&Quot;Spanish Flu&Quot;

Did 15 of the deadliest pandemics in global history originate in China? No, that's not true: Internet users are sharing an original infographic that has been altered to claim that most of the world's deadliest pandemics can be traced back to China. However, some of the outbreaks did not actually derive from that country. The claim appeared in a post…

Did the Asian flu, Hong Kong flu, swine flu and bird flu each kill more people than the coronavirus we face today? And did the government "never ever shut down anything," suggesting that there is something officials aren't telling the public? No, these claims are misleading: The numbers and information shared in a circulating meme (a) aren't entirely accurate and…

Did genetic mutations cause the coronavirus to become more dangerous? No, there is no evidence of that. The claim surfaced in a post (archived here) on Facebook. It opened: Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who…

Did New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reject a recommendation for his state to buy 16,000 ventilators in 2015 in preparation for a pandemic? No, that's not true: That is disinformation being spread among conservatives, misinterpreting the facts of a 2015 report by a New York task force about the need for ventilators during a pandemic. The reports of Cuomo "rejecting…

Are historic flu and other outbreaks accurately named based on the country where they originated? No, this is not always the case: With President Trump insisting that calling the coronavirus "Chinese Flu" is not racist - as his critics claim - posts have started going viral saying historic outbreaks are named because of the country in which they originated. But…

Did 5G, the fifth-generation wireless technology, cause the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: These bizarre assertions go against everything we know about how viruses are spread. A viral video making the rounds confuses historical events, while ignoring others, to make a sweeping claim that is not backed up by evidence. The claim appeared in a post published on YouTube…

Was Donald Trump's grandfather a pimp and tax evader, and was his father a member of the Ku Klux Klan? No, there is no proof: Donald's Trump's paternal grandfather Frederick Trump accumulated his initial wealth by owning restaurants and hotels in Seattle and the Yukon in his first decades after immigrating from Germany to the United States. While Gwenda Blair…