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9728 | 30732 | """Former First Lady Michelle Obama was arrested after acting “unpredictably violent"""" during a domestic dispute.""" | Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. | false |
9729 | 2792 | Over 600 passengers, crew fall ill on Royal Caribbean cruise. | The number of passengers and crew who fell ill aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship climbed to more than 600 on Monday, many of them vomiting and suffering diarrhea. | true |
9730 | 4889 | District sticks to pro-abstinence approach on sex education. | The Millard school district in Omaha is sticking by its pro-abstinence approach on sex education. | true |
9731 | 2734 | India's Ranbaxy faces more regulatory scrutiny after U.S. ban. | Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has been hit by more regulatory scrutiny sparked by a U.S. ban on the bulk of its drugs, in a backlash that could bump up compliance costs and erode profitability among some Indian makers of generic drugs. | true |
9732 | 5162 | Labour says UK health service ‘for sale’ in US trade talks. | Britain’s health system became a battleground in the country’s election campaign on Wednesday, as opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson of secretly seeking a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States that would drive up the cost of drugs and imperil the state-funded service. | true |
9733 | 29606 | Various rumors about the Target chain of retail stores (see below). | We fact check a number of claims about Target's relationship with veterans' causes, ownership, and purported political stances. | false |
9734 | 11078 | Microneedles may make getting flu shots easier | """This was an unbalanced and incomplete account of a new """"microneedle"""" technology for delivering flu shots. We have to wade 300 words into a 500-word piece to learn that the research was primarily conducted in mice, and there’s never even any discussion of what kind of study was actually performed. Almost the entire story is given over to cataloging the benefits of this supposedly painless, more convenient approach to vaccination, with no discussion of limitations and challenges. Had the story sought the perspective of an independent expert, it might have at least mentioned some of the big hurdles this technology will have to clear before it can be used in people, as the competing piece from the Houston Chronicle did. Children aren’t the only ones traumatized by a fear of needles–this worry can also cause many adults to avoid contact with medical professionals and dentists. Although the toll this problem takes is unknown, it certainly can increase the likelihood of potentially preventable conditions such as the flu leading to more serious health problems.""" | false |
9735 | 26281 | “Autopsies prove that COVID-19 is” a blood clot, not pneumonia, “and ought to be fought with antibiotics” and the whole world has been wrong in treating the “so-called” pandemic. | The novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 is a virus. Viruses do not respond to antibiotic treatment; antibiotics work only on bacterial infections. COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness that in some cases causes pneumonia. Another effect, according to the autopsies in Italy, is lung damage caused by blood clotting. But that doesn’t change the fact that COVID-19 is caused by a virus. | false |
9736 | 21378 | """Ron Paul Says Rick Perry wrote a letter """"supporting Hillarycare.""" | It's correct that Perry sent a letter to Hillary Clinton commending her efforts as the head of the president’s health care task force at a time when the president’s general goals and some possible specifics of the plan had been reported. Yet Perry's letter, dispatched more than five months before the plan was finalized, is clearly a request that the task force consider the interests of rural Americans. | false |
9737 | 11571 | New laser treatment takes aim at toenail fungus | Near the end of this story, we meet a man named “Richard,” and describes him as “a retiree in Fairfax who did not want his full name associated with toenail fungus”. We wish the Washington Post had considered a similar level of discretion when choosing to pursue this story. Even though it tosses in a few counterpoints, and crucial cost information, the overwhelming impression left by this story is that lasers are the answer for fungal nails. It’s hard to understand what prompted a paper as good as the Post to devote this much space to an expensive cosmetic treatment with no proven health benefits or even long-term cosmetic benefits. News outlets, of course, have to cover new and emerging trends in treatment, but they should not throw most of their weight and credibility behind the new while slighting the old, as this story did. Some estimate that 10% or fewer of adults in the US experience toenail fungus. For most it is a minor nuisance. For some, especially those with diabetes, it can be a major problem. It is hardly the public health menace that the story suggests. | false |
9738 | 27519 | Columbia Records mistakenly released a Byrds album without a title. | Much as we like to think that all aspects of artistic efforts are deliberately infused with meaning, sometimes random chance and coincidence have their say as well. For a similar story involving a different band’s album title, check out our “No Answer” page. | true |
9739 | 4887 | Idaho House passes ‘opt-in’ sex education bill. | A bill that would require parents to “opt in” before their children can receive sex education in school has cleared the Idaho House on a party-line vote. | true |
9740 | 7412 | New frontier in cancer care: Turning blood into living drugs. | Ken Shefveland’s body was swollen with cancer, treatment after treatment failing until doctors gambled on a radical approach: They removed some of his immune cells, engineered them into cancer assassins and unleashed them into his bloodstream. | true |
9741 | 9359 | First marijuana-derived drug approved, will target severe epilepsy | This Washington Post article announces approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the first drug made directly from a compound found naturally in marijuana plants. It is meant to treat rare, genetic forms of severe childhood epilepsy, and the article goes to some lengths to make clear the FDA’s view that the approval does not constitute government support for marijuana in general, or for the growing commercial availability for self-prescribed medicinal use by the public. The news story further emphasizes that the marijuana compound — CBD — contains too little of the psychoactive part of the plant, THC, to cause the “high” associated with recreational use. The story would have been strengthened had it included a discussion about the evidence on which the FDA based its approval. It also doesn’t address the cost of the drug or the diverse and sometimes severe side effects identified in a substantial number of patients who participated in clinical trials, which also are not mentioned. For a comparison, see this recent 5-star review of a CNN story from May that looks at one of the studies that led to the approval. The FDA’s approval of this drug is highly newsworthy and will be of great interest not only for those seeking help for the rare seizure disorders the new drug, Epidiolex, is intended to treat, but also for other diseases and symptoms such as pain and nausea. At the same time, the FDA has come under increasing criticism for approving risky drugs without much evidence they work, making it vital that journalists scrutinize approvals. | mixture |
