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The Infodemic: Wearing a Facemask Isn't Harmful to Health


A police officer wearing a face mask monitors pedestrian traffic along a street in Shanghai on October 28, 2020.
A police officer wearing a face mask monitors pedestrian traffic along a street in Shanghai on October 28, 2020.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: "Posts based on a video by a German neurologist have been shared thousands of times on Facebook making several claims about the alleged dangers of wearing face masks, notably that rebreathing oxygen in the mask leads to neurological damage. According to experts, this is false, since these masks allow fresh air to pass through and oxygen to be inhaled." -- AFP Fact Check

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: AFP Fact Check

Social Media Disinfo

Football star Tom Brady. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Circulating on social media: "Super Bowl champion Tom Brady told his Instagram followers that suicide accounts for more death than COVID-19." -- Politifact

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Politifact

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Health Experts' Thanksgiving Advice In The Time of COVID-19
While Thanksgiving is still weeks away, people hoping to connect with distant family members are already making anxious plans — and if they aren’t, they should be, public health experts say.
-- STAT News, October 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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