A post shared on Instagram claims singer Justin Bieber said he regrets taking the COVID-19 vaccine, alleging it left him with permanent facial paralysis.

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A post shared by Jesse Gilliam (@wakeywakeysleepyheads)

Verdict: False

There is no evidence Bieber made such a comment. The claim stems from a satirical website.

Fact Check:

The Instagram post shows a screen grab of what appears to be a news article reporting that Bieber said the COVID-19 vaccine “ruined his life” by causing permanent paralysis in his face. The article appears to cite the Daily Mail as a source and further claims that the artist is planning to sue Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that produced the COVID-19 vaccine that allegedly injured him.

“A simple google search verifies this information is true, so it’s obvious Instagram uses ‘false information’ warnings to keep people from information that harms their narrative,” the post’s caption reads.

The article is not genuine. The screen grab is from an article by the Vancouver Times, which self-identifies as a satirical publication. “We write satirical stories about issues that affect conservatives,” reads the site’s “Details” page.

There are no credible news reports to suggest that Bieber truly made such a statement. Bieber has not mentioned experiencing side effects from the vaccine on his verified social media accounts. (RELATED: Viral Post Claims Justin Bieber Said ‘Hollywood Elites’ Killed His Unborn Child)

The Daily Mail article linked in the story leads to a report about Bieber’s struggles with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare condition that recently left his face partially paralyzed. The article does not mention Bieber’s alleged regret about taking the COVID-19 vaccine nor does it establish any connection between the vaccine and his facial paralysis.

This is not the first time cases of facial paralysis have been falsely linked to the COVID-19 vaccines. Check Your Fact debunked a viral image in January 2022 that allegedly showed a poster from the U.K.’s National Health Service warning citizens of COVID-19 vaccines causing Bell’s Palsy.