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It’s not known what sparked the wildfires in Maui, although some evidence points to downed power lines. The conditions were ripe for fire, as large amounts of invasive grasses were dry due to drought and high winds helped to rapidly spread flames. Bogus posts on social media, however, are baselessly claiming the fires were intentionally set.
Each year, respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizes 58,000 to 80,000 children under age 5 in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved an antibody injection for babies to protect them during the RSV season. There isn’t evidence the shots have killed any babies, contrary to social media claims.
The White House declared the site of the Maui wildfires a disaster area, and the Department of Defense has provided more than 400 troops, air support and other resources in firefighting and recovery efforts. Yet posts on Instagram misrepresent the federal response and one falsely claimed “the military is standing down.”
Documents show that Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins received 58 royalty payments from 2010 to 2021 for their research. Only three of the payments came in 2020 or 2021; the rest were made prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. But social media posts falsely claimed all the payments were “for allowing companies to use their COVID-19 vaccines.”
A proposed bill introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario aimed at providing legal protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community and drag artists has sparked misinformation on social media. The 2SLGBTQI+ Community Safety Zones Act, introduced by four left-leaning lawmakers, would allow the Ontario attorney general to designate a space for 2SLGBTQI+ persons as a community safety zone where it would be illegal to commit acts of intimidation within 100 meters of the established boundary. However, social media users have misrepresented the bill’s content and status, using a clip from the April 4 press conference to inaccurately claim that Canada has outlawed protests against the LGBTQ+ community. While the bill is a private members’ bill and has not become law, it has raised awareness about the need for legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
