FALSE: Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier says vaccinated people will die within 2 years

At a glance

• Claim: Vaccinated people will die within two years, according to Nobel laureate and French virologist Luc Montagnier. 
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: There is no evidence that Montagnier said this.
• Why we fact-checked this: This claim was flagged by Facebook Claim Check, the platform’s tool for monitoring dubious content. It was also emailed to Rappler for verification.

Complete details

Quote cards – images accompanied by a quote – circulating on Facebook falsely claim that Nobel laureate and French virologist Luc Montagnier said all vaccinated people would die within two years.

“Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier has confirmed that there is no chance of survival for people who have received any form of the vaccine. In the shocking interview, the world’s leading virologist stated bluntly: ‘There is no hope and no possible treatment for those who have already been vaccinated. We must be prepared to cremate the bodies.’ The scientific genius backed up the claims of other eminent virologists after studying the ingredients of the vaccine. ‘They will all die from antibody-dependent enhancement. That is all that can be said,’” the image read.

This claim was flagged by Facebook Claim Check, the platform’s tool for monitoring dubious content. It was also emailed to Rappler for verification.

This claim is false.

The circulating graphic contains a photo of Montagnier with the logo of RAIR Foundation USA. On May 18, 2021, it published an article entitled “Bombshell: Nobel Prize Winner Reveals – Covid Vaccine is ‘Creating Variants.’”

RAIR Foundation USA cited Montagnier’s comments from an interview with Pierre Barnérias of Hold-Up Media. In the clip they shared, Montagnier claimed that COVID-19 vaccines were creating variants. This claim has since been debunked by fact-checking organizations.

In the same clip, Montagnier mentioned antibody-dependent enhancement, saying the antibodies produced by the virus enabled an infection to become stronger.

But on May 25, 2021, RAIR Foundation USA released an alert that Montagnier did not say the vaccine would kill people in two years. 

Rappler also did not find any reports that prove he said this.

Multiple fact-checking organizations, including Politifact and Full Fact, have also debunked this claim, saying there is no evidence Montagnier made this statement.

In a Facebook post on May 26, the Department of Health (DOH) addressed the claim that death would occur two years after vaccination, labeling it “fake news.” The agency said the vaccine would not weaken your immune system or resistance. 

The DOH added that one would have complete protection against COVID-19 two weeks after one completes the vaccine doses. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.