WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Canada's top public health official has warned about deadly COVID vaccine side effects.
OUR VERDICT
False. The video shared on social media is a fake.
AAP FACTCHECK - A video claiming to show Canada's chief public health officer sounding the alarm about dangerous COVID-19 vaccine side effects is a deepfake.
The video has been shared on Instagram and other social media, but the Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed it's fake.
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam has been Canada's health tsar since 2017.
At the height of the pandemic, in March 2021, Dr Tam gave a live interview to Canada's CBC News on COVID variants and the efficacy of the vaccines.
The interview was conducted online.
Wearing a bright pink jacket over a black top, Dr Tam sat with her back to a piano abutting a wall with a distinctive piece of art.
That interview appears to have been the basis for the deepfake in the viral post, with telltale signs including Dr Tam's position on the screen and even the fall of her hair (note the looping kink to the left of her right cheek).
There are key differences between the two pieces of footage, however.
The official interview is hosted by brunette CBC anchor Rosemary Barton, with the CBC News logo visible at the bottom right of the screen.
The deepfake is introduced by an unnamed blonde presenter, with no network logo visible.
Along the bottom of the screen on the fake video, a scrolling news ticker shows multiple non-English headlines.
Deakin University research fellow Dr Vivian Gerrand told AAP FactCheck the ticker headlines are in Italian and variously claim the COVID vaccine will cause death.
Audibly, while the fake Dr Tam's voice sounds similar to the official interview, the tone is deadpan and unnatural, which is often the case in AI-generated deepfakes.
Additionally, what the fake Dr Tam says is completely inconsistent with the real doctor's position on vaccine efficacy.
For example, in the genuine interview (timestamp five minutes 30 seconds) Dr Tam says: "What is the fundamental fact about these vaccine is that they are all very effective when it comes to preventing serious outcomes such as hospitalisation, such as, you know, really serious illness and maybe death."
In the deepfake Instagram video (01:03), Dr Tam apparently claims rubber-like clots resembling long white worms have been found in the bodies of vaccinated people.
Almost all of the people, she appears to say, died of heart attacks, strokes or sudden cardiac arrest, and resilient, dense fibres emerged from their arteries during autopsies.
In longer versions of the deepfake, posted on YouTube and elsewhere on social media, she appears to reference a "solution", a product that can supposedly clean the veins of the "consequences of vaccination".
Deepfake Dr Tan states it's a "unique preparation based on a formula that completely dissolves all types of clots", supposedly by penetrating the vessels and making them stronger, cleaner and more flexible.
The Public Health Agency of Canada told AAP FactCheck the video was fake and contained false and misleading information, and should be identified as disinformation.
"Misinformation and disinformation (MIDI) can harm people's health and wellbeing, sometimes with serious consequences," a spokesman said.
"Evidence shows that MIDI has increased vaccine hesitancy, the unsafe use of health products, and disregard for public health guidance, which can lead to preventable illness and death."
The agency provides advice on how to spot mis- and disinformation: "If you see a video, article, social media post or other communication you think might be fake, please don't share it.
"Use the 'report a post' option available on most social media platforms."
Dr Tam has previously been the target of misinformation, including that she is transgender, which has been debunked by Reuters Fact Check.
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