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.
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: Narratives with widespread circulation across communities, high engagement, exponential velocity, and a high potential to impact health decisions. Are often more memorable than accurate information.
- Medium risk alerts: Narratives that are circulating in priority populations and pose some threat to health. Potential for further spread due to the tactics used or because of predicted velocity. Often highlights the questions and concerns of people.
- Low risk alerts: Narratives that are limited in reach, don’t impact your community, or lack the qualities necessary for future spread. May indicate information gaps, confusion, or concerns.
An anti-vaccine social media account claims that medical professionals falsely classify deaths caused by routine vaccines as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The account shared the story of a child who allegedly died within hours of receiving several vaccinations.
Recommendation: 
A U.K.-based oncologist with a large following claims in a recent article that COVID-19 boosters cause more harm than good. He also falsely claims that the COVID-19 vaccines caused widespread injuries based on reports to Yellow Card, an adverse event reporting system similar to VAERS in the U.S. Finally, he repeats the myth that COVID-19 vaccines impair the immune system and increase cancer risk.
Recommendation:
A social media post dredged up a two-decade-old conspiracy theory that the CDC covered up data showing a link between thimerosal in certain vaccines and developmental delays and autism in children. The claim is based on an image of an abstract from a “study” that found a correlation between higher doses of thimerosal and an increased rate of attention deficit disorder, tics, and speech delays in children.
Recommendation: 
Several popular anti-vaccine social media accounts and blogs are circulating the false claim that mRNA vaccines are or soon will be in the food supply through vaccinated or genetically engineered livestock. One article claims that mRNA vaccines will be added to food this month. These claims are based on three studies: a 2013 Indian review—incorrectly identified as an “NIH study”—that discusses the possibility of edible vaccines, a 2021 American study exploring the use of plants to produce mRNA vaccines, and a recent Chinese study that used vessels made from milk protein to deliver an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to mice. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association released a statement in response to the false claims clarifying that no mRNA vaccines are in cattle.
Recommendation:
A video trending online features a mother who believes her child’s death is due to injuries related to hepatitis B vaccination. The baby’s official cause of death is SIDS, but the mother claims that an independent autopsy proved the vaccine was responsible for her child’s death.
Recommendation:
A website that claims vaccines don’t save lives is promoting misinformation about the safety of the HPV vaccine. The website shares the story of a U.K. woman who has claimed for years that the HPV vaccine is responsible for a growing list of chronic illnesses, including an allergy to her own tears. The story also falsely claims that the HPV vaccine only lasts for three years and isn’t effective against cervical cancer.
Recommendation:
A recent “analysis” claims that COVID-19 vaccines caused 300,000 excess deaths, 1.3 million disabilities, 26.6 million vaccine injuries, and nearly $150 billion in economic damage to the U.S. A far-right blog and several large social media accounts have widely shared the report. The organization that published the report has no expertise in medical science, public health, or epidemiology.
Recommendation:
A well-known anti-vaccine physician repeated the false claim that COVID-19 vaccines caused a 4,070 percent increase in miscarriages and stillbirths. This increase would mean that pregnancy losses far outnumbered pregnancies. The post was recently shared thousands of times and is the latest example of large accounts promoting this fake statistic.
Recommendation:
A right-wing newspaper published an article claiming that the U.S. government lied about the effectiveness of masks. This claim is partially based on a recent meta-analysis of mask studies, which found that masks “probably make little or no difference” with respect to COVID-19.
Recommendation:
A trending article falsely claims that the U.S. government anticipated mass casualties from COVID-19 vaccines. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show internal CDC and FDA communications about the increase in VAERS reports in the month after the Pfizer vaccine rollout and myocarditis as a potential rare vaccine side effect in July 2021.
Recommendation:
Alerts are categorized as high, medium, and low risk.
- High risk alerts: Narratives with widespread circulation across communities, high engagement, exponential velocity, and a high potential to impact health decisions. Are often more memorable than accurate information.
- Medium risk alerts: Narratives that are circulating in priority populations and pose some threat to health. Potential for further spread due to the tactics used or because of predicted velocity. Often highlights the questions and concerns of people.
- Low risk alerts: Narratives that are limited in reach, don’t impact your community, or lack the qualities necessary for future spread. May indicate information gaps, confusion, or concerns.
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.