Not Real News
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week.
ClaimThe federal government wants to require Americans to present a health passport or vaccine certificate “on demand,” including for domestic travel.
The factsThe U.S. government has no plans to require so-called vaccine passports to travel domestically, or for any other purpose.While private businesses are considering vaccine passports for certain activities, Biden administration officials have said the federal government will not mandate vaccine passports.
ClaimMajor League Baseball moved the All-Star game to Colorado because Georgia now requires voter ID, but Colorado has the same requirement.
The factsColorado does not require a photo identification card to vote, while Georgia's new law requires voters to use such IDs to request vote-by-mail ballots and existing state law requires them for voting in person. Furthermore, Georgia's newly passed voting rules that caused a backlash among critics are more sweeping than just ID requirements.Colorado does not require voters to show identification with a photo to vote, according to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office.
ClaimMasks are no longer mandatory in Ohio, and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine isn't saying a word about it.
The factsMasks remain mandatory in Ohio in indoor spaces as well as outdoors when social distancing is not possible. Ohio rescinded its previous coronavirus health guidelines, including its facial covering requirement, on April 5.Social media users posted the order from the Ohio Department of Health with false claims it means masks are no longer required in the Buckeye State. The social posts failed to mention that the previous orders were rescinded as part of a larger move by state officials to update and consolidate pandemic restrictions to make them simpler.
ClaimPresident Joe Biden needed a special medical team at the White House and was taken to the hospital late Sunday.
The factsBiden was not at the White House on Easter Sunday; he celebrated the holiday at Camp David. Social media users shared a 2019 video clip of White House reporters and falsely claimed that the press was “scrambling” to cover Biden being admitted to the hospital. While Biden was with his family at Camp David, a presidential retreat in Maryland, social media users posted baseless claims suggesting that he had received medical attention at the White House and had been hospitalized Sunday night.
ClaimDoctors in Russia violated a World Health Organization rule by performing autopsies on deceased COVID-19 patients. They determined the illness is caused by bacteria — not a virus — and can be treated with antibiotics and aspirin.
The factsPopular posts on Instagram made multiple false claims about the coronavirus and autopsies of COVID-19 patients. WHO does not prohibit COVID-19 autopsies, which have been performed since the early months of the pandemic.Multiple Instagram posts falsely claimed that the cause of COVID-19 is not a virus, “but rather bacteria that cause death and lead to the formation of blood clots in the veins and nerves, from which the patient dies because of these bacteria.” Scientists have identified SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus, as the virus that causes COVID-19.
ClaimVideo shows French police symbolically dropping their handcuffs to declare they will no longer participate in national lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The factsThe video is from June 2020 and does not show a protest against COVID-19 restrictions. The French police officers in the video were dropping their cuffs to protest new limits on arrest tactics and criticism of alleged violence and racism in their ranks after George Floyd's death in the United States.
