Fact-check: Are masks really dangerous and don't prevent COVID-19?
A man stitches cotton fabric pieces used to manufacture reusable face masks in Johannesburg
In recent days, a piece of news is getting viral, which cites Stanford University claiming that masks do not work to avoid contracting coronavirus, and are actually dangerous.
However, fact-checking this information, or rather misinformation, tells an entirely different story.
FactCheck.org said that the research being quoted was a hypothesis and did not come from anyone associated with Stanford University.
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It further said that the research paper was not an original "study," but an author's propose explanation based on a review of previous studies.
Journal Medical Hypotheses, an outlet that calls itself "a forum for ideas in medicine and related biomedical sciences," published the study for the first time in November.
Though it appeared on PubMed Central, a scientific literature archive run by the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine, it does not imply that NIH backs this content as some of the viral stories claimed.
The research said that Vainshelboim works for Cardiology Division, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States.
FactCheck.org also said that they reached out to Stanford University and Julie Greicius, a spokesperson for Stanford Health Care informed that Baruch Vainshelboim, the author of the study, does not work for them.
Even a spokesperson for VA Palo Alto Health Care System said that Vainshelboim does not work for them.
Mehar Manku, the editor of Medical Hypotheses, said that they are aware of the "issues related to the publication in question" and actions are being taken.