9742 | 15501 | """John Oliver Says """"Florida is a model"""" for successful pretrial release programs.""" | """Oliver said """"pretrial service programs have succeeded around the country,"""" namely Florida, adding, """"And it is a truly frightening state of affairs when Florida is a model for progressive change."""" Experts in pretrial justice, several of whom talked with Oliver’s staff, said certain counties within Florida have demonstrated success with pretrial services as a way to reduce jail costs and eliminate overcrowding in jails. But they said he went a bit too far in leaving his viewers with the idea that Florida is among states that go above and beyond for defendants. There are pockets of progress, advocates said, but the commercial bail bonding industry is also strong in the state, and not every county has pretrial services. Oliver’s claim rates claim Half True. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the Florida Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.""" | mixture |
9743 | 2617 | Will starving yourself help you live longer? Maybe not. | The longevity diet’s premise is seductively simple: cutting your calorie intake well below your usual diet will add years to your life. | true |
9744 | 10591 | The amazing power of an experimental cancer drug | """This nicely written article describes the highs and lows of a patient treated with the “smart” drug Gleevec, used to fight a rare form of fatal leukemia known as CML as well as a rare cancer known as gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) that is caused by a mutation in a gene named kit. The author, a physician and former president of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, notes that Gleevec was developed to treat metastatic stromal tumors that have spread throughout the body and do not respond to surgical resection, radiation, or more-standard chemotherapies. He briefly summarizes the history of this drug and its place in current cancer treatment. This approach (a """"My Perspective"""" piece written by a physician)—telling the compelling story of a drug and of a difficult cancer through the unfolding case of a single patient—can have its strengths and weaknesses. In this instance, one strength is that readers get a feel for what it might be like to live on the roller-coaster of a terrible disease as new therapies attempt to smooth out the rough ride. Unfortunately, the story lacks important information that would help readers assess the evidence on this therapy, its potential harms, and its cost-effectiveness. According to the best available evidence, the drug is capable of dramatically shrinking (by about 50%) kit-positive GIST in about half of patients who take it, apparently including the type of patient profiled in this piece. Yet we do not learn this when we read the story. Moreover, “smart” drugs that attempt to spare healthy cells as they kill cancer cells have costs—both in side effects and dollars. Though most patients seem to tolerate Gleevec well, the article does not mention recently reported harms of the medication. (See “Harms of Treatment” above.) Nor does it mention its financial costs. As a staff-written article in the previous day’s edition of the Boston Globe explained, “smart” drugs are very expensive ($3000 to $8000 per month for breast and lung cancer drugs, respectively). Indeed, the earlier Globe article cautions that such high costs are an important consideration and could divide cancer patients of the future into “haves” and “have-nots.” But if people didn't read the previous article and only read this, they learned nothing of cost.""" | mixture |
9745 | 31105 | Fukushima scientists have warned that fish in the Pacific Ocean will never again be safe for human consumption due to radioactive contamination | This claim misrepresents a questionable blog post as a scientific investigation in order to use a flashy quote, and further challenges credibility by mixing together a variety of out-of-date themes based on blog posts from four years before. | false |
9746 | 28915 | """Men's rights activist """"Roosh V"""" organized a """"make rape legal"""" event across 43 countries on 6 February 2016.""" | Bayer’s chief executive on Thursday acknowledged the German maker of pharmaceuticals and crop chemicals was facing massive challenges from a wave of lawsuits over an alleged carcinogenic effect of its Roundup weedkiller. | mixture |
9747 | 4081 | Idaho officials confirm 2 cases of vaping-related illness. | Public health officials confirmed Tuesday that two people in Idaho have developed a serious lung disease linked to vaping. | true |
9748 | 9260 | New HIF-2 kidney cancer therapy more effective than current treatment, study shows | This is a mouse study of a product called PT2399 from a class of drugs called HIF-2 inhibitors that have purportedly been shown to be “more effective and better tolerated than the standard of care drug” in the treatment of kidney cancer. While this is promising research, appropriate language to say that this is a very small, very preliminary and non-definitive rodent study was largely missing. A novel compound can be very exciting for the researchers, those who are making and promoting it, and the institution that has a financial interest in its success, but that excitement needs to be tempered with a ‘reality check’ on the challenges of translating animal research to human outcomes. from observers unconnected to the research. Without that, the news release reads as a mere PR exercise, designed to generate premature (yet possibly unfounded) excitement. [Editor’s note: The news release says, “In the study in Nature, investigators show that HIF-2 inhibition was able to control metastatic kidney cancer even after 7 lines of prior therapy. See video.” However, the release contained no link to the video so the review was completed without viewing the video.] If it is true that nearly 400,000 Americans are currently diagnosed with kidney cancer, and it produces an additional 60,000 new cases each year (according to the National Cancer Institute) then this research could be of a very large public health importance. Unfortunately, this release doesn’t discuss the effectiveness and problems with current treatment in humans. The study’s key findings that the “HIF-2 inhibitor was more active than sunitinib and that it was active against tumors progressing on sunitinib” as well as being “better tolerated” could be a real advance if such advantages are later shown to be seen in people. The key bit of missing information is that mice that gain weight on the drug (when the comparator mice were “sickly and lost weight”) are still mice, and no amount of tweaking of these results will magically transform results that are directly applicable in humans. Even if new biomarkers are identified that determine which mice would be most likely to benefit from HIF-2 therapies, we may be decades away from having a compound that is proven to work in humans. Sometimes rodent research can be terribly hopeful, and described in hyperbolic terms, but turn out later not to be terribly helpful. Institutions that present animal research as applicable to humans run the risk of raising false hopes in desperate patients. | mixture |
