Anti-vaccine advocates have for years used foreboding imagery of syringes to paint immunizations as dark and dangerous. But recent vaccine conspiracy theories are casting an air of fear around more mundane things — like cows and lettuce.
In widespread posts online in recent weeks, misinformation purveyors have spread false claims that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are being quietly added to the food supply, threatening staunch vaccine holdouts.
“The Unvaccinated Won’t Be Unvaccinated for Long With mRNA in the Food Supply,” reads one tweet shared thousands of times. Another asks: “Did you know they will be giving all of our livestock the covid vaccine this year?”
A TikTok video shared on Instagram, meanwhile, questions whether Whole Foods customers are unknowingly being vaccinated with “the C19 mRNA shot via food products” and shows pictures of arugula and lettuce packages.
In reality, COVID-19 vaccines are not being passed along through livestock or produce, and experts say that would not be an efficient way to immunize someone anyway.
In some cases, conspiracy theorists misrepresented the limited use of RNA-based vaccines in animals. In others, they distorted a company’s research into using plants to grow proteins used in vaccines.
The truth is there are no COVID-19 mRNA vaccines licensed for animals, said Marissa Perry, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She noted that the department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “has not approved and does not...
In certain instances, it is evident that misinformation is created and disseminated on social media by exploiting sensitive issues and presenting unverified claims as factual events. Presented bel...