evidence: Scientists consider polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests a highly reliable tool for diagnosing COVID-19. But social media posts are misrepresenting a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement regarding the eventual discontinuation of its own test, falsely claiming the government has conceded that PCR tests aren’t reliable. [...] Two days later, on July 25, a controversial gym owner in New Jersey, Ian Smith, falsely claimed in a viral tweet that the "FDA confirms PCR tests not accurate for testing COVID." He referred to COVID-19 as a "Manufactured crisis." [...] Scientists consider PCR tests a reliable and highly specific diagnostic tool, as we’ve explained before, but distortions about them have persisted amid the COVID-19 pandemic.