How many antivaxxers does it take to misinform the world? Just twelve
How many conspiracy theorists does it take to change a lightbulb? QAnon won’t let me tell you. I can, however, reveal that it takes only a dozen antivaxxers to spread dangerous misinformation to millions of people. According to a report from the NGO Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), up to 65% of anti-vaccine content on Facebook and Twitter can be traced back to just 12 people. Although Facebook has disputed the report’s methodology, the 12 have been nicknamed the “disinformation dozen”, and include Robert F Kennedy Jr, the nephew of John F Kennedy. A few of the 12 have been removed from at least one social media platform, but are still free to post on others.
Citing the CCDH report, a number of US lawmakers have urged social media companies to de-platform the 12 immediately. Which seems like a sensible thing to do considering we’re in the middle of a pandemic that will drag on for ever unless a critical mass of people are immunised. Nevertheless, I think it’s important that we don’t react to misinformation with a kneejerk response. Free-speech issues aside, banning people from tech platforms is a game of whack-a-mole. As long as the incentive structures for spreading false information remain in place, more conspiracy theorists will pop up. I’m not saying de-platforming is never appropriate, just that it can be a simplistic solution to a complex problem.
While big tech may facilitate and profit from the spread of misinformation, we ought to remember that Facebook and the others don’t have magical powers. They have nifty ways to hijack your attention, but they can’t wave a magic wand and force you to believe that Bill Gates engineered the pandemic so that he can implant trackable microchips in people. We must push technology companies to act in more ethical ways, but we can’t bank on a bunch of self-interested CEOs suddenly developing a conscience. Misinformation is never going to go away; it isn’t just a Big Tech problem, it’s an education problem. Instead of just yelling at tech companies, politicians should be focusing on what Taiwan’s digital minister calls “nerd immunity” – the government should be investing in education so people have the skills to identify fake news.
Finland, which was rated Europe’s most resistant nation to fake news last year, is one model of how you do this. In 2014, after an increase in disinformation from Russia, the government embedded media literacy in the national curriculum. Starting in primary school, kids learn the critical thinking skills needed to parse the modern information ecosystem. Students learn how easy it is to manipulate statistics
in their maths lessons, for example. They learn how to distinguish satire from conspiracy theories in their Finnish lessons. They look at how images can be used for propaganda in art class. And this sort of education isn’t just given to children: Finnish civil servants, journalists and NGO workers are also trained in digital literacy skills.
The British government has made a lot of noises about how important it is to teach kids media literacy. In 2019, for example, the education secretary announced guidance on teaching online safety in schools. While that’s great in theory, “guidance” isn’t enough. You’ve got to put your money where your mouth is and actually invest in education. Ever since the Conservative-led coalition government took power in 2010, funding for education has declined significantly, and we’ve seen the largest cuts to school spending since the 1980s. It’s no better in the US; underfunding there is so bad that about 94% of public school teachers report having to spend their own money on school supplies. While underfunding disproportionately hurts disadvantaged kids it has a ripple effect on society. There’s no problem in the world that can’t be improved by investing in education. Banning a few anti-vaxxers from Facebook may have short-term benefits but if we want to build healthy societies in the long-term we have to prioritise education and develop nerd immunity.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist