| Dokumendiregister | Terviseamet |
| Viit | 8-2/25/9514-1 |
| Registreeritud | 25.11.2025 |
| Sünkroonitud | 26.11.2025 |
| Liik | Sissetulev dokument |
| Funktsioon | 8 Nakkushaiguste seire, ennetuse ja tõrje korraldamine |
| Sari | 8-2 Nakkushaiguste epidemioloogiaalane riigiväline kirjavahetus |
| Toimik | 8-2/2025 |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | Avalik |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | |
| Adressaat | ECDC Communication |
| Saabumis/saatmisviis | ECDC Communication |
| Vastutaja | Merilin Vernik (TA, Peadirektori vastutusvaldkond, Kommunikatsiooniosakond) |
| Originaal | Ava uues aknas |
To: National Focal Points for Communication
Cc: NFPs for Communication Alternates, National Coordinators
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to share with you the fourth report on misleading or false narratives, which is part of a three-month pilot project on social media listening.
Following feedback to limit the spread of false narratives, and not to contribute to increasing social media engagement, we have not included links to individual social media posts.
The project uses Brandwatch, a social media listening and analytics tool, to monitor public conversations in multiple EU/EEA languages. Through this pilot, we aim to:
The report will be sent out every 2 weeks.
At this stage, the project focuses solely on social listening and identifying of false or misleading narratives. Please note that it is not media monitoring, and therefore it does not include traditional media (radio, TV, print or news portals).
As previously, we warmly invite your feedback throughout this process. Please let us know
Your insights will be essential to evaluate how this project can enhance our shared capacity to detect, analyse, and respond to online misinformation more effectively.
Thank you,
Best regards,
Betina Kiefer Alonso
Confidentiality Notice
If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby kindly requested, to, consecutively, refrain from disclosing its content to any third party, delete it and inform its sender of the erroneous transmittal.
Tähelepanu! Tegemist on väljastpoolt asutust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada.
Social media false and misleading narratives report
10-24 November 2025
2
Key considerations
• The current report was conducted to capture false narratives on social media on 2 key topics - vaccines and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
• While there is a high number of false narratives (with a high volume of mentions each) on vaccines, the monitoring showed fewer results on STIs, where there are often information gaps and questions on forums. The report is focused on social media alone, not taking into consideration traditional media (radio, TV, print or news portals).
• The report focuses on false or misleading narratives/information gaps alone, and not on accurate information/scientifically correct narratives or news.
• The search for false or misleading narratives/information gaps was conducted for all EU/EEA countries and languages.
3
Overview of narratives about vaccines
• A limited number of X accounts repeatedly circulate and amplify multiple narratives, always providing a negative and distrustful framing of topics related to vaccines.
• X is the main dissemination platform, and access to data from other platforms is limited.
• Most vaccine-related narratives focus on vaccine safety and often allude to conspiracies perpetrated by governments, the pharmaceutical industry, and international organisations. Several influencers signal-boost the same narrative across different languages, often from US anti-vaccine influencers such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (US Secretary of Health and Human Services) and litigator Aaron Siri.
• Often narratives involve provide a sensationalistic or misleading spin on real news reports.
• Narratives seen across languages include an alleged UK government conspiracy to conceal adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, a supposed admission of the CDC of the link between vaccines and autism, and promotion of the lab leak theory.
• Alleged conspiracies by international organisations such as the Bill Gates foundation and the WHO to harm the health of people in Africa with vaccines featured prominently among narratives.
• A significant amount of STI narratives constitute information gaps, with people asking questions about STIs.
• Of all STIs, HIV is more likely to be mentioned in conspiracy theories and misinformation.
• Stigmatising narratives about STIs being imported by migrants often appear across languages.
4
False and misleading narratives on vaccines
Volume legend High: > 100K views Medium-high: 50-100 K views Medium: 10-50 K views Low-medium: 1-10 K views Low: < 1 K views
Topic Origin and language
False or misleading narratives Volume
Vaccine safety India, French HPV vaccines. Students in India allegedly hospitalised in a severe condition after receiving HPV vaccine, based on IdealExpress report of schoolgirls fainting after receiving vaccine.
Low-Medium
France, French HPV/meningococcal vaccines. Outrage at HPV/meningococcal vaccination campaign starting January 2026 in French schools, given alleged dangerous side effects; claims of intention to kill and disable young middle school students and government complicity with these aims.
Medium-high
US, various languages including Swedish, Danish, Polish, Spanish
CDC has updated its vaccines and autism page to finally tell the truth about alleged links between vaccines and autism.
Medium
US, various languages
Vaccines against several diseases in childhood immunisation schedules were never tested against placebo, and are therefore not safe or effective.
Medium
5
False and misleading narratives on vaccines
Volume legend High: > 100K views Medium-high: 50-100 K views Medium: 10-50 K views Low-medium: 1-10 K views Low: < 1 K views
Topic Origin and language
False or misleading narratives Volume
Vaccine safety UK, various languages including Swedish, French, English, Czech, Croatian
COVID-19. British government covering up link between COVID-19 vaccines and excess mortality.
High
United States, Spanish
Presentation from Dr. Suzanne Humphries claiming that scientists are covering up serious side effects from vaccines.
Low-medium
Denmark, Polish Peter Gőtzsche issues report on Merck concealing side effects from HPV vaccine. Medium
Germany, Italian COVID-19. European Commission admits COVID-19 vaccines were administered without complete safety data. Based on Berliner Zeitung article.
