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What was claimed
Published in the Daily Express
Reported in a national newspaper
Coronavirus may have been genetically engineered for “efficient spreading in the human population,” a bombshell new study has claimed.
This is wrong and the study does not claim the new coronavirus has been genetically engineered. It simply compares the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with other coronaviruses, and suggests a reason why it might be spreading relatively efficiently.
What was claimed
Published on social media
Readers asked us to check this
Children can’t get the new coronavirus.
Children can get Covid-19 but there have been relatively few cases in children and in general, their symptoms tend to be milder.
What was claimed
Published on social media
Widely shared on Facebook
Coronaviruses can live on surfaces for up to 28 days, so you should be careful if you receive a package from China.
There is currently no evidence that this virus can survive on surfaces that long. Most other coronaviruses do not. Current health advice suggests the risk of contracting the virus from a package is very low.
We’re here to change debate for the better. We ask people to correct the record when they get things wrong, develop new technology to counter misleading claims, and campaign for better information in public life.
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Read more…Our policy work and impact
In response to the Queen's Speech, Full Fact urges the government to prioritise reforms to electoral laws
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As part of our efforts to fact check the 2019 general election, we’ve been using our AI tools to scrutinise the manifestos of the main parties
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