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The Infodemic: Are Hospitals Inflating COVID-19 Numbers?


Emergency Medical Technicians move a patient while wearing personal protective equipment outside of Elmhurst Hospital during the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Queens borough of New York, April 20, 2020.
Emergency Medical Technicians move a patient while wearing personal protective equipment outside of Elmhurst Hospital during the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Queens borough of New York, April 20, 2020.

Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.

Daily Debunk

Claim: Hospitals are inflating the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths so they can be paid more.

Verdict: False

Read the full story: "Hospital Payments and the COVID-19 Death Count," FactCheck.org.​

Social Media Disinfo​

Residents of Chelsea line up for groceries distributed by the Massachusetts Army National Guard amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Circulating on social media: A chart purporting to show the effectiveness of wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Verdict: Mostly False

Read the full story at: "Is This COVID-19 Mask Efficacy Chart Accurate?" -- Snopes​

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

A New Doctor Faces the Coronavirus in Queens
A front-line physician at Elmhurst Hospital sees how closely socioeconomic status is tied to the disease, and tries to help patients who are dying without their families.
-- The New Yorker, April 20

Coronavirus myths explored
As the coronavirus continues to make the news, a host of untruths has surrounded the topic. In this special feature, we address some of these myths and conspiracies.
-- Medical News Today, April 16

Vaccine Hesitancy and Pro-Kremlin Opportunism
Much has changed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since late January 2020, the anti-vax trend in pro-Kremlin media is no longer limited to social media.
-- EUvsDisinfo, April 16

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    Polygraph

    Polygraph is a fact-checking feature of the Voice of America (VOA)​. Polygraph serves as a resource for verifying the increasing volume of disinformation and misinformation being distributed and shared globally.

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