Despite the pledges, the fake scare stories are still all over social media
“Every. Single. Day. Another. Child. Murdered” reads the caption below the picture of a baby in pink, with tiny socks on her hands as scratch mitts.
The image, shared on Instagram by “vaccines_revealed”, has been “liked” 217 times since Sept. The author writes: “I tell myself all the time that I’m going to take a break from posting about vaccines … but then I see this.”
The caption goes on to claim that the child in question died shortly after having her eight-week inoculations.
It is one of thousands of anti-vaccine posts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. It took Telegraph reporters seconds to find them, despite pledges by the web giants to stop “anti-vaxxers” using their platforms to spread false claims.
Many posts insist the MMR jab triggers autism, even though this has been debunked. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, warned the posts were driving down vaccination rates.
Last month Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook chief, said he was trying to “stop the spread of misinformation”. Monika Bickert, his vice president, vowed to “reduce the rankings” of groups sharing false claims.
Facebook ’s algorithm does appear to have downgraded anti-vaccination information for searches containing “vaccine”. But many posts are easily found by searching for related terms.
A search for “MMR injection” and “mumps jab” brings up such posts. One claimed a child nearly had her arm amputated after an MMR jab. Another, shared by the group “JABS: Justice, Awareness and Basic Support”, said: “How many parents were prosecuted for shaken baby syndrome when all the while it was vaccines?”
Facebook provides controversial suggested searches for those seeking information about vaccines. Under a search for “vaccine advice” it offers searches including “vaccine damage” and “vaccine injuries”. It has made efforts to direct users to the World Health Organisation, but the misinformation was easily accessible on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. There, under a search for #vaccine, The Telegraph found alarming content including a post showing a smiling child and baby and the words, “We Were Healthy, Vaccines Killed Us”, and posts saying vaccines are contaminated and can cause autism and cancer.
Instagram also hosts profiles that claim “everything you’ve been told is a lie”. It does have a disclaimer pointing to the WHO, but it also displays alarmist content. A Twitter disclaimer in some search results directs readers to the NHS.
Facebook said: “If vaccine hoaxes appear we will take action. We are committed to safety and are working with external health experts to make sure we get this right.” A Twitter spokesman said: “We enforce our rules against fake accounts, platform manipulation and spam every day.”