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A social media user with over 33,000 followers posted several myths about polio vaccines—and vaccines generally—over the last few days. In one post, he falsely claims that polio didn’t exist until polio vaccines were introduced. The post received several supportive responses. In a video post with nearly 7,000 views, he accused Bill Gates of using vaccines to reduce the global population.

Many social media users responded negatively to recent reports that the Gates Foundation will help fund a clinical trial for a new tuberculosis vaccine. Several commenters accused Bill Gates of using Indonesian people as “guinea pigs” and repeated the myth that Gates funded a polio vaccine that paralyzed thousands of Indian children. One commenter questioned an artificial intelligence chatbot about past vaccine trials and whether Gates caused outbreaks in Ethiopia with polio vaccines that had to be destroyed. The AI chatbot correctly explained that the vaccines were not destroyed because they were unsafe, but as a standard disposal process for a specific vaccine that is only used under strict WHO guidelines.

This week, Kenyans online continued to express frustration and distrust about vaccine shortages. In response to reports that the country secured a three-year financing deal with GAVI, one social media user suggested that polio was “debunked as a hoax.”

Pakistan reported positive wastewater samples from 18 districts, along with its eighth polio case this year. Some social media users responded to the news by calling the polio vaccine “poison” and claiming that polio vaccination campaigns are a “big conspiracy” to leave the population barren.

A Palestinian doctor criticized the use of oral polio vaccines in Gaza, suggesting that they will do more harm to the malnourished and extremely vulnerable population. The post describes OPV as a vaccine rejected by other nations that carries a high risk of vaccine-associated polio. Although the wording is unclear, the post falsely suggests that cVDPV is a risk to vaccinated children. Most responses to the post were generally in agreement and supportive of the message. Two users noted that the vaccine used in Gaza is the novel OPV2, while the doctor appears to be referring to other OPVs.

A social media user posted a video claiming that polio vaccines are being given to children in Pakistan without proper testing or a list of ingredients. Days later, he claimed that the Pakistani government banned the videos, forcing him to upload them to a different social media platform. The two posts have been shared over 800 times and received dozens of comments. Many responses called polio vaccines “poison” and claimed they decrease the birthrate of boys. 

A social media user shared a video of a Nigerian pastor who frequently promotes anti-vaccine myths and claimed that all vaccines are unsafe. The post also falsely states that children only get polio after being vaccinated. Over 130 people shared the posts, and around half of the responses agreed with the false claims.

A trending social media post accuses Bill Gates of using polio vaccination and other global health programs to “slow population growth” in Africa through sterilization. The post received over 2,000 engagements, including dozens of responses claiming that vaccines are deadly and meant to sterilize women throughout the continent.