NPR

'Lying Through Truth': Misleading Facts Fuel Vaccine Misinformation

There's no link between Covid-19 vaccines and death. But a new NPR analysis finds stories implying a link have gone viral this year at a dramatic rate.
A worker prepares to give a COVID-19 vaccine at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. on March 18, 2021.

The odds of dying after getting a Covid-19 vaccine are virtually non-existent.

According to recent data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, you're three times more likely to get struck by lightning.

But you might not know that from looking at your social media feed.

A new NPR analysis finds that articles connecting vaccines and death have been among the most highly-engaged-with content online this year, going viral in a way that could hinder people's ability to judge the true risk in getting a shot.

The findings also illustrate a broader trend in online misinformation: with social media platforms making more of an effort to take down patently false health claims, bad actors are turning to cherry-picked truths to drive misleading narratives.

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