HOUSTON — The Houston Health Department launched an investigation after social media posts falsely claimed more than 46,000 Houstonians recently tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases.
It only took 24 hours for a screenshot with a list of STDs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV) and corresponding numbers to get millions of views on X. Text added on top of the image reads “this is how many people were diagnosed with an STD in Houston last week. Y’all be careful in these streets.”
However, none of the claims in the post are true.
In a statement to the KHOU 11 Verify team, the Houston Health Department said “the post includes grossly overstated numbers and incorrect information.”
According to the officials, the data does not represent diagnoses -- it represents the number of tests done for certain STDs across the entire state of Texas last week. There’s no indication if the tests were positive or negative.
The Houston Health Department said a “violation of its policies” resulted in the screenshot of an internal “data system” being shared. The department said additional security measures were implemented to prevent future incidents, however, it would not confirm if an employee has been identified as the one who published the data.
“The department sincerely regrets any distress this may have caused and is committed to ensuring the privacy and security of its clients’ information,” the health department statement reads.
Jeffrey Campbell, the CEO of Allies in Hope, said he’s aware of the misinformation gaining traction online. His organization works to end the spread of HIV.
“I knew immediately that a lot of people would read it incorrectly and not understand it,” he said. “While I was shocked that people would believe that data, I’m glad there’s now an opportunity to address this.”
Campbell tells KHOU 11 he was disappointed to see that many of the comments related to the leaked data focused on HIV.
“There is so much stigma attached to HIV so it really bothers me to continue to see that stigma and homophobia and transphobia attached to conversations about HIV,” he said.
Campbell said he believes the testing numbers shown in the social media image are a good sign that people are being responsible.
“Individuals cannot know their status, whether it’s an HIV status or an STI status, unless they get tested, and they can not get treated unless they have results. Testing leads us to ending the HIV epidemic,” he said.
Campbell encouraged Houstonians to continue getting tested. June 27 is National HIV Testing Day.