Winter Is Over. The Disinformation Dozen Is Not.

Joseph Mercola, Robert F.Kennedy Jr, Ty & Charlene Bollinger, Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christianne Northrup, Ben Tapper, Kevin Jenkins.

In Episode 3 of Season 1 of “COVID-19”, I recited the red list while on the road with my friend. I imagine being Arya Stark and saying those names out loud with both anger and hilarity. Obviously, I’m not “left-handed, quick, and dexterous”. And this is real life.

You might be wondering about the name and the fate of everyone on the list. Be prepared. They are twelve leading online anti-vaxxers who are responsible for two-thirds of the anti-vaccine content on social media. The Centre for Countering Digital Hate did a new analysis of content posted or shared to social media over 812,000 times between February and March. It uncovered that “a tiny group of determined anti-vaxxers is responsible for a tidal wave of disinformation - and shows how platforms can fix it by enforcing their standards”.

We might not be under the same threats as House of Stark, and judging by today winter most certainly ain’t coming, but we’re living in a world where we’re flooded by fake news, disinformation, and misinformation. The WHO warns us about the COVID-19 infodemic where there are “deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response and advance alternative agendas of groups or individuals”.

The effects have spread all around the world in many aspects of life: mass poisonings, mob attack... but public health has borne the brunt of it the most.

Social media has become an inevitable part of our society’s daily life. It has brought with it so many opportunities in terms of giving people channels to express themselves and keep up to date with what’s going on in the world. Like Russian President Vladimir Putin released 500 lions in Moscow to persuade the city’s residents to stay indoors as part of the efforts to fight the pandemic. No, that’s fake news! However, social media allowed it to spread across the Internet and for people to believe it. Misinformation can sometimes be dismissed as harmless but it can be life-threatening. And we’re living in a pandemic, in the middle of a public health crisis. We’ve seen enough losses already and misinformation costs lives. 

The fake news triangle represents the three elements that are required for items to succeed: Tools/Services, Social Networks and Motivation. Much like a fire needs three elements to burn: oxygen, heat, and fuel. Anti-vaxxers throw petrol on the fire, spread lies and misinformation which polarise public debate on the topics of COVID-19, amplify hate speech, and threaten to jeopardise the chances of COVID-19 vaccine success. According to a report from Oxford University, people increasingly turn to social media as a primary source of news, but conversely, another study also pointed out that people who get their news from social media are more likely to believe falsehoods about Covid-19. Studies have shown that exposure to social media is strongly associated with poor health outcomes (depression, loneliness, and poor body image). Instead of encouraging people to go to their doctors, social media encourage fake news about the “latest fake health secrets and dangers that your doctor doesn’t know about”. Plot twist: After all the years studying and researching and staying up late at the library of medical students, carrying on their shoulders the pride of becoming a doctor and knowledge, they are nowhere near Dr Google.

If Carrie Bradshaw lived in 2021, she couldn’t help but wonder why we have to prove that we are not a robot to a robot. Like, verify if you are a human? Studies of “social bot” activity reveal that these accounts flood the conversation on particular health topics. One study of anti-vaccination content spread by “social bots” and “trolls” found that these accounts are pervasive and designed to create false equivalency and spread misinformation about the vaccine and put thousands of people’s lives at risk. Centre for Countering Digital Hate published a report about how Instagram’s algorithm distributes misinformation and hate to millions during a pandemic. You might be wondering who’s getting the news from Instagram and don’t even bother to fact check anyway. C’est la vie? Instagram is where I just watch a bunch of cat videos like it’s still 2019 or something. Or where I’ll just watch a bunch of six-packed guys with captions “I’m fat” then I’ll just burst into laughter (or tears?!)

As an individual, if we took the time to report every piece of misinformation on the Internet, it would become a full-time job. Spreading misinformation, especially about public health during a pandemic, has crossed so many boundaries, which, as a society, we have strived to set. But it’s our responsibility. The Disinformation Dozen are responsible for up to 65% of anti-vaccine content and social platforms and big tech companies (I’m looking at you, Mark!) have failed to act on the Disinformation Dozen. We hear the promises of concrete actions from big companies ringing in our ears but it seems like a “would’a could’a should’a” situation. It’s like we’ve been waiting for Telephone MV Part 2 of Lady Gaga and Beyonce but that’s never happened.   

According to Edelman Trust Barometer 2021, only 1 in 4 have good information but it’s positive that people care more about information literacy with a huge change in increasing media and information literacy as well as science literacy. But it’s a concerted effort. Research has shown that when it comes to health misinformation, “a strong defense may require a strong offense”. The Centre for Countering Digital Hate suggested that platforms must do more and have stronger policies to protect users from harmful misinformation. One study has also found that platform-based warnings such as “this tweet may contain misinformation” decreased the likelihood of the post being shared. 

Different people have different routines of consuming the news. If there’s any tip I’ve used to avoid fake news, I would say “be vigilant” and “be critical of the news you read. One thing cannot be divorced from its original contexts. Some people only share bits and pieces of a piece of news so it might make it have a different meaning. Even if in an attempt to break the ice I wish I was swimming in, I don’t think anyone would reference The Sun for new scientific research. If you’re looking at an article claiming to contain scientific facts, check who wrote the article and cross-check the information (and citations!) Imagine being Sherlock Holmes and do your detective work. FactCheck is a good website to go to. Is it true? Is FactCheck a good website? You know what to do!

The sun is beaming through the window. Season one of the series “COVID-19” is hopefully coming to an end thanks to the amazing achievements of science and scientists around the world, but sadly we can’t just wake up one day and misinformation disappears. We must work together to prevent this infodemic. We are still on a quest to solve an abiding mystery of why Netflix keeps renewing Riverdale but “the mystery” about anti-vaxxers and misinformation must be solved immediately. We can save the world, literally.