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.
Public accounts on WeChat, the most popular Chinese-language messenger app and third most popular messaging app globally, are sharing a letter from Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche to the WHO, in which he calls for halting mass vaccination. Dr. Vanden Bossche's letter claims that vaccines will cause more deadly variants to arise, which is a common argument made by vaccine opponents. Dr. Vanden Bosshe’s credentials as a virologist and vaccine expert who has previously worked for GAVI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation may make his claims seem more credible. The letter has been translated into multiple languages and has been read and shared widely.
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A Facebook live video originating from within Australia and circulated widely makes several debunked statements about the COVID-19 vaccine, in an attempt to rally viewers to protest the vaccine. In addition to falsely asserting that the vaccines have not been well tested, the speaker uses the death of a doctor in Florida as part of a claim that there have been many deaths from the "experimental vaccine." As of March 26th, the World Health Organization (WHO) states there have been no deaths linked to any of the COVID-19 vaccines. This Facebook live video demonstrates the global reach of anti-vaccine activists; the video originated from Australia, cites a U.S.-based internet radio program known to promote pseudoscience and conspiracy theories, and the speaker answers questions from viewers all over the world.
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On March 13, former professional boxer Martin Hagler died. Posts across social media are falsely claiming that his death was due to the COVID-19 vaccine. A fellow boxer appears to have contributed to the rumor, posting a now-deleted Instagram post claiming that Hagler was in the ICU battling vaccine side effects prior to his death. Hagler's wife stated that he passed away unexpectedly in his home, and rejected claims of the vaccine being the cause of his death. As of 3/19 an official cause of death is not yet available.
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Multiple TikTok videos are using the same voice over claiming to provide advice on how to legally decline a COVID-19 vaccine. The videos allege that outright refusal of the vaccine would be considered belligerent, instead suggesting that people should ask their physician if the vaccine contains MRC-5 (related to a debunked claim that vaccines contain aborted fetal tissues), or if it has a risk of causing an allergic reaction. Because physicians are bound by the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, the video claims that doctors will be forced to admit that COVID-19 vaccines contain MRC-5 and that they can cause adverse reactions, which will allow the individual to refuse a vaccine without being considered belligerent.
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Leaders of the anti-vaccine movement and anti-vaccine groups have seized upon the suspension of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine as evidence all COVID-19 vaccines are inherently unsafe. During the week of 3/8 - 3/15, the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine had been suspended in various European countries over fears of blood clots. Most countries suspended the vaccine out of an abundance of caution while they investigated a handful of cases. AstraZeneca stated that they observed no increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in clinical trials, and that the number of events is lower among those who have received the vaccine, compared to what would be expected under normal circumstances among the general population. As of 3/19, the European drug regulator has recommended vaccinations resume. Countries are making independent determinations. Researchers are studying what role the vaccine could have played in the events, with some early results (see links), and prevention and treatment options.
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A video featuring a Houston-based physician presents a slew of debunked claims about COVID-19. In the video, the physician falsely asserts that the COVID-19 vaccine is an experimental gene therapy, not a vaccine. He also argues that COVID-19 vaccines are more dangerous than the virus itself, that the vaccines will make COVID-19 illness worse due to antibody dependent enhancement (ADE), and that tens of thousands of people have experienced adverse reactions including thousands of cases of anaphylaxis. There is no evidence from previous or ongoing studies that the COVID-19 vaccines will cause ADE. Serious adverse reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been extremely rare.
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Moderna and Pfizer recently announced that they will begin vaccination trials with children in the U.S. and Canada. This has sparked outrage among various well-known anti-vaccination groups, which claim that the COVID-19 vaccines are experimental and that pediatric trials are inherently unsafe. One popular tweet claimed unaccompanied minor migrants would be included in vaccine trials. Upcoming pediatric trials will continue to follow rigorous safety measures, and will be watched closely by regulatory bodies. Any children enrolled in these trials will require parental consent and participation to participate.
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Claims are circulating across social media that Australia’s Health Minister has developed cellulitis as a result of getting the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Three days after the health minister was inoculated, he was sent to the hospital for a skin infection on his leg. To support their claim, social media users have included a screenshot of a Yellow Card report for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, with cellulitis highlighted. The Yellow Card system is the UK's self-report system (similar to VAERS in the United States) that allows anyone to enter any event following immunization. Claims do not have to be verified to be reported. Australian health authorities report no link between the skin condition and the vaccination.
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#YoNoMeVacuno is being used on TikTok for Spanish-speaking users to share their reasons for not getting vaccinated. Many of the videos include false narratives about COVID-19 vaccine safety. This is trending at the same time as Latino and other marginalized communities are questioning if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine's availability is creating a tiered system in vaccine distribution by making the perceived "less effective" vaccine more available to communities of color. Some prominent Latinx influencers are using the hashtag.
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An article originally written in September 2020 states that the Gates-funded polio vaccine is causing vaccine-derived polio in Sudan. This story is being reshared as a cautionary tale against trusting vaccines funded by the Gates Foundation, and stoking lack of trust in the WHO. Circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses are very rare, particularly in comparison to the number of polio vaccines that are distributed each year. Since 2000, more than 10 billion doses of the oral polio vaccine have been administered worldwide. Vaccine-derived polio can occur if the weakened strain of the poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine circulates in under-immunized populations for a long period of time. If a population is optimally immunized with polio vaccines, it will be protected from both wild and vaccine-derived polioviruses. This historical incident is not misinformation itself, but is being used to promulgate misinformation.
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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.