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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Posts Misrepresent WHO Term ‘Disease X’ for Possible Future Illness

Posts Misrepresent WHO Term ‘Disease X’ for Possible Future Illness

The World Health Organization began using the term “Disease X” in a 2018 planning document to refer to a “currently unknown” illness. But since the term was used at the January meeting of the World Economic Forum, conspiracy theorists baselessly claim Disease X is part of a “Globalist Plan to … Install World Government.”

Viral Posts Misuse Rat Study to Make Unfounded Claims About COVID-19 Vaccines and Autism

Viral Posts Misuse Rat Study to Make Unfounded Claims About COVID-19 Vaccines and Autism

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby. Side effects are generally mild, and studies don’t show negative effects on the baby. A criticized study that gave COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant rats doesn’t show that vaccines cause autism or that people shouldn’t get COVID-19 vaccines, contrary to claims.

Tucker Carlson Video Spreads Falsehoods on COVID-19 Vaccines, WHO Accord

Tucker Carlson Video Spreads Falsehoods on COVID-19 Vaccines, WHO Accord

COVID-19 vaccines are generally safe and have not killed 17 million people worldwide, contrary to claims amplified by podcaster Bret Weinstein during an interview with Tucker Carlson. Weinstein also inaccurately characterized a proposed World Health Organization pandemic accord and other changes, claiming they aim to take away “personal and national sovereignty.”

Post Spreads Misleading Information About Texas Abortion Case

Post Spreads Misleading Information About Texas Abortion Case

Kate Cox petitioned to be allowed to have an abortion in Texas to “protect her life, health, and future fertility,” after receiving news that her baby was unlikely to survive, according to her court filing. A popular Instagram post misrepresented Cox’s specific case and also made misleading claims about trisomy 18, the condition affecting her pregnancy.

Yale Preprint Recorded Patient Experiences, Did Not Demonstrate Vaccines Cause New Syndrome

Yale Preprint Recorded Patient Experiences, Did Not Demonstrate Vaccines Cause New Syndrome

A preprint on a Yale-based study described chronic symptoms self-reported after COVID-19 vaccination by 241 members of an online group. The paper, which has not been peer-reviewed, did not show how common these symptoms are in the general population, nor whether vaccinations caused them — limitations popular online posts did not make clear.

Meme Makes Misleading Comparison to Cast Doubt on Climate Change

Meme Makes Misleading Comparison to Cast Doubt on Climate Change

The Earth is warming at the fastest rate seen in the last 10,000 years, according to NASA, and the consensus among climate scientists is that human activity is causing the change. But a meme on social media tries to undermine the reality of climate change by misrepresenting the views and media coverage of a climatologist popular among those who believe climate change is a “hoax.”

Respiratory Illnesses in Children in China Not So ‘Mysterious’

Respiratory Illnesses in Children in China Not So ‘Mysterious’

Five Republican senators have penned a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to ban travel to the U.S. from China because of a surge in “mystery” respiratory illnesses among children. But the letter selectively cites outdated information from the World Health Organization, and experts say the illnesses are likely due to known viruses and bacteria and aren’t unexpected.