Documento Sem Título
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The majority of anti-vaxxer misinformation on social media is spread by 12 individuals. If you see your old college roommate on Facebook spreading COVID-19 vaccine myths, chances are it's coming from one of twelve individuals. That's right. There are just twelve of them. According to a recent study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Anti-Vax Watch, up to 65 percent of “anti-vaccine content” on Facebook and Twitter came from twelve anti-vaxxer influencers. Following an overview of material shared and updated on Facebook and Twitter 812,000 times between February 1 and March 16, the study centered on these twelve accounts. The content of these people, dubbed the "Disinformation Dozen" by the survey, accounting for 73 percent of all anti-vaxxer content posted or shared on Facebook in the last two months. According to the survey, Joseph Mercola is the most influential anti-vaxxer on social media. Mercola is a proponent of alternative medicine who sells therapies and dietary supplements online for a multimillion-dollar profit. Mercola was recently sent an alert by the FDA for his COVID-19 sham therapies. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is another major offender. Kennedy, the nephew of John F. Kennedy, is perhaps one of the most well-known anti-vaxxers. Instagram kicked him off the website last month after he violated the site's coronavirus vaccine disinformation rules. Despite calls for him to be removed from Twitter and Instagram's parent company, Facebook, Kennedy's accounts remain active on all platforms. Ty and Charlene Bollinger, Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, Ben Tapper, and Kevin Jenkins are among the “Disinformation Dozen” of social media users. Despite the fact that Facebook and Twitter have committed to removing anti-vaccine posts and users who share vaccine myths, the majority of these twelve people have active Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles. According to the survey, every single one of them uses at least one of these channels. In 2020, with the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, health disinformation was a major issue. The 425 anti-vaxxer accounts tracked by the Center for Countering Digital Hate hit over 59 million users on social media sites at the end of last year, according to the group. And the epidemic hasn't gone anywhere since the pandemic progresses. In reality, as coronavirus vaccines have become more widely available in recent months, anti-vaccination sentiment has risen. According to a new study from Media Matters For America, “micro-influencers” are having a moment on Instagram, in addition to the 12 big influencers listed in this post. Smaller accounts spreading disinformation are gaining traction, breaking Instagram's vaccination misinformation rules although remaining undetected..