9749 | 7498 | New Africa coronavirus crisis looms with internal spread. | The coronavirus has now been confirmed in at least 30 of Africa’s 54 countries, officials said Monday, and regional power South Africa warned of a new crisis once the virus begins to spread at home and into crowded low-income communities. | true |
9750 | 35134 | Parents can receive a case of baby formula during the COVID-19 pandemic by calling the number on the back of the company's product. | As a partner for both parents and healthcare professionals, we know our products play a vital role in a family’s life. We are here to help navigate the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and ensure families can access our nutritional formulas, foods and beverages as the response to the pandemic evolves. | false |
9751 | 25804 | “Herd immunity has been reached.” | We have not reached herd immunity against the coronavirus, and scientists say we aren’t close to achieving it in the United States. Scientists estimate herd immunity will probably be reached when 60% to 70% of the population has been infected. | false |
9752 | 10474 | ‘Liberation procedure’ for multiple sclerosis sparks debate | """The article’s tone mimics the roller-coaster nature of these debates: stories of miraculous recoveries, """"groundbreaking"""" research by mavericks, yet also caution by skeptical experts, conflicting evidence, and calls for more trials. It could’ve navigated this debate with a bit less emotion and fewer poignant adjectives, but in truth it’s tough to summarize in a flat way the suffering of patients, their hope for a better life, and their anger at the hesitancy to disseminate what they see as an answer to their prayers. So yes, the article could’ve been less emotionally charged, and no doubt some readers will focus on the hopeful anecdotes, such as those at the beginning and end. But all and all, we think it does a solid job of hanging counterweights on that positive emotion, adding many cautionary statements — sometimes from the practitioners of liberation themselves. Our favorite line, and maybe the heart of the issue, is when it shows Dr. Bonn citing the need for rigorous studies, while understanding patients’ frustration, their suffering, and the roller coaster ride they’ve been on. It expresses empathy without false hope.""" | true |
9753 | 3982 | Gnat-borne disease turns up in Minnesota deer for 1st time. | Animal health officials say a disease carried by gnats has turned up in Minnesota deer for the first time. | true |
9754 | 27741 | """A California pastor praised the Orlando nightclub shooting, saying that it's a tragedy more homosexual """"predators"""" and """"pedophiles"""" didn't die.""" | """A California pastor praised the Orlando nightclub shooting, saying that it's a tragedy more """"predators"""" and """"pedophiles"""" didn't die.""" | true |
9755 | 11180 | New prostate cancer test shows greater accuracy | """This story reported on early, preliminary results with a new test that might be used for prostate cancer. The story missed an opportunity to put the news of yet another new way to detect prostate cancer into perspective. When giving the facts, rather than the number of biopsies, it would have been helpful to simply show the number of men diagnosed and the number of men who actually die to let the sheer epidemiology of the disease help men to understand that this cancer isn't always a killer. At least the story could have included one line that screening is controversial regardless of method chosen, because it isn't yet clear if treatment saves lives. The emphasis of the story was on how this test might result in fewer false alarm (false positive) test results than the current PSA test. But one would also want to know how well the test finds cancer, and no information was given about that. In TV news, graphics and pictures carry as much or more weight as the words scripted or voiced in interviews. At the beginning of the piece there was a graphic that stated: """"Prostate cancer in the U.S. – 1.6 million men undergo prostate biopsies each year."""" That graphic, setting the stage for the story – can be misleading and confusing to viewers. It could easily be inferred that 1.6 million men each year develop prostate cancer. And therefore we rate it as disease-mongering. The American Cancer Society estimates that during 2007 about 218,890 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States – a number not provided in the story. The story interviewed the principal investigator and one other leading urologist. However, it did not disclose what was abundantly clear even in a Johns Hopkins news release: the principal investigator receives a share of the royalties received on sales of the test. He is also a paid consultant to the manufacturer of the test. There were no quotes from anyone expressing skepticism about the development. Even the ABC news website had a story with three different experts quoted saying it is too early to draw any conclusions about if and when the test will gain widespread acceptance. But TV viewers heard none of that.""" | false |
9756 | 7222 | Romania investigates man who posed as plastic surgeon. | Authorities in Romania are investigating an Italian citizen who allegedly posed as a plastic surgeon in clinics around Bucharest. | true |
9757 | 19217 | """President Obama has worked to change Medicare for the worse"""" by """"creating an unelected, unaccountable panel with the power to deny coverage of certain treatments.""" | Ohio Republican Party says Obama has hurt Medicare, creating an unaccountable panel with the power to deny coverage | false |
9758 | 39539 | This is a prayer request from a woman in Texas named Vicky Field. She says her son, Chad was shot in the head in Iraq. | Pray for Chad, a soldier shot in the head in Iraq | true |
9759 | 3831 | Pelosi moves on drug prices despite falling-out with Trump. | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is plowing ahead with her bill to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices despite a breakdown in relations with her chief bargaining partner on the issue — President Donald Trump. | true |
9760 | 38239 | Claims that safflower oil and/or conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) supplements can help you lose weight, particularly in the belly area, have been circulating for years. | CLA Safflower Oil Leads to Weight Loss, Less Belly Fat | unproven |
9761 | 34580 | Hillary Clinton disparaged nurses in the 1990s, remarking that they were just overpaid 'maids' or 'babysitters.' | Hillary Clinton has been a major political figure for nearly 25 years. While it’s true that the Internet is not a comprehensive database of everything that ever occurred in the history of the world, evidence of such a controversial public remark that widely “seen” by average citizens would surely have surfaced at some point by now if it existed. | unproven |
9762 | 5218 | 2020 hopeful Hickenlooper meets Columbine shooting survivors. | Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday met with survivors of the Columbine High School attack and other survivors of the state’s mass shootings just four days before the 20th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. | true |
