How to identify what’s real and fake in the world of COVID-19

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow, people are becoming desperate, willing to try measures that aren't proven, recommended or even safe. Timothy Caulfield is the Professor of Health Law and Science Policy at the University of Alberta, and he has been given a grant of nearly $400,000 to study misinformation during the pandemic. He broke down and debunked some of the pseudoscience that has spread since the outbreak of the virus, and what Health Canada is doing to stop misinformation. Read his findings below, and click on the video above for more.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FALSE CLAIMS OUT THERE?

The problem of pseudoscience and misinformation has become so significant that the World Health Organization now addresses a few choice urban legends on its official website for COVID-19. Garlic might taste good, but consuming it won’t prevent you from getting sick, and neither will spraying your body with chlorine. Even without the looming threat of pandemic, pseudoscientific cures can pose a real threat to the public. An Arizona man died after consuming chloroquine phosphate, used to clean fish tanks, which he mistook for hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria medication championed by Donald Trump as a COVID-19 treatment. Trump had said chloroquine had been approved by the FDA for treating COVID-19, then the FDA later clarified that it has not approved any therapeutics or drugs to treat COVID-19.Here are some of the other popular pseudoscience claims that have circulated:

Fake Vaccine

A counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine made out of a mix of amphetamines, cocaine and nicotine was priced at nearly $300 and was being sold by drug dealers on the Dark Web. Some of these sites, which sell a plethora of illegal drugs, have actually banned the sale of these false cures that could potentially cause harm to people who consume them.

Drinking Hot Liquid

Several social media posts have circulated that claim drinking hot beverages like coffee or tea can kill the virus in your throat before it infects you, along with a host of other false information. This claim has been debunked - there is no evidence that drinking hot liquids is efficient as any form of prevention against COVID-19.[video_embed id='1924755']RELATED: Should you really avoid ibuprofen during the COVID-19 pandemic?[/video_embed]

HOW CAN YOU TELL REAL FROM FAKE?

Set your skeptic bar extremely high, and think critically about everything you read. Usually, if something worked well we would know. Go to the sources that are aggravating scientific information - the Canadian public health agency and CDC are all doing a pretty good job.

SHOULD YOU AVOID SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social media is definitely where the most fake news is. A lot of social media platforms have fact-check warnings, but that doesn’t always work because people will search things like an immune boost. Use social media at your own risk, and always be skeptical of what you read.[video_embed id='1934649']BEFORE YOU GO: How to protect your privacy when using video call apps[/video_embed]