Low-medium
International conspiracies
United States, Spanish
Bill Gates asked Danish government to finance vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping couch for African children, but Danish government learned mortality among vaccinated girls was 10x higher than among unvaccinated girls.
Medium
Kenya, French Tetanus. WHO has been conducting vaccination campaigns in Kenya with vaccines that intentionally sterilise women.
Medium
6
False and misleading narratives on vaccines
Volume legend High: > 100K views Medium-high: 50-100 K views Medium: 10-50 K views Low-medium: 1-10 K views Low: < 1 K views
Topic Origin and language
False or misleading narratives Volume
Vaccine effectiveness
France, French COVID-19. French government spread false information about COVID-19 vaccine even though it knew it was not effective
Medium
Poland, Polish HPV. Countries with highest HPV vaccination rates do not have reduced cervical cancer rates and vaccines are not safe, with serious side effects.
Medium
Diseases France, French Measles is actually good for you and provides a natural protection against cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Medium
International conspiracies
United States, Spanish
Bill Gates asked Danish government to finance vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping couch for African children, but Danish government learned mortality among vaccinated girls was 10x higher than among unvaccinated girls.
Medium
Kenya, French Tetanus. WHO has been conducting vaccination campaigns in Kenya with vaccines that sterilize women.
Medium
Vaccine ingredients
United States, French
Scientists conducted experiments on several healthy foetuses that were deliberately aborted to develop technology for MMR vaccines, which contain cell lines derived from foetal tissue. Video on post conceals that the cell line comes from a single abortion in the 60s.
Low-medium
SARS-CoV2 lab leak theory
China, various languages including Dutch and French
COVID-19. Ralph Baric is involved in the leak of the COVID-19 virus from the Wuhan lab and has avoided public scrutiny.
Medium
7
Platforms for vaccine-preventable disease mentions
X 2460677 YouTube 584466 Facebook 556544 Reddit 130973 Instagram 9610 Facebook Public 63
8
Mentions of vaccine-preventable diseases
Evolution of number of mentions from past similar 2 weeks period
Covid 455106 Measles 8470 Pneumococcal disease 5931 HPV 5284 Whooping cough 4697 Hepatitis 4636 Smallpox 4310 Poliomyelitis 3377 Chickenpox 2102 Tetanus 1939 Rubella 810 Mumps 753 Rotavirus 739 Seasonal influenza 466 Meningococcal disease 463 Diphtheria 70 Hib 58
9
STI information gaps Volume legend High: > 100K views Medium-high: 50-100 K views Medium: 10-50 K views Low-medium: 1-10 K views Low: < 1 K views
Topic Language Information gaps, false and misleading narratives Volume
Information gaps
Czech Individual wondering about whether they have an STI after entering a new relationship and experiencing symptoms.
Low
Hungarian Information gaps related to treatment, waning of infection and vaccination for HPV among women.
Low
Norwegian Low
German Low
10
False and misleading narratives on STIs
Volume legend High: > 100K views Medium-high: 50-100 K views Medium: 10-50 K views Low-medium: 1-10 K views Low: < 1 K views
Topic Language Information gaps, false and misleading narratives Volume
Conspiracy theories
French Claim that COVID-19 vaccine causes AIDS. An instructive parallel of persistent antigen exposure, which SARS-CoV-2/mRNA Spike Protein shares with cancer and HIV, can explain VAIDS.
Low-medium
Slovak Claims from German biologist Stefan Lanka that HIV is a hoax. Low
German HIV and COVID-19 virus are bioweapons with unclear origin. Medium
HIV/AIDS Finnish Various claims of healing HIV/AIDS through the power of faith. Low
Immigrants bringing in diseases
Czech Half of all HIV cases in Czechia are allegedly among foreigners, therefore they should be deported.
Low-medium
Latvian Illegal migrants bring in most of HIV, syphilis and measles cases to EU/EEA Low-medium
Lithuanian Illegal immigrant brings diphtheria to Lithuania.*
*while report is from the news media, this mention is included as an example of the overall narrative on immigrants and due to some replies claiming immigrants bring in diseases
Low
11
Limitations • In several instances it is not possible to have the accurate location of a narrative. There might be errors in
detecting a post’s country of origin, as several countries have the same official language. E.g. flagging a narrative as being from Spain, while it actually is from a South American country that also uses Spanish.
• Due to technical limitations, it is currently not possible to reliably measure sentiment, therefore the exact volumes of pro vs. anti-vaccine content is unclear. Nevertheless, empirical observation indicates that false narratives get more traction and spikes in volume than positive content.
• Indicated volumes of views are an approximation, as the narratives can spread across multiple platforms and languages, so it is not currently possible to indicate exact numbers. For forums, the volume is an approximate indication, based on the number of discussions and participants.
• The volumes are expressed within the range of absolute number of views and are not relative to the country’s population.
• The analysis is based on data from the Brandwatch platform. Due to Meta data restrictions, access is mostly limited to X and open forums (Facebook forums, Reddit etc.). The Brandwatch platform is not currently customised to capture TikTok discussions.
For any questions and/or feedback, please contact [email protected]
12
This operational report from ECDC collects some of the most prominent and potentially harmful narratives circulating on the topics being monitored. This document is for internal use only and does not express an official ECDC position. Please do not circulate further.