A post shared on X claims the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) believes the mpox virus, or “monkeypox,” is fictional.

Newly unsealed documents have revealed an explosive confession from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the so-called “monkeypox virus.”
The documents were obtained by investigative reporter Christine Massey from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.… pic.twitter.com/5wW1mBoAsK

— “Sudden And Unexpected” (@toobaffled) August 25, 2024

Verdict: False

The document cited in the article does not make this claim. The FDA has a webpage dedicated to facts around mpox while the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded cases of the virus as far back as the 1970s.

Fact Check:

India has reported its first cade of the clade 1b strain of mpox, the same strain that prompted the WHO to declare a global health emergency, according to Al Arabiya. Approximately 30,000 cases have suspected to have taken place this year in Africa alone, Reuters reported.

An article published Aug. 24 via Slay News titled “FDA Admits There’s ‘Zero Scientific Evidence’ That ‘Monkeypox Virus’ Exists” presents comments from the FDA as admitting that the mpox virus does not exist. The piece was based on documents gathered by Christine Massey, who researches viruses and shares her findings via Substack.

Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Massey stated that the agency does not have any “responsive records” showing scientific evidence of mpox. Massey was seeking verifiable proof that the disease existed, including descriptions of the “purification of particles” from the virus and evidence of a virus genome and contagion factors.

The claim mpox does not exist is incorrect. The first instance of the virus was discovered in Denmark in the 1950s in monkeys, before the first strain in humans was detected in 1970, the WHO states. A chart from the IRIS database shows that numerous instances were detected before the most recent outbreak.

The FDA has a full webpage discussing what mpox is and how it is transmitted. (RELATED: FACT CHECK: Facebook Post Claims Bill Gates Is Inserting HIV Into Mpox Vaccine)

The agency told Check Your Fact in an email that the Slay News article “inappropriately characterized” the FDA’s “response to the FOIA request.” According to the statement, Massey’s inquiry “sought specific documents for which there were no responsive records.”

The agency added that, contrary to claims in the debunked article, mpox is “a well-documented virus with known health consequences” and emphasized that the FDA is “committed to helping address misinformation in public health.”

Speaking to Reuters, which also debunked the claim, Massey clarified that she had not stated the FDA denied the existence of the virus, rather that it showed there was no “valid scientific evidence” it existed.

Public interest surrounding mpox and its risks mounted when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a public health crisis on August 14, days before Massey received a response from the FDA.