Fans and viewers were frightened when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed in the middle of an NFL game on Jan. 2. Doctors say he’s doing well and hanging with his family and teammates, but that hasn’t stopped a lot of people from pushing theories about what caused this unexpected condition.

On Instagram, one person wrote: “Pfizer kills a Black man on live TV and then tells us that we’re not supposed to talk about it.”

But is it really true that the COVID-19 vaccine was the reason for Hamlin’s collapse? Here’s how we fact-checked it.

Look for evidence

First of all, Hamlin is alive — breathing, walking and talking. He even attended a Bills game three weeks after his collapse, sitting in a box and waving to fans.

Second, we still don’t know Hamlin’s vaccine status: It’s never been confirmed.

And third, experts say his collapse is most likely linked to a condition called commotio cordis. This is when a blow to the chest, delivered at exactly the right place at exactly the right time, can cause a dangerous heart arrhythmia or cardiac arrest.

Vaccine misinformation

Unfortunately, this type of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation has become widespread. Countless similar claims have been posted online that say the vaccine causes athletes to “drop dead on the field.”

One of the earliest claims was about soccer player Christian Eriksen, who collapsed on the field in 2021. Social media posts went viral saying his collapse was caused by the vaccine. But the theory was very quickly debunked since he wasn’t even vaccinated.

This situation sparked a lot of similar social media chatter. Vaccine misinformation also spread about Gilbert Kwemoi, a gold medalist runner, and Franck Berrier, a French soccer player. But all of these claims have been repeatedly investigated and repeatedly debunked.

“To date, I am not aware of a single COVID vaccine-related cardiac complication in professional sports,” Matthew Martinez, a sports cardiologist who works with the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLS told PolitiFact.

Whenever you come across frightening theories like these:

• Just pause. Certain posts on social media might stir up an emotional response, often because they’re exaggerated or false. So, do your best to assess the situation before reacting or reposting.
• Evaluate the scientific evidence around a topic — especially when you’re looking into the vaccine.
• Ask yourself three questions: Who is behind the information, what is the evidence, and what do other sources say? (Source: Stanford History Education Group)

In just this past year, more than 17,000 different COVID-19-related theories have spread online — many of which seem to quote scientific studies. So, when should you question the “expertise of experts?”

Debunking the Hamlin case

Take this post about Hamlin mentioned earlier, for example. When you see a jarring claim like this, ask yourself two questions.

First, does the writer have relevant expertise? In this case, Toby Rogers describes himself as a “revolutionary” and “political economist,” neither of which has anything to do with health care.

And second, what do the majority of scientists think about the claim? You can figure this out by doing “lateral reading.” That’s when you do a keyword search, open many different tabs and read laterally, finding reliable sources and comparing the scientific reasoning across them all.

Using lateral reading can help you avoid being trapped in an echo chamber. This is when social media algorithms promote similar content, sometimes misinformation, over and over again in your feed.

To figure out if you’ve been living in an echo chamber, ask yourself:

• Are the things you’re reading on your feed helping you better understand an issue, or are they just giving you a narrow perspective on an important topic?
• Are the posts you’re reading just confirming preexisting biases, or does the information give you different opinions and different points of view?

Rating

Not Legit. The COVID-19 vaccine did not cause Damar Hamlin’s collapse. More broadly, opinions on the negative effects of the vaccine often need context. In the future, remember to escape your echo chamber, evaluate diverse scientific sources and assess the reliability of your evidence.

NOTE TO TEACHERS: This article is featured in a free, one-hour lesson plan that teaches students how to fact-check and analyze scientific information. The lesson is available through PBS LearningMedia, and includes a lesson summary and a handout, among other resources.