On Jan. 7, the Italian virologist Roberto Burioni received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and posted a picture of the exciting moment on Facebook and Twitter. “It’s a miracle made by science,” the scientist and media personality commented, reassuring once more his more than 1 million followers on Facebook and Twitter about the safety of the vaccine. To mark the historic occasion, Burioni enabled the replies on his Twitter feed, something he had learned to avoid in order to cut off the throngs of anti-vaxxer trolls who have been pestering him for years.
Soon enough, a tedious refrain began. Some users claimed the picture was doctored and that the shirtless arm didn’t really belong to Burioni. Others noted that the needle was invisible; the syringe looked just too big or too small, suggesting its content was likely not a vaccine, but a regular injection. But filled with what? Only Q knows.
