Fact Checking Covid-Denier Nonsense
- Thread starter gwb-trading
- Start date
Let's take a look at the latest horse manure being pushed by anti-vax Covid deniers. Every day the anti-vax Covid-deniers rise to new heights of absurdity in their misinformation.
Fact check: False claim that US Special Forces arrested Dr. Anthony Fauci
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-forces-arrested-dr-anthony-fauci/7321635001/
The claim: US Special Forces arrested Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been the face of America's COVID-19 response throughout the pandemic, but an array of social media users recently claimed he is now behind bars.
The narrative originated April 10 with a story from Real Raw News, which has a history of publishing fabricated reporting. The story was shared nearly 2,000 times on Facebook within 10 days, and other users reiterated the claim with standalone Facebook posts as well.
Real Raw News claimed Fauci's car was followed by Special Forces in civilian vehicles who "drew weapons and ordered Fauci’s guards to toss their firearms out the window." The claim goes on to say the soldiers "dragged Fauci from the vehicle, subdued him and carted him off for processing.”
But Fauci has not been arrested. He conducted multiple media interviews after Real Raw news claimed he had been arrested.
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the claim for comment.
Fact check: Fauci's 2004 comments on flu vaccine, natural immunity taken out of context
Fauci made public appearances on live TV
Special Forces did not arrest Fauci on April 9 as claimed.
For one, Fauci has made multiple live media appearances since that date. He was seen in an April 10 ABC News interview and an April 11 appearance on MSNBC. Other news organizations such as The Hill and The New York Times reported Fauci's remarks.
No legitimate news outlets or government entities reported an arrest of Fauci.
In addition, an arrest such as this would not involve U.S. Special Forces. Special Forces are not permitted to make citizen arrests under the Posse Comitatus Act. The Act prohibits "the willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress."
USA TODAY has previously debunked claims that Fauci was arrested.
Real Raw News has previously published false claims
Real Raw News has a history of publishing satire and made-up news reports, many of which have involved military arrests and executions of public figures. Those hoaxes play into the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. However, QAnon's predictions haven't come true, and its claims have been repeatedly debunked.
The website includes a disclaimer that warns readers not to take its content too seriously: “information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire.” However, the outlet's stories are not directly labeled as satire and are presented as factual assertions, and as a result are widely believed by social media users.
"Long long overdue! Arrest the others now! O bummer can be next!" read a comment on one post reporting Fauci's supposed arrest.
But, Michael Baxter, who is identified as a contributor for the site, has defended the accuracy of various articles in the comments sections.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Dr. Anthony Fauci was arrested by U.S. Special Forces. Fauci made several live media appearances in the days after Real Raw News published the claim. There is no evidence Fauci has been arrested.
Our fact-check sources:
Fact check: False claim that US Special Forces arrested Dr. Anthony Fauci
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-forces-arrested-dr-anthony-fauci/7321635001/
The claim: US Special Forces arrested Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been the face of America's COVID-19 response throughout the pandemic, but an array of social media users recently claimed he is now behind bars.
The narrative originated April 10 with a story from Real Raw News, which has a history of publishing fabricated reporting. The story was shared nearly 2,000 times on Facebook within 10 days, and other users reiterated the claim with standalone Facebook posts as well.
Real Raw News claimed Fauci's car was followed by Special Forces in civilian vehicles who "drew weapons and ordered Fauci’s guards to toss their firearms out the window." The claim goes on to say the soldiers "dragged Fauci from the vehicle, subdued him and carted him off for processing.”
But Fauci has not been arrested. He conducted multiple media interviews after Real Raw news claimed he had been arrested.
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the claim for comment.
Fact check: Fauci's 2004 comments on flu vaccine, natural immunity taken out of context
Fauci made public appearances on live TV
Special Forces did not arrest Fauci on April 9 as claimed.
For one, Fauci has made multiple live media appearances since that date. He was seen in an April 10 ABC News interview and an April 11 appearance on MSNBC. Other news organizations such as The Hill and The New York Times reported Fauci's remarks.
No legitimate news outlets or government entities reported an arrest of Fauci.
In addition, an arrest such as this would not involve U.S. Special Forces. Special Forces are not permitted to make citizen arrests under the Posse Comitatus Act. The Act prohibits "the willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress."
USA TODAY has previously debunked claims that Fauci was arrested.
Real Raw News has previously published false claims
Real Raw News has a history of publishing satire and made-up news reports, many of which have involved military arrests and executions of public figures. Those hoaxes play into the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. However, QAnon's predictions haven't come true, and its claims have been repeatedly debunked.
