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 recent New York Times article shares the stories of people who believe they have COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries and the challenges these individuals face. The article also discusses VAERS, research on COVID-19 vaccine safety, and the role the anti-vaccine movement plays in hurting the credibility of vaccine injury reports. In response, vaccine opponents and conspiracists accused the newspaper of “backtracking” about vaccine safety and baselessly claimed that vaccine injuries are underestimated. A popular news anchor revealed his own suspected vaccine injuries, setting off a wave of condemnation of the journalist who “pushed” COVID-19 vaccines and the legacy media that allegedly “concealed” vaccine injuries.
Recommendation: 
A social media user shared a story about having a heart attack that she claims was caused by COVID-19 vaccines. The video went viral with many vaccine opponents falsely claiming that young adults didn’t have heart attacks prior to the vaccine rollout.
Recommendation: 
A conspiracy news site known for publishing false claims about COVID-19 vaccines accused the CDC of concealing vaccine-related deaths. The alleged “smoking gun” is the agency investigating potential vaccine-related myocarditis deaths in 2021 and 2022. The article’s author also falsely claims that the CDC stated as recently as 2023 that no deaths have been linked to COVID-19 vaccines.
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In early April, online discourse about the ongoing bird flu (H5N1) outbreak rose sharply following the first recorded case of a human contracting the virus from a cow. Reports of the virus being detected in cow’s milk have kept the outbreak in the news and social media conversations. Much of the content is focused on information sharing and concern about the growing outbreak. However, the topic has also drawn anti-vaccine ire, including conspiracy theories about global health entities and the upcoming election, false claims that bird flu is “100 times worse than the COVID-19 pandemic,” and general opposition to bird flu vaccines and outbreak protections.
Recommendation:
Vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca acknowledged that thrombocytopenia syndrome (TSS) is a rare risk associated with its COVID-19 vaccine in court documents from an ongoing lawsuit in the U.K. This story has received widespread coverage on conspiracy and tabloid sites where it is misleadingly framed as a “bombshell” admission because this is the first time the company has acknowledged the adverse reaction in court, despite TTS being a known rare risk of both the Astra Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines since 2021.
Recommendation:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resurfaced the three-year-old myth that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines had a 23 percent higher death rate than placebo in clinical trials. Kennedy insinuated that the vaccines caused those deaths and said that the vaccine was ineffective because it didn’t prevent COVID-19 deaths. A popular post sharing the clips of the interview cites surveys claiming that a quarter of Americans believe they know someone who died of a COVID-19 vaccine injury.
Recommendation:
A discredited cardiologist falsely claims that all COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe and cause widespread serious health issues, including cardiac arrest and heart failure. The physician’s company sells a variety of “vaccine detox” products that claim will prevent the alleged harmful effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
Recommendation:
Several accounts expressed outrage that a New York hospital with a world-class pericardial/myocardial disease center ran an ad about treatments for inflammation of the heart muscle, or myocarditis. The posts suggest a conspiracy to normalize myocarditis caused by “experimental mRNA injections.”
Recommendation:
A video clip of a U.S. congressperson known for promoting vaccine disinformation is trending online. The congressperson falsely claimed that “studies” show that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous and shared anecdotes of alleged vaccine-related injuries and deaths. She also argues that children should not be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Recommendation:
A large-scale, independent review of real-world safety data confirmed that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may cause myocarditis in very rare cases. However, the study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found no link between the vaccines and other conditions, including infertility, heart attacks, blood clots, Guillain-Barré syndrome, or Bell’s Palsy.
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.