A prominent anti-vaccine advocate appears to have suggested that women can no longer get pregnant following the rollout of the COVID-19 shot.
In remarks on X, conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf questioned whether anyone had come across a pregnant woman in the last three years.
“Who has seen a heavily pregnant woman since 2021?” Wolf asked.
Wolf’s comment came in response to another user who appeared to believe that the world’s population was plummeting after noticing “less cars” on the road and fewer people “standing in line for morning coffee.”
The entire debate began thanks to “illuminatibot,” an X account known for regularly spreading disinformation. The user alleged that the media was covering up what could be a collapse of the global population.
While excess deaths could be explained by COVID being real—something numerous anti-vaxers and conspiracy theorists dispute—Wolf’s assertion was seen as credible by some, who similarly claimed that they noticed an apparent drop in pregnant women.
“I’ve seen my city turn into an androgynous, drug fueled dystopia,” one user replied. “I’ve seen people shooting up and pooping at the same time in the middle of 5th Ave and James. I’ve seen cross dressing explode. I haven’t seen a pregnant woman in public since 2020.”
But for the majority online, including many die-hard conspiracy theorists, the allegation was too far-fetched for them to believe.
Wolf’s response was soon flooded with everything from baby pictures to personal stories regarding pregnant women.
“I had three Covid jabs whilst I was pregnant and managed not to… become invisible???” another said. “What is she even implying here.”
Others simply mocked Wolf for making such an outrageous suggestion.
“Crazy how nobody in the world has had a baby in the last three years and only one person out of 7 billion has noticed,” one user sarcastically wrote.
X soon places a Community Note on her post, detailing just how inaccurate her assumption was.
The fact-check noted that over 250 million babies were born between 2022 and 2023, according to the UN. National statistics also listed the US as gaining 3.6 million births in 2023, while countries such as China saw 9 million.
While birth rates fell across some demographics globally in recent years, due to numerous factors including socioeconomic concerns, the claim that all pregnancies ceased is obviously nonsense.
Although grandiose, the claim from Wolf is just one of many ridiculous allegations made by anti-vaxxers. Since the vaccine became publicly available, for example, conspiracy theorists predicted that all vaccinated individuals would drop dead within two years.