9763 | 9037 | Drug shown to reverse brain deficits caused by alcohol | This release reports on an early study using mice to evaluate the potential usefulness of tandospirone, a drug to treat both the anxiety and depression that follows binge drinking, as well as curb the negative effects on neurogenesis (the growth and development of neurons) that alcohol can cause. The release states in the second paragraph that this is a mouse study but then several times it suggests that the findings will be applicable in humans. Only human clinical trials can show if this is the case. The release doesn’t quantify any improvements, define any potential harms from the drug, name who funded the work or offer any insights into conflicts of interest. While it mentions the drug is now available in China and Japan, it offers no information on its probable cost if approved for sale in the West. The release headline doesn’t mention that this study took place in rodents. As a result, some news story headlines are echoing that this drug has been found to reverse brain effects of alcohol, never making it clear that the results apply only to rodents. Alcoholism is a major challenge to patients, their loved ones and to public health as a whole. Drugs that might positively affect its damage, and perhaps even reverse it — as this release suggests — would be a great benefit. But this release reports only on very preliminary work done in animals which has yet to be shown transferable to human medicine. The release should have offered more specific information and more caveats as to its applicability. | false |
9764 | 17052 | More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism. | """Abdul-Jabbar said, """"More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism."""" While we don’t know what research he was citing to support his point, Abdul-Jabbar’s claim is a stretch based on the polls we found and the pollsters we consulted. Depending on the question, you could argue that as many as about 6 in 10 white Americans believe in ghosts, though other polls present a smaller ratio. Abdul-Jabbar, meanwhile, seems to have interpreted polling about white Americans’ views of discrimination as their belief in racism. We'll be happy to revisit this fact-check if someone points out a poll we missed. Polling we found supports the theory that white Americans are less likely than black Americans to think that blacks are being discriminated against. But those polls don’t measure whether white Americans think racism exists in this country. Experts told us that defining racism is difficult in terms of a poll and that a comparison with believing in ghosts is problematic. Abdul-Jabbar fails to acknowledge the wide disparity on polls dealing with ghosts, inaccurately describes the polling on racism and makes a shaky comparison between the two.""" | false |
9765 | 9440 | IUDs Are Linked To A Lower Cervical Cancer Risk, Study Finds | This is a story reporting results of a systematic review of studies about the relationship of IUDs to cervical cancer. After combing through multiple studies, the researchers identified 16 high-quality studies. Evidence in those studies indicated women with IUDs are 30% less likely to get cervical cancer, the story said. But we wanted to know: 30% less than what? What is the incident rate in women with IUDs — and women without them? To its credit, the story points out that these were observational studies, meaning they weren’t actual clinical trials, and more evidence is needed before women should make the decision to get an IUD just as a way of preventing cervical cancer. The results of this research reaffirm earlier studies suggesting that there is a reduced risk of cervical cancer associated with the use of IUD’s. However, until an experimental trial is conducted, readers should take the findings with a grain of salt. | mixture |
9766 | 15906 | Nearly one in five women in America has been a victim of rape or attempted rape. | """Obama said that """"nearly one in five women in America has been a victim of rape or attempted rape."""" A well-respected survey by the CDC found that 19.3 percent of women reported experiences that are considered to be rape or attempted rape under the survey’s guidelines. There are other surveys, using a different methodology, that show lower rates of rape, but researchers say the data in the CDC study is at least as credible, if not more so. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.""" | true |
9767 | 7186 | Hawkins mulls Green Party presidential bid. | Howie Hawkins, a three-time candidate for New York governor, is considering a presidential run for the Green Party. | true |
9768 | 4169 | Groups want tougher U.S. Steel fine for Lake Michigan spill. | The leaders of 18 environmental and civic groups have joined a push for U.S. Steel to face tougher penalties over a spill of hazardous substances from a northwestern Indiana plant into Lake Michigan. | true |
9769 | 7826 | Colorado governor signs recreational marijuana regulations into law. | Governor John Hickenlooper on Tuesday signed into law measures to regulate the recreational use of marijuana in Colorado, including blood-level limits for motorists and setting up a voter referendum to impose a tax on the non-medical sale of cannabis. | true |
9770 | 31071 | """An """"anti-fascist"""" stabbed a man in Colorado after mistaking him for a white supremacist because of his haircut.""" | If convicted, Witt could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,650 for falsifying a police report. | false |
9771 | 8390 | North Korean lecturers say there are confirmed coronavirus cases in the country: RFA. | North Korean authorities told citizens in public lectures that there were confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country as early as the end of March, in contrast to official Pyongyang claims that it has not had any confirmed cases, Radio Free Asia reported on late Friday. | true |
9772 | 10268 | Taking aspirin could increase cancer survival by 20 percent | Aspirin is one of the most well-studied drugs on the planet, in terms of treating headaches, aches, and pains as well as in helping out those who are at risk of heart disease — the biggest killer of people in developed nations. This release promotes a study that looks at the common drug’s effect on the second-biggest killer, which is cancer. The meta-analysis crunched the data of five randomized trials and 42 smaller studies that focused on colorectal, prostate, and breast cancers and — most importantly — the effect of a low-dose aspirin regimen on the survival of those patients, as well as how their cancer spread over a period of about 5 years. The correlation is eyebrow-raising, with a reduction in death and cancer spread in the neighborhood of about 20%. On the downside, this release doesn’t really get into what might be causing this reduction, or even define what “low-dose aspirin” means. It also doesn’t adequately discuss the risks (e.g. bleeding, allergies, and stomach ulcers) and skips over a couple of other basics that would have been helpful to journalists and readers alike. Behind heart disease, cancer is the biggest killer of people in developed nations. Each year the disease kills about 176 in every 100,000 people in the UK, and roughly 171 in every 100,000 people in the US. Any treatment that that can improve survival — especially low-cost, non-invasive methods — deserves attention. Aspirin is one of the best-studied drugs on the planet, and its risks and side effects are as well known as a preventative treatment for people who are at risk of heart disease, or who’ve had strokes or heart attacks before. Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been studied for use in the prevention of cancer. The best data exists for low-dose aspirin and colorectal cancer prevention. The US Preventative Task Force released a final recommendation in April 2016 suggesting certain adults (ages 50-59) might reduce their risk of developing both colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease if they undertake long-term use (10 years) of low-dose aspirin. The current study examines whether aspirin could improve survival among patients who already have cancer. The authors suggest benefit but admit that the data is limited and mainly comes from observational studies. | mixture |
