Posts Falsely Claim New Zealand Discusses Introducing COVID-19 Vaccines Into Water Supply
The Claim
The New Zealand government is considering introducing COVID-19 vaccines into the water supply.
News posted on
Emerging story
Social media users shared posts claiming that the New Zealand Herald website reported that the New Zealand government is considering putting COVID-19 vaccines in the water supply.
The circulating posts included a screenshot stating that "emails between Government officials and multiple local councils appear to discuss the possibility of introducing the covid vaccine into city water supplies in areas where vaccination rates haven't reached 90%."
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be fake.
The New Zealand Herald did not mention anything regarding introducing the COVID-19 vaccination into the water supply. And our team did not find any such article or headline posted by the outlet.
It turned out that the screenshot the posts referred to is digitally altered to look like the news outlet’s social media page posted it. Our team did not find any similar article or story reporting on the decision of the New Zealand government to put the COVID-19 vaccine in the water supply.
The news outlet has also confirmed to Reuters that they did not publish anything regarding the government’s plan to introduce the vaccination into the water supply.
