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Trending: The Anti-Vax Files: Vaccine heroes fight back

Factual

The Anti-Vax Files

08/05/2021 GMT

Vaccine heroes fight back

BBC World Service - Trending, The Anti-Vax Files, Vaccine heroes fight back

The pandemic isn’t over – but there are signs that science is beating anti-vaccine lies.

The pandemic isn’t over – but there are signs that science is winning out over hardcore anti-vaccine lies. We meet the volunteers fighting back against misinformation.

Nicole is a paediatrician in Ohio who was shocked when she received a ton of nasty comments on one of her online videos. Her “mistake” was providing reliable, evidence-based information about vaccines.

It meant that anti-vaccine activists targeted her. But with the help of a group of volunteer medical professionals called Shots Heard Around the World, she led a fight back against abuse and disinformation. 

The pandemic is far from over – but there are signs that science is winning out over hardcore anti-vaccine lies. 

In the final episode of the series, we reveal the extent of vaccine disinformation in countries around the world. And we meet some of the volunteers on the frontlines of the push back. 

They’re filling in some of the gaps, but shouldn’t that be the job of the social media companies? We
quiz a Facebook executive about whether their policies and systems are really working. 

Presenter: Mike Wendling
Reporter: Marianna Spring
Producer: Ant Adeane

Trending: The Anti-Vax Files

We investigate how anti-vaccine activists have used social media to spread their message.

Scientists say only a vaccine will get us out of the pandemic. So why do some feel the anti-vax movement has grown stronger than ever over the last year?

In a new series from BBC Trending a team of disinformation reporters investigate how hard-core anti-vaccine activists have used social media to spread their message far and wide, capitalising on fear and mistrust to advance their own agendas during the pandemic.

BBC Trending: The Anti-Vax Files explores how the movement has manifested across the world, from France – portrayed as one of the most vaccine-sceptic countries in the world – to India, South Africa, and Germany. The team also uncovers the extraordinary stories of people fighting online against this misinformation and those who are actively promoting the facts and the science behind vaccination - often working without pay or institutional support.

The series will turn the spotlight on the world’s social media giants asking whether they turned a blind eye, or just acted too late in countering misinformation about vaccines. It will also look at more traditional sources of information – journalists, governments, and health officials – and ask whether they simply weren’t ready for the “infodemic” that was to come with the virus.

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