No mosquitoes released in Massachusetts, contrary to post | Fact check

An Aug. 24 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows a flying helicopter with a dark-colored streak billowing from underneath it.
“As towns across Massachusetts prepare to lockdown (sic) for the next few months because of deadly Mosquitoes,” reads the video’s caption in part. “Here’s a flashback to not that long ago when a helicopter was filmed releasing mosquitoes.”
Some commenters took the claim to mean the two events were connected. One comment reads in part, “Why was this permitted in any state by the state or local government?”
A version of the post on X, formerly Twitter, was reposted more than 15,000 times in a month.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
The implied claim here is wrong. A state public health spokesperson said mosquitoes have not been released by helicopter or any other means in Massachusetts.
In late August, a coastal town in Massachusetts announced it would close its parks and fields “from dusk to dawn” after a horse tested positive for eastern equine encephalitis, a potentially deadly disease that can be spread to humans by infected mosquitoes.
The town of Plymouth, about 40 miles southeast of Boston, said it would be spraying for mosquitoes at parks, fields and schools. Casey Kennedy, a Plymouth spokesperson, told USA TODAY the town has “never been on lockdown, nor have we implemented a curfew.”
Eastern equine encephalitis is rare, but about 30% of cases result in death, and many survivors suffer from ongoing neurologic problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes and drowsiness.
In 2019, an outbreak of the disease in Massachusetts led to 12 cases and six deaths. The outbreak continued in 2020, when there were five cases and one death, as USA TODAY previously reported.
Fact check: Weather happens. Hot August in 1983 doesn’t show climate change is a ‘hoax’
There is no evidence, though, that the most recent outbreak in the state is linked to mosquitoes released by a helicopter. There hasn’t been a release of mosquitoes anywhere in Massachusetts, Omar Cabrera, a spokesperson for the state’s public health department, told USA TODAY.
“There have been programs in other states, like Florida, that involve the release of mosquitoes bred in laboratories, which are designed to help reduce the populations of mosquitoes that spread diseases,” Cabrera said. “None of those programs have been conducted in Massachusetts.”
The video isn’t recent either. It has been online since at least Aug. 27, 2023, when it was posted on TikTok with the hashtags #Miami, #MiamiHelicopter and #MiamiProblems. Multiple businesses in the Miami area advertise gender reveals that involve the release of blue or pink smoke from a helicopter.
It is true that mosquitoes have been released in other states. In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency approved Oxitec, a biotechnology company, to release more than 2.4 billion genetically modified mosquitoes in California and Florida, a step meant to reduce the population of mosquitoes that carry diseases such as Zika, yellow fever and dengue.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The Associated Press and Reuters also debunked the claim.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.