EDMONTON—A televangelist selling silver as a cure for COVID-19. The idea that drinking cow urine or bleach will help with symptoms. Or the suggestion that rubbing essential oils on a part of your body where the sun don’t shine will protect you.

As someone who has spent decades debunking myths and bad science, whether related to climate change, stem cells or vaccinations, Timothy Caulfield has almost heard it all.

But he says he’s never seen anything quite like this.

“This is misinformation on steroids,” said Caulfield, referring to the COVID-19 “infodemic” he’s hoping to fight.

The University of Alberta professor and health policy expert, host of “A User’s Guide to Cheating Death” on Netflix and author of “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything?” is one of many researchers across the country who’s received funding from the federal government’s Rapid Research Funding Opportunity.

He and his team will be researching how COVID-19 misinformation spreads and how to stop it.

“With the coronavirus, what we’re seeing is those concerns I’ve been following for decades really amplified,” Caulfield said. “Even I’ve been astounded the degree to which misinformation in this context is spread and the impact it’s had.

“Here, it’s been ramped up very quickly, and on an international scale, and at the worst possible time.”

Caulfield noticed this is the first pandemic of its scale to take place in the era of social media, where information moves fast and furious. And often inaccurately.

And while governments and legacy media were once the gatekeepers of important information related to public health, it’s much harder to control how misinformation is spread on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Caulfield said.

Misinformation can contribute to fear, confusion and anxiety in a pandemic. But it also has literal life or death consequences.

“There is actual death and physical harm when people listen to misinformation,” Caulfield said. “And we’ve seen that play out in the context of the coronavirus.”

One of the chemicals touted as possibly effective for COVID-19 is hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria medication. In March, an Arizona man died after consuming chloroquine phosphate, a fish tank cleaner, which he thought was hydroxychloroquine.

One of the interesting aspects of this infodemic that Caulfield has observed is the “continuum” of misinformation. Some ideas, like drinking bleach, would seem patently absurd to most people.

“But then you have this stuff that’s kind of in the middle, that seems more plausible or slightly more credible, like that you can boost your immune system (against COVID-19) or that you should be taking supplements,” Caulfield said.

On the positive side, there is evidence that people can typically tell when information is accurate if they simply take the time to pause and reflect — something Caulfield and his team hope they can help encourage more people to do.

“I hope that one of the legacies of this event is we can remember the value of good science, the value of trusted voices and also the potential harm of misinformation.”

Here are seven supposed coronavirus cures debunked by misinformation expert Timothy Caulfield:

Hydroxychloroquine

The interest in this drug — including by the President of the United States (sigh) — is largely based on the reporting of one, small, methodologically flawed study. It has led to the hoarding and misuse of the drug. At this point, we don’t have the good, clinical data, to support its use. This controversy is a good example of why it is important to report and interpret the emerging science very carefully.

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Drinking bleach

This science-free and dangerous idea has been lurking around on social media for a while. It has, for example, been marketed as a “cure” for autism. It became part of the coronavirus early on largely because people like the conspiracy-loving followers of the far-right QAnon movement pushed it. Many of them also believe the COVID-19 is a hoax. (Still? You guys, still believe this?) While this may seem kooky and — needless to say — a terrible idea from a health perspective, the mere fact that we know about it shows how fringe ideas can work their way into broader public discourse.

Garlic soup

OK, this one feels more plausible. And garlic is so good! There is also some research that seems to suggest that garlic can help with flu and respiratory infections. In fact, the research remains weak and some of it is in vitro (that is, lab research that doesn’t involve actual humans). Be skeptical. Indeed, this one is so popular the World Health Organization recently dealt with this specific myth, noting: “There is no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the new coronavirus.” Still, garlic is healthy!

Drinking silver

This bunk remedy has also been around for a while. It is a classic quack cure-all that has been peddled for every conceivable ailment. There is no evidence to support its use for anything and it may even be harmful. Recently, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the State of Missouri took legal action against televangelist Jim Bakker for selling his “Silver Solution” as a cure for COVID-19.

Snorting cocaine

Let’s just say, um, nope. Not a good idea. Snorting cocaine will not cure or prevent to COVID-19. Incredibly, the French government had to go so far as to tweet out a warning that “No, cocaine does NOT protect against COVID-19.”

Homeopathy

This is one of the most popular alternative remedies. (Homeopathy is a medical practice based on the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself and that “like cures like.” That is, if a substance causes a symptom in a healthy person, giving the person a very small amount of the same substance may cure the illness.) There is, however, no evidence homeopathy works or could work. It is, in fact, completely scientifically implausible. Despite this reality, the Indian government proposed the use of homeopathy, which was developed in Germany in the late 18th century, as a possible preventative strategy for the coronavirus. The proposal was widely condemned and the government was forced to do a U-turn.

Drinking cow urine

Nope.

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