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The Infodemic: Are Most Diseases Transmitted by Hand?


FILE - In this March 9, 2020 file photo, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, center, bumps elbows with state Rep. Patrick Jefferson, instead of a traditional handshake, as a precaution against the new coronavirus.
FILE - In this March 9, 2020 file photo, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, center, bumps elbows with state Rep. Patrick Jefferson, instead of a traditional handshake, as a precaution against the new coronavirus.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: Over 80% of all diseases in the world are transmitted by hand.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: Africa Check

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Claim that the Pirbright Institute, a British research institute dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals which has ties to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, holds a patent for a vaccine against COVID-19.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Reuters​


Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Could My Symptoms Be Covid-19?
These days, every cough, sneeze or headache makes you wonder: Could it be Covid-19?
-- New York Times, August 5​

Nine Important Things We’ve Learned about the Coronavirus Pandemic So Far
Some early public health messages about COVID-19 have been overturned.
-- Scientific American, August 4

Coronavirus: WHO gears up for main mission into China to hunt for the origins of Covid-19
WHO and Chinese experts have drafted terms of reference for probe into the epidemiology of early infections.
-- South China Morning Post, August 4

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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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