Masks are ineffective against viruses & are used by surgeons to prevent droplets from contaminating surgical sites.

Question

Masks are ineffective against viruses and are used by surgeons solely to prevent droplets from contaminating surgical sites.

Answer 1

The claim that masks do not protect people from viruses is false. Firstly, the user that commented this on Bluesky has no sign of any relation to the medical field. Looking further at the thread, we can see that the user then rejected this source from the CDC. From that article, the CDC claims "When worn by a person who has a virus, masks can reduce the chances they spread it to others. Masks can also protect wearers from inhaling germs;" As the CDC is a trusted source amongst the general public, this is a reliable source to draw from. Many other publications have covered the effectiveness of masks, including the Mayo Clinic and CBS. The second part of the claim is misleading in the context of the whole comment as it is true that one of the reasons that doctors wear masks is to "act as a physical barrier against blood and bodily fluid splashes during surgery"(https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4480558/#:~:text=Most%20obviously%2C%20they%20can%20act,face%20in%2024%25%20of%20procedures.) However, that does not negate the effectiveness of masks for the use of preventing viruses so that information is misleading and irrelevant. It is important to note that the protectiveness a user will have depends on the type of mask and the type of viruses they come in contact with. For example, an N95 is more protective than a standard face mask. However, overall the claim that masks have "zero efficiency against viruses" is false.

Comments

Great job with this fact check. I like how in-depth you went and included multiple credible sources to back up your fact check. I also like how you went over every part of the original claim very effectively and proved why it was false.

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Hi! Your fact check is really helpful, good job! I really like how you broke down the orginal claim as well as the source they used to be not credible. In addition I think you did a really good job using not one but multiple sources to prove the claim false.