Snopes Daily Debunker - March 28

100 Coronavirus Fact Checks The novel coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, in 2019 and quickly spread throughout that country and beyond. It is now a full-blown pandemic, and viral misinformation is spreading as rapidly as the disease itself. Snopes fact-checkers have been on the case since the outset, tracking and investigating rumors and memes reported to us by readers. Our Coronavirus Collection now stands at just over 100 completed fact checks. Stay tuned for more. Browse the Coronavirus Collection

 

Fact Checks Did Trump Say Governors Had To Treat Him Well To Get COVID-19 Supplies? A statement by the president was misleadingly represented in a quote meme. Mixture   Does This Video Show Mass Graves in Italy? So far as we can tell, actress Tiffani Thiessen was not working for the CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic. False   Is Hobby Lobby Refusing To Close Stores Because of a Message from God? Hobby Lobby reportedly sent a letter to employees explaining its stores were staying open during the COVID-19 pandemic because, in part, CEO David Green's wife had received reassurances from God. Mixture   Was Obama Responsible for N95 Masks Shortage? As the COVID-19 pandemic ratcheted up in the United States, so did partisan finger-pointing. Mixture   Does COVID Stand for ‘Chinese-Originated Viral Infectious Disease’? There are different processes and purposes for naming diseases. False

 

"I don’t want to be the biggest beautiful flower in the desert, in the least hospitable ecosystem." Chief Operating Officer Vinny Green talks to Slate about the state of fact-checking during a pandemic. Read

 

In the News Coronavirus Cases Hit 2 Largest US Cities Differently Health experts don't know why there's such a big difference between New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, and Los Angeles, which has several times fewer confirmed coronavirus cases. Read more   US Now Has Most Coronavirus Cases, Deaths Soar in Spain Johns Hopkins reported 127,531 people have recovered from COVID-19, about half in China. Read more   In Iran, False Belief a Poison Fights Coronavirus Kills Hundreds More than 300 people have died as fake remedies spread across social media in Iran. Read more   British Prime Minister Johnson Tests Positive for Coronavirus “I’ve taken a test, that’s come out positive so I am working from home, I am self-isolating, and that’s entirely the right thing to do," he said in a video message posted on his Twitter account. Read more

 

Staff Pick Does ‘Triscuit’ Mean ‘Electric Biscuit’? The cracker world would never be the same after one Twitter user revealed the origin story of this oddly named snack. Read more

 

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