As 2020 draws to an end, we present the 10 most popular stories on our website this year.
Our Most Popular Posts in 2020
Issues: coronavirus
A Guide to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine
Moderna’s mRNA vaccine is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized and fully approved for use in the U.S. Here, we give a rundown of basic facts about the vaccine and an overview of how it works.
Anti-Vaccine Posts Use Deceptively Edited Video Clip
Social media pages that share anti-vaccine messages have used a selectively edited news clip that suggests the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe. The clip shows a nurse fainting after she gets the vaccine, but it doesn’t show her quick recovery afterward when she explains that she is prone to fainting when triggered by even a slight pain.
Q&A on COVID-19 Vaccines
Three COVID-19 vaccines are now authorized in the U.S. In this story, we answer some common questions about the shots.
The Whoppers of 2020
Our list of the 10 most egregious falsehoods of the year.
Alabama Officials Debunk False Claim of COVID-19 Vaccine Death
A false claim that an unidentified nurse died after getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama has been feeding into the anti-vaccine disinformation online. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported that no one who has received the vaccine has died.
Instagram Post Distorts Facts on COVID-19 Death Reporting
An Instagram post falsely claims that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting all pneumonia and influenza deaths as caused by COVID-19. That’s wrong and is based on a misreading of one type of monitoring the agency conducts.
COVID-19 Vaccines Don’t Have Patient-Tracking Devices
A video circulating on social media falsely claims that vaccines for COVID-19 have a microchip that “tracks the location of the patient.” The chip, which is not currently in use, would be attached to the end of a plastic vial and provide information only about the vaccine dose. It cannot track people.
Vaccine Recipient Targeted With Baseless ‘Crisis Actor’ Claim
Social media posts are peddling the baseless claim that the first recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom was actually a “crisis actor.” There is no evidence for that conspiracy theory.
A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine
A primer on the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive authorization and approval in the U.S.