Vaccine disinformation: From Russia with love

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This week:  What to know about vaccine safety … Keystone and gas prices … Biden distorts Trump's vaccine record … Pence wrong on voting bill … Who gets a stimulus payment? … Fact-checking the Prince Archie controversy A weekly note from the editor-in-chief of    (AP) Fact-checking vaccine claims in alleged disinformation campaign by Russian intelligence Russian intelligence services have used online publications to spread disinformation that undermines public confidence in Western COVID-19 vaccines, according to the U.S. State Department. The Wall Street Journal reported that four online platforms have served as fronts for Russian intelligence groups. These sites have all frequently published misleading articles that exaggerate the safety risks of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and downplay their efficacy.  A State Department spokesperson confirmed to PolitiFact that it has identified publications directed by Russian intelligence services: News Front, New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review. The sites have frequently spread disinformation about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines   Why would Russia want to denigrate Western vaccines? It's unclear, but one theory is that the Russian government sees them as a threat to the Sputnik V vaccine, which was developed in Russia and began rolling out there in December 2020. Many smaller countries around the world will be comparing vaccines as they decide what to buy for their own populations.  On Mar. 8, the Biden administration acknowledged the Wall Street Journal report and announced that it was attempting to combat Russian disinformation about the vaccines.  "We will fight, with every tool we have, disinformation … and we will reiterate that at every opportunity these vaccines are safe," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a Mar. 8 press briefing. Many of the claims pushed by these state-backed news outlets resemble those we have debunked in the past. Here are claims pushed by the online publications cited by the State Department and the Wall Street Journal, fact-checked:  Claim: There is a "causal connection" between vaccines and the death of recipients. Mostly False. Although some people have died after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, that doesn't prove that the vaccines caused those deaths. To establish causation, experts look beyond isolated data points to studies of large groups of people to see if a negative symptom or event is more prominent in vaccinated people than in non-vaccinated ones.  The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been subjected to these types of studies for months and have been proven safe and effective in tens of thousands of people. Claim: "The (Pfizer) vaccine is being rushed through to eventual approval in an alarmingly short time." Mostly False. Although the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time, there are several reasons for that, including the fact that scientists had previously worked on vaccines for similar coronaviruses, and funding agencies poured billions of dollars into COVID-19 vaccine research. Both vaccines received emergency-use authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The standard of scientific proof for emergency-use authorization is different from an ordinary FDA approval. For emergency authorization, "the totality of scientific evidence" must make it "reasonable to believe that the product may be effective." For official approval, vaccines must demonstrate "substantial evidence" of efficacy and proof of safety. But vaccines that are granted an emergency-use authorization still go through a rigorous review process, including all phases of clinical trials. Claim: "The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines cause Bell's palsy." This is unproven. During clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine, four people out of 22,000 in the vaccinated group developed Bell's palsy, about 0.02% of participants.  This is consistent with the expected rate in the general population, and it's not a strong enough correlation to prove any causal connection between the vaccine and the condition.  Claim: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are "explicitly experimental" and "untested." This is False. The first two coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna use new technology, called messenger RNA, to combat the disease. But that does not mean that safety protocols were bypassed or that researchers didn't do enough testing. For example, the Pfizer vaccine was studied in clinical trials involving about 44,000 people, with half receiving the vaccine, and the other half receiving a placebo. It's also misleading to call the vaccines "experimental." The research behind the new vaccine technology has been underway for some time.  — Noah Y. Kim Share Tweet Forward The Latest from PolitiFact No, Keystone order is not driving up gas prices. A social media post claimed President Joe Biden's order stopping the Keystone XL pipeline "made oil more expensive for us to use." We rated this Mostly False. We found no evidence to support the claim that Biden's order has made oil more expensive for consumers. Spot market prices for benchmark products fell slightly in the days after the order. As for the future impact, t most of the experts we spoke with said they didn't expect the higher transport to affect U.S. buyers, since the Canadian oil was mostly destined for export, and producers would face competitive pressure to absorb the added transport costs rather than passing them along.  