TACKLING DIGITAL MISINFORMATION
DOES THE DIGITAL PANDEMIC OF MISINFORMATION THREATEN OUR BEST HOPE OF ENDING THIS CRISIS? The Chair of the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Media reflects on how social media has responded to the current global pandemic.
Chris Elmore, MP is a UK
Parliamentarian representing the constituency of Ogmore in South Wales. He was first elected in 2016 and is currently a Shadow Minister for Scotland and Opposition Whip. He is also a Member of the House of Commons Procedure Committee, Committee of Privileges and Committee on Standards. He is the Chair of the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Media.
A mere 12 months ago, nobody across the globe could have imagined how much our world was about to change and the extreme level of disruption that was set to plague all our lives. Bringing an end to the COVID19 pandemic is an ambition every country now craves. Sadly though, we know that there are no ‘silver bullet’ solutions to this crisis and the future has scarcely looked less certain. Individuals, families, and businesses in the UK and across much of the world are unable to plan from one week to the next, many have suffered intolerable loss, and governments are struggling to keep control of the spread of COVID-19. The world is waiting with bated breath for news of a vaccine – which could be our best hope of bringing an end to this pandemic. Yet mounting evidence suggests that a new, digital pandemic of misinformation about the safety of vaccines now threatens our best hope of an exit strategy. Social media lies at the heart of this phenomenon and it now poses an acute challenge for Parliamentary democracies across the Commonwealth and the world as a whole. Last month, I led a debate in the UK Parliament on the issues surrounding the so-called ‘anti-vax’ movement because I believe that government inaction on misinformation now poses a direct threat to our public health and to our economic recovery. As Chair of the UK Parliament’s AllParty Parliamentary Group on
Social Media, I’ve been keenly keeping my eye on how much misinformation is being spread on social media platforms – and crucially, what the social media giants are doing about it. You don’t have to look far to realise that some corners of these platforms are rapidly becoming a sewer of misinformation which risks eroding public trust in any potential coronavirus vaccine, before one is even identified. The anti-vax movement is nothing new though – in fact, it’s been around since the days of smallpox. Yet what makes this strain of thought important in 2020, is the exponential levels of oxygen being given to ill-informed falsehoods about vaccines online. Recent polling from the Centre for Countering Digital Hate lays bare that 31% of the British public would now be hesitant to have a Coronavirus vaccine if one becomes available. A University College London study has also shown that barely half of people in the UK say they are ’very likely’ to get vaccinated. This doesn’t merely present a risk for those individuals – it presents a risk to each and every one of us, our loved ones, and our wider communities. The CCDH’s study showed that so-called ‘anti-vax’ social media accounts now have 58 million followers and this number is growing rapidly. The 147 largest accounts have amassed over 7.8 million new followers since 2019, representing a staggering increase of 19%. Facebook is
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overwhelmingly the leading host of such potentially dangerous information, but the platform is by no means alone. Across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and various other popular social media sites, this virus of misinformation now presents a real threat for our ability to control the real, and deadly, Coronavirus. When we look globally, the seriousness of this issue cannot be overstated. Last year, the World Health Organisation officially categorised vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health challenges we now face. In a global study conducted in June of this year, 13,000 people from 19 different countries were surveyed and almost three in every ten respondents stated that they either wouldn’t take a COVID19 vaccine or were neutral; indicating hesitancy. It’s clear that the problems associated with the anti-vax movement are far from being confined to the UK’s shores and, as Parliamentarians, we have a shared responsibility to ensure robust and decisive action is taken to counter it. I do recognise that some of the social media companies have taken steps to combat antivax misinformation. Last month, Facebook announced that they will be banning anti-vax adverts from its platform. But banning ads alone simply isn’t good enough as it ignores the ballooning number of organic posts and high-profile oxygenators who are willing to spread them. Mark
