A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week.

ClaimData from the U.K.’s public health agency confirms that those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 are anywhere from two times to six times more likely to die from the delta variant than the unvaccinated.

The factsPublic Health England’s report did not show evidence that those who are vaccinated are more susceptible to dying from the coronavirus delta variant. Rather, the data, which was published June 18, shows the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization from the variant. An Instagram post falsely claimed the health agency’s data showed vaccinated people were twice as likely to die from the delta variant than unvaccinated people. Another falsely claimed vaccinated people were “six times more likely to die from a circulating ‘variant’ like ‘Delta’ than are unvaccinated people.”

ClaimNo virus has ever mutated to become more lethal. As viruses mutate, they become less lethal.

The factsAs the spread of coronavirus variants raise new public health questions, social media users are sharing misinformation about how viruses mutate. A post on Facebook reads, “In the history of virology, there has never, EVER, been a viral mutation that resulted in a virus that was MORE lethal. As viruses mutate, they become more contagious/transmissible and LESS lethal.”But, in fact, there have been cases of viruses that mutated to become more deadly.“That claim as a whole is just nonsense,” said Troy Day, a professor of mathematics and biology at Queen’s University in Canada, who has studied the ways infectious diseases, including coronavirus, can evolve.Some examples of viruses that became more deadly over time include those that developed drug-resistant variants, and animal viruses such as bird flu, which were harmless to humans initially but then mutated to become capable of killing people, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security.

ClaimInformation in a confidential memo from a professor at Imperial College London shows that pharmaceutical companies are being told to stop manufacturing medicine for colds, flu and hay fever, and, as of July, pharmacists will not be allowed to sell them.

The factsThe memo, which has a subject line: “Next Steps – Permanent Lockdown of the UK (Private & Confidential),” was fabricated, according to officials at Imperial College London. Pharmaceutical companies were not asked to stop making such medications, nor will sales be halted. The memo falsely claims that global leaders are behind a conspiracy to use COVID-19 and vaccines to manipulate their citizenry. Social media users shared parts of the fake memo online.

ClaimA letter from Alabama Power, an electric utility company, states the company has taken samples from Lewis Smith Lake and found dangerous levels of “flesh-eating bacteria.” Because of this, Alabama Power has encouraged visitors to the lake not to enter the water.

The factsThe letter is not authentic, and Alabama Power has not issued any such advisory. An image circulated on Facebook last week showing the fake letter that purported to be from the utility company.“Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria) has significantly increased at Lewis Smith Lake,” the letter read. “We here at Alabama Power Company have asked that all boaters and swimmers stay out of the water for their own safety.”In an email statement sent to The Associated Press, Alabama Power spokesperson Danielle Kimbrough denied the authenticity of the letter.“A prank Facebook post warning residents to stay out of Smith Lake this summer is fake,” Kimbrough said. “Smith Lake and the rest of our company’s lakes around Alabama are open as normal. We encourage visitors to observe the usual safety guidelines.”