Anti-vaccine conspirators are spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation by using Bob Saget’s death.
The comedian stand-up and “Full House”On Sunday, the actor was found in his Florida Ritz-Carlton hotel room. An autopsy revealed that the actor was not conscious. “no evidence of drug use or foul play,”According to an Insider press release, no cause of death was reported as of Tuesday afternoon.
Numerous users on far-right fringe forums were spreading a baseless conspiracy theory on Tuesday that the 65-year-old died after receiving a COVID-19 booster shot — which is safe and effective in thwarting serious disease, According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These false claims are similar to those made about Betty White earlier in the month.
Saget was a pro-vaccine advocate who said in December 13, episodeListen to his podcast “Bob Saget’s Here For You,”He had received the booster shot just recently.
Telegram user who has a history sharing anti-vaccine conspiracy theory videos posted the podcast clip to their channel Monday. He also added a caption about Saget taking the booster shot and a teary-eyed emoticon at the end. Telegram users shared the clip and it has been viewed over 19,000 times.
Multiple users posted comments about the incident in a Telegram channel belonging to an influencer connected to conspiracy theory movement QAnon. “must be the jab,”Referring to the vaccination, in a post on Saget’s passing.
One post posted on a far-right website claiming Saget had died from the booster shot garnered over 1,200 likes. Numerous other users of that forum baselessly claimed that Saget died from vaccine-induced heart problems.
Twitter users have at least speculated and baselessly suggested that Saget’s suicide was due to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Twitter has not responded to a request for comment.