Was COVID-19 made in a lab? Will a vaccine protect you forever? Does the sun help? Coronavirus myths are spreading in 25 languages here are the most…

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, people are on edge and some folks are also confused. Adding to the increasingly chaotic nature of the information superhighway in 2020, others are sharing misleading information and outright falsehoods across the internet and on television.

Some outlandish rumors persist. To adherents of such beliefs, the coronavirus is a dastardly bioweapon designed to wreak economic armageddon on the West; a left-wing conspiracy to damage the re-election prospects of President Donald Trump; a virus that leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

A new study in the latest edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene identified 2,311 reports of rumors, stigma and conspiracy theories in 25 languages from 87 countries related to COVID-19 across social media and, yes, online news media sites.

Do you have to wear a mask outdoors? Only medical-grade N95 surgical masks with goggles work, right, so why bother wearing a homemade face covering?

Paranoia politicizes a public-health emergency and distracts from potentially life-saving measures. Misinformation fueled by rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious implications on the individual and community if prioritized over evidence-based guidelines, the study said.

The most oft-shared claims were related to the seriousness of the illness, transmission and mortality rate (24%); the effectiveness of control measures (21%); treatments and cures touted online (19%); and the origins of pandemic (15%).

Of the 2,276 reports for which text ratings were available, 1,856 claims were false (82%). Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation, the report found.

There are, of course, many nuances and truths mixed in with some rumors. Among the evidence-supported statements by members of the scientific community: Like the influenza vaccines, any future vaccine will likely only last a number of years, and not give everyone 100% immunity.

Do you have to wear a mask outdoors? Only medical-grade N95 surgical masks with goggles can help guarantee protection against the virus, so why bother wearing a homemade face covering? Health professionals and studies support the idea that face coverings can help stop the spread.

Exposure to the sun or to temperatures higher than 77 Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) doesnt prevent theCOVID-19virus or curethe disease, the Mayo Clinic says.

They have helped reduce contagion by reducing droplets being sprayed into the air during flu season, and scientists say they can similarly help now, particularly with the high number of asymptomatic carriers. Maskless joggers can leave a droplet slipstream of 30 feet outdoors.

Whats more, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, earlier this month recommended wearing goggles as a complete method to help prevent contracting the coronavirus.

COVID-19 only affects older people, right? And its a few bad days or weeks in bed, and youre back to normal? Incorrect, and no: Lung scarring and heart and kidney damage may result from COVID-19, and some younger COVID-19 patients who were otherwise healthy are suffering blood clots and strokes.

A study of 60 COVID-19 patients published in the Lancet this month found that 55% of them were still displaying neurological symptoms during follow-up visits three months later, including confusion and difficulty concentrating, as well as headaches, loss of taste and/or smell, mood changes and insomnia.

Wont the summer sun and heat help? Exposure to the sun or to temperatures higher than 77 Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) doesnt prevent theCOVID-19virus or cureCOVID-19, according to a myth-busting guide from the Mayo Clinic.

You can get theCOVID-19virus in sunny, hot and humid weather. Taking a hot bath also cant prevent you from catching theCOVID-19virus, the article warns. Your normal body temperature remains the same, regardless of the temperature of your bath or shower.

Related:COVID-19 infections just hit 20 million worldwide why the actual number of cases is likely much higher

Here are some other popular misconceptions derailed by the Mayo Clinic: Cold weather and snow do not kill COVID-19.Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. Drinking alcohol doesnt protect you from thevirus. And spraying it on your body doesnt help if you are infected.

The supplement colloidal silver, which has been marketed as atreatment, is not considered safe or effective for treating any disease. Theres no evidence that eating garlic protects against infection with theCOVID-19virus, the Mayo Clinic added. (It doesnt help with vampires either, because they dont exist.)

Another outlandish theory: Avoiding exposure to or use of 5G networks doesnt prevent infection with theCOVID-19virus. Viruses cant travel on radio waves and mobile networks. TheCOVID-19virus is spreading in many countries that lack 5G mobile networks, the organization said.

Cold weather and snow does not kill COVID-19. Radio waves and mobile networks dont cure or spread the virus.Antibiotics only kill bacteria.

Ultraviolet light and disinfectants can be used on surfaces, it added. But dont use a UV lamp to sterilize your hands or other areas of your body. UV radiation can lead to skin irritation and bleach can burn you.

Who tends to believe falsehoods? People who get their news from social-media platforms like Facebook FB, -1.12% and Twitter TWTR, +0.76% are more likely to have misperceptions about COVID-19, according to a recent study led by researchers at McGill University in Montreal.

Those that consume more traditional news media have fewer misperceptions and are more likely to follow public health recommendations like social distancing, concluded the paper, which was published in the latest issue of the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review.

In the context of a crisis like COVID-19, however, there is good reason to be concerned about the role that the consumption of social media is playing in boosting misperceptions, says co-author Aengus Bridgman, a Ph.D. candidate in political science at McGill University.

Social-media platforms have been criticized for their failures to stop the spread of misinformation, especially concerning elections and the coronavirus pandemic, despite a number of new policies enacted since Russia used the platforms to interfere in the 2016 elections.

In May, Twitter marked tweets by President Donald Trump with a fact-check warning label for the first time, after the president falsely claimed mail-in ballots are substantially fraudulent. (He has continued to make such claims on social media and elsewhere.)

Paranoia politicizes a public-health emergency and distracts from potentially life-saving measures.

Earlier this month, social-media sites attempted to quash a video pushing misleading information about hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment which led to Twitters partially suspending Donald Trump Jr.s account.

The video featured doctors calling hydroxychloroquine a drug used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis for decades a cure for COVID, despite a growing body of scientific evidence indicating it is not an effective treatment for the coronavirus.

In April, the president floated the idea of using ultraviolet light inside the body or a disinfectant by injection as a treatment for coronavirus: I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. (The next day, Trump claimed he was not being serious.)

COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, had infected at least 20 million people globally and 5 million in the U.S. as of Tuesday. It had killed more than 737,394 people worldwide and at least 163,533 in the U.S. States and the South and West have seen a surge in cases.

The stock market has been on a wild ride in recent months. The Dow Jones Industrial Index DJIA, +0.83% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.22% were trading higher Tuesday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.60% was lower as investors await round two of a fiscal stimulus.

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Was COVID-19 made in a lab? Will a vaccine protect you forever? Does the sun help? Coronavirus myths are spreading in 25 languages here are the most...