On or about June 18, 2020, CHD’s Facebook page posted a link to an article on their website concerning a sharp decline in infant death rates during the pandemic, matching a sharp decline in “well-baby visits” when vaccines are typically given (Figure 1). Science Feedback checked information in the article, an ‘independent third-party fact checker’ working with Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram, among other platforms).

Contested claim: Vaccines are a cause of sudden infant death death syndrome; infant deaths decreased dramatically during the lockdown, when the number of vaccines administered was reduced (CHD, Mark Blaxill, 200618)

Science Feedback’s fact-check verdict: Misleading (200717)

Facebook action: Partly false information (200618) (no link available)

Context: Science Feedback deemed the claim “misleading,” asserting in their Key Takeaway that “Vaccines are safe and scientific studies have found no association between vaccination and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)” (Figure 2). Facebook added the following warning label to the post: “Partly False Information Checked by independent fact-checkers” (Figure 3).

Verdict detail: “Lacks context: The claim that child deaths decreased significantly during the pandemic is based on incomplete data. Deaths in the U.S. are reported to the CDC only after death certificates are received by local health authorities, which can take weeks to months. The most recent CDC data therefore always underreport the most recent deaths. The authors of the article did not sufficiently account for this underreporting in their analysis.” (Science Feedback, 200717).

“Misrepresents a complex reality: The article compares only pediatric vaccine uptake during the pandemic to child deaths and does not consider the many other factors which may have contributed to the recent decline in child deaths, such as lockdowns leading to reduced travel and social contact, culminating in fewer traffic accidents and infectious diseases, respectively.” (Science Feedback, 200717).

Speculative: CHD’s article (200618) advances a potential explanation for a decrease in sudden infant deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Their inquiry is admittedly speculative and exploratory. It includes anecdotal accounts, a lack of specific data on the trend in SIDS deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential underreporting of deaths in recent weeks using CDC provisional data (the authors did try to account for reporting lags). However, since this information is disclosed, it is reasonable to conclude that the article does not mislead the reader, as Science Feedback’s fact-check asserts.

As CHD accurately states in their Complaint against Facebook, “There is nothing ‘false’ about CHD’s speculative inquiry into matters of causation in an open scientific controversy” (CHD vs Facebook Complaint, 201113).

Assessment highlights:

• Facebook blocked CHD from displaying an article concerning a sharp decline in infant death rates during the pandemic, matching a sharp decline in “well-baby visits” when vaccines are typically given.
• There is nothing “false” about CHD’s “speculative inquiry into matters of causation in an open scientific controversy,” as CHD explains in their Complaint (see below).

CHD filed a lawsuit claiming that Facebook, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and associated fact-checking organizations unfairly targeted and censored their content. The lawsuit alleges that this censorship violated CHD’s constitutional rights by collaborating with government entities to suppress free speech, falsely labeling CHD’s content as misinformation, engaging in deceptive and coordinated efforts to discredit their work, and causing significant reputational and financial harm. The following excerpt is taken from CHD’s 2020 complaint document.

Respondent: CHD (CHD vs Facebook Complaint, 201113)

• 4.150 | On or about June 18, 2020 and thereafter, Facebook blocked CHD from displaying an article concerning a sharp decline in infant death rates during the pandemic, matching a sharp decline in “well-baby visits” when vaccines are typically given. Facebook and Science Feedback, its purportedly “independent fact-checker,” fraudulently misrepresented to all third-party users that the post was “Partly False Information Checked by independent fact-checkers.”
• 4.152 | Upon clicking-through the “See Why” button, the user is presented with a purportedly factual opposition article by Science Feedback.
• 4.155 | Science Feedback’s assertion that vaccines bear no “association” with sudden infant death is itself a misrepresentation of fact, as it contradicts, inter alia, the potential adverse effect advisements formerly on many vaccine product inserts, customarily administered to infants according to the CDC’s 72-dose recommended vaccine schedule. In 2017, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Special Master ruled there was “preponderant evidence” that vaccines caused or substantially contributed to a 2011 SIDS death. The Special Master also determined that that fatality could not be attributed to non-vaccine related factors. Boatmon v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., No. 13-611V, 2017 WL 3432329 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. July 10, 2017). The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (over one dissent) reversed because the theory was at best “medically plausible,” and did not meet petitioner’s burden of proof. Opinion in Boatmon v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, No. 18-2333, JUSTIA, U.S. Law (Fed. Cir. 2019). Nonetheless, CHD’s article advances a potential explanation (expressly stated as such) for a decrease in sudden infant deaths during the pandemic, as to which the public has a right to be informed. There is nothing “false” about CHD’s speculative inquiry into matters of causation in an open scientific controversy. Defendants were aware, or acted in reckless disregard, of these and other specific falsities in the Science Feedback opposition “fact-check,” but posted it on CHD’s page, in furtherance of their fraudulent scheme, nonetheless.

Highlights:

• “Facebook blocked CHD from displaying an article concerning a sharp decline in infant death rates during the pandemic, matching a sharp decline in “well-baby visits” when vaccines are typically given” (CHD vs Facebook Complaint, 201113).
• “Science Feedback’s assertion that vaccines bear no “association” with sudden infant death is itself a misrepresentation of fact, as it contradicts, inter alia, the potential adverse effect advisements formerly on many vaccine product inserts, customarily administered to infants according to the CDC’s 72-dose recommended vaccine schedule” (CHD vs Facebook Complaint, 201113).
• “In 2017, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Special Master ruled there was “preponderant evidence” that vaccines caused or substantially contributed to a 2011 SIDS death. The Special Master also determined that that fatality could not be attributed to non-vaccine related factors. Boatmon v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., No. 13-611V, 2017 WL 3432329 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. July 10, 2017). The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (over one dissent) reversed because the theory was at best “medically plausible,” and did not meet petitioner’s burden of proof. Opinion in Boatmon v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, No. 18-2333, JUSTIA, U.S. Law (Fed. Cir. 2019). Nonetheless, CHD’s article advances a potential explanation (expressly stated as such) for a decrease in sudden infant deaths during the pandemic, as to which the public has a right to be informed” (CHD vs Facebook Complaint, 201113).
• There is nothing “false” about CHD’s “speculative inquiry into matters of causation in an open scientific controversy,” as CHD explains in their Complaint.