A Virginia bill that would have banned the sale of “assault firearms” has been tabled for a year, but misinformation about it continues to circulate online — including a false claim that the state will confiscate guns.
Online posts claim that vitamin C can “stop” the new coronavirus. While it’s true that vitamin C can have a marginal effect on warding off a cold, there’s no evidence that it can stop or treat the new coronavirus.
Online posts falsely claim the new coronavirus can be cured by drinking one bowl of freshly boiled garlic water. That’s not true; there is no cure for the virus.
Online posts have claimed to reveal various “cures” for the new coronavirus. Some are benign, like eating boiled garlic, while others are potentially dangerous, like drinking chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleach. Neither will cure the virus.
Social media posts falsely claim that a “Chinese spy team” working in a Canadian government lab sent “pathogens to the Wuhan facility” prior to the coronavirus outbreak in China. Two Canadian agencies have told us those claims are wrong.
Claims spreading online say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used expensive pens, or ones made of gold, to sign the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Actually, the pens, which are made mostly of brass, have a suggested retail value of about $20.
Various claims online suggest that climate change hasn’t contributed to the bushfires ravaging the East Coast of Australia, pinning the blame instead on arson. Those claims distort the facts.
In the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, there were fewer candidates — only six — but more than a few false, misleading and exaggerated claims.
A meme circulating on Facebook displays photos of five U.S. soldiers that purportedly were killed “this Tuesday in Afghanistan.” Actually, they died in 2013 and there was a sixth soldier killed in the same incident who isn’t included in the meme.
A bogus claim that Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, paid impeachment witnesses “over $40 million” to testify is circulating online. That claim actually originated on a self-described satire website.