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Confirmed False
A widely shared social media post states that the new vaccine "permanently damages hearing in one out of every ten recipients." The post, which has been shared more than 80,000 times, urges readers to avoid vaccination until "the truth comes out."
Example Media Group Ltd. — registered in Cyprus, beneficial owner undisclosed
The post cites no study, trial or named source. Its only supporting material is a screenshot of a spreadsheet with no title, author or date. Metadata in the image file shows it was edited with a graphics application, and the figures in it cannot be traced to any dataset.
The vaccine's clinical trial results were published in a peer-reviewed journal and cover roughly 31,000 participants. Hearing-related adverse events were recorded in 0.02 percent of recipients, a rate statistically indistinguishable from the placebo group. No case of permanent hearing loss was attributed to the vaccine.
Post-approval monitoring points the same way. The national health authority runs a public adverse-event reporting system. Across 14 months and more than 6 million administered doses, it logged 212 hearing-related reports. Each was reviewed, and none was confirmed as caused by the vaccine. Many involved people with pre-existing ear conditions or recent infections.
We contacted two audiologists who were not involved in the trials. Both said a one-in-ten rate would have produced thousands of clinic referrals and been visible in national health statistics within weeks. Neither clinic network reported any such increase.
The account that posted the claim has a history of sharing unverified health content. Of its last 40 posts on medical topics, 31 have been flagged by independent reviewers. The account also links to a store selling unregulated supplements, giving it a financial motive to discourage vaccination.
The "one in ten" figure appears to come from a misread survey. A 2024 study found that one in ten adults reports temporary ear fullness after any respiratory infection. The post removed the context, swapped in the vaccine, and presented a common, short-lived symptom as permanent damage.
Confirmed False
False. There is no evidence that the new vaccine causes permanent hearing loss, and the cited figure is fabricated.
Legal Context
National Law:
This content may violate provisions under the Criminal Code §XX regarding the dissemination of knowingly false information affecting public order.
EU Framework:
Relevant under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), Article 34 — systemic risk assessment obligations for very large online platforms.
DSA Reference:
Platform notification submitted under DSA Art. 16. Response pending as of 2026-03-01.
Based on the evidence reviewed, the claim as stated is demonstrably false. The original source has a documented pattern of publishing misleading content, and the specific assertions made are contradicted by primary data from verified institutional sources.
This finding has been cross-referenced with two independent fact-checking organisations. No credible evidence supporting the claim was identified during the review period.
If new evidence surfaces, this report gets updated. Every change is logged. We're building toward cryptographic version control, so every update will be permanently auditable. Until then, changes are documented manually and dated.
Original Publication Date
Last Edited
Version Number
v1.2
Correction Log
v1.0 - Initial publication (2026-02-28)
v1.1 - Updated source link in Section 3; corrected archive timestamp (2026-03-01)
v1.2 - Added Legal Context section following DSA notification (2026-03-02)
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