Pence wrong on voting and immigration. Former vice president Mike Pence said H.R. 1 would mean "that millions of illegal immigrants are quickly registered to vote." We rated that False. The bill does not permit voting by noncitizens in U.S. elections, whether they're in the country legally or not. Pence was referring to a provision that would require automatic voter registration for people using services at government agencies. But that section says government agencies would pass along a person's information for voter registration only if they are citizens. People would still be attesting that they are eligible to vote, with penalties for lying, and it would still be up to election officials to verify eligibility. Biden wrong on Trump vaccine record. Biden said the Trump administration "had contracted for not nearly enough vaccine to cover adults in America." We rated that Mostly False. While Trump was still in office, his administration had agreements to buy enough to inoculate about 200 million people, which is less than the U.S. adult population. But Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed contracts included future vaccine doses that, once cleared for use by the FDA, could inoculate about 550 million people — more than double the U.S. adult population.  Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help   Yes, I support PolitiFact! Make a tax-deductible donation to make this message go away. Help shape our future fact-checking! We value what you have to say, so we're conducting a major reader survey to hear from you on a large-scale basis. Your answers here will help us understand how we are meeting your information needs today and how we can improve in the future. We're asking about your thoughts on newsletters like this one, and which topics in the news you'd like to hear about. I know it's easy to get survey fatigue. But you'd be doing me a personal favor if you took a few minutes for this one: Take PolitiFact's reader survey now >>  Ask PolitiFact: Who's eligible for a stimulus check under the American Rescue Plan? With Congress approving a $1.9 trillion package to help Americans recover from the coronavirus pandemic, many are left wondering if they will get a stimulus check, and if so, when and how much. Based on the timing of previous stimulus checks, it's estimated that the IRS will begin issuing funds within days of the law's enactment. Taxpayers will get their payment through a direct deposit to their bank account, a mailed check, or prepaid debit card. Whether you are eligible for a direct payment, and how much, depends on the adjusted gross income you reported in the latest tax return you filed, either for 2019 or 2020. (Adjusted gross income is annual gross income minus certain deductions such as contributions to retirement accounts, alimony paid and educator expenses.) Single tax return filers whose adjusted gross income was up to $75,000 are eligible for the full $1,400. A head of household whose adjusted gross income was up to $112,500 also gets the full amount. A couple who filed joint tax returns and had an adjusted gross income of up to $150,000 would get $2,800. Taxpayers who meet those income criteria also get $1,400 per eligible dependent (including older children and adult dependents). People who earned slightly more than the income caps still get a payment for themselves and their dependents, but not the full $1,400 per person. Single tax filers whose adjusted gross income was $80,000 or more, heads of household who earned $120,000 or more, and joint filers who earned $160,000 or more don't get anything. The Congressional Research Service says that the proposal gives the IRS broad authority to issue payments, based on information available to the Treasury, to eligible people who did not file tax returns for 2019 or 2020. The payments are not taxable. They also do not count as income when determining eligibility for or the amount of assistance provided by any federally funded public benefit program. — Miriam Valverde Quick links to more fact-checks & reports  Why is Archie not a prince? Fact-checking prince protocol after Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview   The facts on what the Catholic Church has said about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine   What's in the COVID bill for health insurance and the ACA?   Joe Biden wasn't involved in the Dr. Seuss or Mr. Potato Head changes   Would a 'talking filibuster' get the Senate moving? Do you smell smoke?  Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week:  No, Oprah Winfrey was not wearing an ankle monitor during her Meghan and Harry interview. It was a fold in the leather of her stylish boot. See what else we've rated Pants on Fire this week.  Have questions or ideas for our coverage? Send me an email at holan@politifact.com. Put "Fact-checking" in the subject line. Thanks for reading! Angie Drobnic Holan  PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief  Send this link to your friends so they can sign up for this email! Copyright © 2021 PolitiFact, All rights reserved. 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