The Disinformation Dozen and Media Misinformation on Science and Vaccinations By Benjamin E. Mabrey A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honors Baccalaureate of Science in Biology (Honors Scholar) Presented on August 17, 2021 Commencement June 2022 AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Benjamin E. Mabrey for the degrees of Honors Baccalaureate of Science in Biology presented on August 27, 2021. Title: The Disinformation Dozen and Media Misinformation on Science and Vaccinations. Abstract approved: Dr. Patrick Ball The COVID-19 pandemic has shed a light on the need for people to trust in medical science. With the need for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity but 30% have reported vaccine hesitancy, now more than ever do we need to redouble our efforts to ensure that people are adhering to medical advice. Yet dangerous misinformation posited by anti- vaxxers, anti-maskers, and conspiracy theorists jeopardize this goal. The Center for Countering Digital Hate online has found that 65% of the misinformation posted on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, are from just 12 individuals. These 12 individuals have been referred to as the “disinformation dozen” for their role in spreading misinformation. Members of the disinformation dozen such as Ty and Charlene Bollinger turn their misinformation into money. They have created "The Truth About Cancer" organization and specialize in creating sample YouTube videos and documentaries for the products that they sell. They paint themselves as a caring middle-class family and post extensively to reach out to potential customers. Another member of the disinformation dozen, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reveals the more sophisticated side of misinformation specialists. He has a prestigious background as an environmental litigator and legal specialist. Additionally, he is the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy. He has leveraged his fame and background to create the "Children's Health Defense" which specializes in framing misinformation in a professional manner. Kevin Jenkins was once known as a respected leader within the African American community, but now leads the notorious Facebook group "Right to Travel Alliance." He was radicalized when anti-vaxxers reached out to him and the African community, finding great success due to the mistrust that African Americans have of the medical establishment. The Tuskegee trials and current problems with accurately treated African Americans contributed to a prior schism of trust that has led to his becoming a member of the disinformation dozen. Therefore, it should be understood that misinformation is not being provided by a few amateurs or only appreciated by the most gullible or naive. The disinformation dozen reveals a collaborative effort between business conmen, lawyers, and public leaders. If not addressed swiftly and accurately, the spread of misinformation could cause irreversible harm to the trust between the public and the medical institutions we need to rely on now more than ever. Keywords: Disinformation Dozen, Misinformation, Science, Opinion, Fact Corresponding email address: [email protected] © by Benjamin E. Mabrey August 27, 2021 The Disinformation Dozen and Media Misinformation on Science and Vaccinations By Benjamin E. Mabrey A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honors Baccalaureate of Science in Biology (Honors Scholar) Presented on August 17, 2021 Commencement June 2022 Honors Baccalaureate of Science in Biological Science thesis of Benjamin E. Mabrey presented on August 27, 2021. APPROVED: ______________________________________________________________________________ Patrick Ball, Mentor, representing Biology ______________________________________________________________________________ Bruce Seal, Committee Member, representing Biology ______________________________________________________________________________ Flora Leibowitz, Committee Member, representing Philosophy ______________________________________________________________________________ Toni Doolen, Dean, University Honors College I understand that my thesis will become part of the collection of Oregon State University. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. I also affirm that the work represented in this thesis is my own work. ______________________________________________________________________________ Benjamin E. Mabrey, Author Table of Contents Introduction 1 Ty and Charlene Bollinger 7 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 20 Kevin Jenkins 31 Conclusion 40 Works Cited 42 1 Introduction Disentangling science from political influence within the modern age has become an increasingly arduous task. The basic fundamentals necessary for understanding the key social- political problems afflicting our society are coming under scrutiny as a sub-group of people are increasingly forming an opposition to objective and well-established scientific facts. Yet if people are drawing away from science then what alternatives are they being drawn towards? It may seem obvious to believe that those who are anti-science do not rely on sets of established facts or require any reasons of their own. On the contrary, the history of anti-science radical groups and conspiracists reveals that alternative facts are created when scientific facts are erased. Anti-science individuals who are unwilling to accept the casualties caused by COVID-19, for example, are believing instead that the reports are either lies perpetrated by government officials or caused by other sources such as vaccines. A Facebook video posted February 7, 2021, reads with the caption: “Many Dying in Israel Following the Experimental Pfizer COVID mRNA Injections,” where the video shows a man in professional dress describing “hidden connections” with those dying of COVID-19 to the vaccine (Foord 2021). Initially attempting to view the video will result in a “False Information” warning appearing by independent fact-checkers (Reuters 2021). Following the link to the article Reuters has outlined in the video, it is explained that the aforementioned claim is false. The data was taken from an unofficial and independently made aggregator that used Facebook testimonies from family and friends of the deceased, and at times news reports, to construct a list of deceased people in Israel who have taken a vaccine. This list fails to prove, however, that the vaccines were the cause of the individual's death or were even connected in any way (“Fact Check: No Evidence That the Vaccine for COVID-19 Caused Fatalities in Israel.” 2021). Looking further into the comment section, however, reveals no discussion on the fact-checking article, but Lindsay Foord posting another link to a website, 2 https://nw-connection.com/, where there is another article doubling-down on scientific misinformation. The author of this linked article, Bryan Fischer, writes in an opinion piece titled “Opinion: Fauci Knew About HCQ In 2005 – Nobody Needed To Die,” that if Dr. Anthony Fauci had listened to then-president Donald Trump and employed hydroxychloroquine as a cure then “maybe nobody would have died,” or the world economy could have avoided the “complete shutdown of the greatest economic engine in world history” (Fischer 2020). He additionally brings up partisanship tensions when he claims that due to the banning of hydroxychloroquine by Governor Andrew Cuomo and “the Democrat governors of Nevada and Michigan,” that “by March 28 the whole country was under incarceration-in-place fatwas, and at one point the Bryan Fischer attempts to paraphrase the words of Jesus Christ in claiming that “it’s not the symptom- free who need HCQ but the sick,” to push the idea that anyone showing relevant symptoms of COVID-19 should be given hydroxychloroquine (Fischer 2020). The publisher of this article, The Northwest Connection, makes the claim that they are “A Community Newspaper for the way we live,” before appending the article with a disclaimer that the views discussed “do not necessarily reflect the views of the Northwest Connection, American Family Association or American Family Radio'' (Fischer 2020). Another user responded to this article link in the comments: “hopefully when Faucci appears before human rights court, this will be evidence against him!” As of March 31, 2021, this video and its multiple links has garnered 151 reactions and 51 comments, many of which are focused on sharing or spreading similar articles or videos (Foord 2021). Examples as seen here show how people can become more and more radicalized. The pandemic has introduced unprecedented amounts of stress and duress, and while the hope is that 3 people will respond to stressors rationally, there is great potential for people to panic and jump to conclusions they normally wouldn’t. When there are inflammatory media headlines, conflicting opinions from friends and family, and contradictory messages online, people can become misinformed in their efforts to understand problems that require rational scientific reasoning (Ng and Kemp 2020). This is compounded by the algorithms and mass-proliferation of information found on social media. Videos and articles shared throughout social media have a great potential to spread misinformation and embed themselves in the public consciousness even after being removed. In a 2020 study performed by Pulideo et al., an analysis was performed