To explain the death of stars, the causes of which often remain unclear, many do not hesitate to point the finger at the anti-covid vaccine, on the internet. Since the end of 2022, the phenomenon has multiplied.
Lisa Marie Presley and Jeff Beck, victims of the anti-covid vaccine? On social networks, the keyword “died suddenly” appears as soon as a celebrity dies, attributing their death to the vaccine. Despite the total lack of scientific basis, the rumor is a great success.
Covid vaccination has been a major topic of misinformation since its inception in 2021 and claims linking vaccines and sudden deaths have seen a surge in virality since the release in late November of a video titled “Died suddenly”.
A guaranteed buzz with each tweet
His shocking images of young people collapsing for no apparent reason, interspersed with anxiety-provoking comments about vaccines, had racked up more than 9 million views on the Rumble video platform as of January 17.
The day after its release, the hashtag “diedsuddenly” exploded on Twitter, jumping from 4,000 tweets on November 20 to more than 76,000 on November 22.
“Each time a tweet makes the link between death and the vaccine, it is the guaranteed buzz”, analyzes the French sociologist of science and beliefs Romy Sauvayre (University of Clermont Auvergne), interviewed by AFP.
“An old antivax technique”, abounds the American oncologist David Gorski on the site for the fight against medical misinformation Sciencebasedmedicine, while recalling that “there is no proof of correlation, even less of a causal link ” between the vaccine and these sudden deaths.
No wave of vaccine-related deaths
Sudden deaths of athletes, lists of deceased doctors… The examples of publications attributing deaths to vaccines are countless and have given rise to numerous AFP verification articles in recent weeks.
While very rare side effects have been reported, pharmacovigilance does not show waves of sudden deaths due to vaccines, which scientists confirm. False information embroidering on the theme of sudden death seems inexhaustible, the majority of the world’s population being vaccinated today.
For anti-vaccines, explains Romy Sauvayre, these infox are part of a “confirmation bias”: “people already convinced[oftheharmfulnessofthevaccineeditor’snote)willseetheirbeliefconfirmed”[delanocivitéduvaccinNDLR)vontvoirconfirmerleurcroyance”
Vaccines have always been subject to unfounded fears, she recalls: “the one against hepatitis was accused of causing multiple sclerosis, the one against measles of causing autism”.
Conspiracy surfs on the blur
With messenger RNA vaccines, “we go into another dimension: they are suspected of modifying genetics and killing”. The vaccine would be used “to reduce the world’s population”, say Internet users.
So much so that some claim that the excess mortality observed in France in 2022 is due to vaccines. If the excess mortality observed by anti-vaccines is confirmed by INSEE, it is in no way linked to the anti-covid vaccine but to the virus itself which, according to the WHO, caused 6.6 million deaths worldwide. .
Tuesday, while INSEE announced that France recorded in 2022 its lowest birth rate since 1946, Internet users also saw the brand of the vaccine, responsible for a “decline in fertility”, even “miscarriages” . Again, assertions repeatedly denied by many doctors.
“Death remains surrounded by a certain mystery, with a somewhat philosophical imprint”, observes Sebastian Dieguez, specialist in conspiracy at the University of Friborg (Switzerland), adding that conspiracy surfs on the vagueness around the causes of death “not always easy to elucidate”.
Mentions have quadrupled since January
Lining up examples of deaths to link them, without proof, to vaccines, constitutes “an inexhaustible vein” of misinformation, according to him.
The death of stars, in particular, has always been fertile ground for speculation, notes the sociologist, taking as an example the legends surrounding the premature death of Elvis Presley.
After the cardiac arrest of American footballer Damar Hamlin in the middle of a match in early January, mentions “died suddenly” quadrupled on Twitter, according to the American NGO CCDH (Centre for the fight against online hate).
“Literally a few seconds after the death of Lisa Marie Presley or Jeff Beck, tweets made the link between their death and the vaccine”, remarks Sebastian Dieguez, “we exploit dramas to score points ideologically on the question of vaccines”.
