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Facebook has officially pledged to begin flagging and removing posts and groups that spread misinformation about the development of COVID-19 vaccines. In such a connected world, misinformation is easy to spread and can have dangerous long-term ramifications. The social media giant’s steps to shut down such avenues, while slowing the flow, have yet to effectively slow the advance of the anti-vaccination movement.
Since COVID-19 dragged the world’s population into isolation and quarantine, rumors and myths about it have come and gone. Unbelievable stories and tales of government conspiracies and fascist control mechanisms have plagued (forgive this author for the pun) WhatsApp groups and social media platforms. The extra screen time that all people were inevitably subjected to, whether out of necessity or boredom, meant that such talk and gossip were almost impossible to ignore. All the anti-mask movements started when people rebelled against “the system” for the most mundane and basic security requirements. And as countries finally begin to emerge from the ramifications of such moves, and organizations like Pfizer and Oxford put the finishing touches on their vaccines, a new contender emerges to cause more chaos.
Proponents of anti-vaccination (often referred to as “anti-vaccines”) have been around since the Stockholm smallpox epidemic in 1873. The largely vocal movement in the United States of America is vehemently opposed to the new vaccines. With an avalanche of misinformation online. While sites like Facebook and YouTube have already begun cracking down on advocates like Larry Crook and BigTree, these communities quickly migrated to many other sites, with their followers on quick search. As far-fetched as conspiracy theories regarding vaccines sound, they seem to be resonating with the general population. A recent survey has revealed that only 42% of citizens in the US are willing to get vaccinated based on availability, with 25% hostile to the idea and 33% still undecided. Alarming news, especially as experts speculate that herd immunity will only be possible with at least 60% of the vaccinated population. This news should especially resonate with Pakistanis, considering that similar opposition is the reason why polio remains endemic here (the only other country that shares this honor is Afghanistan).
Disinformation is quite difficult to target in this day and age, as the multitude of chat rooms and online platforms have ensured that not all cases of misuse can be avoided. Therefore, the task of stopping the spread of misinformation falls not only on the big media conglomerates, but also on ordinary individuals. The collective health and safety of ourselves and our loved ones cannot be put at risk simply by a horde of rather loud, if not delusional, conspiracy theorists.
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