A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, disinformation is growing, fueled by real genetic mutations of the virus, along with purposeful disinformation causing fear, confusion and frustration. As the country launches into the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history, and as the public begins to hear about the UK variant, the Brazilian variant and the South African variant, disinformation and fears are rising.
Scientific experts say that genetic mutations in coronaviruses are common as they spread from person to person. Some say they are more contagious, and others say they are more virulent. As of this past Monday evening, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laboratories have confirmed nearly 300 variant cases in 24 states, including Colorado.
So far, the scientists say that the current vaccines appear to be designed to respond well against current variants, but no one knows for sure because there hasn’t been time to do a study.
But some familiar misinformation themes are also rising in local news spaces throughout the U.S. For instance — rumors are growing about where the variants are spreading. In Charlotte, North Carolina, NBC affiliate WCNC posted a news story on its Facebook Page that cases were growing in the Carolina’s. As of Mon. Jan. 25 there had been a single case in North Carolina, and no variant cases in South Carolina. By late Thursday afternoon, two cases of the COVID-19 Brazilian variant had popped up in South Carolina. Two of the five people who responded with comments included memes that spread rumors about not trusting the vaccines, and by Thursday more comments distrusting vaccines were added.
Many of the 900 comments on the Denver, Colorado, ABC affiliate Denver7 Facebook page included disdain for the effectiveness of coronavirus travel restrictions. They included criticism of an American traveler who tested positive for the Brazilian variant after returning to Minnesota.
In Seattle, a Fox affiliate Q13’s story received comments to a story about COVID vaccines. The highest engagement among the comments were conspiracy theories around vaccines, including that vaccines are a form of population control. A trove of suggested alternative remedies (aka old wives tales) also began to grow.
At the moment, another newly-preferred (closed message) communications resource known as Telegram is host to hundreds of conspiracy theories and vaccine disinformation. Though vaccine misinformation is growing on Telegram, it is still a relatively isolated community, often evading the public scrutiny that platforms like Twitter or Facebook have attracted, and which they have belatedly stepped up to more actively police clearly false statements.
To be clear, the nonsense on Telegram is not true. The wide-ranging pieces of disinformation, much of it spread with a political tone, includes:
- Conspiracy theory videos claim the “elite” have faked their on-camera vaccinations through the use of specialized prop syringes.
- Right-wing personality Vincent James has used the messaging service to advocate for “immunity from natural infection” in a post that was viewed more than 9,700 times.
- Proposals for a discredited “herd immunity” stance, that posters say would incur less risk than vaccination; a premise that has been widely rejected by scientists and public health experts.
- Campaigns by people who oppose all vaccines (not just the COVID-19 vaccines) say they aren’t effective and could be harmful.
Social media is also playing host to some extensive efforts by the well-organized anti-vaxxer movement to crowdsource claims of adverse effects. Their claims include statements that the COVID vaccine is deadly (it isn’t). In fact, anti-vaccine groups are fabricating stories about people who they say have died from the vaccine. The media will write a story that John Doe got his vaccine at 8:00 a.m. and at 4:00 p.m. he had a heart attack,” said University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Director, and presidential COVID-19 adviser Michael Osterholm. “They will make assumptions that it’s cause and effect.”
This is not to say that there haven’t been statistically appropriate deaths. In any given week, for instance in a group of 10 million people — about the number of Americans who have been vaccinated so far — nearly 800 people ages 55 to 64 typically die of heart attacks or coronary disease. With, or without COVID-19 vaccine, this rate of death occurs.
“This is exactly what anti-vaccine groups do,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious diseases specialist and author of “Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science, who says he has fought false claims that childhood vaccines cause autism.“Even if we come back later [to review the COVID-19 vaccine and a death] and say, “’No, [the deaths] had nothing to do with vaccination, it was coronary artery disease…’ the damage has already been done.”
Featured image: CDC verified cases of COVID-19 variants as of Monday, Jan. 25. By Thursday afternoon, two cases of the COVID-19 Brazilian variant had popped up in South Carolina. Image courtesy of the Centers For Disease Control.
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