Science Archives - Page 6 of 10

Places most affected by coronavirus not situated on latitude 40°, misleading image viral

Archit17th March 202017th March 2020

A two-dimensional image of the globe has gone viral on social media. It shows nine cities highlighted in Chinese text. Along with the viral image, users have claimed, “Strange eerie…

Thorough hand-washing with an ordinary soap is effective in killing coronavirus (COVID-19)

Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh14th March 202015th March 2020

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has given rise to medical advisories floating on social media and in the media. One such advisory promotes the use of soap. CLAIM However,…

No, Dean Koontz’s 1981 novel did not ‘predict’ coronavirus emerging from China

Pooja Chaudhuri14th March 2020

“Is Coranavirus a biological Weapon developed by the Chinese called Wuhan -400? This book was published in 1981. Do read the excerpt,” reads a tweet by Congress MP Manish Tiwari….

Sci-check: Do masks help to prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh & Dr Sharfaroz Satani14th March 2020

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to medical advisories circulating on social media. Alt News recently debunked a viral text falsely accredited to the UNICEF. This was also…

Coronavirus: Ministry of Health debunks fake notice viral as clarification on state holidays

Archit14th March 202014th March 2020

Several users have shared a PDF file or its screenshot which appears to be a notice from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The subject line…

Sci-check: Coronavirus advisory falsely attributed to UNICEF viral on social media

Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh & Dr Sharfaroz Satani13th March 202014th March 2020

A viral text about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been circulating on social media which claims to be from UNICEF. The text appears like an advisory for the prevention and…

Coronavirus: Image showing sulphur dioxide forecasts falsely linked with mass cremation in Wuhan

Archit24th February 2020

Since February 10, several media outlets – national and international – have published a report saying that an increase in sulfur dioxide levels in Wuhan and Chongqing is possibly linked…

Coronavirus in broiler chicken? H5N1 bird flu outbreak in China falsely linked with CoV

Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh10th February 202010th February 2020

China culled around 18,000 chickens in Shaoyang city in the southern province of Hunan as a result of a flu outbreak, amidst the coronavirus epidemic. Social media rumours in India…

Cannabis kills coronavirus? Vivek Agnihotri shares scientific misinformation via meme

Pooja Chaudhuri8th February 20208th February 2020

On February 8, 2020, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri tweeted a screenshot which says, ‘Breaking News: Weed kills coronavirus.’ Posting the image, which looks like a ‘news’ broadcast, Agnihotri made a case for legalising…

AYUSH ministry’s claim that Unani practices can prevent coronavirus infection is false

Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh5th February 2020

Coronavirus (CoV) is the latest pandemic that has emerged from Wuhan, China and has spread to over 24 countries including India. New research has estimated that over 371 people have…

Science

Misleading video claiming dry ginger can cure Omicron is scientifically baseless

Magical stone melting metal nails? No, the nails are made of gallium