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The Infodemic - March 24


TOPSHOT - A boy wears a face mask as a preventive measure against the spred of the COVID-19 coronavirus as he queues outside Makro in Soweto, Johannesburg, on March 24, 2020. - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 23, 2020 announced a 21…
TOPSHOT - A boy wears a face mask as a preventive measure against the spred of the COVID-19 coronavirus as he queues outside Makro in Soweto, Johannesburg, on March 24, 2020. - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 23, 2020 announced a 21…

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

Daily Debunk

Chain message: "[S]pecial military helicopters will spray pesticide against the Corona virus in the skies all over the country."

Verdict: False

See more dubious chain messages at Politifact.​

Social Media Disinfo​

Coronavirus Scam Test Warning on Facebook

Claim circulating on social media: Scammers pretending to be from the Red Cross are going door-to-door and offering coronavirus tests and then charging the residents money or even robbing them.

Verdict: Partly False

Read the full story: "Partly false claim: People are offering scam door-to-door coronavirus tests to rob people" -- Reuters​

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Does Everyone Over 60 Need to Take the Same Coronavirus Precautions?
Are precautions of the sort the CDC has endorsed really necessary, even in areas where the new coronavirus doesn’t yet appear to be circulating widely? What about disease-free adults in their 60s and 70s?
-- Kaiser Health News, March 24

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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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