Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla is still a human, not a reptile

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla regularly comes under scrutiny from people critical of COVID-19 vaccines. Some claim he’s a literal lizard.

"The Pfizer CEO is a reptile confirmed?" reads the text over a video of Bourla, as a red arrow points at his throat as it moves in and out.

A March 21 Facebook 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 answer: No, it’s not confirmed that Bourla is a reptile. As we’ve previously reported, there’s no evidence to substantiate this unfounded claim. 

This footage of Bourla has been online since at least 2022, and like other clips that show him moving his throat, it’s not proof he’s a reptile. He’s a human.

Credible video footage shows that Bourla’s neck sometimes moves as it appears in the clip in this post. But the Cleveland Clinic documents a number of reasons a person’s neck may spasm; none of them include being a reptile. 

Claims that high-profile people, such as Bourla, are reptilian, are part of a long-running conspiracy theory. 

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on September 27, 2024 in a video

Shows video of damage from Hurricane Helene.

We previously debunked a claim that Queen Elizabeth II was reptilian. In 1998, Time reported, former BBC reporter David Icke published "The Biggest Secret," a book claiming that members of the royal family "are nothing more than reptiles with crowns."  

President Joe Biden has also been accused of being a reptile. In 2021, we fact-checked a claim that a video proved he wasn’t human because a snake had been seen emerging from his jacket during a debate with then-President Donald Trump. It wasn’t a snake; it was a rosary Biden wears to remember his late son Beau. 

We rate claims that Bourla is reptilian, and that this video proves it, Pants on Fire!