A recent article highlights the prevalence of misleading information about birth control online. The article states that social media influencers are raising concerns about alleged side effects of hormonal birth control and promoting “natural,” less effective birth control methods. The influencers’ target audience is made up of girls and women...
A popular social media post expressed frustration with the national suicide prevention hotline. After calling the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988), the social media user wrote, “no longer actively suicidal but am totally baffled at the lack of support offered.” In response to the post, other social media users shared...
Last week, U.S. senators Tim Kaine and Ted Cruz introduced the STOP TRANQ Act, a bill that would require reporting on xylazine, or “tranq,” in the State Department’s annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. In a social media post about the bill, Senator Cruz wrote, “What is tranq?...
A social media post claimed that the Avalanche, a Colorado-based National Hockey League team, is “killing and injuring” its players and staff by requiring COVID-19 vaccines. The post claimed that an Avalanche player who recently died by suicide was experiencing exacerbated mental illness symptoms due to COVID-19 vaccination. Recommendation: These...
A provision in the Texas State Budget prohibits promoting or advertising COVID-19 vaccines in 2024 and 2025, but still allows entities from the state health department to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. A recent news article about the provision has sparked discussion online, with most posts and comments advocating against it. Recommendation:...
Multiple social media posts cited a recent Ohio State University study to falsely claim that COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of death from COVID-19 infection. The study, which was published in Frontiers in Immunology in February, followed 112 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 infections and concluded with caution that...
Within minutes of Kate Middleton revealing that she is in cancer treatment, some vaccine conspiracists began circulating the false claim that she has “turbo cancer” caused by mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Several viral posts resurfaced misrepresented pre-pandemic cancer incidence data to claim that COVID-19 vaccines are behind rising cancer rates in...
A social media post falsely claimed that pharmaceutical companies in Massachusetts “manufactured” the COVID-19 pandemic for profit. The post attempted to back this false claim by stating that there are many pharmaceutical companies, including the headquarters of Moderna and Pfizer, in Massachusetts, and that the CDC director is from Massachusetts....
Social media posts in English and Spanish falsely blame COVID-19 vaccines for athletes’ recent health incidents. Specifically, the posts falsely claim that a tennis player’s collapse during the Miami Open and an Egyptian soccer player’s cardiac arrest were due to the COVID-19 vaccines. Recommendation: These types of posts...
The FDA recently settled a lawsuit with a group of doctors who sued the agency claiming it was interfering with their ability to practice medicine. The plaintiffs are known for spreading false information about vaccines. Following the lawsuit, social media posts in English and Spanish resurfaced myths about ivermectin, falsely...