Spreading anti-vaxx myths 'should be made a criminal offence'

Royal Society and British Academy say public should be 'inoculated' against misinformation amid fears over Covid jab take-up

A protester's sign at an anti-vaccination and lockdown demonstration in Birmingham in October
A protester's sign at an anti-vaccination and lockdown demonstration in Birmingham in October Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe

It should be made a criminal offence to spread anti-vaxx myths and the public should report offenders, the Royal Society and British Academy have said amid concerns that baseless fears over a coronavirus vaccine will damage uptake

A rapid review on Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment has called for people to be "inoculated" against misinformation, which can spread rapidly on social media.

Several countries already have laws against disseminating information that is harmful to public health, and Singapore has recently carried out four prosecutions for coronavirus offences under its Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).

Under the same legislation, companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter are also legally required to correct or remove misinformation. 

Professor Melinda Mills, the director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science at the University of Oxford and the lead author of the review, said it was critical to address genuine concerns about the vaccine while preventing misleading facts from spreading on the internet.

"This information can be really damaging, and it's clever how they spread it through memes and memorable things," she said. "These groups are very skilled. They feed on fear, that little grain of truth, and they amplify it.

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"It's not very interesting when the Government produces passive web pages that say vaccinations are safe. The anti-vaxxers turn everything into a show – they put out things that are engaging, that are visual to their members. 

"Social media channels try to capture this misinformation, but they can't get everything and so it’s important that the public can spot it so that they don't share it. Most people aren't bad, they just don't realise they are sharing a whole load of misinformation."

Experts are concerned that uptake for a Covid vaccine will fall short unless more is done to address misconceptions on social media. Recent research has shown that around 36 per cent of people in Britain say they are either uncertain or very unlikely to be vaccinated against the virus. 

Prof Mills added: "There are real knowledge voids. The public thinks it takes decades to make a vaccine, so it has to be communicated that it is safe. There are always going to be side-effects, and that has to be acknowledged too.

"Everyone is concerned about this rushed vaccine, so let's talk about it. There needs to be a dialogue, and that will work better at a local level."

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