Claim of required vaccine check at pro-choice rallies started as satire | Fact check
The claim: Nationwide abortion rights protests on July 30 required vaccination status check
A July 30 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a screenshot of a social media post announcing supposed nationwide rallies in support of abortion rights.
“Official ‘My Body My Choice’ protests are scheduled for tonight all across the nation,” reads the start of the original post on X, formerly Twitter. “Find the nearest protest in your city! *Vaccination status check required for admission to the protest.”
Other versions of the claim spread widely on Instagram and X.
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Our rating: False
The original X post is from a satirical account that posted it in 2022. There is no evidence that mass rallies in support of abortion rights were held on July 30.
Original X post made days after overturn of Roe v. Wade
The screenshot on Instagram matches an X post made by @Thatmattersnews days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Its X bio says the account's content is satirical.
It’s an example of what could be called “stolen satire,” where posts written as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.
Additionally, there are no news reports or announcements from abortion rights organizations about nationwide protests on July 30.
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Paste BN has debunked an array of claims surrounding abortion protests, including false assertions that a man is facing up to 11 years in prison for praying at an abortion clinic, that a 75-year-old woman was imprisoned for praying outside an abortion clinic and that a photo shows a protest in Los Angeles in October 2021.
Paste BN reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Full Fact debunked a version of the claim when it circulated in 2022.
Our fact-check sources:
- ACLU, accessed Aug. 6, Abortion
- Center for Reproductive Rights, accessed Aug. 6, Latest News
- Planned Parenthood Action, accessed Aug. 6, Blog
- @Thatmattersnews, accessed Aug. 5, X account
- @Thatmattersnews, July 30, X post
- @Thatmattersnews, June 27, 2022, X post
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