But even if the CleanAir EXP filter does remove some pathogens from the air, the process by which it does so can still leave people exposed to potential infection. “It’s ionization of the air,” Barnett said in his video. “COVID cannot live in that environment.”

That’s not true, scientists said. The CleanAir EXP filter uses ionization to bind up particles and make them easier to pull out of the air. “This is not ‘zapping’ the virus and does not mean the virus has been rendered non-infectious,” Herek Clack, a University of Michigan environmental engineering professor, told The Daily Beast.

“Perhaps the most damning critique is that the 99.9 percent removal in 10 minutes is almost certainly a test where the device is placed in a room, the room is filled with viral aerosols, and once the device is turned on it ‘drains’ the air of the aerosols,” Clack added. “That scenario doesn’t reflect what happens if people are present.”