Misinformation Alerts
Knowing what misinformation is being shared can help you generate effective messaging.
These insights are based on a combination of automated media monitoring and manual review by public health data analysts. Media data are publicly available data from many sources, such as social media, broadcast television, newspapers and magazines, news websites, online video, blogs, and more. Analysts from the Public Good Projects triangulate this data along with other data from fact checking organizations and investigative sources to provide an accurate, but not exhaustive, list of currently circulating misinformation.
Alerts are categorized as high, medium, and low risk.
- High risk alerts: We recommend directly addressing and debunking the misinformation
- Medium risk alerts: We recommend monitoring the situation but not actively engaging.
- Low risk alerts: Provided for informational purposes. We do not recommend additional action at the moment.
A recent study of 37 sperm donors found that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine caused a temporary decline in sperm count immediately after vaccination. The study was shared on a social media platform where it received over 17,000 engagements and 1,500 replies in three days. Some responses expressed concern that the study proves the vaccines impair sperm quality or may have a lasting effect on fertility.
Recommendation: 
Medium Risk Read More +
A video baselessly claims that COVID-19 vaccination reduces breast milk production, resulting in the formula shortage in the U.S. The video was viewed over 17,000 times before it was flagged for containing false information.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
A flawed study that is recirculating on social media claims that an increase in emergency calls for cardiovascular events in people under age 40 appears to coincide with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Israel. The study was widely shared on social media when it was first published in April and is once again being shared with the misleading claim that it proves that COVID-19 vaccines cause cardiovascular issues in young adults.
Recommendation: 
High Risk Read More +
A far-right website known for publishing anti-science conspiracy theories published an article that falsely claims that the effectiveness of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials was "massively overstated." Similarly, a social media post with over 11,000 engagements says that the Pfizer vaccine has “horrifically poor” efficacy in young children.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
The 2020 death of a former pharmaceutical worker and prominent anti-vaccine activist at age 44 is being discussed online with speculation about her cause of death. The activist, who founded an anti-vaccine website, wrote a year before her death that, if anything happened to her, “it’s foul play.” Shortly after her death, conspiracists began claiming that she was “murdered by Big Pharma.”
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
Two social media posts from people who have previously promoted misinformation about the safety and necessity of COVID-19 vaccines used CDC data about myocarditis to suggest that the risks of COVID-19 vaccination and boosters outweigh the benefits. Between them, the posts have received over 10,000 engagements.
Recommendation: High Risk Read More +
An image shared on social media purportedly shows a post from a U.S. senator in which he claims to have evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are “harming and killing people.” There is no record of the senator making the post, and a spokesperson for the senator confirmed that the image is fake.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
A social media post with nearly 57,000 engagements claims that Pfizer documents show that the company covered up vaccine-related heart damage in teens. The post does not clarify where in the documents the claim can be found.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
A widely shared social media post promotes the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 vaccines are being used for population control. The post references Pfizer documents but does not cite any specific report as evidence for the claim. The post has been shared nearly 5,500 times and has over 20,000 total engagements.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
A website run by an economic forecaster is using a misleading video clip to falsely claim that a Bayer Pharmaceutical executive said that the COVID-19 vaccine is gene therapy. The clip originally began circulating in November but has resurfaced recently among vaccine opponents. In the video from last October, the executive speaks about technological innovations, using the mRNA vaccine as an example. He compared the vaccines to innovative treatments that Bayer is developing, including certain types of gene therapies, but misspoke when he referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as an example of these gene therapies.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
Alerts are categorized as high, medium, and low risk.
- High risk alerts: We recommend directly addressing and debunking the misinformation
- Medium risk alerts: We recommend monitoring the situation but not actively engaging.
- Low risk alerts: Provided for informational purposes. We do not recommend additional action at the moment.
Vaccine Misinformation Guide
Get practical tips for addressing misinformation in this new guide. Click image to download.
Vaccine Misinformation Guide
Get practical tips for addressing misinformation in this new guide. Click image to download, or see highlights.