Ticketmaster Isn't Planning Mandatory COVID Vaccine
The Claim
Ticketmaster will force concertgoers to get a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend events.
News posted on
Emerging story
Following the announcement that a COVID-19 vaccine could be publicly available in the near future, rumors began spreading on social media that Ticketmaster is planning to make event attendees get the vaccine in order to attend events.
Users across social media continued to spread this claim.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation shows that the claim is false. In early November, Billboard published a story about how Ticketmaster is developing plans for the post-pandemic that will utilize smart phones to verify if attendees have either tested negative for COVID-19 or if they’ve received a vaccine. The plans are still being developed; however, the story outlined the approach, saying: "After purchasing a ticket for a concert, fans would need to verify that they have already been vaccinated (which would provide approximately one year of COVID-19 protection) or test negative for coronavirus approximately 24 to 72 hours prior to the concert."
The article sparked an outcry from social media users who misinterpreted the story. As a result, Ticketmaster tweeted out a clarification to avoid confusion:
The tweet provided a link that stated: “To clarify, there is absolutely no requirement from Ticketmaster mandating vaccines/testing.”
Ticketmaster has also said they don’t have any authority to make such a policy and that the requirements would be up to the discretion of the event organizer.
