Real-time reporting on COVID-19 misinformation.
As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, misinformation about the illness is spreading across the internet. NewsGuard’s team is reporting on the many falsehoods about the virus that are gaining traction online—and the sources that are publishing and spreading those myths. Since our launch, we have made coverage of health and medical misinformation a special focus, and our reporting on COVID-19 builds on that past reporting.
Visit this page for a summary of our research and reporting on the topic.
UPDATED DAILY
Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center
A growing tally of websites that have published false information about COVID-19.
SPECIAL REPORT
The Top COVID-19 Vaccine Myths Spreading Online
Utilizing reporting from our Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center, we debunk emerging myths surrounding development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
SPECIAL REPORT
NewsGuard’s COVID-19 Misinformation Reports to the World Health Organization
In August, NewsGuard announced a partnership with the World Health Organization to combat online misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. Since then, NewsGuard has sent the WHO a variety of reports and data highlighting trending health hoaxes and conspiracies across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, which the WHO has been able to share with digital platforms to alert them to misinformation and hoaxes on their platforms.
SPECIAL REPORT
The top COVID-19 myths—and how they emerged.
Drawing on reporting from our Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center, we debunk the top myths about COVID-19–and trace how they emerged and spread.
SUPER-SPREADERS
Europe’s top COVID-19 misinformation ‘Super-spreaders on Facebook
Building on our reporting about Facebook’s misinformation ‘super-spreaders’ in Europe, we highlight dozens of accounts in the U.K., France, Germany and Italy that have published COVID-19 hoaxes to millions of followers combined.
SUPER-SPREADERS
Twitter’s COVID-19 Misinformation ‘Super-spreaders’
Meet Twitter’s’ misinformation “super-spreaders,” accounts with large followings that have published false cures and conspiracy theories about COVID-19—reaching millions of users.
SUPER-SPREADERS
Tracking Facebook’s COVID-19 Misinformation ‘Super-spreaders’
Meet Facebooks’ misinformation “super-spreaders,” accounts with large followings that have published false cures and conspiracy theories about COVID-19—reaching millions of users.
TRUST TOOL
A Trust Tool that flags COVID-19 misinformation sites and highlights credible sources.
NewsGuard’s browser extension and apps help users identify trustworthy sources and avoid misinformation. Users can get NewsGuard and see NewsGuard’s trust ratings next to links on search engines, social media pages, and other platforms. The ratings flag sites publishing COVID-19 myths and other misinformation and show a green check mark icon next to trustworthy sites.
RESOURCES
Free Resources to Counter COVID-19 Misinformation.
During the crisis, we’ve made our resources on COVID-19 misinformation free. Publishers, health care providers, or others providing health information can share or republish our Coronavirus Tracking Center and top COVID-19 hoaxes report free.
RESOURCES
Ending the boycott of trustworthy news publishers reporting on COVID-19.
With misinformation about the virus spreading, advertisers are fleeing credible media sources as they blacklist their ads from appearing on stories that mention COVID-19. NewsGuard has teamed up with a WHO-backed group of advertising companies and launched an integration with Peer39 to provide a simple way for advertisers to avoid placing ads on COVID-19 misinformation sites while continuing to support credible sources of information.