Original Title: HIT NEWS! Wearing a mask is useless! Shocking statement by a famous Serbian doctor
On October 14th, 2020, the MKD Press portal published an article titled HIT NEWS! Wearing a mask is useless! Shocking statement by a famous Serbian doctor
In the text, the portal refers to Dr. Branimir Nestorovic, who, referring to the research of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is the US National Institute of Public Health, points out that according to him, wearing masks does not help preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
The “shocking” headline is nothing but one of the many controversial statements made by the Serbian doctor Branimir Nestorovic, who is well known to the public for his numerous unconfirmed and unsound statements about the coronavirus, which he regularly makes public.
The news was probably taken from one of the many Serbian portals that published articles sharing his Facebook status from October 13th, in which he shared a link from an alleged scientist, Schachtel, who claimed that the masks were not useful.
The news was immediately assessed as false by the Serbian fact-checker Istinomer, who revealed that the CDC study, cited by Schachtel, did not deal at all with the effectiveness of the masks in the fight against the corona virus, but with how close contacts with the infected as well as staying in cafes and restaurants effect the spread of the virus.
Istinomer reveals that Schachtel is a journalist, not a scientist from the American Institute. According to them, he wrote an article in which he takes the results of the CDC research out of the original context, and inserts them in a narrative that supports his story of the uselessness and even harmfulness of wearing protective masks in the fight against COVID-19.
The “shocking discovery of the Serbian doctor” re-published by the MKD Press portal to the public is contrary to the statement of the director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, who said at a recent conference that face masks are the best defense against COVID-19. He suggests that the masks guarantee greater protection against COVID-19 than vaccines.
The CDC also regularly informs the public about protection measures and their effectiveness through its posts on social networks. In this context is the post on Twitter from October 13 (after the study from which the conclusion was allegedly drawn) in which he calls for wearing a mask in public to help slow down the spread of COVID-19, and indicates that the masks should be worn in the right way. “Position your mask so that it completely covers your nose and mouth. “If you do not wear the mask properly, COVID-19 particles can spread.”
The transmission of unverified claims during a pandemic can only contribute to the deterioration of public health. Portals should be especially careful when handling any information about the virus, which is a global problem and a real danger to all of humanity. Such texts confuse the public, and inaccurate information calling for non-compliance with coronavirus protection measures can only make the fight against the pandemic more difficult.
Respect the protection measures and recommendations by the competent institutions!
