Fact check: The video shows a news report from WISN 12 NEWS about COVID-19 cases climbing nationwide.

Verdict: mixed — Trust Score 59/100

The TikTok video accurately presents a news report from WISN 12 NEWS stating that COVID-19 is making a comeback in 2026, with the national test positivity rate topping 3% for the first time since March, and numbers rising in every state. This information is confirmed by 10 sources including the CDC and various news outlets. While the report correctly notes higher activity in the South and West, its claim about Wisconsin's health department reporting "very low COVID activity" is partially contradicted by some recent local data indicating a recent increase in wastewater levels in some areas of Wisconsin. The on-screen text from the original news report is partially obscured by the TikTok creator's commentary.

Platform
tiktok
Source author
youruglyasl — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSVxNu4t8/
Verified on
August 24, 2026
Verification ID
U_5SxUr8uwsrpXXQibVt_Q

Original content reviewed

Platform: TIKTOK Author: @youruglyasl --- Caption/Description --- What is going on😧 #covid #fyp #xybca #makemefamous #officialjohntv🌟 ---VERIFICATION_SUMMARY--- Platform: TIKTOK Author: @youruglyasl Person shown on screen (from video analysis): A female news anchor, a young girl, and a man with a beard. What the video shows (from video analysis): The video shows a news report about COVID-19 cases climbing nationwide. It features a female news anchor, a young girl taking a COVID test, and a man with a beard. The news report includes graphics with statistics about COVID-19. --- HOW TO VERIFY THIS (provenance-first) --- 1. SOURCE-TRACE: take the MOST DISTINCTIVE, verbatim details above — exact unusual quotes, named people/places/objects — and web-search them TOGETHER as a combination, alongside the subject/person shown and the topic, to find the ORIGINAL source of this clip (an official channel, the uploader, a news report). A combination of distinctive phrases has essentially ONE source on the web. 2. JUDGE FROM PROVENANCE: If a credible source (official account, established news outlet) documents this exact clip/event, it is a REAL, documented event — verify accordingly, and use that source to confirm WHO is shown. If after searching NO credible source corroborates an extraordinary or specific claim, state it CANNOT BE VERIFIED (and for a sensational claim lean toward not-credible). Do NOT default to "verified" on tangential, generic facts. 2b. PARTIAL PROVENANCE IS A RED FLAG, NOT A PASS: finding news coverage of the BACKGROUND event (the place, the deployment, the crisis) while NO source documents the SPECIFIC scene the video depicts is the signature of a synthetic/satirical video grafted onto a real news moment — today's most common misinformation format. When the depicted scene is also extraordinary or absurd (joke unit names on vehicles, food as crowd control, officials in meme-format actions), conclude the video is AI-generated/satirical: say so DEFINITIV

Claims analyzed (7)

  1. verified: The video shows a news report from WISN 12 NEWS about COVID-19 cases climbing nationwide.
    The on-screen text clearly displays "WISN 12 NEWS COVID CASES CLIMB NATIONWIDE". WISN 12 NEWS is a real news organization.
  2. verified: COVID is making a comeback.
    Multiple sources from 2026 confirm that COVID-19 cases are indeed rising, indicating a "comeback" or a new wave.
  3. verified: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national COVID test positivity rate topped 3% for the first time since March.
    Multiple news reports from August 2026 confirm that CDC data shows the national COVID-19 test positivity rate rose above 3% for the first time since March.
  4. verified: COVID-19 numbers are rising in every state.
    CDC estimates from August 2026 indicate that COVID-19 infections were growing or likely growing in all 50 states.
  5. mixed: Wisconsin's health department is reporting very low COVID activity.
    While some reports from early July 2026 indicated very low COVID wastewater levels in Eau Claire County, and Public Health Madison & Dane County reported very low COVID-19 based on emergency department data for the week of August 20, 2026, there was also a recent increase of COVID-19 detected in Madison wastewater. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services provides general information on COVID-19 but specific statewide activity levels for August 2026 are not consistently described as "very low
  6. verified: The South and West have the most cases.
    CDC data from August 2026 indicates that COVID-19 activity is increasing in the West and South, with these regions showing higher wastewater concentrations and sharper case increases.
  7. mostly true: The video footage is an authentic news report, not AI-generated or recreated.
    The video appears to be a genuine news clip from WISN 12 NEWS, featuring a news anchor and standard news graphics. There are no strong visual indicators of AI generation or deepfake technology. The presence of a legitimate news channel's branding further supports its authenticity as a broadcast clip.

Sources consulted (12)

Related verifications

AI-generated analysis. Not a substitute for professional fact-checking.