Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Misinfo Dozen: Online Vaccine Hoaxes Traced To Just 12 People
NPR: Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows
Researchers have found just 12 people are responsible for the bulk of the misleading claims and outright lies about COVID-19 vaccines that proliferate on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. "The 'Disinformation Dozen' produce 65% of the shares of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms," said Imran Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which identified the accounts. (Bond, 5/13)
CBS News: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Vaccine Is A Top Target Of Conspiracy Theories
The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine became a target of conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns as soon as it was announced, reaching millions of people on sites like Twitter, Reddit and 4chan, according to a recent analysis from a cyber defense firm. COVID-19 conspiracy narratives, like the false belief that the vaccine was delayed for political reasons, flourished on social networks in the fall and early winter, according to the New York tech security firm Blackbird. The firm created an algorithm to analyze posts in real-time by hunting for signals of what CEO Wasim Khaled calls "synthetic amplification," which indicate activity by botnets and anti-vaccination influencers. (Patterson, 5/13)
Axios: Misinformation Is Just One Part Of A Vaccine Trust Problem
COVID-19 is the first major pandemic in the social media era — offering experts a rare opening to study the relationship between online misinformation and human behavior on a large scale. As misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines runs rampant, researchers are trying to measure how much memes and messages with false information can alter someone's decision to get vaccinated. (Snyder and Fischer, 5/13)
Fox News: Prince Harry Slams Joe Rogan Over Spreading COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation
Prince Harry wasn't happy with the comments fellow podcast host and comedian Joe Rogan made about the coronavirus vaccine. The Duke of Sussex, who appeared on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s "Armchair Expert" podcast on Thursday, slammed Rogan for spreading misinformation. "The issue is in today’s world with misinformation endemic, you’ve got to be careful about what comes out of your mouth," Harry said. (Napoli, 5/13)
