Don’t Buy a Mask or Vaccine ‘Exemption Card’ From Facebook

They’re bogus, for starters

Sarah Emerson
OneZero

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Torn medical mask.
Photo: Mikhail Dmitriev/Getty Images

A scam involving the sale of bogus “exemption cards” for people who don’t want to wear masks or get the Covid-19 vaccine is still being blatantly promoted on Facebook and Twitter, despite promises from both companies to curb health misinformation.

Advertisements for exemption cards claiming “Medical Mask Exemption” and statements such as, “Under the law of informed consent I refuse any and all vaccinations,” were identified across social networks by Media Matters, a left-leaning media watchdog group and nonprofit organization. According to Media Matters researchers Kayla Gogarty and Kellie Levine, “Links to buy these ‘vaccination exemption’ cards have been posted on multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram.”

The New York Times reported on the existence of mask exemption cards last June when they first began appearing. That batch of cards featured emblems for the Justice Department and a fraudulent government agency called the “Freedom to Breathe Agency.” According to the Times, “such cards and fliers were not issued or endorsed by the Justice Department, federal officials said.” CNN discovered that the Freedom to Breathe Agency was actually a Facebook page of more than 5,500 members that aimed to stop…

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Sarah Emerson
OneZero

Staff writer at OneZero covering social platforms, internet communities, and the spread of misinformation online. Previously: VICE