9773 | 14564 | Drug overdoses are now the second-most common cause of death in New Hampshire. | """New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said, """"Drug overdoses are now the second-most common cause of death in New Hampshire."""" Drug deaths are a growing cause of death in the state, and have certainly outpaced car accidents, diabetes and breast cancer, the three examples Hassan cited. But overdoses are not the second leading cause of death, still falling behind heart disease, stroke, and a host of other ailments.""" | false |
9774 | 11355 | Study: New device boosts heart failure survival | Overall, this story does a good job of reporting that a continuous-flow heart assist device performed better than an older, pulsatile-flow model in selected patients with advanced heart disease who were not considered candidates for heart transplants. It highlights the cost as well as the potential benefits of the device. It clearly points out that the manufacturer of the device sponsored the study and that many of the researchers consult for it or other device makers. However, the story may give readers an exaggerated sense of the value of this device by saying it could help “many older people with severe heart failure” without clearly describing the narrowly defined group of patients that was included in this trial. What’s more, although more than half of the patients who received the new device either died, suffered a stroke or had to have surgery to fix a failed device, the story quotes only patients who reported glowingly positive experiences. The story also appears to have confused survival rates with the combined endpoint of survival without either a stroke or device failure. The story says that four times as many patients survived for two years with the new device; but the study reports that the two-year survival rates were 58 percent and 24 percent – more than doubling survival, not quadrupling it. | mixture |
9775 | 36127 | People should avoid foods colored black with activated charcoal, as the ingredient negates the effect of prescribed medications and oral contraceptives. | Spooky Season, Activated Charcoal in Food, and Medication | mixture |
9776 | 34513 | """President John F. Kennedy proclaimed that """"nobody can stop an assassination"""" just before he was shot and killed in 1963.""" | Bushfires burned dangerously out of control on Australia’s east coast on Saturday, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds that had firefighters battling to save lives and property, as a change in wind conditions merged several large fire fronts. | unproven |
9777 | 36000 | After a person's death, embalming their corpse is not required by law and the bereaved are allowed to hold funerals inside a home. | The Good Advice Hidden in a ‘Fun Funeral Facts’ Meme | true |
9778 | 11426 | Today’s Matters of the Heart: Dr. Nancy’s Personal Wake-Up Call | This long (almost 6 minutes – very long for TV news) segment was, nonetheless, almost completely devoid of evidence and of data. So it rode the single personal anecdote of the network’s medical editor, her vague complaints of feeling “tired, short of breath, just not feeling like myself”, and her path to getting a CT scan of her coronary arteries. The segment was presented in a manner we deem as disease-mongering, likely to frighten many women into thinking THEY needed such a scan. A line like the following – “The symptoms of heart disease in women can be so subtle, the disease process so quiet, so insidious, that many women don’t get in to see their doctors until it’s too late” – demands some data to back it up. How often is this case? How representative was the medical editor’s story? But without data and without evidence, there were heaps of squishy, unverified claims. The medical editor said, “There’s no doubt that plaque is a result of the cheeseburgers I ate as a teenager.” No doubt? Sorry, that doesn’t cut it. The segment failed to indicate that the kind of picture provided by the CT angiography may not actually change the course of treatment in cases like the medical editor’s. She earlier explained that she had an elevated cholesterol level, which likely would have been treated with cholesterol lowering medication anyway. So it is unclear how the CT angiography provided her with any benefit. Studies have not consistently shown that imaging test results improve adherence to treatment. There was also no mention of the harms of incidental findings – things the CT finds that only cause worry but don’t help with diagnosis or treatment. All in all, the six minutes could have been used much more wisely. But the networks – NBC in particular (with recent stories about their own Mike Taibbi, George Lewis and now Nancy Snyderman) love to tell their own health sagas – whether or not they include evidence and data that viewers need. | false |
9779 | 9619 | This isn’t hype: Canadian doctors just reversed severe MS using stem cells | The dirty, hot and dangerous work of battling bushfires might be physically exhausting for Raymond Lowe, but he is not stepping aside any time soon. | true |
9780 | 29883 | Senator Bernie Sanders said in a speech that cops were to blame for crime. | All of this has led to the tragic reality that we — the United States of America — have more people in jail than any other country on earth. We have more people in jail than China which is an authoritarian state with a population many times our own. And we should lay it all right out on the table. People in American jails are disproportionately people of color. That’s the reality in America today. That’s a reality that has to change. | false |
9781 | 26430 | """The Gates Foundation """"has the patent for this coronavirus.""" | The Gates Foundation has not been assigned any patents related to the novel coronavirus. The philanthropy is funding the development of potential vaccines for COVID-19. | false |
9782 | 18900 | """Since the federal Violence Against Women Act was adopted in 1994, """"cases of domestic violence have fallen by 67 percent.""" | """U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore said that since the Violence Against Women Act was adopted in 1994, """"cases of domestic violence have fallen by 67 percent."""" Her statement is generally on the money, though a bit dated. It also needs some clarification -- namely that there are factors in addition to the law that are linked to the decrease.""" | true |
