FACT CHECK: Did CBC Publish This Article About Health Canada Recommending ‘Vaccinated Trick Or Treat Groups?’

A post shared on Facebook allegedly shows a screenshot of a CBC article claiming that Health Canada recommended families create “vaccinated trick or treat groups” for Halloween.

Verdict: False

This article is digitally fabricated. A CBC spokesperson confirmed the outlet did not publish this article.

 Fact Check:

Canada recently approved the Pfizer Inc booster vaccines that “target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants,” according to Reuters. This comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised citizens to get their COVID-119 and flu shots to avoid a surge in cases and possibly other health measures during the winter, CBC reported.

The Facebook post appears to show an article from CBC News claiming that Health Canada advised creating “vaccinated trick or treat groups” for Halloween. “Health Canada recommends vaccinated ‘trick or treat groups’ this Halloween,” the alleged headline reads.

Beneath this, the subheading reads, “Health Canada is advising parents to check the vaccination status of their children’s trick or treat friends to ensure their safety.”

The screenshot is photoshopped. The article cannot be found through a search of the CBC News website or any of its verified social media accounts. Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports from CBC or other outlets to corroborate the screenshot’s claims. 

“We can confirm that CBC did not publish this article,” a CBC spokesperson told Check Your Fact. “We are aware of a number of recently posted images of fake stories attributed to CBC News and are working with Social Media providers to flag and remove these false and inflammatory manipulated images.” 

Check Your Fact could not find any such statement about “vaccinated trick or treat groups” through a search of Health Canada’s website. (RELATED: Did CBC Publish An Article Claiming Liberals Proposed Fines For Making Eye Contact With Elected Officials?)

This is not the first time a false article has been attributed to CBC and passed as real on social media. Check Your Fact recently debunked an image suggesting the outlet published an article claiming the government proposed fines for those making eye contact with elected officials.