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10.17.2022

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A tweet reads, “Don’t trick or treat with the unvaccinated” and features a purported screenshot of a CBC News headline that says, “Health Canada recommends creating 'vaccinated trick or treat groups' this Halloween. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says, “IMPOSTOR CONTENT.”

#ManipulatedContent

#COVID19

#ImpostorContent

A tweet reads, “Don’t trick or treat with the unvaccinated” and features a purported screenshot of a CBC News headline that says, “Health Canada recommends creating 'vaccinated trick or treat groups' this Halloween. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says, “IMPOSTOR CONTENT.”

#ManipulatedContent

#COVID19

#ImpostorContent

10.17.2022

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Impostor headline cites false advice for COVID-19 vaccinations, Halloween

An image supposedly shows a screenshot of a headline saying Canadian health experts advise parents to form “vaccinated trick or treat groups” this Halloween. But this isn’t a real headline and there is no such article. Let’s look at the facts.

Quick Look

  • No

    This Oct. 9 screenshot is not a real headline published by the Canadian outlet CBC News.

  • No

    As of Oct. 18, the Canadian government health agency Health Canada had not published any advice for parents concerning COVID-19 precautions and trick-or-treating for Halloween in 2022.

The Takeaway

Impostor content is misinformation that falsely uses a well-known name, brand or logo to fool people into believing it is authentic. This type of content is often designed to create uncertainty and damage trust in genuine news sources. This particular example of impostor content also encourages people to view public health recommendations as absurd and unrealistic.

Be wary of news items that circulate as screenshots without an accompanying URL. Fact-checkers did not find any such headline or article on the CBC News’ website or in social media posts. CBC News and Health Canada both confirmed to Reuters that the headline was fake.

The 5 Factors

We’ve determined that this viral rumor is misleading or false based on its failure to pass the following credibility factors. Please note that these factors do not represent degrees of falsehood. A post that fails a single factor is generally just as false as a post that fails all five.

Snapshot

  • Authenticity

  • Source

  • Evidence

  • Context
  • Reasoning
Authenticity

Is it authentic?

No.

The screenshot does not show an actual headline or news article.

Source

Has it been posted or confirmed by a credible source?

No.

Always look for health information from credible sources. In this case, this fabricated content appears to have been created by a social media account known for falsifying headlines. The official website for Health Canada does not make any mention of this advice.

Evidence

Is there evidence that proves the claim?

No.

The evidence shows that the headline is a fabrication.

Context

Is the context accurate?

N/A

Reasoning

Is it based on solid reasoning?

N/A

The Techniques

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