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.
In a recent viral post, a social media user claimed to have received confirmation of a combination flu and COVID-19 vaccine that will be available by the end of September. A few users corrected the original post, noting that no combined vaccines are expected to be available this fall.
Recommendation: 
In a new comedy special, a popular podcast host mocked COVID-19 vaccines and minimized the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations about the comedy special quickly spread across social media platforms. The host has previously promoted vaccine conspiracy theories and the disproven COVID-19 treatment ivermectin.
Recommendation: 
Posts claim that New Zealand’s pandemic plan allows the government to detain and forcibly vaccinate citizens, invoking the COVID-19 pandemic. The actual plan incorporates sections from existing laws related to emergency response and pandemic preparedness and grants medical officers the power to “require persons, places, buildings, ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things to be isolated, quarantined, or disinfected.” False and misleading claims about New Zealand’s COVID-19 policies have circulated online for years.
Recommendation:
A clip is circulating online of a Canadian doctor, who was previously disciplined for promoting false claims about COVID-19, accusing Pfizer of intentionally designing its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to spread throughout the body and “corrupt reproduction, thinking, and life.” He specifically blames lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in the vaccine for spreading the so-called “toxic spike protein” in the body and causing “a greater array of side effects than any other medical treatment in history.”
Recommendation:
The Vermont Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit involving an accidental administration of a COVID-19 vaccine at a school clinic in November 2021. The parents sued the state and the child’s school district, but the courts ruled that the state and school district were not liable under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, fueling claims that the judges were corrupt.
Recommendation:
At recent public events, Donald Trump reiterated his promise to strip funding from public schools that mandate vaccines or masks. As with previous statements, he did not clarify if he was referring to COVID-19 vaccines or to all vaccines. Many online anti-vaccine advocates took his remarks to encompass any vaccine requirements for school entry.
Recommendation: 
A technology CEO who has frequently promoted anti-vaccine myths posted a meme asking why unvaccinated people are still alive, prompting mixed responses for and against COVID-19 vaccines. Many responses are full of false claims about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.
Recommendation:
On July 23, Nature published a study assessing potential associations between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and autoimmune diseases in 9 million people. The study concluded that the vaccines don’t increase the risk of any disease except systemic lupus erythematosus, for which the risk was 16 percent higher in vaccinated people. Vaccine opponents falsely claim that the study proves that the vaccines cause a host of autoimmune diseases, including so-called vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or VAIDS.
Recommendation:
A tech entrepreneur well known for promoting vaccine conspiracy theories claims in a recent blog post that Czech data proves that COVID-19 vaccines are deadly. The post includes an analysis that compares all-cause death rates between people who received Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, while completely omitting death rates among unvaccinated people. The analysis found that all-cause deaths were higher among Moderna vaccine recipients compared to Pfizer vaccine recipients, which is being boasted as proof that the vaccines increased all-cause deaths.
Recommendation:
In a viral social media post, a popular political commentator claims that the government is using vaccines, birth control, and fluoride to poison the population.
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.
Monthly Misinformation Report
Explore Public Good Project’s report highlighting high-level health trends. This report captures information from May 6th – July 7th, 2024.
2023 Trends in COVID-19
Vaccine Opposition
This new report details the trends in 2023 discussions about COVID-19 vaccines, identifying both persistent, recurring themes from previous years and new themes that emerged within the year. The goal is to equip public health professionals with information to help navigate future discussions around COVID-19 vaccines.
Categorizing Public Conversation
on Vaccine Opposition to Inform
Health Communications Strategies
This new report leverages PGP’s advanced media monitoring platforms and expertise in vaccine opposition to categorize narratives into patterns. These patterns can help health communicators plan messaging approaches and strategies to improve vaccine uptake.
Vaccine Misinformation Guide
Get practical tips for addressing misinformation in this new guide. Click image to download, or see highlights.
