University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Study: YouTube did not actively direct users toward anti-vaccine content during COVID-19. “New research led by data science experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and United Nations Global Pulse found that there is no strong evidence that YouTube promoted anti-vaccine sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Daily Beast: Twitter Removes Fact-Check on Musk’s Bronny James Vax Post. “A fact-check through the platform’s Community Notes feature soon appeared alongside Musk’s tweet noting that the risk of myocarditis, a rare condition characterized by inflammation of heart muscle, is much higher for patients after a COVID infection rather than after a COVID vaccine. Without explanation, the fact-checking post was deleted from Musk’s tweet, which as of Wednesday still remains on his newly rebranded X platform without any kind of qualification.”
Global News (Canada): Kraken, Elon Musk and dead Canadian doctors: Disinformation surges 3 years into the pandemic. “The bogus theory – promoted by a small group of Canadian doctors who have spent the pandemic falsely claiming or suggesting that the vaccine kills or harms people – insists, without proof, that the vaccine may have played a role in the death of an ever-growing number of physicians. Global News has spent months investigating the list of doctors and speaking to their families and has found no link of the COVID vaccine to any of their deaths.”
Poynter: Misinformation is swirling online about COVID-19 vaccines and Damar Hamlin’s collapse. “Hamlin tackled Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during a Jan. 2 game at Paycor Stadium. As millions watched, Hamlin stood up after the hit and moments later fell to the ground. Social media users seized on the incident and used it to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines contributed to Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.”
Scripps News: Organization says misinformation spread on Twitter following Hamlin’s cardiac arrest. “Damar Hamlin’s sudden cardiac arrest led to a rise in misinformation on Twitter, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. The organization notes that the anti-vax trope ‘Died Suddenly’ spiked by 328% a day after the on-field incident.”
BBC: Anti-vax groups use carrot emojis to hide Facebook posts. “Facebook groups are using the carrot emoji to hide anti-vax content from automated moderation tools. The BBC has seen several groups, one with hundreds of thousands of members, in which the emoji appears in place of the word ‘vaccine’. Facebook’s algorithms tend to focus on words rather than images. The groups are being used to share unverified claims of people being either injured or killed by vaccines.”
Penn State University: Race matters in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, research finds. “A new Penn State study analyzed data collected when COVID-19 vaccines first became available to determine whether these racial and ethnic disparities are related to vaccine hesitancy. Among their findings, the team discovered that disparities between Black and white adults in COVID-19 vaccine uptake may largely be due to anti-vaccine beliefs among Black adults. By contrast, the team found that U.S.-born Hispanic adults were less vaccine hesitant than U.S.-born white adults.”
Daily Dot: EXCLUSIVE: Anti-vax dating site that let people advertise ‘mRNA FREE’ semen left all its user data exposed. “After the Daily Dot set up a test account on the platform, GeopJr was able to change the account’s private email address, username, and profile picture. GeopJr was also able to edit a public post made by the Daily Dot and change its wording. Other data such as the site’s backups could be downloaded or deleted. GeopJr was able to give away $15 per month subscriptions to Unjected as well as reply to and delete help center tickets and reported posts.”
The Olive Press: Madrid hospital worker masterminded database fraud to register ‘anti-vaxxers’ in Spain for Covid-19 certificates. “The Prensa Iberica newspaper group has discovered that the man worked as a nursing assistant at the La Paz General Hospital in Madrid. He’s accused of making over €200,000 for accessing the National Vaccination database to get hundreds of people registered for receiving Covid-19 vaccines despite not getting them because of their ‘anti-vax’ stance.”
Daily Beast: Anti-Vax Crew Had Plot to Spark Civil War Over COVID Restrictions, Prosecutors Say. “Police are searching for a fifth suspect after four people were arrested for what’s described as an elaborate plot to cripple Germany and spark a civil war over COVID restrictions. The alleged scheme is said to have included a plan to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and sabotage utility facilities to cause a nationwide power outage.”
Deutsche Welle: German man got COVID jab 87 times — report. “The man reportedly went to eastern German jab centers and got vaccinated up to three times a day. Authorities believe it was all as part of a scheme to sell vaccination passes to anti-vaxxers.”
New York Times: After the Protesters Left, an Illicit Weed Began Growing in Parliament’s Garden. “When anti-vaccination protesters finally cleared out of New Zealand’s Parliament grounds after a three-week occupation, they left behind a scene of destruction and disorder — the charred remains of a children’s playground, camping equipment and human waste, among other items. This week, a man eating lunch in the Parliament garden spotted something else left behind by protesters — cannabis seedlings nestled among the brassicas and marigolds.”
Stuff New Zealand: Covid 19 NZ: The strange story of a man who has found fame in the anti-vaccination ecosystem. “This is the strange story of the man who went from complaining about “bullet-hard” lentils to becoming a leading voice in New Zealand’s anti-vax movement. Keith Lynch looks at how an alternative online ecosystem allows someone with seemingly little or no relevant background in vaccination to position themselves as an expert.”
Slate: An Anti-Vax Judge Is Preventing the Navy From Deploying a Warship. “At this moment, the United States Navy is preparing to deploy a 10,000-ton warship carrying 320 officers and sailors, along with missiles, torpedoes, and a mounted artillery gun…. But the Navy cannot currently deploy this warship, because it has lost trust in its commanding officer, an anti-vaxxer who has repeatedly disobeyed lawful orders, misled superiors, and allegedly exposed dozens of his crew to COVID-19 due to a refusal to get tested.”
The Guardian: Fires and clashes break out at New Zealand parliament as police move in to clear protest. “Fires burned across parliament grounds, and violent clashes broke out between protesters and police at an anti-vaccine mandate demonstration on New Zealand’s parliament grounds, in extraordinary and chaotic scenes rarely seen in the country.”
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