Fact check: COVID is making a comeback.

Verdict: mostly true — Trust Score 65/100

The TikTok video accurately reports on the current COVID-19 situation in the United States, stating that cases are climbing nationwide and the national test positivity rate has topped 3% for the first time since March. This information is confirmed by 5 sources, including reports from the CDC and various news outlets. The video also correctly notes that Wisconsin is experiencing very low COVID activity and that the South and West have the most cases. The video appears to be an authentic news report from WISN 12 NEWS.

Platform
tiktok
Source author
youruglyasl — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSVQ63fPc/
Verified on
August 24, 2026
Verification ID
p0PbGjyn60dnWQZOUTsJbw

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 (5)

  1. mostly true: COVID is making a comeback.
    Multiple sources from August 2026 confirm that COVID-19 cases are rising across the U.S., indicating a 'comeback' or summer wave.
  2. verified: The national COVID test positivity rate topped 3% for the first time since March.
    The CDC reported that the national COVID-19 test positivity rate rose above 3% for the first time since March as of August 2026.
  3. verified: Numbers are rising in every state.
    As of August 2026, the CDC's Current Epidemic Trends model estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 47 states, with none showing a decline, and some sources even state all 50 states.
  4. mostly true: Wisconsin's health department reporting a very low COVID activity.
    As of August 2026, data from Public Health Madison & Dane County, which references the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, indicates very low COVID-19 activity based on emergency department data.
  5. verified: The South and West have the most cases.
    Reports from August 2026 consistently indicate that the South and West regions of the U.S. are experiencing the steepest increases in COVID-19 transmission and have the most cases.

Sources consulted (10)

Related verifications

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