9783 | 16564 | """Police in the United States are allowed to use tear gas even though it """"has been classified as a chemical weapon and banned in international conflict since 1993.""" | """The meme said police in the United States use tear gas even though it """"has been classified as a chemical weapon and banned in international conflict since 1993."""" The Chemical Weapons Convention did outlaw the use of tear gas in warfare, though that went into effect in 1997, not 1993. However, the meme glosses over some context. It tries to leverage the Chemical Weapons Convention’s decision to ban tear gas as evidence of why the technique should be illegal for policing, yet that very same convention explicitly allows its use for domestic law enforcement purposes. The claim is accurate but needs clarification.""" | true |
9784 | 12076 | """The Graham-Cassidy health care bill does """"include coverage of pre-existing conditions.""" | Trump said the Graham-Cassidy bill does include coverage of pre-existing conditions. The bill does address pre-existing conditions, and if states want billions of dollars in federal aid, they must show they intend to keep coverage accessible and affordable. But the other parts of the bill allow states to give insurance companies a free hand in charging those people higher premiums. Professors who study the U.S. health care system said the bill’s language protecting people with pre-existing conditions is vague and subject to broad interpretation. Plus, they said the bill’s reduction in funds going to two-thirds of the states will make it harder for them to protect people with past health problems. Under no circumstances do the protections in the bill equal the ones Americans have today under the Affordable Care Act. They are less. There’s an element of truth in Trump’s tweet but it obscures critical details. | false |
9785 | 31080 | """Law professor Alice Ristroph wrote in the Atlantic magazine that the 2017 solar eclipse, its path, or those who viewed it, were """"racist.""" | On 12 January 2017, President Barack Obama took up that suggestion, issuing a memorandum on “Diversity and Inclusion in Our National Parks” that directed federal agencies (among other actions) to engage in conducting “active outreach to diverse populations” and “identifying and making improvements to existing programs to increase visitation and access by diverse populations” — “particularly minority, low-income, and disabled populations and tribal communities.” | false |
9786 | 10553 | Study shows differences in pancreatic cancer treatments | The story felt like a recitation of the journal article, with no evidence of any independent reporting or analysis. To make things worse, it had a glaring error on the quality of life data. Bringing information about this new study to the public is important because it represents a substantial advance in treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately this story misinterpreted the findings about quality of life – and so misled readers. | false |
9787 | 7382 | Sanofi walks back after saying US would get vaccine first. | French pharmaceutical group Sanofi promised Thursday that it would make its COVID-19 vaccine, when ready, available in all countries, hours after the company’s CEO said the United States will get first access. | true |
9788 | 15071 | More preschoolers are shot dead each year than police officers are in the line of duty. | Kristof said that more preschoolers are shot dead each year than are on-duty police officers. For children aged 0-4, that is accurate for the past six years. For children aged 3-5, the statement is true in most years, but not in every year. | true |
9789 | 26223 | Tom Tiffany Says the state “health secretary says don't go to hospitals or clinics, now the tourism secretary says don't recreate.” | Tiffany claimed that Wisconsin officials asked residents not to recreate outdoors or go to the doctor Officials from the Department of Health Services said that they recommended telehealth visits instead of in-person appointments, to combat the spread of COVID-19 Officials from the Department of Tourism said that they want residents to enjoy the outdoors, and have provided a toolkit to help them do it safely. | false |
9790 | 8299 | U.S. coronavirus death toll climbs to over 33,000: Reuters tally. | U.S. coronavirus deaths rose above 33,000 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, even as President Donald Trump laid out White House guidelines for reopening the economy. | true |
9791 | 28554 | On 1 September 2017, a new law will come into force in Texas, making it harder for consumers to get paid for property insurance claims related to weather. | The claims contained in viral Facebook posts on 27 August 2017 are a largely accurate description of the provisions of HB 1774, but they do lack important context and do not make it clear to readers that the law only affects how claims are dealt with in the event that someone decides to sue an insurance company. These posts do not include that most insurance claims are settled out of court, and will therefore not be directly affected by the change in the law. | mixture |
9792 | 3820 | Eyeing 2020, House empowers Medicare to negotiate drug costs. | Sharpening their 2020 election message, House Democrats on Thursday pushed through legislation that would empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and offer new benefits for seniors. | true |
9793 | 8119 | Thailand reports 106 new coronavirus cases and three deaths. | Thailand has recorded 106 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, a health official said on Tuesday. | true |
9794 | 34586 | The Democratic National Convention's organizers published a Craigslist ad seeking actors to replace missing or ejected delegates. | """What's true: A Craigslist ad appeared purporting to seek """"actors"""" for a """"national convention."""" What's false: The ad was not traced back to the DNC. What's undetermined: Who placed the ad; whether it was a joke or protest.""" | unproven |
9795 | 8008 | Trump says coronavirus guidelines may get tougher; one million Americans tested. | U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that federal social distancing guidelines might be toughened and travel restrictions with China and Europe would stay in place as he urged Americans to help fight the coronavirus with tough measures through April. | true |
9796 | 10282 | Celator Announces Phase 3 Trial for VYXEOS™ (CPX-351) in Patients with High-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia Demonstrates Statistically Significant Improvement in Overall Survival | Image shows blue-fluorescing Vyxeos nano-liposomes being engulfed by leukemia cells. Credit: Celator PharmaceuticalsThis is a company announcement of the results of a phase 3 trial of its new chemotherapy drug Vyxeos (cytarabine: daunorubicin) Liposome for Injection (also known as CPX-351) compared to the standard therapy (cytarabine and daunorubicin, or 7+3) in patients with high risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study results have not yet been published. Despite the use of some exaggerated language over the implications of this study, and the lack of a cost reference, the news release delivered plenty of data about the benefits in the treatment group versus the comparator group. The release appears thorough in summarizing the study, although we can’t be sure since the results haven’t been made available for independent assessment. AML is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, where abnormal white blood cells grow rapidly and accumulate in the bone marrow, interfering with the production of normal blood cells. Any chemotherapy advance that can extend the lives of patients with high risk AML without adverse drug effects is highly welcomed. It is possible that the liposome formulation of these two previously used chemotherapies will help patients survive longer than other therapies and be an advance in a disease where there are very few options and low survival rates. It’s important to assess this release now since the manufacturer indicated it plans to seek U.S. and European regulatory approval for the drug this year. It should be pointed out that the Vyxeos injection appears to combine the same drugs used in the standard therapy, but with a nano particle liposomal membrane package delivery system. | true |