The website includes a disclaimer that warns readers not to take its content too seriously: “information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire.” However, the outlet's stories are not directly labeled as satire and are presented as factual assertions, and as a result are widely believed by social media users.
"Long long overdue! Arrest the others now! O bummer can be next!" read a comment on one post reporting Fauci's supposed arrest.
But, Michael Baxter, who is identified as a contributor for the site, has defended the accuracy of various articles in the comments sections.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Dr. Anthony Fauci was arrested by U.S. Special Forces. Fauci made several live media appearances in the days after Real Raw News published the claim. There is no evidence Fauci has been arrested.
Our fact-check sources:
- ABC News, April 10, Fauci advises assessing personal risk amid COVID-19 uptick
- NBC, April 11, Transcript: The ReidOut, 4/11/22
- The Hill, April 10, Fauci says it’s up to individuals to determine COVID-19 risks at events
- The New York Times, April 10, An uptick in U.S. virus cases is concerning but not surprising, Fauci says.
- PolitiFact, April 12, No, Dr. Anthony Fauci was not arrested
- Check Your Fact, April 14, FACT CHECK: WAS ANTHONY FAUCI ARRESTED IN APRIL 2022?
- Check Your Fact, June 25, 2021, FACT CHECK: HAS ANTHONY FAUCI BEEN ARRESTED BY NAVY SEALS?
- PolitiFact, Sept. 27, 2021, A look behind Real Raw News’ sensational (and fabricated) headlines
- Brennan Center for Justice, Oct. 14, 2021, The Posse Comitatus Act Explained
- USA TODAY, Sept. 22, 2020, Fact check: False claim that Dr. Anthony Fauci arrested uses doctored and out of context photos
- USA TODAY, Sept. 2, 2021, Fact check: False claim that military arrested Hunter Biden
- USA TODAY, Aug. 4, 2021, QAnon followers distance themselves from the movement's most bizarre conspiracy theories as they rebrand
- USA TODAY, Sept. 17, 2020, Debunked QAnon conspiracy theories are seeping into mainstream social media. Don't be fooled.
- Real Raw News, accessed April 26, About Us
- USA TODAY, April 20, Fact check: False claim that Putin rescued 35,000 imprisoned Ukrainian children
Oh, come on. There are crazy news sources on both sides of the partisan aisle. To go and seek out one of the most insane and call this an example of misinformation purveying through the internet is hyperbolic under the best of circumstances.
I hadn't even heard of the rumor that Fauci was arrested by US special forces.
You're a clown.
It's the top fact check of today... and yes, this claim about Fauci being arrested has been pushed by Covid-deniers all over social media in recent days -- seeing that the Real Raw News fake story came out on April 10th.
Top "Fact Check" of the day. LOL
What's the #2? Elon Musk actually isn't an alien? Psaki isn't carrying Kayne's love child?
Clown.
Of course we have Trumper politicians pushing the false talking points about worthless cures such as Ivermectin and arresting Fauci.
Let's fact-check the latest absurd nonsense being pushed by Ron Johnson and Covid-deniers. Their claims that no one died of Covid and all of these people were actually killed by remdesivir are not true.
Claim: Says remdesivir is responsible for killing patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
No, hospitalized COVID-19 patients weren’t killed by remdesivir
https://www.politifact.com/factchec...pitalized-covid-19-patients-werent-killed-re/
At a panel discussion hosted by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a nurse claimed that remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral drug used to treat people hospitalized with COVID-19, is actually killing patients.
- An early study in 2020 showed that remdesivir used to treat COVID-19 resulted in little to no improvement. Later studies found the drug was effective, including one that found an 87% lower risk of hospitalization or death.
- No studies have found that remdesivir was responsible for killing COVID-19 patients.
Medical experts explained that remdesivir is given to patients who are at the highest risk of death because of the severity of their disease.
Nicole Sirotek, founder of American Frontline Nurses — a group that opposes vaccines and promotes unproven remedies for COVID-19 — told the gathering that when she went to New York in May 2020 to help with the accelerating COVID-19 crisis, she "didn’t see a single patient die of COVID" in the hospital.
She blamed the deaths on the use of remdesivir, which had just received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for adults and children hospitalized with severe COVID-19. The FDA has since given full approval to remdesivir for hospitalized patients and for outpatients at high risk of getting severely sick.
