Research shows that eating nutritious meals helps the brain function optimally, but numerous social media posts are claiming that avoiding gluten, dairy, corn and soy can eradicate symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Experts said these claims are not backed by robust research, cautioning against strict elimination diets for children.
Limited evidence elimination diet resolves ADHD symptoms Read More »
Whopping cough cases in the United States reached levels in 2025 far higher than before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. But social media posts recommending hydrogen peroxide as a remedy are misguided; the illness can be prevented with vaccination and fought with antibiotics, experts said, while the liquid composed of hydrogen and oxygen is an unproven and potentially dangerous treatment.
Hydrogen peroxide is not a treatment for whooping cough Read More »
US President Donald Trump and his Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., doubled down on misinformation about the causes of autism during an October 9, 2025 cabinet meeting.
Trump, RFK Jr repeat autism misinformation during cabinet meeting Read More »
Claims about just 10% of WHO-approved medicines being available not backed by fact
Fact-check Malta: Are WHO-advised palliative care medicines unavailable in Malta? Read More »
Public outcry on incinerator and conflicting claims over its impact
Fact-check Malta: What does an impact assessment into the new Magħtab incinerator say? Read More »
More than 12 countries have euthanasia laws, but no two are identical
Fact-check Malta: How does Malta’s assisted dying proposal compare to other countries? Read More »
Readers paused to catch their breath when a respiratory expert warned of Malta’s dire asthma rates
Fact-check Malta: How high is Malta’s asthma rate? Read More »
Bernard Grech warned that power cuts can be fatal if someone’s sleep apnoea machine loses power
Fact-check Malta: Is a power cut deadly to someone with sleep apnoea? Read More »
July 10, 2024 Social media sees an endless stream of trends. A potential contender for the summer’s hottest: sunscreen is actually bad for you. At least, so say a number of TikTok users. News sites in the United States have been reporting that misinformation about sunscreen is spreading profusely on the bite-size video platform and
Fact check Malta: TikTok is soaking up sunscreen misinformation Read More »
July 8, 2024 Shocking new revelations into a Steward-funded campaign orchestrated to smear former Health Minister Chris Fearne led inaccurate claims over whether this absolved Fearne of his ongoing legal troubles linked to a concession awarding three of Malta’s public hospitals to a private consortium. The deal was later taken over by US healthcare giant
Fact-check Malta: Do smear campaign reports clear Chris Fearne? Read More »
June 27, 2024 Rumours that a butcher on the island of Gozo was killing sick dogs and cats and selling them to customers as sausages spread like wildfire on Friday 21 June, causing panic and disgust in equal measure. They claimed that several people had fallen sick and were admitted to hospital over the weekend
News of Steward’s bankruptcy led some to speculate that the hospitals would have been up for sale
Fact-check Malta: Would Malta have had to sell the hospitals under a bankrupt Steward? Read More »
Doctors for Life made the claim in a letter to MEP Cyrus Engerer
Fact-check Malta: Are 90% of pregnancies in which Down syndrome is detected aborted? Read More »
Many have claimed that drug traffickers will be able to get away with carrying more drugs for personal use
Fact-check Malta: Does a new drug reform mean that you can carry 500 ecstasy pills? Read More »
The proposed treaty actually highlights countries’ sovereignty over their healthcare policies
Fact-check Malta: Pandemic treaty will hand WHO ‘nearly unlimited powers’ Read More »
PL MP Silvio Grixti asked why Spiteri was not investigated in a flurry of Facebook posts in recent weeks
Fact-check Malta: Did police investigate the Stephen Spiteri false certificate case? Read More »
The petition says that the government has until the end of the month to avoid this
Fact-check Malta: Petition warns that WHO will assume power over Malta’s constitution Read More »
Authorities say they’re following international recommendations. But which recommendations are they talking about?
Fact-check Malta: What are international nurse-to-patient ratio recommendations? Read More »
Malta’s infrastructure has been brought to its knees. Have other countries fared better?
Fact-check Malta: How has energy infrastructure coped around the Mediterranean? Read More »
Doctor later argued that the odds are “vanishingly low”
Fact-check Malta: GP claims that ‘rape victims don’t get pregnant’ Read More »
An incident raised by Claudette Buttigieg led some to question whether their dogs are safe
Fact-check Malta: Can dogs get high from cannabis smoke? Read More »
April 27, 2023 In a 2022 video interview, Bill Gates praised Covid-19 vaccines while admitting they were not perfect in entirely blocking the transmission of the virus and in the limited duration of their effect. A Greek website shared a clip from this video in April 2023 with the false claim that it showed him
Bill Gates did not say in this interview that Covid vaccines were ‘dangerous’ Read More »
Muscat said discussions were documented in a report by the Auditor General
Fact-checking Joseph Muscat’s claim of €100m hospitals clause Cabinet discussion Read More »
Abela made several claims during a lengthy speech in parliament on Thursday
Fact-checking seven claims Robert Abela made in hospitals deal speech Read More »
The post was published on January 26, 2023 and has since been shared more than 120 times.
Misleading and false claims about Greece’s medicine shortage circulate online Read More »
February 13, 2023 A circular seal showing a green frog under the words “Rainforest Alliance” indicates that a food product comes from sources that have been certified as meeting sustainable agricultural and supply chain standards. The symbol does not indicate that a product’s raw materials are “transgenic” — i.e. genetically altered — as social media
Fruit and vegetables labelled with a five-digit product code starting with “8” have not been genetically modified, contrary to what has been claimed in posts shared hundreds of times on Facebook since December. While it is true that the prefix “8” was initially intended to label transgenic produce, the International Federation of Produce Standards (IFPS) – which is responsible for establishing Price Look Up (PLU) codes for fruit and vegetables – has never used it in this way. Product codes beginning with 8 will be used to designate new products in the near future. Under Greek law, products containing genetically modified organisms – or “GMOs” – must be clearly labelled as such at the point of sale.
Minister: ‘Two cases of invasive Strep A is in line with what is usually reported’
Fact-checking Chris Fearne’s Strep A claim Read More »