9797 | 36071 | """Four images of bizarre """"gory"""" mushrooms are authentic, unaltered, and representative of specific natural fungi.""" | The Most Chilling Mushrooms in the World — the Charms of the Fungi Kingdom | true |
9798 | 1023 | Unsubstantiated claims Muslim doctor sterilized women raise tensions in Sri Lanka. | On May 23 Sri Lankan newspaper Divaina, known for its nationalist stance, published a front page article alleging a Muslim doctor had secretly sterilized 4,000 Sinhala Buddhist women after caesarean deliveries. | true |
9799 | 6346 | Steel mill sorry for spill that killed fish, closed beaches. | A steel company apologized for a spill of cyanide and ammonia that led to a fish kill and prompted the closure of beaches along Lake Michigan. | true |
9800 | 7966 | China starts to report asymptomatic coronavirus cases. | Chinese health authorities began on Wednesday reporting on asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus as part of an effort to allay public fears that people could be spreading the virus without knowing they are infected with it. | true |
9801 | 7533 | Amid virus, Saudis close Islam’s holiest sites to foreigners. | Saudi Arabia on Thursday closed off the holiest sites in Islam to foreign pilgrims over the coronavirus, disrupting travel for thousands of Muslims already headed to the kingdom and potentially affecting plans later this year for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual hajj pilgrimage. | true |
9802 | 26496 | “Mass vaccination for COVID-19 in Senegal was started yesterday (4/8) and the first 7 CHILDREN who received it DIED on the spot.” | There is not yet a COVID-19 vaccine. Seven children weren’t vaccinated and then died in Senegal. | false |
9803 | 2377 | """Britain sets out plans for first """"3-parent"""" IVF babies.""" | Britain proposed new regulations on Thursday that would make it the first country in the world to offer “three-parent” fertility treatments to families who want to avoid passing on incurable diseases to their children. | true |
9804 | 5853 | US sexually transmitted disease hit another high. | Health officials are reporting another record increase in infections from three sexually transmitted diseases. | true |
9805 | 6691 | Apollo 11 at 50: Celebrating first steps on another world. | A half-century ago, in the middle of a mean year of war, famine, violence in the streets and the widening of the generation gap, men from planet Earth stepped onto another world for the first time, uniting people around the globe in a way not seen before or since. | true |
9806 | 9464 | New Product Is First to Claim It May Reduce Peanut Allergies | This New York Times story covers the health claims of Hello, Peanut!, a powdered peanut product that allows parents to gradually expose their infants to peanuts, in accordance with pediatricians’ and allergists’ advice that the practice reduces the risk of children developing peanut allergies. The recently released, updated medical advice promoting early exposure to peanuts is a complete reversal from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ previous guidelines, which said that high-risk infants should avoid peanuts up to age 3. New guidelines are based on the results of one study conducted in 628 infants at high risk for peanut allergy, which found that early introduction of peanuts significantly decreased the frequency of the development of peanut allergy and modulated immune responses to peanuts. The story covers the science behind the change as well as a range of reactions concerning the new product and its qualified health claim. The story was strong on many points, though we wished it had better explained what a qualified health claim is, and why changing guidelines based on one study can be risky. While the story details the study that the qualified health claim is based on, it does not help readers understand how to interpret that limited evidence. | true |
9807 | 38336 | A viral blog post titled “This Antibiotic Will Ruin You” warns about the long-term health dangers of flouroquinolones antibiotics that go by common names like Cipro, Levaquin, Avalox, and generics that end in “oxacin,””ox” or “quin” | Health Warnings About Flouroquinolone Antibiotics | true |
9808 | 32456 | Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein has stated that she opposes the use of vaccines. | Dr. Stein’s stated position is that she “supports vaccinations” and acknowledges that “we have a real compelling need for vaccinations,” so it’s not true to say that she is on record as holding an anti-vaccination political position. However, her somewhat equivocal statements surrounding that issue allow for a fair bit of leeway and interpretation — many others who proclaim to “support vaccinations” in concept effectively undercut their positions by raising objections to the “vaccination process” or the “vaccination industry.” | false |
9809 | 41712 | The gap in UK life expectancies is falling. | Not true. The life expectancy gap between rich and poor, and between the northeast and London, is rising. | false |
9810 | 7719 | Desperate Mongolians send children into countryside to escape choking winter smog. | Mongolia has extended school winter holidays in the world’s coldest capital and many families have sent children to live with relatives in the vast, windswept grasslands to escape choking smog and respiratory diseases such as pneumonia. | true |
9811 | 1615 | Once 'King,' cotton farming on a long decline in U.S. south. | Fields along the Mississippi River Delta once gleamed white in the autumn with acre upon acre of cotton ready to be picked. | true |
9812 | 7529 | Virus death rate still uncertain as mild cases are missed. | How deadly is the coronavirus that exploded from China? The answer reflects a hard reality about fast-moving outbreaks: As cases pop up in new places, the first to get counted are the sickest. | true |
9813 | 23098 | I lost my health insurance and my doctor because of Obamacare. | Republican House candidate Reid Ribble says he lost his health insurance and doctor because of federal health care reform | false |
9814 | 17934 | I’ve never supported legislation that invades people’s choices about contraception. | """Cuccinelli, in a carefully-worded statement, says he’s never supported legislation that """"invades people’s choices about contraception."""" While he’s never cast a vote on legislation that explicitly restricted birth control options, Cuccinelli for a decade has been one of the strongest anti-abortion voices in Virginia. He’s supported personhood bills that recognized life as beginning at the moment of conception or fertilization and bestowed human embryos with legal rights. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says such legislation could outlaw birth control pills and other forms of contraception that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a uterus. Cuccinelli’s wording also allows him to gloss over a vote he cast in 2003 against legislation that would have specified contraception does not constitute an abortion. So Cuccinelli’s claim has some accuracy, but omits his consistent support of bills that would have opened or protected legal avenues to challenge the use of certain contraceptives.""" | mixture |