"We all saw it was killing the patients," Sirotek said at the Jan. 25 panel. "And now it’s the FDA approved drug that is continuing to kill patients across the United States. Sirotek also said that patients who received two doses of the drug had a less than 25% chance of survival.
Johnson has been a longtime critic of the COVID-19 vaccines. His panel also featured other medical workers who have opposed the COVID-19 vaccines, including Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Harvey Risch.
The video of Sirotek’s speech was posted on YouTube and shared on Facebook. Facebook flagged it as part of the company’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Published data and medical experts whom we spoke to contradicted Sirotek’s claim.
Remdesivir is given to people in the hospital whose severe COVID-19 cases put them at high risk of dying, the experts explained. So those who get the drug may die. But there’s no evidence that the drug is what’s killing them. They said Sirotek’s conclusions were based on anecdotal observations and assumptions, not scientific evidence.
We reached out to Sirotek’s organization for comment and more information to back up her statements, but did not receive a response.
What studies say about remdesivir
Remdesivir is an intravenous drug sold by Gilead Sciences Inc. under the brand name Veklury. Until recently, it was approved only for hospital settings, but on Jan. 21, 2022, the FDA approved it to be used for non-hospitalized patients at risk of developing severe COVID-19, and lowered the age limit below 12. Former President Donald Trump was treated with remdesivir when he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October 2020.
The drug was first put forward as an investigational COVID-19 treatment in early 2020, at a time when doctors and researchers were still learning about the disease and how to treat it.
Studies have shown varying degrees of effectiveness.
In granting the emergency use authorization for the drug on May 1, 2020, the FDA said: "While there is limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19, the investigational drug was shown in a clinical trial to shorten the time to recovery in some patients."
The agency was referring to preliminary results from an April 2020 clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health that found that hospitalized patients who received remdesivir recovered from the illness 31% faster than those who received a placebo.
An earlier study by the World Health Organization, conducted across 30 countries with over 11,000 adult patients, had found the drug had little to no effect. The WHO still does not recommend remdesivir for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, citing limited evidence that it works.
One of the most recent studies, published in The New England Journal on Jan. 27, involved 562 non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A three-day course of remdesivir "had an acceptable safety profile and resulted in an 87% lower risk of hospitalization or death than placebo," the study concluded.
No causal relationship between drug and deaths
None of the studies concluded that the drug was causing deaths.
"We simply did not see an increase in death in the group that received the drug," said Dr. Cameron Wolfe, associate professor of medicine and infectious disease expert at Duke University, who has treated patients with remdesivir at the university’s hospital and in the outpatient infusion clinic. Wolfe was also a principal investigator in the NIH clinical study, and the clinical trials run by Gilead Sciences.
"That has never been seen in multiple rigorous trials," Wolfe added. "In fact, they usually did better, especially if the drug was given early in the illness."
Experts said Sirotek’s conclusion incorrectly assumed a causal relationship to explain the correlation she observed between remdesivir use and patient deaths.
Because remdesivir was initially authorized only for people hospitalized with severe COVID-19, "people who were more likely to receive the antiviral, or more of the antiviral, or more frequent dosing of the antiviral, are more likely to have been sick," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
What Sirotek observed, he said, "is that essentially the drug selects for the sicker patient."
Our ruling
Sirotek claimed that remdesivir is responsible for killing patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Neither medical data nor experts back this statement up. Studies have differed on how effective it is as a treatment for COVID-19, but none of them suggest that it’s causing deaths.
Experts noted that remdesivir is given to patients who are at the highest risk of death because of the severity of their disease.
We rate the claim False.
Here is the latest crap out of the mouth of Ron Johnson. It is astonishing that someone of this low intellect can be a U.S. Senator, but nothing should surprise us anymore.
In interview, Sen. Johnson says it ‘may be true’ that COVID vaccines cause AIDS
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief...t-may-be-true-that-covid-vaccines-cause-aids/
Many organizations purchase phone location data to conduct research. This data is easily available and purchasable from multiple vendors. The CDC using this data to determine the percentage of people in various communities following stay at home compliance and comparing this to the Covid infection rate in communities is part of typical public health policy in most countries during a modern pandemic. It is hardly surprising or in any manner wrong.
What are you going to claim next -- that monitoring wastewater in communities to determine disease level is wrong?
No no...But I am curious about your comparison between monitoring wastewater to monitoring people's personal cell devices to track where they are going or whether they are complying.
That's a bit of a stretch, but not what would surprise me from a member of the Party.
Could you tell me whether the CDC is under obligation to get this data in a particular fashion so that it is legally obtained, and whether they did so?