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.
A well-known vaccine opponent baselessly speculated that so-called “white lung” pneumonia may be linked to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
False claims about the origin of recent pneumonia outbreaks in the U.S. and China are persistent and widespread. Debunking messaging may emphasize that there is no evidence that the pneumonia cases are associated with COVID-19 vaccines, and any claims to the contrary are speculation. Messaging may also highlight that the pneumonia cases have all been linked to known pathogens. Fact Checking Source(s): Health, WebMD
Several conspiracy sites and vaccine opponents are claiming that the former Italian health minister is under investigation for murder related to COVID-19 vaccine deaths. This claim appears to have originated from a November article on an Italian right-wing news site.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
Messaging may explain that there is no credible evidence of any official investigation into the health minister related to COVID-19 vaccines. The health official was previously investigated along with the Italian prime minister because of excess COVID-19 deaths early in the pandemic, resulting in both men being cleared of responsibility. Fact Checking Source(s): Lead Stories, The Dispatch
A popular vaccine opponent is using a recent ethics study about the treatment of unvaccinated people during the pandemic to falsely claim that COVID-19 vaccines never worked and that vaccinated people are more likely than unvaccinated people to get COVID-19.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
Although the study itself does not include false claims, vaccine opponents are using it to advance an anti-vaccine narrative. Messaging may emphasize that data has consistently shown that vaccines protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 and that people who are up to date on their vaccines are at lower risk of COVID-19 infection. Fact Checking Source(s): European Medicines Agency
A popular social media account with nearly 600,000 followers shared an image of what is allegedly a blood clot removed from the lungs of a man vaccinated against COVID-19. The man claims he is certain that “Pfizer jabs” landed him in the ER. Notably, in other posts, the man admits that he believes he had an issue with blood clots prior to the pandemic and claims to have had a serious COVID-19 infection that resulted in pneumonia last year.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
Alarming images of allegedly vaccine-linked blood clots circulate every few months, often receiving millions of engagements. Debunking messaging may emphasize that these viral images are designed to elicit a strong emotional response and are not evidence of vaccine dangers. In several instances, these images are from before the pandemic or are not blood clots at all. Messaging may also explain that blood clots have been reported as an extremely rare adverse reaction to two non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and that a COVID-19 infection increases blood clot risk far more than any COVID-19 vaccine. Fact Checking Source(s): Nebraska Med
The Florida surgeon general sent a letter to the FDA asking the agency to address concerns about DNA contamination in COVID-19 vaccines increasing cancer risk. The letter suggests that the presence of trace DNA fragments in COVID-19 vaccines could “theoretically” trigger cancer growth. Vaccine opponents are circulating the letter as confirmation of the dangers of COVID-19 vaccines.
Recommendation:
High Risk Read More +
The high-profile source increases the risk of the claims. Debunking messaging may emphasize that the Florida surgeon general’s letter is based on the “theoretical” risk of a potential link between COVID-19 vaccines and cancer, for which there is no supporting evidence. Messaging may also highlight that the Florida surgeon general has been a source of several persistent false narratives about COVID-19 vaccines, earning criticism from the CDC and FDA. A committee of the surgeon general’s colleagues at the University of Florida College of Medicine called his research practice related to COVID-19 vaccines “careless, irregular, and contentious.” Fact-Checking Source(s): AP News, Health Feedback Talking Points Are COVID-19 vaccines safe? More than 150,000 people participated in U.S. vaccine clinical trials, and almost 700 million vaccine doses have been safely administered in the U.S., with rare instances of adverse reactions. To ensure the continued safety of COVID-19 vaccines, data from clinical trials will continue to be collected for two years after each vaccine is first administered to ensure that they are safe over the long term. As with all vaccines, there will be ongoing monitoring for adverse events among people who are vaccinated in the future. What is the risk of having a severe adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine? Severe adverse reactions after vaccination are extremely rare, but can cause long-term health issues. Rare adverse events – such as anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions, blood-clotting syndromes, heart inflammation, autoimmune diseases impacting the nervous system, and death – have been identified and investigated for legitimacy through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). How were the COVID-19 vaccines developed so quickly? The process included the same rigorous safety reviews that are required for all new vaccines. Scientists were able to develop the vaccines quickly, safely, and effectively because the urgency of the pandemic created greater access to research funding, reduced bureaucratic obstacles, and encouraged unparalleled levels of government and industry cooperation. As new variants appear, vaccine researchers will continue to develop updated COVID-19 vaccines, also called “boosters,” to provide the highest level of protection against the virus. Does the COVID-19 vaccine increase risk of miscarriage? Studies show that miscarriages are a common outcome of a typical pregnancy, impacting 11% to 22% of all reported pregnancies. However, there is no evidence to show that pregnancy risks or complications, such as miscarriage, preterm delivery, stillbirth, or birth defects, are increased because of the COVID-19 vaccines. Data do show that experiencing a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy increases the risk of delivering a preterm or stillborn infant. For this reason, vaccination is critical to protect the pregnant person and the infant from negative health outcomes. COVID-19 vaccination provides antibodies to the pregnant person and the baby, protecting them both from the increased risk of serious illness. Why is it important to continue to collect data about COVID-19 cases? Are case counts accurate? COVID-19 case counts and deaths are key public health indicators, but experts agree that the number of COVID cases are likely undercounted and underreported. Case counts vary because of reporting barriers like the convenience of at-home rapid antigen testing and varied access to COVID-19 testing and diagnosis. COVID-19 death reporting is less burdened by the previous barriers but can be impacted by the timing lags in data entry across many systems of monitoring. The CDC COVID Data Tracker is a collaborative hub of COVID-19 monitoring information informed by state and county reports from hospitals, healthcare providers, and laboratories. The CDC makes this data publicly available and reports national COVID-19 data to the World Health Organization, as required under international health regulations. The current key indicators – COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths – help reveal COVID-19 trends across the nation. The National Center for Health Statistics also updates national statistics guidelines to ensure increased specificity and accuracy of COVID-19 death reporting. The cause-of-death determination guidelines distinguish COVID-19 and post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) as either an immediate or underlying cause of death on death certificates and medical reports. These updates help to clarify if people are dying from COVID-19 illness as an immediate cause of death, or with a COVID-19-related illness or condition as an underlying cause of death. Talking Points and Answers to Tough Questions
Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are safe. The COVID-19 vaccines have been tested and monitored for safety more than any previous vaccine in U.S. history. All COVID-19 vaccines have been rigorously tested and reviewed for human safety through a three-phase clinical trial process.
