check something you’ve read or if you have a question.
New coronavirus: get the latest ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
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** Viral Facebook post makes several false claims about the new coronavirus ([link removed])
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We found that a Facebook post made several unfounded claims about Covid-19.
Despite this, it has been shared hundreds of thousands of times.
Among the unevidenced claims was the assertion that this new coronavirus “will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees [celsius]”, and that “Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses”.
Dangerous misinformation ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
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** The Modern Kama Sutra is not the UK’s most popular book ([link removed])
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On Tuesday, it was claimed by the Daily Star that a book inspired by the ancient Indian text on sexuality and eroticism was the best selling book in the UK.
This is from data gathered by online retailer OnBuy, based only on its own sales over the past three years.
Neither the 50 best-selling books on Amazon UK, nor the 50 top-selling books in the UK, based on sales figures compiled by Nielsen Bookscan and published by the Guardian, include the Modern Kama Sutra at any point in the last three years.
The wrong position ([link removed])
Can you help to stop the spread of harmful misinformation on the new coronavirus? Become a supporter
As the virus outbreak dominates the headlines, false claims and conspiracy theories continue to spread in the press and on social media.
At best, it causes unnecessary anxiety. At worst, it has the potential to cause real harm to people’s lives.
We’re all susceptible to sharing misinformation if we think it might help people. But it’s important that we all take care to ensure it’s correct.
With the stakes so high, will you help us continue our fight against bad information?
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** FACT CHECK
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** Also this week... ([link removed])
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* Context is needed in this article about offences committed prior to prison sentences ([link removed])
* FSA estimates takeaways and restaurants are responsible for 8% of norovirus cases ([link removed])
* No, the Treasury doesn’t expect the economy to shrink if we sign a Canada-style deal with the EU ([link removed])
* This little girl has not vanished from your local area ([link removed])
* And Shamima Begum has not secretly returned to Britain ([link removed])
Catch the latest fact checks ([link removed])
Thank you very much for your support and have a great weekend from the team at Full Fact.
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