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 video shares the results of a CDC report that found that more than half of children under the age of 2 experienced systemic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine. The report examined VAERS responses for infants and toddlers after COVID-19 vaccines were approved for the age group.
Recommendation: 
Low Risk Read More +
Multiple social media accounts have shared an article from a conspiracy website that claims the Israeli government covered up COVID-19 vaccine injuries in official reports. The only evidence to support this claim is several short video clips of what appears to be an advisory committee discussing vaccine safety. Some posts falsely claim that Israel’s Ministry of Health did not begin monitoring COVID-19 vaccine safety until a year after the vaccines were introduced.
Recommendation: Low Risk Read More +
Viral social media posts are falsely claiming that ivermectin is an approved COVID-19 treatment, while vaccines and masks have failed. The most common claim is that the National Institutes of Health recently added ivermectin to the list of drugs approved to treat COVID-19.
Recommendation: 
Medium Risk Read More +
Several social media posts shared an image of an outdated U.K. government document advising against COVID-19 vaccination in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding due to a lack of safety data. The posts falsely claim that the government recently updated its guidance and is no longer recommending the vaccine for this population.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
A widely shared social media post speculates that an unvaccinated tennis player was banned from the U.S. Open because the tournament was sponsored by Moderna. The player made international headlines late last year for his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to participate in the Australian Open.
Recommendation: Low Risk Read More +
In an interview earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained how OPV is connected to the recent New York polio case in an unvaccinated adult. The out-of-context video clip has been shared on social media alongside misinformation about vaccine-derived poliovirus and the safety of polio vaccines.
Recommendation: 
High Risk Read More +
A widely circulated article falsely claims that 44 percent of pregnant women in the Pfizer vaccine trial experienced a miscarriage following vaccination. The article has since been corrected to note that the analysis has been retracted due to basic miscalculations. The post is circulating in Black and Spanish-speaking communities.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
In a recently resurfaced video clip, a military doctor testifies that she was forced to cover up COVID-19 vaccine injuries. The doctor also claims that military data reveals widespread vaccine injuries, a false claim that the Department of Defense refuted months ago. The same doctor wrote an affidavit in a lawsuit challenging the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate, in which she falsely claimed that the Pfizer vaccine contains anti-freeze and used unverified VAERS data to claim that COVID-19 vaccines have killed thousands of people.
Recommendation: Low Risk Read More +
In a video clip, a tech entrepreneur known for his misinformed criticism of COVID-19 vaccines baselessly claims that COVID-19 vaccines have killed hundreds of thousands of people and injured millions of others. The clip has been widely circulated on English and Spanish social media, with one popular post receiving hundreds of thousands of views.
Recommendation: Medium Risk Read More +
An Icelandic study is being used to claim that the COVID-19 reinfection rate increases with each vaccine dose. The study investigated broad reinfection trends and found that a slightly higher proportion of people who tested positive for COVID-19 reinfection had received two or more vaccine doses. A physician known for promoting vaccine misinformation shared the article on social media, where it received high engagement.
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.