Red-Rated Sites With False Claims About The Coronavirus: 332 And Counting.

As a new strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spreads across the globe, so does disinformation and misinformation. Follow the spread of this dangerous information with NewsGuard’s new Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center.

Listed below are all the Red-Rated news and information sites in the U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, and Germany that we have identified — 331 so far — as publishing materially false information about the virus. You’ll find websites that are notorious for publishing false health content, and political sites whose embrace of conspiracy theories extends well beyond politics. Among the hoaxes these sites publish are that swallowing bleach or colloidal silver will prevent the coronavirus — when in fact these “treatments” can be harmful. Read our report on the top COVID-19 myths—and how they emerged and spread across the internet.

To read our full review of each website, click on its name to see its NewsGuard Nutrition Label (some labels include highlighted sections of coronavirus-related content). You can also see these ratings and thousands of others in our browser extension. Click here to Get NewsGuard.

Researchers or others interested in using this list can contact us for licensing information.

Needless to say, this is a work in progress about a story that has new developments daily. If you have come across a false story about the COVID-19 virus on a site we have not listed below, please report it here or contact us via our misinformation hotline.

For more information about NewsGuard’s approach to tracking coronavirus misinformation, read this piece on the topic from our lead health analyst, listen to this story on NPR, or watch this segment with the BBC.

For reliable information on the COVID-19 virus, consult the websites of public health institutions such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Websites Publishing False Coronavirus Information:

Listed By Country (in alphabetical order)

United States

United Kingdom

France

Italy

Germany

Other

GlobalResearch.ca (based in Canada)

GlobalTimes.cn (based in China)

GreatGameIndia.com (based in India)

IFPNews.com (based in Iran)

Kla.tv (based in Switzerland)

LesObservateurs.ch (based in Switzerland)

Mondialisation.ca (based in Canada)

TheDuran.com (based in Cyprus)

24Jours.com (unknown, possibly Francophone Africa)

Last updated September 17, 2020

Corrections: A previous version of this page mistakenly attached erroneous editor’s notes to two websites on the tracker. First, a note that appeared next to TheOldSchoolPatriot.com erroneously said that that website’s content had been taken down by the domain’s hosting provider. The note actually described the removal of content that happened on another site, TheWeeklyObserver.com. The note that appeared next to TheWeeklyObserver.com erroneously said that the website had a green rating, when it was rated red by NewsGuard. Also, a previous version of this page listed Mondialisation.ca as a French site when in fact, it is based in Canada. Finally, the page gave the wrong URL for TheHealthyAmerican.org. NewsGuard apologizes for the errors.