COVID-19 Pandemic

The Infodemic: Do Plagues Occur Once Every 100 Years?

This 1348 painting shows how plague devastated European cities like Florence.

Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.

Daily Debunk

Claim: Plagues occur exactly every 100 years.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story: "Have Plagues Repeated Exactly Every 100 Years? The predictive value of cherry-picked data is generally low to insignificant." -- Snopes, April 7​

Social Media Disinfo​

A soldier waits for health workers to board a free shuttle service in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/Fil

Circulating on social media: Misleading posts about how countries in Asia are handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story: "Misinformation circulates online about COVID-19 cases and lockdown measures in Asia​," Agence France-Presse

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Dr. Fauci Says He Doesn't Think Americans Should Ever Shake Hands Again to Prevent Spread of Coronavirus
The leading infectious disease expert on President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force told the Wall Street Journal that an end to handshaking would be good for reducing future transmissions of the novel coronavirus and would also cut the number of influenza cases.
-- Newsweek, April 8