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NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

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A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on…
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
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CLAIM: The nasal swab test commonly used for to diagnose COVID-19 involves obtaining a sample from a protective layer of cells known as the blood-brain barrier, which can result in inflammation of the brain.
THE FACTS: The swab used to diagnose COVID-19 goes so far back into the nose that it can be uncomfortable, even causing some people’s eyes to water. But it doesn’t touch the area known as the blood-brain barrier, where blood vessels and the brain exchange important nutrients, despite social media posts that claim it does. This week, Facebook posts viewed more than a million times shared a diagram of the nasopharyngeal swab test next to an anatomical picture of the brain, suggesting the swab disrupts the blood-brain barrier. “The blood-brain barrier is exactly where the swab has to be placed,” the image read, with a raised eyebrow emoji. “Coincidence??? I don’t think so.” However, Dr. Morgan Katz, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, said these posts fundamentally misunderstand what’s happening when the test is conducted. The swab “would have to go through layers of muscle and fascia, as well as the base of the skull, which is a thick bone, in order to get anywhere near the blood-brain barrier, and I would say that it is not possible,” Katz told The Associated Press. Instead of the brain, the test collects a sample from the nasopharynx, an area between the back of the nose and the back of the throat where respiratory viruses often live. “That’s just a place where we expect to see the highest yield of respiratory viruses,” she said.
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CLAIM: Wearing a face mask for extended periods of time can cause pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lung.
THE FACTS: Multiple experts told The Associated Press there is no medical evidence that wearing a face mask could lead to this condition, despite Facebook posts claiming it could. “Be careful healthy people, shared from a friend,” read one Facebook post, which described a story of a healthy 19-year-old frontline grocery store worker who started feeling sick and was diagnosed with pleurisy. “They basically tell her.. It’s because she’s been wearing a mask for over 8 hours a day 5-6 days a week. Breathing in her own bacteria. Carbon dioxide.. Caused an infection.” Another Facebook post featured a diagram of a lung with an inflamed lining. “Result of wearing mask for 8 hours a day,” the caption read. “Why are they not reporting the number of people being hospitalized for this?? YOU NEED FRESH AIR.” But doctors who study the respiratory system say a face mask doesn’t pose this risk. “There is absolutely no truth in that claim,” said Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, in an email. “There are thousands of health care workers wearing face masks everyday including masks that are much tighter than simple surgical masks. Nobody is getting pleurisy because of that.” “I don’t see a medically plausible mechanism for mask wearing to cause pleurisy,” said Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association. Claims that mask-wearing leads to harmful conditions, including bacterial and fungal infections, pneumonia, hypercapnia and other ailments are also false, according to AP reporting.
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CLAIM: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out COVID-19 tests “seeded” with the virus.
THE FACTS: Social media users shared an illustration of a COVID-19 nasal swab test where a six inch long swab is placed into the cavity between the nose and mouth with false information that the CDC sent out tests that contained the live virus. The post asserts that COVID-19 tests are tainted and could expose people to the virus. According to one Instagram post that shared the illustration with false information: “COVID-19 test has the virus… the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent states tainted lab tests in early February that were themselves seeded with the virus, federal officials have confirmed.” The Instagram caption further states: “… if one person in the family could have gotten tested with one of those tainted ‘Planted’ COVID-19 tests that would potentially expose the entire family to the virus…” In February, the CDC distributed a batch of faulty COVID-19 test kits to laboratories, but the kit did not contain the live virus. The contaminated tests were not sent out to patients. The CDC produced two types of test kits in January. There was no evidence that the first batch had any issues. The second type of test kit, which was developed to be manufactured by the CDC, was contaminated.

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