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FACT BRIEF

Is the Aboriginal population in Australia's Northern Territory being forcibly vaccinated against COVID-19?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

Experts told Lead Stories that COVID-19 vaccination in Aboriginal populations is not compulsory, and the Australian Defence Force called the claim that it was involved in forced vaccinations "emphatically false."

The claims made in an online video clip have been discredited by Australian officials and Aboriginal leaders alike.

In an email to Lead Stories on Nov. 26, 2021, a spokesperson for the National Indigenous Australians Agency said:

"Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary — as are all vaccinations in Australia — and people maintain the option to choose. There are some work settings that require a vaccination, but this does not constitute a forced vaccination."

Michael Gunner, chief minister of the Northern Territory, said at a news conference on Nov. 25, 2021, that claims of forced vaccinations are a "huge amount of misinformation" that leads to "dangerous" lies by anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Department of Defence (Australia) False claims regarding forced vaccinations
ABC (Australia) Chief Minister criticises 'misinformation spreading online' about NT COVID-19 outbreak
National Indigenous Australians Agency National Indigenous Australians Agency
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.