The City of Toronto deleted a tweet and video on Tuesday containing an advertisement for COVID-19 vaccines for infants and young children between the ages of six months and 12 years.
Andrew Lawton, a journalist with True North, shared the deleted video – which is part of a series of similarly themed video advertisements – on his Twitter profile.
The advertisements frame the COVID-19 vaccines as liberating mechanisms allowing children to live freely and join their friends and peers.
One advertisement features a child actress asking her mother, “Hey, mom, can I go outside and play with my friends?”
The actress portraying the child’s mother responds, “No, honey. There’s still something going around.”
The girl then despondently looks out a window as her friends play together. A message displayed on the commercial reads “Kids should be out there. Not in here.”
Here’s the manipulative ad pushing vaccination on children that the City of Toronto published then deleted today. pic.twitter.com/GbpcDYFgkZ
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) September 20, 2022
This video isn’t a one-off. It’s part of a multi-part campaign. In this video, the City of Toronto suggests you should keep family members from your infant unless the infant is vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/jTvCXIWqws
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) September 20, 2022
In this edition of the City of Toronto’s child vaccination campaign, you have to vaccinate your child so they can leave your house for school while you work from home. pic.twitter.com/50xU6tXxmR
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) September 20, 2022
In this video, the City of Toronto tells you that unvaccinated children – not government lockdowns – are responsible for having to learn outside the classroom. pic.twitter.com/dVTeGOdhPV
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) September 20, 2022
In this ad, the City of Toronto concedes human connection is better than virtual connections – but of course this is only to tell you that you can get your kids vaccinated from six months of age onward. pic.twitter.com/q97nBCE98w
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) September 20, 2022
The City of Toronto says the campaign “was intended to highlight the negative impact (the pandemic) has had on children and drive home the benefits of vaccine.” https://t.co/FMJyCpMJRU
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) September 20, 2022
The City of Toronto’s official Twitter profile shared the following message, “The City removed a tweet and video from earlier today. We always strive to ensure clear understanding, especially about vaccinations, and will work to ensure greater clarity in the future.”
The City removed a tweet and video from earlier today. We always strive to ensure clear understanding, especially about vaccinations, and will work to ensure greater clarity in the future.
— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) September 20, 2022
Lawton reported, “After the video was widely panned on Twitter for implying unvaccinated children should be kept away from their friends, the City of Toronto deleted a tweet with the video and published a retraction, though not an apology.”
When asked for comment on the video’s deletion, City of Toronto spokesperson Brad Ross wrote:
The pandemic has negatively impacted children in many different ways. The video created was intended to highlight the negative impact it has had on children and drive home the benefits of vaccine, as vaccination remains the most effective way to protect our children, families, communities and ourselves against the serious effects of COVID-19.
Ross added that the video was removed “to better address the core message of children being eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”
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