Science and health fact-checkers put pandemic claims under a microscope

In the face of a global pandemic, science and health fact-checking journalists are having their moment.

Over the past two decades, political claims and widespread hoaxes and rumors have dominated fact-checking journalism. Snopes began debunking online rumors in the 1990s. Other pioneers in the field, including Factcheck.org, PolitiFact and The Washington Post, started with a public policy focus — a niche that flourished around the world in the tumultuous political climates of the late 2010s.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has expanded the fact-checking landscape. Every day, new, questionable reports regarding...