Anti-vaxxers see Covid as ‘historic opportunity to create distrust in vaccines’, report warns

Findings present a ‘chilling look’ at plans to spread disinformation, says one analyst

A women is detained for attending an anti-vaccination protest in London during the pandemic on 14 December, 2020. (PA)

Anti-vaxxers believe the coronavirus pandemic presents them with a historic opportunity for widening vaccine distrust, a new report has warned.

The Centre for Countering Digital Hate’s (CCDH) report is based on evidence it gathered at a private conference, which was attended by some of the world’s leading vaccine sceptics. 

At this event, anti-vaxxers suggested they could reach wider audiences than ever before and could sow long-lasting distrust against the need for vaccinations.

The group also discussed the three-pronged master narrative they wished to spread, according to the CCDH. This involves the baseless claims that the coronavirus is not dangerous but that vaccines are, as well as the suggestion that experts cannot be trusted.

The conference-goers said that fact-checking on social media sites aids their efforts, as it brings new followers into contact with them.

Conversely, they expressed fears that being removed from main social media channels would hinder their mission.

CCDH’s findings reveal the scale of the problem in Britain, as anti-vaxxers have an estimated 5.4 million social media followers in the UK  - out of a global English-language audience of roughly 60 million.

The report also noted that vaccine sceptics were training their activist base in the hope of gaining more recruits.

Facebook groups were advising members on how to convince “vaccine hesitant” friends and family to share their beliefs, the study claimed.

Ethnic minorities and parents were also being targeted via social media, according to CCDH.

Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said anti-vaxxers could succeed “unless urgent action is taken”.

“It is vital that governments, social media platforms, and pro-vaccine advocates study the anti-vaxxers’ plan for the Covid vaccine, to avoid falling for their traps and do a better job of promoting the Covid vaccines as safe, vital and trustworthy developments,” he added.

Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the John Hopkins Centre for Health Security, described the report as a “chilling look into how organized groups plan to spread false information to deliberately undermine the use of Covid-19 vaccines”.

To tackle the threat posed by anti-vaxxers, the CCDH recommends that members of the public do not challenge anti-vaccination narratives on social media, as this just increases their exposure. The non-profit company also called on social media companies to remove the propagandists’ accounts.