The Associated Press looks at some of the most popular, but completely untrue, stories and visuals of the week. This is a fake, although it has been widely shared on social media. Here are the facts:
CLAIM: Pfizer’s CEO refuses to receive the COVID vaccine.
THE FACTS: A social media video is trying to spread doubts about COVID-19 vaccines by falsely claiming that Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s president and CEO, “refuses” to get the vaccine created by his company.
In fact, he has already received two shots. “Albert Bourla received his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on March 10, 2021,” Pfizer spokeswoman Faith Salamon told the Associated Press by email.
Bourla tweeted a photo of him receiving his second photo on March 10.
“I am excited to receive my 2nd dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech # COVID19 vaccine,” says his post. “There is nothing I want more than my loved ones and people around the world having the same opportunity.
A popular video that includes the fake banner, “PFEIZER CEO REFUSES VACCINE”, has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.
The company name is incorrect and some of the letters in the word “vaccine” have been replaced by the image of a coronavirus particle and a syringe. The video includes a clip from an interview that Bourla gave to CNBC on December 14, but the video does not give the date.
In this interview, host Meg Tirrell asked when Bourla planned to take the photo. In his reply, Bourla never refused to take the vaccine – he simply noted that, at the time, it was not yet his turn.
“As soon as I can, I will go. The only sensibility here, Meg, is that I don’t want to have an example that I’m cutting the line, ”said Bourla, according to the CNBC transcript. He said he was 59, in good health and not a frontline worker. “My type is not recommended for vaccination now,” said Bourla.