The risk of having a serious adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is very low—far lower than the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Common reactions to COVID-19 vaccination include mild side effects, such as limb soreness, fatigue, low-grade fever, headaches, and chills, which typically resolve within a few days.
It’s true that these specific vaccines were developed more quickly than previous vaccines, but their development built upon many decades of work on coronavirus vaccines and mRNA technology.
No, getting a COVID-19 vaccine does not increase the risk of miscarriage. To date, no monitoring system or studies have identified any association between miscarriage and COVID-19 vaccination.
Accurately tracking the spread of COVID-19 helps federal, state, and local decision-makers allocate critical emergency response funding and develop public health guidance.
Several posts claim that an uptick in pediatric pneumonia cases in Ohio is “mysterious” and somehow linked to the pneumonia outbreak in China. Some online users have also falsely claimed pneumonia is a vaccine side effect.
Recommendation:
Low Risk Read More +
Responding to every conspiracy theory may detract from priority talking points. If organizations wish to respond, messaging may emphasize that there is nothing mysterious about either outbreak or any evidence that they are connected. Both outbreaks are linked to common viruses known to cause pneumonia. Fact-checking sources: Poynter, Washington Post
Several clips from a December 4 meeting at the U.K. Parliament are circulating online, including several prominent vaccine opponents repeating false and misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
The heavy circulation of the clips and the official appearance of the meeting increases the claims’ risk. Explaining that over three years of research and global safety monitoring demonstrate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is recommended, as is emphasizing that over two-thirds of the world’s population have safely received COVID-19 vaccinations with no evidence of widespread safety concerns. Debunking messaging may highlight that although the meeting is being presented falsely as “expert testimony” at an official hearing in the House of Commons, it was actually a private meeting hosted by a member of parliament who was previously expelled from his party after comparing COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust. Fact Checking Source(s): CIDRAP, TechARP
Several trending social media posts are falsely claiming that COVID-19 vaccines caused the mycoplasma pneumonia outbreak in China. Some posts claim that flu and RSV vaccines can also cause the condition. Many of the posts claiming this cite an adverse event report that has been circulated without context by vaccine opponents to claim that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
The continued circulation and misrepresentation of the Pfizer vaccine adverse report increases the risk of the claim. Messaging may emphasize that there is no evidence to support the claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause pneumonia or that the vaccines are linked to the current outbreak in China. The adverse events report is not a list of vaccine side effects but a list of conditions that healthcare providers should report if they are observed. Fact Checking Source(s): Lead Stories, Everyday Health, Reuters
A health worker allegedly leaked COVID-19 data that he claims shows excess deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines in New Zealand. The worker has been arrested and charged for unauthorized access and disclosure of private vaccination data, according to Te Whatu Ora, New Zealand’s public health agency. Conspiracists claim the worker has been targeted for exposing vaccine danger. A well-known vaccine opponent presented his analysis of the illegally obtained data during a presentation in which he claimed that COVID-19 vaccines have killed 13 million people worldwide.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
These claims are the latest example of vaccine opponents misinterpreting and misrepresenting data to make false claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety. Talking points may highlight that the health worker and the vaccine opponent who presented the data have no expertise in vaccine safety or epidemiology and that experts in those fields have dismissed their claims as “nonsense.” Debunking messaging may explain that verified data from New Zealand and worldwide show that, with over two-thirds of the world’s population vaccinated, COVID-19 vaccination is not linked to increased mortality. Messaging may also emphasize that vaccine opponents are attempting to link an increase in deaths months after vaccine rollout, during two COVID-19 waves, to COVID-19 vaccines when the more likely reason is infection. Fact Checking Source(s): The Post, Science-Based Medicine
A U.K. oncologist falsely claimed that, based on his observations, COVID-19 vaccines are causing accelerated forms of cancers. There is no evidence to back up these claims.
Recommendation:
Medium Risk Read More +
The persistence of the false claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause or accelerate cancers increases its risk. Messaging may emphasize that there is considerable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are not linked to an increase in cancer rates, progression, or deaths. Messaging may also highlight that the oncologist previously made similar claims, also without any evidence beyond anecdotes. Fact Checking Source(s): Health Feedback, FactCheck.org
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, or see highlights.