An Instagram collage of images implies smallpox and Covid-19 vaccines cause HIV and AIDS, as well as falsely linking former US chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci to the origins of the disease. The four images all show either debunked news stories, edited images, or outdated concerns.
Vaccine misinformation can harm health, as people may make decisions based on false claims. We have previously written about false links between the Covid vaccines and HIV/AIDS, as well as the smallpox vaccine claim we address below, and many other false claims about Covid and vaccines.
The origin of AIDS
The top left image shows Dr Fauci under the headline “The man who gave us AIDS”. This claim is false.
Dr Fauci has been an advisor to several US governments on the disease as well as various other emerging infectious diseases, including playing a key role during the Covid pandemic.
The image is edited as both USA Today and The Associated Press have reported. The headline is from a 1987 edition of the New York Post, and did not carry a related image underneath it.
Kenneth Moy, head librarian at the paper, previously shared the authentic article with The Associated Press, showing it to be about the alleged “patient zero” who brought HIV into the US. More recently the original story about a Canadian flight attendant thought to be patient zero has also been disproved.
The image of Dr Fauci used in the post is from a Time magazine feature in 2020. Dr Fauci obviously looked significantly ...
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