Posters with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media are still making up fake news, as it was revealed that companies that fail to stamp out anti-vaccination content online are being urged to take tougher action.
Labour accused the government of being careless on a matter of life and death after Boris Johnson said that up to 90% of patients with Covid in intensive care across England had not had their third booster vaccine.
The Labour analysis shows that the anti-vaxxers on Telegram, Facebook andInstagram have over 1.5 million followers. David Icke is a conspiracy theorist who wrongly believes that the coronaviruses is spread by 5G.
BrandNewTube is an alternative streaming site that has a link to which is posted on other, mainstream social media sites.
Some people are being put off getting jabbed during a crucial stage in the booster programme because of videos that have amassed up to 3.7 million views. Around 10% of eligible people haven't had their first vaccine, rising to 17% for a second dose. 42% of people have not yet had a third vaccine despite the booster being under way.
Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, said that tackling the spread of vaccine misinformation online is critical to getting the unvaccinated.
She said that one person put off the vaccine by anti-vaxers is one too many.
Powell said that tech giants were failing to wipe out vaccine lies and that the government was not taking action against online platforms that were facilitating the spread of misinformation. She called it a matter of life and death and called on ministers to stand up to social media firms and introduce financial and criminal penalties for failures that lead to serious harm.
The counter disinformation policy forum was wound down in June of 2021. It brought together social media companies, academics, and fact-checkers in response to fears about the harm posed by anti-vaxxers.
Powell asked for an update on the forum in a parliamentary written question, but DCMS minister Chris Philp said it had concluded. The department still meets with major social media platforms bilaterally to discuss the issue.
A government spokesman said that ministers had been giving people advice and information about vaccines in one of the most extensive public health campaigns ever launched.
The counter-disinformation unit still exists despite a pilot ending in the summer, and continues to work closely with social media companies to identify and remove dangerous misinformation about vaccines.
The new online safety laws will force these companies into action. The legislation will be introduced as soon as possible after parliament gives the necessary scrutiny.
A senior government source said that it was a shame that Labour were spreading their own misinformation in the fight against the virus. The counter disinformation unit has not been stopped.
The World Health Organization said before the coronaviruses epidemic broke out that vaccine hesitancy was one of the top 10 threats to global health and that it was important people were given credible information about inoculation to understand the benefits of getting jabbed.
The Guardian revealed lies and conspiracy theories about Covid-19 had amassed millions of views on TikTok and were accessible to young children.
