An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a quote from Nobel Laureate William Campbell claiming that ivermectin can cure COVID-19.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence Campbell made this statement. He has denied he made the remark.

Fact Check:

The image includes a picture of Campbell along with text that reads, “My name is William Campbell, in 2015 I won the Noble prize in medicine for the discovery of Ivermectin. It cures many diseases including COVID-19. The fake news and big pharma want you to live in fear. Fauci won’t promote Ivermectin because he is the little parasite it destroys.”

The Facebook post’s lengthy caption describes the story of how Campbell and microbiologist Satoshi Ōmura discovered ivermectin, a drug that is used to treat parasitic diseases, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The pair, along with scientist Tu Youyou, won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for discovering it.

There is, however, no evidence that Campbell made the statement attributed to him in the post. Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to corroborate its authenticity. Campbell himself denied he said the quote in a statement he released via Drew University addressing the same image when it was shared on Twitter.

“I utterly despise and deny the remarks attributed to me on social media on September  8, 2021,” reads the statement. “I reject both the substance and the tone of the remarks, and resent their presentation as a direct quotation. The tweet in question was not concerned with science. I am a biologist with no claim to expertise in the clinical evaluation of drugs against viral infections. Thus, I have not taken a stand in support of, or against, the efficacy of ivermectin against COVID-19.”

In April 2020, Campbell told the Royal Irish Academy, an academic body that promotes and supports science in Ireland, that the probability of ivermectin being used to kill the COVID-19 virus “must be considered low.” (RELATED: Image Claims A ‘New’ Study Found Ivermectin Causes Sterility in 85% Of Men)

While some doctors have, according to Business Insider, alleged ivermectin can be used to treat COVID-19, the FDA has not approved or authorized the drug for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals. The FDA’s website states the available data does not show it is effective against COVID-19.