Politico Issues Correction After False Claim Clarence Thomas Promoted Aborted Fetus Theory For Covid Vaccine

Politico issued a correction after critics called out the media for misattributing a COVID vaccine theory to Justice Clarence Thomas. On Thursday, the Supreme Court announced that he will not hear a case challenging New York’s vaccination mandate. In 2021, a group of anonymous health care workers filed a lawsuit against the state claiming that getting the vaccine would violate their religious beliefs. Thomas, along with Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, issued a dissenting opinion that criticized the decision for ignoring religious exemptions. Media Implies CLARENS THOMAS SUPPORTS ‘CLEANED’ COVID-19 VACCINE THEORY RELATING TO ABORTED FETAL TISSUE Thomas included a description of health care workers’ belief that some COVID vaccines were developed using discarded fetal cells. “The petitioners are 16 health care workers who served New York communities of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are religiously opposed to all available COVID-19 vaccines because they were developed using cell lines derived from aborted children,” Thomas wrote. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photo of justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. (Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images) (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images) However, Politico, among other outlets, falsely attributed the theory to Thomas rather than health workers, with the headline “Clarence Thomas Suggests Covid Vaccines Are Developed Using ‘Child Abortion’ Cells”. “Clarence Thomas argued in a dissenting opinion that Covid vaccines come from cells from ‘abandoned children,’” Politico wrote in the now-deleted tweet. “No US Covid vaccine contains cells from aborted fetuses.” REX CHAPMAN SUGGESTS CLARENCE THOMAS IS A ‘BLACK AND WHITE SUPERINTENDENT’ On Friday, Politico issued a correction that read: “An earlier version of this report incorrectly attributed the claim that Covid-19 vaccines were ‘developed using cell lines derived from aborted children’ to Thomas. The headline and article have informed to immediately state that Thomas was referring to the allegations of the petitioners.” The headline was also changed to: “Clarence Thomas cites claim that Covid vaccines were ‘developed using cell lines derived from aborted children’.” FILE – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivers a keynote address during the dedication of Georgia’s new Nathan Deal Judicial Center in Atlanta, Feb. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/John Amis, File) In addition to Politico, outlets such as Axios and NBC News have similarly featured Thomas as a supporter of the theory. Axios had the headline, “Clarence Thomas Suggests COVID Vaccines Are Made With Cells From ‘Aborted Children.’” at the bottom of the article it said, “The headline and the lead for this story have been updated to note that the Thomas referred to cells of ‘discarded children’ in his dissent.” The Axios report acknowledges, however, that some vaccines use fetal cells in research. WHOOPIE GOLDBERG WARNS CLARENCE THOMAS FOLLOWING ROE V. WADE REVERSE: YOU COULD BE A ‘QUARTER OF THE MAN’ Meanwhile, MSNBC and NBC News insisted the claim was “merited,” with MSNBC’s Steve Benen adding that Thomas’ statement further “tarnishes” the court. “The Supreme Court’s credibility is already suffering. The more justices publish factual errors, the more the court’s reputation is tarnished,” Benen wrote in an article titled “Clarence Thomas Makes Discredited Claims About Covid Vaccines.” Benen called Thomas’ quote “unnecessarily inflammatory” and said, “it’s also not true.” A person holds a sign during a protest against the anti-vaccination mandate over the possible firing of New York City employees due to their vaccination status, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) The NBC headline read: “Justice Thomas cites debunked claim that Covid vaccines are made with cells from ‘aborted children’” and even wrote that “Justice Clarence Thomas expressed his support Thursday for a debunked claim that all vaccines Covids are made with cells from “aborted children”, before later admitting that Thomas “cited the plaintiffs”. The NBC report also explained that fetal cell lines were used in vaccine trials. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Pfizer and Moderna used fetal cell lines early in their Covid vaccine development to test the effectiveness of their formulations, as they have done other vaccines in the past. The fetal tissue used in these procedures came from elective abortions done decades ago. But the cells have since replicated many times, so none of the original tissue is involved in making modern vaccines,” NBC reported. NBC News later removed its headline but did not provide an editor’s note. NBC News did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Lindsay Kornick of Fox News contributed to this report. Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

title: “Politico Issues Correction After False Claim Clarence Thomas Promoted Aborted Fetus Theory For Covid Vaccine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-03” author: “Kelley Hawkins”

