Virus Misinformation Spikes as Delta Cases Surge

Researchers have recorded a new burst of false and misleading information about the coronavirus after a decline in the spring.

In late July, Andrew Torba, the chief executive of the alternative social network Gab, claimed without evidence that members of the U.S. military who refused to get vaccinated against the coronavirus would face a court-martial. His post on Gab amassed 10,000 likes and shares. Two weeks earlier, the unfounded claim that at least 45,000 deaths had resulted from Covid-19 vaccines circulated online. Posts with the claim collected nearly 17,000 views on Bitchute, an alternative video platform, and at least 120,000 views on the encrypted chat app Telegram, where it was shared mostly in Spanish. Around the same time, Britain’s chief scientific adviser misstated that 60 percent of hospitalized patients had been double-vaccinated. He quickly corrected the statement, saying the 60 percent had been unvaccinated. But antivaccine groups online seized on his mistake, translating the quote into French and Italian and sharing it on Facebook, where it collected 142,000 likes and shares.