The White House claims just 12 social media accounts are responsible for 65% of Covid-19 mRNA vaccine misinformation online.
The White House based its opinion on an article by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
After analyzing 812,000 anti-vaccine posts on Facebook and Twitter, the CCDH determined that just 12 people shared 65% of anti-vaccine posts.
Rizza Islam runs of the 12 accounts behind most online vaccine misinformation, according to the CCDH.
The other 12 accounts include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joseph Mercola, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, Ty & Charlene Bollinger, and others.
Rizza Islam is described as a “religious zealot” and a “California based Scientologist with a large Instagram following.”
Most of the 12 have been banned from other social media sites. The White House wants them banned on Facebook as well. But Facebook is hesitant to ban them because the 12 accounts have over 59 million followers between them.
Last Friday, Pres. Joe Biden accused Facebook of “killing people” by declining the White House’s request to remove the 12 accounts for spreading conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and other misinformation.
In a press release over the weekend, Facebook responded by saying the White House was making Facebook a “scapegoat” because Biden missed his July 4 goal of 70% of Americans with at least one vaccine dose.
On Monday, Biden backtracked, saying that while he meant what he said about Facebook helping to spread misinformation, he didn’t really mean Facebook was literally killing people.
