Was a September 18 tweet by someone named John Cammo (@johncammo) predicting that President Trump would become infected with COVID-19 in October the only one to make that assertion? No. There were several prior tweets that made the same prediction. The claim is in the September 18, 2020, posting on Twitter titled "JohnCammo on Twitter" (archived here) which opened: "@joshtpm…

Have other countries proved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endangered thousands of lives by withdrawing approval of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The findings of clinical studies in the U.S. and overseas show the anti-malarial drug is ineffective against COVID-19. The anti-abortion website saying otherwise bases its claim on an essay published by a…

Did Nevada 'quietly reverse' its decision to 'block' hydroxychloroquine prescriptions for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The emergency regulation simply expired. Also, although the order did put some limits on hydroxychloroquine, it did not prohibit prescriptions of the drug outright. It remained available to COVID-19 patients in hospitals and emergency rooms in Nevada. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Has the widely-used PCR test for COVID-19 returned false positive results, exaggerating the number of Americans infected? No, that's not true: The test accurately determines whether patients' nasal swabs show infection. But anti-quarantine-and-mask activists, who did none of their own reporting, have misused the results of a reporter's recent analysis of testing: it shows many who are infected may not…

Did the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fraudulently add deaths from poisoning, trauma and unintentional injury to its tally of COVID-19 deaths? No, that's not true: That claim is based on a mischaracterization of CDC listings of patients' other health conditions, which are commonly listed on death certificates as "comorbidities." The claim cites as a source "c19study," an…

Did a "massive international study" show a much lower COVID-19 mortality rate in countries where hydroxychloroquine was prescribed to patients? No, that's not true: The "C19study" is not a massive international study. It is an anonymous collection of words and graphics referring to other scientific papers, but does not itself qualify as a scientific paper or study: No medical expert…

Are the "MAGA hat kid from Covington Catholic," the "MyPillow guy," the "demon sperm doctor," musician Kid Rock, actor Scott Baio and the "racist gun couple" all featured speakers at the 2020 Republican National Convention? No, that's not true: The final lineup has not been announced. However, some of the people in that list are expected to speak, and others…

Have multiple studies shown that countries treating COVID-19 with hydroxychloroquine suffer fewer deaths than those like the U.S. where its use is restricted? No, that's not true: The claim was made without citing any such studies. Lead Stories has not found peer-reviewed clinical studies that declare hydroxychloroquine is a cure, and the World Health Organization has declared the opposite putting…

Did Dr. Anthony Fauci say that hydroxychloroquine was both a cure and a vaccine for coronavirus in 2005? No, that's not true: The National Institutes of Health did publish a study in 2005 that reported hopeful signs from in-vitro tests that chloroquine, not hydroxychloroquine, had potential against SARS-CoV-1, not SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that is responsible for the current COVID-19…

Are hydroxychloroquine, zinc and Zithromax a cure for COVID-19? No, that's not true: As Lead Stories reported previously, global health experts continue to say that there are no drugs that have been shown to prevent or cure the infection. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here). The post included a video and the following text: BREAKING American Doctors…