Numbers in viral social media post reflect statewide STD tests, not Houston cases

A viral social media post falsely claimed that Houston was inundated with tens of thousands of sexually transmitted disease cases in a one-week period in June.

"There were 42,000 people diagnosed with (an) STD in Houston, Texas last week," read a headline featured in a June 20 Instagram video.

"This is the data in Houston, Texas, as of June 17," a woman in the video said, sharing a screenshot of a chart showing types of STDs with numbers next to them. She read off the numbers, including that "22,715 people were diagnosed with syphilis last week."

The Instagram video showed a screenshot of a separate June 20 Instagram post that made the initial claim and shared the same chart. That post had more than 87,000 likes as of June 28.

The chart and claim about Houston’s STD numbers were widely shared by users across social media platforms.

The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The chart doesn’t show what the video’s speaker claims. It lists STDs with numbers next to them under the headings "last week" and "average" but it doesn’t say what the numbers mean.

Tucker Wilson, a Houston Health Department spokesperson, said in a statement to PolitiFact that the social media post "includes grossly overstated numbers and incorrect information."

Wilson said the numbers represent all laboratory tests reported for the entire state, not just Houston, whether the tests were positive or negative. "Statewide, about 1.2 million HIV tests and 1.6 million syphilis tests are reported every year," Wilson said. Houston had more than 2.3 million residents and Texas had more than 29 million residents, 2020 U.S. Census data shows.

(Screenshot from Instagram)

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Wilson said the sharing of the numbers was the result of a "misuse of a data system that violated" the department’s policies. "Although the intent was to communicate a public health message, the violation resulted in the sharing of aggregate STD and HIV data on social media." No personally identifiable information was released, Wilson said.

The department is investigating the incident and applying security measures, Wilson said. Wilson did not answer a question about whether the data was first published on the department’s website or on social media.

The Texas Department of State Health Services also said in a statement shared on X that the numbers in the Instagram post reflected statewide numbers of tests, both positive and negative.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows there were no cases of syphilis, chlamydia or gonorrhea reported in Texas in the week ended June 15.

The claim that Houston reported 42,000 STD cases in a week distorts the numbers, which reflect the number of statewide tests, not cases. The claim is False.