DisinfoWatch’s database of COVID related misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, hoaxes and foreign propaganda. We use various tools to monitor and collect examples, which we then analyze and publish. By default, examples are sorted by date. RSS feed here.
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| Mis/Disinformation Example | Date | Source Region | Themes | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NATO is Not Militarizing Space, But The Kremlin Is Russian state media have reported last year that Vladimir Putin is against the militarization of space and have, without offering any evidence, blamed NATO for the militarization of it. However,... | 17 December 2020 | Russia | Disinformation,State Soft Power Narrative | |
| COVID Vaccines Do Not Contain Aborted Fetal Tissue A video recently shared on Facebook and other social media platforms is being de-contextualized with the suggestion that AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccines contain cells from aborted fetuses. Videos containing similar claims... | 14 December 2020 | Unknown | Anti-Vaxx,COVID-19,Vaccination | Conspiracy Theory,Misinformation |
| Viral Facebook Video Promotes False Claims About COVID A Facebook video that has been shared over 46k times contains a number of individuals, identifying themselves as doctors, who support or make false statements about COVID-19. The video has... | 12 December 2020 | Canada | Anti-Vaxx,Big Pharma,COVID-19,Deep state,Denial,Fake Virus,Vaccination | Conspiracy Theory,Disinformation |
| Russian language is not banned from Ukrainian stores and restaurants An article that is being shared on Canadian Russian social media pages makes the false claim that Russian language service is being banned from all Ukrainian stores and restaurants in... | 3 December 2020 | Russia | Russia,Ukraine | Disinformation |
| No Evidence that COVID Was Present First in North America A December 2, 2020 report on Russian state-media platform RT includes a misleading claim that COVID-19 was present in the United States before China, based on a paper about serologic... | 3 December 2020 | Russia | China,COVID-19,Russia,Virus Origin | Conspiracy Theory,Disinformation |
| Kremlin Aligned Prankster-Propagandists Target Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau A team of well known Kremlin supported “pranksters” recently published audio of a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two “comedians,” Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who are known... | 27 November 2020 | Russia | Justin Trudeau,Russia,Russian Government | Hoax,Misinformation |
| Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Did Not Recommend Holding Breath As A COVID Response A screenshot of a Canadian national news broadcast contains text suggesting that Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer has told Canadians to “practice holding their breath for extended periods of time”... | 17 November 2020 | Unknown | Cheapfake,COVID-19 | Disinformation,Hoax |
| Electronic Ballot Counting Equipment Has Never Been Used In Canada’s Federal Elections A widely shared meme on Facebook states that “glitchy” electronic voting systems were used in Canada’s Federal Election. The meme seems to cast doubt on the outcome of that election.... | 13 November 2020 | Unknown | Deep state,Elections,George Soros,Trudeau | Conspiracy Theory,Disinformation |
| Sesame Street Characters Are Not “Brainwashing” Children About COVID-19 A post published on a well-known Canadian conspiracy theory website claims that Sesame Street characters have been co-opted to engage in “‘New Normal’ brainwashing for the very young and vulnerable”... | 12 November 2020 | Canada | COVID-19,Denial,Schools,Youth | Conspiracy Theory |
| Blue Surgical Face Masks Do Not Cause Cancer Several posts claiming that blue-coloured surgical masks contain carcinogenic materials have been shared widely on social media. The posts claim that blue surgical face masks are sprayed with Teflon, which... | 2 November 2020 | United States | anti-mask,Anti-Vaxx,COVID-19 | Conspiracy Theory,Disinformation,Misinformation |
