Up to 65 percent of anti-vaccine content circulating on major social media networking sites is tied to just 12 individuals or organizations who use social media to spread propaganda about vaccines, according to a new report.
The largest anti-vaxxer influencer on social media, according to the report, is Joseph Mercola. Mercola is an alternative medicine promoter who runs a multimillion dollar online business selling treatments and dietary supplements. The FDA recently sent Mercola a warning over his sham treatments for COVID-19.
Another major culprit is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Kennedy, the nephew of John F. Kennedy, is perhaps one of the most high profile influencers in the anti-vaxxer community. Last month, Instagram banned him from the platform for violating the site’s coronavirus vaccine misinformation policy.
However, despite calls to deplatform him from Twitter and Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, Kennedy’s accounts remain on those social media services.
The other social media users in the Disinformation Dozen include Ty and Charlene Bollinger, Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, Ben Tapper, and Kevin Jenkins.
The report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and Anti-Vax Watch is based on analysis of a sample of anti-vaccine content that had been shared or posted on Facebook and Twitter over 812,000 times between February 1 and March 16, 2021. It found that almost two-thirds of the content was the responsibility of 12 of the country’s most prominent anti-vaccine leaders, groups and organizations.
“Disinformation has become a direct threat to public health,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of CCDH. “In the midst of a global pandemic, the Anti-Vaccine Industry has executed a targeted campaign to mislead Americans about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. Social media is enabling anti-vaxxers to recruit millions of Americans and indoctrinate them with fear and doubt. If Big Tech companies don’t act now, the pandemic will be prolonged, and more lives will be lost.”
Despite the recent pledged crackdown against misinformation by social media platforms, these individuals have largely been permitted to maintain their presence across mainstream social media platforms.
The Disinformation Dozen have repeatedly violated Facebook and Twitter’s terms of service agreements. The majority of the Disinformation Dozen remain on all three sites despite social media operators pledging to remove vaccine disinformation from their platforms.
In their joint report, CCDH and Anti-Vax Watch issue a call to action to social media giants urging them to remove those responsible for the majority of anti-vaccine content.
“This week, the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google will appear before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the role of social media in the spread of disinformation,” Ahmed continued.
“Members of the committee must use this opportunity to hold these companies accountable and urge them to follow through with their commitments to crack down on life-threatening disinformation. A clear and immediate way to stop the spread of anti-vaccine messages is to remove the Disinformation Dozen from their platforms.”
In addition to removing repeat offenders, the report outlines steps social media platforms can take to decrease the presence of misinformation on users’ feeds.
