New York, USA (CWBN)_ Although Facebook has been attempting to curb the rapid spread of misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Instagram (a Facebook subsidiary), has become a prime stage for anti-vax campaigns.
Facebook announced on Thursday that it would be dealing with the issue on both platforms, as the UK recently approved the Pfizer vaccine for public use. The US is expected to follow its ally’s lead by the 10th this month.
However, despite the rapid development of the vaccines, it is unclear how effective immunization campaigns are likely to be given the controversies that have been circulated regarding them.
Anti-vax accounts such as that of David Icke has millions of followers. The number is always on the rise. Icke is a conspiracy theorist who had propagated several false claims regarding the pandemic and was hence kicked off Facebook.
Nonetheless, Icke continued to maintain his account on Instagram.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organisation that targets hate speech and misinformation online, corroborated the issue in several reports, maintaining that the anti-vax movement is growing strong on Instagram.
As per a Business Insider report, CEO of the CCDH Imran Ahmed said that “Every platform is at fault here, but anti-vaxx accounts on Instagram are growing their following, bringing more and more people under their influence, faster than anywhere else.”
“Instagram accounts for more than half of anti-vaxx campaigners’ follower growth during the COVID pandemic, attracting an extra 571,000 people,” Ahmed added.
