Did singer Justin Bieber say that the COVID-19 vaccine ruined his life? No, that's not true: A Daily Mail article that describes Bieber's bout with facial paralysis due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome doesn't mention any of Bieber's thoughts on COVID vaccines. A claim on a satirical blog falsely cites the Daily Mail article as the source of Bieber's purported anti-vaccine "confession."
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) titled "Justin Bieber: 'The vaccine ruined my life'" published by the Vancouver Times on June 11, 2022. The article opened:
Justin Bieber now admits that he regrets taking the Covid-19 vaccine, saying that it left him with permanent paralysis in his face. Bieber made the confession to a close friend, who later leaked the information to the Daily Mail. Bieber reportedly plans on suing Pfizer for causing his paralysis, despite the fact the company is shielded from liability.
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Justin Bieber: 'The vaccine ruined my life' - Vancouver Times
Justin Bieber now admits that he regrets taking the Covid-19 vaccine, saying that it left him with permanent paralysis in his face. Bieber made the confession to a close friend, who later leaked the information to the Daily Mail. Bieber reportedly plans on suing Pfizer for causing his paralysis, despite the fact the company is [...]
The Daily Mail article, published on June 10, 2022, is titled "'Please pray for me': Justin Bieber reveals he's been struck by facial paralysis from rare syndrome and shares fears as he struggles to eat after being forced to cancel tour dates." The article describes a video uploaded to Bieber's Instagram on June 10, 2022, in which the singer discussed struggling with facial paralysis caused by Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The syndrome is caused by a virus infection that reactivates and spreads to the facial nerves close to the ear. An announcement about Bieber's tour date postponements days before he confirmed having Ramsay Hunt syndrome assured the public that he was suffering from a "non-COVID related illness."
The Daily Mail article briefly mentions Bieber testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the year but doesn't link his experience with Ramsay Hunt syndrome to a COVID vaccine. Similarly, Bieber didn't mention his facial paralysis being a result of a COVID vaccine in the video he posted to Instagram.
The Vancouver Times article that made the false claim also mentioned health issues for Hailey Bieber, Justin's wife, who suffered a small blood clot in her brain on March 10, 2022. The article also tried to link Hailey's experience to a COVID vaccine.
However, in a video posted to her YouTube channel on April 27, 2022, she did not say that doctors found evidence that the blood clot was related to a COVID vaccine. Instead (starting at the 6:06 mark), she said doctors concluded her blood clot was from the combination of her taking birth control pills although she suffers from migraines, previously having had COVID-19 and getting on a long flight without getting up to move around. Later in the video at 8:03, she said doctors discovered that she also had a patent foramen ovale, a heart condition involving a hole in the heart that does not close naturally after birth.
Other Lead Stories fact checks related to Justin Bieber can be found here.
The Vancouver Times is a blog that is self-described as "satire." It says on its About Us page:
Vancouver Times is the most trusted source for satire on the West Coast. We write satirical stories about issues that affect conservatives.
There is even a section on the website titled "SATIRE" where the fabricated news stories are tagged. Lead Stories has debunked multiple stories by the Vancouver Times.
The Vancouver Times writes exaggerated tales about public officials. For example, the site claimed that Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi was arrested for possession of child porn (he wasn't): and that Disney CEO Bob Chapek was arrested for human trafficking (he wasn't).
The Vancouver Times website includes a disclaimer that they are a satire site and should not be confused with mainstream media.
(Image source: Vancouver Times screenshot taken on Fri Jun 3 15:01:44 2022 UTC)
