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Several U.S.-based social media accounts, including one known for promoting anti-vaccine falsehoods, have shared a recent interview between a known conspiracy theorist podcaster and a U.S. physician. The physician repeats multiple unfounded claims about polio that have been repeatedly debunked, including that it is caused by the pesticide DDT, that poliovirus itself is “mostly harmless,” and suggesting that increased sanitation, not vaccines, led to polio’s decline. Some posts garnered significant engagement, with one receiving 2,000 comments and another accumulating 25 million views. While some comments echoed anti-vaccine claims and warned people against vaccines more generally, several criticized the podcaster and his anti-vaccine, so-called “junk science” claims.

False claims about the origin of polio continue to spread online following a viral March 26 podcast interview. Some posts repeat the conspiracy theory that polio was created in a lab and spread in Africa, while others promote the debunked myth that polio was renamed, not eradicated. One post shared an image claiming without evidence that polio is actually DDT, lead, and arsenic poisoning; undiagnosed syphilis; hand, foot, and mouth disease; and a variety of other diseases.

Global news outlets and social media users debated the role of international aid following reports that the U.S. plans to terminate funding for GAVI. News articles warned that the cuts will threaten millions of lives and lead to preventable disease outbreaks. Several social media users proposed herbal remedies and “natural immunity” as an alternative to vaccines, while others alleged that vaccines harm children and target black people for depopulation.

A recent social media post announced a polio vaccine campaign for children up to 14 years old in Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In response, some commenters asked why older children needed polio vaccines. One post claimed polio vaccines kill children, and another called polio vaccination “a hoax.”

Online posts asked Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan to give their children polio drops. One comment called polio drops “evil” and warned Muslim parents to protect their children. Some posts called polio drops “useless” and a “disease.” Others said that other diseases are more important than polio.