On November 21, 2022, a "documentary" titled "Died suddenly" about alleged side effects of Covid-19 vaccines was released on the niche video platform Rumble and began to spread online.

By the end of November, many organizations that are part of the EDMO fact-checking network discovered and reported on widespread distribution of this video in their countries. From Spain to the Baltic States, from Scandinavia to Greece, through France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Ireland and many other countries, virtually all of Europe was affected by this disinformation material.

The following EDMO fact-checking network organizations contributed to this analysis: Pagella Politica – Facta.news, AFP, Delfi, Demagog.pl, Eesti Päevaleht, Ellinika Hoaxes, Faktabaari, Faktisk, Lakmusz, Maldita, Mimikama, Nieuwscheckers, Re:Baltica, Science Feedback, The Journal – FactCheck, TjekDet, Verificat.

Various fact-checking organizations have published or will publish their analyzes of the fake news spread by the video in the next few days. Here we summarize the most important information about who published “Die Suddenly”, what the most important claims and theses of the “documentary” are and why they are false or misleading.

The movie “Died Suddenly”

The so-called documentary was produced by the Stew Peters Network (SPN), a media production company run by Stew Peters, a widespread disinformation spreader in the United States. In February 2022, Peters' personal podcast show was removed from Spotify for violating the platform's policies on Covid-19 disinformation (but it is still available on Google and Apple Podcast).

SPN then produced the documentary Watch the Water, which claimed that the coronavirus was not a virus but a synthetic version of snake venom (which, of course, was immediately refuted).

“Died Suddenly” was, as the credits say, “written, produced, filmed and edited” by Matthew Miller Skow and Nicholas Stumphauzer. The two filmmakers previously released “These Little Ones,” a Stew Peters Network documentary about child trafficking that, among other things, supports conspiracy theories about abortion and satanic rituals.

In “Died Suddenly,” which runs about 1 hour and 10 minutes, “the filmmakers not only lie, but also attempt to create a sense of fear and uncertainty through manipulative language, music and imagery,” according to Latvian fact-checkers Re: Baltica in their analysis. The documentary, in fact, cites several disinforming narratives about Covid-19 vaccines that have been widespread in recent months and years.

Well-known false reports in the film

The film begins with the claim that embalmers and funeral directors have found unusually long blood clots in the bodies of vaccinated people. Images and videos of these alleged blood clots are shown extensively in the film. As the French website Health Feedback, part of the EDMO network, explains, “images of blood clots alone do not provide sufficient evidence of a link between these clots and the Covid-19, without a pathological analysis that takes into account the person's clinical history. vaccines.”

Further, the AFP fact-checking team noted that "experts have suggested several other possibilities [for blood clots], including obesity, smoking or infection with Covid-19." AFP also noted that a video used in "Died Suddenly," which shows the removal of a blood clot actually comes from a YouTube video uploaded in 2019 (i.e. before the Covid-19 pandemic) showing the removal of a pulmonary embolism in a living patient.

“Died Suddenly” goes on to say that Covid-19 vaccines often cause serious illnesses such as cancer and can lead to pregnancy problems such as miscarriages, abortions or stillbirths. However, as highlighted by AFP, among others, experts have consistently cautioned that pregnant women should get vaccinated, and national and international health authorities such as the CDC and EMA recommend Covid-19 vaccination to protect against serious illness and hospitalization.

Re:Baltica fact checkers also noted that several scientific studies have concluded that neither Pfizer nor Moderna increase the risk of miscarriage or premature birth. Dutch fact-checkers at NieuwsCheckers looked into the matter and found that the images of babies with deformities shown in the film have nothing to do with the Covid-19 vaccines.

Alleged links to cancer have also been widely debunked, and NieuwsCheckers noted that the documentary used US Department of Defense data that turned out to be incorrect and was later corrected. “There is no connection between vaccinations and cancer or neurological diseases,” concluded NieuwsCheckers in its analysis that debunked the 12 key claims (all false) spread by Died Suddenly.

The film also shows several headlines and disturbing videos of people suddenly collapsing on the floor, allegedly because of the Covid-19 vaccine. However, fact-checkers at Health Feedback found that while the images are real, many of them are unrelated to the Covid-19 vaccine and that some of the people are actually still alive. For example, “Died Suddenly” shows Argentine nutritionist Teresa Coccaro, who fainted during a television program. Coccaro, who is alive and well, later explained that she fainted due to a drop in blood pressure,” Health Feedback reports.

Overall, “Died Suddenly” claims that Covid-19 vaccines are “bioweapons” whose main goal is to depopulate the world. The film cites several well-known conspiracy theories, such as: B. the Great Reset, refers to the “agenda of the global elite” and misleadingly introduces Event 201, a virtual exercise hosted in October 2019 by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and simulated a possible global pandemic.

To support these unfounded theories, the documentary uses common disinformation narratives: for example, claiming that the Covid-19 vaccines have not been properly tested or using misleading data to create the impression that the vaccines are doing more harm than not could benefit.

As the Greek website Ellinika Hoaxes, part of the EDMO network, explains, “the video refers to an already debunked conspiracy that claims that vaccine manufacturers are hiding information about the side effects of vaccines” because the leaflets included in the packages “deliberately “empty”. According to the Reuters news agency, Ellinika Hoaxes explains that it is true that the package insert for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was left mostly blank, but that the company used the flyer to direct readers to an online newsletter via a QR code , which can be updated to reflect any FDA changes.

The documentation also claims that the public is kept in the dark about the composition of the vaccines, but our Greek colleagues noted that “after approval at the end of 2020, the composition of the vaccines was never hidden.” Quite the opposite: “The EMA had published a 140-page document that summarized and explained all experimental, non-clinical and clinical data supporting the approval of the vaccine as safe and effective.”

The documentary also cites Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data and claims that about 15,000 people have died in the United States due to Covid-19 vaccines, although that number is "likely an understatement." The Polish fact-checkers at Demagog clarified that although the VAERS data indicates the number of deaths and vaccinated people, it does not imply a causal connection between the two elements: “Vaccinated people can die for completely different reasons that have nothing to do with vaccines have, just like unvaccinated people,” Demagog claimed in an article about the film “Suddenly Died.”

Conclusion on “Died Suddenly”

“Died Suddenly” joins a growing list of so-called “documentaries” that spread misleading and distorted views about the Covid-19 pandemic. This group already includes films that spread false news, such as “Hold Up” and “Plandemic,” which have been circulating on the Internet in recent months and years.

The Stew Peters Network documentary mixes accurate information, manipulated interpretations of data and popular conspiracy theories to present a distorted picture of Covid-19 vaccines that is not supported by scientific evidence. Beware, and if you see the documentary online, please help us curb the disinformation and stop it from spreading.

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The original version of this text comes from Laura Loguercio (Pagella Politica) and Tommaso Canetta (Pagella Politica / Facta news)


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )