Search

An Indonesian social media account that previously cast doubt on the safety of polio and COVID-19 vaccines claims that Indonesia’s Ministry of Health is concealing vaccine data to hide government corruption. The user posted several times about a February 4 lawsuit hearing regarding the public disclosure of government contracts, vaccination data, and clinical trial data related to polio and COVID-19 vaccines. The health ministry argues that the requested data is confidential. Commenters on social media claim that vaccination is part of a depopulation plan and accuse the media of covering up the story. One post suggests that the government is “poisoning” its citizens, while another claims that “viruses don’t exist.”

A social media post about polio vaccines in Lakki Marwat received many responses calling for a boycott of anti-polio campaigns in the region using the hashtag #polioboycott. The boycott is in support of kidnapped factory workers in Lakki Marwat. Some posts state that peace is more important than the polio campaign. Meanwhile, residents in a village near Makli, Thatta, launched a “No water, no vaccines” boycott to protest a lack of clean water access. Several posts falsely claimed that polio vaccines are harmful and that the disease is only spreading in children who have received multiple polio drops.

On April 6, Gaza’s Health Ministry warned that Israel is blocking polio vaccines from entering the region, putting over 600,000 children at risk. In response, many commenters called for an end to the blockade, while other posts claimed that polio vaccines are “toxic” and unnecessary during the conflict.

Several social media posts across multiple platforms are circulating the unsupported claim that 75 children in Pakistan contracted polio despite being vaccinated. The reported source for the claim is the Minister of State for National Health Services, who allegedly announced that the government would launch an inquiry into the cases. One post sharing the claim accused the government—without evidence—of refusing to check the ingredients of polio vaccines provided by the Gates Foundation and WHO because they are “exempted” from testing. Other posts claimed that the vaccines are just water, that the vaccines are “poison” that causes polio, and that polio vaccines harmed half a million people in India, a myth that has been repeatedly debunked. However, the limited online coverage of the claim does not include a quote from the minister to support it. Additionally, no mainstream news sites, global health organizations, or government bodies have confirmed the alleged infections or the existence of any inquiry. Notably, the supposed number of polio infections in vaccinated children surpasses the total number of polio cases in Pakistan for all of 2024.

U.S. and French-based social media accounts shared a video interview with a known French anti-vaccine advocate on a site with a history  of promoting anti-vaccine conspiracies. The posts claim that the interviewee, a retired French physician, is “raising the alarm” about a heightened risk of cVDPV2 at “10 times the rate of WPV” through the oral polio vaccines allegedly promoted by Bill Gates and WHO. Responses to the posts were both in favor of and against the physician, and some also criticized Bill Gates’ and so-called Western “experiments,” repeating the debunked myth that Gates used vaccination efforts as a forced depopulation plan. One response from a user claiming to have worked for “UNICEF/CDC/WHO vaccination campaigns” sowed doubt about vaccination efforts. However, overall the posts have had relatively few engagements and are being shared mostly in the United States, France, and Canada.

Several U.S.-based social media accounts, including one known for promoting anti-vaccine falsehoods, have shared a recent interview between a known conspiracy theorist podcaster and a U.S. physician. The physician repeats multiple unfounded claims about polio that have been repeatedly debunked, including that it is caused by the pesticide DDT, that poliovirus itself is “mostly harmless,” and suggesting that increased sanitation, not vaccines, led to polio’s decline. Some posts garnered significant engagement, with one receiving 2,000 comments and another accumulating 25 million views. While some comments echoed anti-vaccine claims and warned people against vaccines more generally, several criticized the podcaster and his anti-vaccine, so-called “junk science” claims.

Global news outlets and social media users debated the role of international aid following reports that the U.S. plans to terminate funding for GAVI. News articles warned that the cuts will threaten millions of lives and lead to preventable disease outbreaks. Several social media users proposed herbal remedies and “natural immunity” as an alternative to vaccines, while others alleged that vaccines harm children and target black people for depopulation.

False claims about the origin of polio continue to spread online following a viral March 26 podcast interview. Some posts repeat the conspiracy theory that polio was created in a lab and spread in Africa, while others promote the debunked myth that polio was renamed, not eradicated. One post shared an image claiming without evidence that polio is actually DDT, lead, and arsenic poisoning; undiagnosed syphilis; hand, foot, and mouth disease; and a variety of other diseases.