9815 | 9365 | Automatic texting helps ease stress of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients | This story covered a four-month randomized feasibility trial to see how well a text messaging system relieved stress of women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Based on an abstract presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, the story provided some interesting data, such as older women were more likely to text back to seek information. But it skimped on important details like cost, availability and how big the benefits were. Quality of life has historically been overlooked in cancer care, so it’s nice to see a news story that highlights research aiming to improve it. On the other hand, technology isn’t a panacea and news stories should quantify the purported benefits just as they would for drugs and other interventions. | false |
9816 | 10178 | Calcium tied to lower cancer risk in older people | This report on a study about the links between calcium intake and cancer risk does several important things well: It puts these findings in the context of other research It translates the calcium amounts into dietary choices It describes the methodology and conclusions clearly, and includes useful caveats It makes the useful distinction between the benefits of calcium from diet and supplements It packs in the viewpoints of four sources into a fairly short story The story’s biggest shortcoming is a failure to put the relative risk reductions in the context of absolute risk. It’s hard to tell how meaningful a 20 percent risk reduction of head and neck cancer is. One suspects the 7-year risk of those cancers in this population is very small, but we don’t know. There’s also an issue that isn’t captured by the criteria in this review but is worth mentioning nonetheless. It appears that most dietary calcium came from dairy products. If that’s true, do the researchers know whether something in the dairy products other than the calcium that is responsible for the risk reduction? The fact that calcium supplementation didn’t have the same protective effects as calcium-rich foods raises the question. The reporter should have too. | true |
9817 | 22011 | """Medicare """"only has about 50 percent of it paid for by either premiums or payroll taxes, and the rest is deficit spending ... or debt spending.""" | Pawlenty says half of Medicare paid for with deficit spending | mixture |
9818 | 7579 | Veterans with PTSD, anxiety turn to beekeeping for relief. | Gently lifting a wooden frame containing dozens of Italian honeybees, Vince Ylitalo seemed transfixed as he and several other veterans inspected the buzzing insects. | true |
9819 | 8038 | German town converts gym hall to hold virus quarantine offenders. | A German town has turned a gymnastics hall into a facility to hold potential offenders against quarantine rules that stipulate a 14-day isolation period for those who test positive for the coronavirus and those who come into contact with them. | true |
9820 | 28576 | An image accurately states the rights a rape or sexual assault victim universally has in the wake of an attack. | The rape and sexual assault flyer posted to Reddit offers a mixture of true, false, and likely region-specific information, running the risk of confusing rape and assault victims in the critical hours after an attack. Reference to the upper end of forensic and prophylactic services could lull individuals into a false sense of security, as does the lack of stipulation that minors or other at-risk individuals are often unable to seek medical care without police involvement. | mixture |
9821 | 2295 | Hangover cure is elusive but symptom relief fizzles and flows. | Revelers are preparing to ring in the New Year with parties and celebrations, and those whose heads are still ringing will spend their first waking hours of 2015 searching for hangover relief. | true |
9822 | 5551 | Justice Ginsburg reports she’s on way to ‘well’ after cancer. | Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Saturday she’s “alive” and on her way to being “very well” following radiation treatment for cancer. | true |
9823 | 29068 | Letter from Indiana state representative accuses the Girl Scouts of being a radicalized organization that promotes abortions and homosexuality. | Letter from Indiana state representative accuses the Girl Scouts of being a radicalized organization that promotes abortions and homosexuality. | mixture |
9824 | 12958 | "Miami-Dade is ""the first community in the world to break the cycle of local transmission of the Zika virus." | """Gimenez said Miami-Dade is """"the first community in the world to break the cycle of local transmission of the Zika virus."""" The CDC says that Wynwood, an area in Miami, was the first to break local transmission in September. The last of four local transmission zones was lifted Dec. 9. There are some caveats about Gimenez’s claim, including that only one other county in the United States had local cases, and a far smaller number. Some other places took a far greater hit from Zika than Florida did. Experts caution that Zika cases could return to South Florida, a point Gimenez also acknowledged in his speech.""" | true |
9825 | 9823 | Red wine prevents breast cancer? I’ll drink to that! | It’s ironic that we just published two blog pieces last week that mentioned surrogate markers (both links appear in our comments below), and along comes this story trumpeting a finding that involved only surrogate markers – without any of the expected caveats. The LA Times publishes an excellent Healthy Skeptic column. The principles of that column needed to be employed in this story. How would you expect women who want to prevent breast cancer to react when they see a headline and a first sentence like the one this story had? But the story did not include the wisdom that appeared in the news release promoting the study: “Until larger studies are done, (one of the study co-authors) would not recommend that a non-drinker begin to drink red wine.” | mixture |
9826 | 8197 | Venezuela expands quarantine as number of coronavirus cases climbs to 33. | Venezuela will implement a nationwide quarantine after detecting 16 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, President Nicolas Maduro said, adding that the total number of cases in the South American country had risen to 33. | true |
9827 | 35948 | The Sturgis motorcycle rally in 2020 resulted in 250,000 COVID-19 coronavirus cases. | They want to know if mass-events (protests, conventions, rallies) spread covid. But we don’t have individual level data on attendees and comparable stay-homes. So they resort to a diff-in-diff, looking to see if a place has more, less, or the same number of confirmed cases soon after an event than they ‘should.’ The argument is that the trend line for an entire location after time T can tell us if what happened on T is safe or risky. | unproven |