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Vaccines

Massachusetts AG Joins Coalition to Demand Facebook and Twitter Act on Anti-Vaxxer Disinformation

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in calling on Facebook and Twitter to take stronger measures to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer coronavirus disinformation on their social media platforms. The coalition, led by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, sent letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey urging them to enforce their existing guidelines against vaccine disinformation and prevent the spread of deadly lies that are threatening to undermine vaccine acceptance and harm the nation's recovery.

Key Takeaways:

  • The coalition of 12 attorneys general, including Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, is urging Facebook and Twitter to take stronger measures to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer coronavirus disinformation on their social media platforms.
  • According to the letter, anti-vaxxers have used social media platforms to reach over 59 million followers, targeting people of color and Black Americans specifically, who have suffered the worst health impacts of the virus and whose vaccination rates are already lagging.
  • Twitter and Facebook have yet to remove from all their platforms the accounts of prominent anti-vaxxers who have repeatedly violated the companies' terms of service, with estimates suggesting 12 anti-vaxxers' personal accounts and their associated organizations, groups, and websites are responsible for 65% of public anti-vaccine content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
  • Facebook has failed to consistently apply misinformation labels and popups on Facebook pages and groups that discuss vaccines or COVID-19, and has allowed anti-vaxxers to skirt its policy of removing misinformation that health experts have debunked by using video and streaming tools.
  • The coalition is calling on Facebook and Twitter to take immediate steps to fully enforce their companies' guidelines against vaccine misinformation, to prevent needless illness and death, and hasten the nation's recovery.
  • The issue comes as Zuckerberg, Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are set to testify at a joint hearing of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding social media's role in promoting extremism and misinformation.

Statistics:

  • More than 59 million followers have been reached by anti-vaxxer accounts on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.
  • 12 anti-vaxxers' personal accounts and their associated organizations, groups, and websites are responsible for 65% of public anti-vaccine content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

Sources:

  • The letter to Facebook and Twitter CEOs Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, signed by 12 attorneys general, including Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and led by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
  • Center for Countering Digital Hate (counterhate.com)
  • The Communications and Technology Subcommittee and the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives

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