FACT CHECK | Video of Russian hacker who hacked ’vaccine database’ is false and four years old

A video is circulating on Estonian social media of an alleged Russian hacker who allegedly broke into a „vaccine database“ and viewed people’s location data in real time. This is false information. This video is not new, but has been circulating for years.On March 16, Facebook user Ailien Veed posted a four-minute video showing a computer screen and the text in English: „Russian hacker finds vaccine data base real time information.“ Allegedly, it is some kind of database for the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V.The video also contains the text: „It shows people’s info like vital signs, exact GPS coordinates, whether they are sleeping or awake, all uploaded in real time. People who have been vaccinated are literally being tracking in real time by Al and 5G systems. They are walking transmitters all data is being recorded in real time. It also shows firmware data“.In the video, the alleged hacker says in Russian that he has access to a database where it is possible to see information about microchips injected into vaccinated people transmitted via a 5G mobile network. „We know that our government is doing mass vaccinations and not everything is as it is presented to us,“ the man says. The video has subtitles in both English and Estonian.The video is at least four years old. The easiest way to check the spread of visual content is with Google Lens, which shows that the video with the exact same design has been circulating for years.According to Facebook, the Estonian-language video has been shared at least 101 times.Facts A video purporting to show a Russian hacker using a „vaccine database“ is at least four years old.There is no evidence whatsoever that coronavirus vaccines contain microchips or transmit data over cellular networks.There is nothing in the ingredient lists of coronavirus vaccines that would allow for tracking of vaccinated individuals.Faktikontroll and other international publications have repeatedly debunked various conspiracy theories about this claim over the past five years. There are no 5G microchips in the coronavirus vaccines.There is no evidence whatsoever that COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips. It is also not physically possible. Microchips are too large for the syringes used for vaccinations and other immunizations.The SpikeVax (formerly Moderna), Pfizer, Jcovden (formerly Janssen), AstraZeneca, and Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines do not contain anything that could be remotely tracked or connected to a mobile network.There have been no reports from reliable sources about the alleged database being leaked or hacked. There is no evidence in the specific video of the alleged database being authentic. In fact, there is not much to see on the screen in the video that could mean anything in this context.Verdict: False. The claims made in the video about the hacking of the „vaccine database“ and the real-time tracking of vaccinated people are baseless and based on conspiracy theories. There is no evidence whatsoever that the coronavirus vaccines contain microchips or transmit data over the mobile network.