Misleading: ATMs in Shanghai were never suspended over fears of virus-carrying banknotes
Banking services in Shanghai were suspended during the lockdown from mid-March to the end of May 2022. In June, they were fully in operation.
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Coronaviruses
False: This video in China shows anti-pandemic drama, not a staged ‘fake’ tragedy
The clip has been traced to a Douyin account of one of the actors in the drama, posted in 2020.
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Investigation: Misleading claims about masks and vaccines in Hong Kong’s 5th wave
Annie Lab looks into an article about Hong Kong’s COVID-19 fifth wave published by a known anti-vaccine website in the United States.
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False: COVID-19 vaccines did not kill 29,939 people in Europe
There is no established causal relationship between these deaths and vaccination.
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False: India’s ‘Health Ministry spokesperson’ did not die of COVID-19 vaccination
Subramanian Swaminathan is the director of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control at Gleneagles Global Hospitals, not a ministry spokesperson. He appeared in multiple interviews after he was vaccinated. The claim appears to originate from a deliberate mistranslation.
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Misleading: This 2013 article refers to MERS, not COVID-19, and did not say coronaviruses are human-made
The 2013 article has nothing to do with the current COVID-19 pandemic. The study mentioned in the story does not conclude coronaviruses can be human-made.
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No evidence: There is no proof that ivermectin prevents or cures COVID-19
Peer-reviewed studies on ivermectin and the expert interviewed by Annie Lab indicate such claims have no scientific ground.
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Explainer: Global controversy over hydroxychloroquine [update]
Usage of hydroxychloroquine in prevention or treatment of COVID-19 remains to be controversial around the world.
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Misleading: Murder of Chinese researcher in the US is not related to COVID-19
Local police determined the case was a result of “a lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner.”
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Misleading: This video does not show an American soldier trying to spread coronavirus in Wuhan
The video was taken in Brussels, Belgium, on March 10, 2020.
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False: This video does not show an anti-China rally in Italy
It was an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Valerio Verbano, an Italian left-wing activist murdered in 1980.
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Misleading: These charts about COVID-19 contain inaccurate medical information
Self-diagnosis based on these charts could be harmful.
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Misleading: This map does not show 5 million Wuhan residents flying out before the lockdown
The map is merely “an illustrative picture of the global air network” that shows international flight connections.
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False: This video does not show a family killed by the coronavirus amid China’s multi-city lockdown
The family was reported to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Dec 2019.
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