Lead Stories Korean - Coronavirus

Fact Check: Increase In Bowel Cancer In Young People Is NOT Related To COVID-19 Vaccines

2023-07-13T04:37:40Z

Did bowel cancer drastically increase in young people after receiving COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: Data circulating on social media is not related to COVID-19, but refer to a different period of time, before COVID.

The claim originated from a video (archived here) published by @isbem33 on TikTok, on April 27, 2023, under the title: "#갑자기 암발병 #암유발 원인" translated from Korean by Lead Stories staff as "#Suddenly got cancer: #thething causes cancer."

It opened:

Evaluation of long-term side effects and increase in cancer risk for COVID-vaccine recipients. Recently, bowel cancer diagnosis increased 370% among young people.

(Translation from Korean by Lead Stories staff).

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Jul 13 04:37:40 2023 UTC)

The video shows a TV news report by Australian news channel 7news. The news clip featured in the TikTok post introduces a recent April 2023 report, showing a marked spike in bowel cancer cases in young people in Australia. The TikToker added a caption groundlessly claiming that the increase is related to COVID-19 vaccinations.

This is false. The person interviewed in the tv segment, Peter Orchard, CEO of Canteen - an Australian organization that provides support to young people impacted by cancer - says that there has been a 370 percent increase in bowel cancer among young Australians, but the considered timeframe is from 1984-1988 to 2014-2018. Hence, the data cannot be related to COVID-19 vaccines, first introduced two years later, in December 2020.

Other fact checks by Lead Stories on claims related to COVID-19 vaccines can be found here.

Fact Check: Covid Vaccine Ingredients Did NOT Cause More Deaths Than The Disease Itself

2023-06-19T17:11:19Z

Did preservative and stabilizer ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines cause more deaths than the virus itself? No, that's not true: most COVID-19 vaccines used in Korea do not contain preservatives, and at the time of writing, the number of deaths caused by the COVID-19 disease far exceeds the number of deaths reported after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published on TikTok by @tiktokmanim0 on September 14, 2022, with a photo of billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates speaking at a podium. The opening caption referred to COVID-19 as "Cororong," a neologism that emerged on social media posts during the pandemic to avoid getting posts removed for violating COVID-19 guidelines. A caption reads:

Do you know about the horror story around Cororong?

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Jun 8 17:11:19 2023 UTC)

The video showed a screenshot of an anonymous online post, with narration claiming that COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers made a fortune, and the number of deaths from the preservatives and stabilizers contained in the vaccine had surpassed the number of deaths from the virus. It drew the conclusion that many people "doubt" the vaccines and believe that they are "fake."

According to statistics from Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of deaths reported after getting a COVID-19 jab in Korea from February 26, 2021, the start date for inoculations, to May 21, 2023, was 1,974. This number refers to the deaths that have been reported by medical professionals following vaccination but it does not prove causality by confirming the death was due to the vaccine and not other factors. The number instead is used to identify potential concerns, not to suggest causation between an adverse health event and a given vaccine. The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in Korea as of May 21, 2023, was 34,670, nearly 18 times the number of deaths reported after vaccination.

Moreover, the vaccines approved for use in Korea include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax and Skycovione, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and only one, AstraZeneca, contains a preservative and stabilizer ingredient.

Fact Check: Marburg Virus Is NOT A Deadly New Virus

2023-04-28T20:30:12Z

Is Marburg virus a deadly new virus coming from Africa? No, that's not true: It was first recognized in 1967, in Germany.

The story appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by @user8673937752784 on Tiktok on 16 Apr 2023, under the title "#인간#바이러스#마버그#좀비#CapCut" (#Human#Virus#Marburg#Zombie#Capcut: translated by Lead Stories Staff). It opened:

COVID: I gotta go now. Before leave, I will bring a friend first.

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Apr 27 05:28:12 2023 UTC)

The video implies that the Marburg virus is a new threat to humankind similar to COVID-19. Even though the virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever, it was first recognized in 1967 and is definitely not a "new" threat. There have been a total of 10 historical outbreak of Marburg virus, and none of those resulted in a global pandemic. Most Marburg outbreaks have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, while only a few outbreaks have occurred outside the continent.

There was a simliar video (archived here) that exaggerates the threat; it says Marburg has an 88% fatality rate. The 88% of fatality rate is not derived from a massive dataset, the number is derived from the current outbreak in Equatorial Guinea. The government of the state said the outbreak recorded 88% of fataility rate in Feb 13. However, the number has slightly dropped to 78%, according to the renewed number as of March 2022. Moreover, the case-fatality rates from the historical outbreaks varied between 23% to 90%.

Fact Check: Adenoviruses Are NOT A New Threat Like COVID-19

2023-04-28T17:52:19Z

Will Adenovirus be contagious like COVID-19 and result in a pandemic? No, that's not true: It has been around us for ages and the symptoms are mild as a common cold.

The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published on Tiktok by @rpm0313 on 16 Apr 2023 under the title "'아데노바이러스'(HAdV) 아데노바이러스에 감염되면 눈꼽이 심하게 껴서 눈꼽 감기 라고 부르기도 한다네요.. 증상이 코로나보다 더 심다하고 하니 다들 조심하세요 🤒": "'Adenovirus'(HAdV) Also known as sleep crust cold since when you get infected, you got lots of sleep crust in your eyes.. Be careful cause the symptom is severe than COVID." It opened:

Adenoviruses have more severe symptoms than COVID.

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Apr 18 17:52:19 2023 UTC)

Adenovirus is NOT a novel disease threatening us. In most cases, it comes with common cold or flu-like symptoms, fever or sore throat, according to CDC. The CDC also notes that 'Adenoviruses are common' on their website.

The video starts with a screenshot from a TV news package. The package was about the first case of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children' reported in South Korea. The case is actually reported and Adenoviruses were pointed as the main cause. However, it was a year out of date when posted to TikTok. the package was aired May 10, 2022. Moreover, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) ended monitoring similar cases, in Dec 2022.

Plus, the graph shown in the video says the ratio of confirmed Adenovirus cases among common cold has increased from last year. However, it is easy to tell it is an outdated one; the data is from 'KCDC' (in Korean, '질병관리본부'), a former body of KDCA (질병관리청). Since KCDC was renamed KDCA in 2020, the graph is from 2019 or even earlier.