Discerning accurate information from inaccurate or completely made-up "facts" is an important skill -- not just for college research, but for life.  We are continually bombarded by false information, and the coronavirus epidemic is no exception.  Take a look at the viral email we found, and see if you can spot the errors!

hands with virus superimposed

With so many people worried about the coronavirus COVID-19, social media is inundated with advice on how to clean surfaces and check for illness, or descriptions of how the virus works.  The trouble is, a lot of the "information" isn't information at all; it's misleading, only partially correct, or just plain wrong.  We just saw this email making the rounds -- click on the link to see a pdf copy.  It's a document that claims to be "Stanford Notes on Coronavirus" and has a link at the top: https://stanfordhealthcare.org/stanford-health-care-now/2020/novel-coronavirus.html   That is a legitimate link that really is full of good information from Stanford, but the body text that follows is completely different. 

We did a little research, and found that this document is in fact two viral posts that have been slightly edited, put together into one, and then labeled with the "Stanford" name.  Some fact-checkers have already debunked the information:

We encourage you to read those articles for a detailed analysis, but let's do a short look at some hints that this document is not reliable and not from Stanford doctors.

  • The text is not professionally written.  Punctuation is missing, the language is odd, and it contains grammatical errors:
    • "serious excellent advice by Japanese doctors"
    • "can't emphasis enough"
    • "wash your hands...with bacterial soap"
  • The text contains phrases that medical doctors would not say in a public health notice.
    • "May the world recover from this Coronavirus soon."
    • "It hates the Sun."
  • Some of the advice/information makes no sense, even if you don't have any scientific or medical knowledge.
    • "This new virus is not heat resistant and will be killed by a temperature of ...about 77 degrees F.  [Then it couldn't survive in the human body, or on a warm day.]
    • "Try not to drink liquids with ice."  [What?]

The medical advice contained in this document is not accurate.  It claims:

  • That if you are sick, your lungs will have "fibrosis."  Fibrosis is scar tissue; the danger with COVID-19 is pneumonia.
  • That being able to take a deep breath and hold it for ten seconds is an indication that all is well.  Not at all correct.
  • That drinking water constantly will wash the virus into your stomach, where acid will kill it.  Nope.
  • That it is a dry cough.  Maybe -- maybe not.
  • That the virus can only stay alive on your hands for 5-10 minutes.  No.
  • And plenty of other claims!

Don't fall for these tactics; check into the information you see circulating around.

virus with masked girl

 

Find more information about evaluating social media and fake news at our LibGuide!