The claim: More than 20% of vaccinated New Zealanders died after receiving COVID-19 mRNA vaccines

A Dec. 3 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) questions the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

“BREAKING: A New Zealand government whistleblower has come forward with explosive official data that shows more than 20% of the nation’s citizens that received COVID mRNA vaccines died,” reads a post from X, formerly Twitter, shared in the Instagram post. The words “COVID mRNA vaccines” are crossed out but remain legible.

The Instagram post was liked more than 2,000 times in four days. The original X post, from right-wing account Leading Report, was shared more than 1,000 times in four days.

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Our rating: False

Experts say basic math proves the claim false. The country's death total from all causes in three and a half years falls well short of the number of vaccine-linked deaths that would be necessary to verify the claim. Officials say four deaths have been potentially linked to COVID-19 vaccines in New Zealand. It originated on a website known to publish misinformation.

‘It’s just completely impossible’

The claim originated in a Dec. 2 Slay News article that cites leaked official data to assert that more...

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