FACT CHECK: Viral Image Claims To Show A New Zealand Billboard About Booking A ‘Christmas Booster’ For ‘Six Months Worth Of Freedoms’

Mecca FowlerDecember 8, 2021

An image shared on Twitter purportedly shows a billboard from New Zealand’s Labour Party telling people to “book your Christmas booster” in order to get “up to six months worth of freedoms.”

Soon in Europe: your freedom dependent on a government booster jab every 6 months pic.twitter.com/jE1gu2QxOj

— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) December 7, 2021

“Soon in Europe: your freedom dependent on a government booster jab every 6 months,” the Twitter user remarked.

Verdict: False

The billboard has been digitally altered to include the message about Christmas boosters.

Fact Check:

The alleged billboard includes a photo of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the Labour Party’s logo and the phrase “No Jab No Job, no refunds.” At the bottom of the purported billboard, small text states, “Freedoms not available in all areas and are subject to change.”

While users on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been sharing the picture of the supposed billboard as if it is genuine, the sign has been digitally altered to show the message about Christmas COVID-19 vaccine boosters and freedom. The text on the actual billboard said, “Let’s keep moving,” a slogan the Labour Party used in campaigns for the country’s 2020 general election.

The original photo is available on Shutterstock, where the description reads, “Auckland, New Zealand August 8, 2020 : New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern political campaign sign.” (RELATED: Does This Video Show New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Smoking?)

Roughly 80 percent of New Zealand’s population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and about 75 percent of the country’s population is fully vaccinated, according to The New York Times. The New Zealand Ministry of Health website states that people over the age of 18 are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine boosters six months after their “primary vaccination course.”