De-Bunked
Debunked: No, an Australian politician didn’t resign over bribes from vaccine makers
An online claim that a senior Australian politician had to resign because she took bribes from vaccine manufacturers has been shared across social media in recent weeks. The Journal has fact-checked the story and found it to be false.
Debunked: No, the wife of Pifzer CEO did not die from Covid-19 vaccine complications
A blog known for publishing inaccurate information posted a story claiming that Myriam Bourla, wife of Pifzer CEO Albert Bourla, had died from complications arising from the Pfizer vaccine. The Associated Press have confirmed that she is alive and well.
Proven False: No, Covid-19 tests are not used to make people submissive
Reuters has proven false a claim circulating on social media that Covid-19 test swabs are used to replicate a technique performed on slaves in ancient Egypt to make people submissive.
Debunked: No, vaccinated airline pilots are not dropping dead on flights.
An online claim that airline pilots have been dying mid-flight on both domestic and international flights has been debunked by Lead Stories. The story originated on a satirical website.
Fact-checked: No, Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has not been banned across Europe for young people.
Some social media users are claiming that Europe has completely banned the use of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in young people. Reuters has found that this claim is partly false. The use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine has been paused in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland for use in young people.
Fact-checked: No, Bill Gates didn’t say he wanted to use vaccines to reduce the population
Poynter fact-checked a website article claiming that Bill Gates advocated for reducing the global population by using vaccines during a 2010 TedTalk. Poynter rated the claim as false.
The point Gates was making was in relation to the population being reduced as a result of better healthcare because child mortality is lowered when families have access to life-saving vaccines and health care, allowing families to choose to have fewer children.
Fact-checked: No evidence you shouldn’t breastfeed after Covid-19 vaccination
Instagram posts with screenshots of a tweet from a woman who got the Covid-19 vaccine while pregnant, and then a later tweet in which she says her son has died have been circulating suggesting a correlation between the two events and implying that the Covid-19 vaccinations are not safe to have either during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
However, medical bodies recommend that it’s safe both to have the vaccine during pregnancy and breastfeed after having the vaccine. .
Debunked: No, Lidl is not planinng to use QR scanners for Covid vaccine certs for entry into its shops
A photo of a German Lidl store is being circulated online as proof that that customers must show their QR vaccination code to enter the supermarket. The Journal has debunked the story.
Fact-checked: Social Media posts miss context about Israeli study on COVID-19 natural immunity
Social media claims that a study, still a preprint, which allegedly says that vaccinated people are more likely to get COVID than people with natural immunity have been fact-checked. The social media posts do not mention that the study found even greater immunity against Covid-19 for people who got a single shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and had an infection with the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
False: No, Covid-19 vaccines do not cause male impotency
Rapper Nicki Minaj tweeted to her more than 22.6 million followers an unverified story about a cousin’s friend in Trinidad who suffered side effects from a Covid-19 vaccine that included make impotency. The unfounded claims have been debunked by Associated Press.
Check the Facts
There are many factchecking websites and organisations working hard to help you identify what is accurate and reliable and what is not.
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FactCheck from The Journal.ie is Ireland’s only verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network Code of Principles, with commitments to non-partisanship, fairness, and transparency
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FactCheckNI is Northern Ireland’s only verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network Code of Principles, with commitments to non-partisanship, fairness, and transparency.
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The Poynter Institute also supports fact-checking in a number of ways, including the Politifact website, the Corona Virus Fact Alliance and the Corona Virus Facts Database.
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The International Fact Checking Network is a unit of the Poynter Institute dedicated to bringing together fact-checkers worldwide by promoting best practices and exchanges in this field, underpinned by a code of principles.
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The MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) publishes daily fact-checks for teenagers, by teenagers and is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles.
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Full Fact is a team of independent fact checkers and campaigners who find, expose and counter the harm that misinformation does
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Snopes is the oldest and largest fact-checking site online and labels stories as ‘True’, ‘Mostly, ‘True’, ‘Mixture’, ‘Mostly False’ or ‘False’.
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iHealthFacts is a Galway-based team doing science-heavy factchecks on COVID-19
Data Platforms
Interrogate the data for yourself.
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The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control provides situation updates for Europe
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The Health Protection and Surveillance Centre provides Ireland-specific updates on COVID-19
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The COVID-19 Data Hub is the official hub for COVID-19 statistics in Ireland
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COVID-NMA is an international research initiative supported by the WHO and Cochrane. It shows all current trials and studies around COVID-19.