Politico issued a correction after critics called out the media for misattributing a COVID vaccine theory to Justice Clarence Thomas. On Thursday, the Supreme Court announced that he will not hear a case challenging New York’s vaccination mandate. In 2021, a group of anonymous health care workers filed a lawsuit against the state claiming that getting the vaccine would violate their religious beliefs. Thomas, along with Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, issued a dissenting opinion that criticized the decision for ignoring religious exemptions. Media Implies CLARENS THOMAS SUPPORTS ‘CLEANED’ COVID-19 VACCINE THEORY RELATING TO ABORTED FETAL TISSUE Thomas included a description of health care workers’ belief that some COVID vaccines were developed using discarded fetal cells. “The petitioners are 16 health care workers who served New York communities of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are religiously opposed to all available COVID-19 vaccines because they were developed using cell lines derived from aborted children,” Thomas wrote. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photo of justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. (Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images) (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images) However, Politico, among other outlets, falsely attributed the theory to Thomas rather than health workers, with the headline “Clarence Thomas Suggests Covid Vaccines Are Developed Using ‘Child Abortion’ Cells”. “Clarence Thomas argued in a dissenting opinion that Covid vaccines come from cells from ‘abandoned children,’” Politico wrote in the now-deleted tweet. “No US Covid vaccine contains cells from aborted fetuses.” REX CHAPMAN SUGGESTS CLARENCE THOMAS IS A ‘BLACK AND WHITE SUPERINTENDENT’ On Friday, Politico issued a correction that read: “An earlier version of this report incorrectly attributed the claim that Covid-19 vaccines were ‘developed using cell lines derived from aborted children’ to Thomas. The headline and article have informed to immediately state that Thomas was referring to the allegations of the petitioners.” The headline was also changed to: “Clarence Thomas cites claim that Covid vaccines were ‘developed using cell lines derived from aborted children’.” FILE – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivers a keynote address during the dedication of Georgia’s new Nathan Deal Judicial Center in Atlanta, Feb. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/John Amis, File) In addition to Politico, outlets such as Axios and NBC News have similarly featured Thomas as a supporter of the theory. Axios had the headline, “Clarence Thomas Suggests COVID Vaccines Are Made With Cells From ‘Aborted Children.’” at the bottom of the article it said, “The headline and the lead for this story have been updated to note that the Thomas referred to cells of ‘discarded children’ in his dissent.” The Axios report acknowledges, however, that some vaccines use fetal cells in research. WHOOPIE GOLDBERG WARNS CLARENCE THOMAS FOLLOWING ROE V. WADE REVERSE: YOU COULD BE A ‘QUARTER OF THE MAN’ Meanwhile, MSNBC and NBC News insisted the claim was “merited,” with MSNBC’s Steve Benen adding that Thomas’ statement further “tarnishes” the court. “The Supreme Court’s credibility is already suffering. The more justices publish factual errors, the more the court’s reputation is tarnished,” Benen wrote in an article titled “Clarence Thomas Makes Discredited Claims About Covid Vaccines.” Benen called Thomas’ quote “unnecessarily inflammatory” and said, “it’s also not true.” A person holds a sign during a protest against the anti-vaccination mandate over the possible firing of New York City employees due to their vaccination status, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) The NBC headline read: “Justice Thomas cites debunked claim that Covid vaccines are made with cells from ‘aborted children’” and even wrote that “Justice Clarence Thomas expressed his support Thursday for a debunked claim that all vaccines Covids are made with cells from “aborted children”, before later admitting that Thomas “cited the plaintiffs”. The NBC report also explained that fetal cell lines were used in vaccine trials. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Pfizer and Moderna used fetal cell lines early in their Covid vaccine development to test the effectiveness of their formulations, as they have done other vaccines in the past. The fetal tissue used in these procedures came from elective abortions done decades ago. But the cells have since replicated many times, so none of the original tissue is involved in making modern vaccines,” NBC reported. NBC News later removed its headline but did not provide an editor’s note. NBC News did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Lindsay Kornick of Fox News contributed to this report. Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.