Freedom of Speech vs Science; Social Media is Silencing the Anti-vaxxers

Sabrina Fein
4 min readNov 1, 2021
courtesy: https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/supporting-democracy-and-elections-with-integrity/opinion-social-media-a-threat-to-free-speech/

I am vaccinated. Let us just throw that out there because while I believe the CDC, I understand those that are not ready to get the shot. Information is how we make decisions. We pick who we want to vote for after viewing political speeches and actions. We decided how to style our hair and what fashion to wear from looking at celebrity IG pages and magazines. We decide what medicine to put in our body based on doctor recommendations and online reviews. Information online is steering our decision-making process. The first thing we learn about in a topic, is generally the one believed. This is anchoring bias and the reason behind social media silencing your first amendment rights.

Virologist Judy Mikovits’ book

Covid-19 brought fear to many across the world. Yet some did not believe it was real and was propaganda for businesses to make money. For example, virologist Judy Mikovits states Anthony Fauci and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could be using their power to profit from a COVID-19 vaccine. She also asserts that wearing masks “activates your own virus.” Her view was shared more than eight million times on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram before it was taken down. Could that have impacted Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp to sign an executive order banning city governments from implementing mask mandates. He even sued Atlanta’s mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms when she instituted one. If we cannot trust a virologist with accurate science, how can we trust that social media is taking down the right vaccine misinformation post?

Remember the buzz around Hydroxychloroquine? Trump retweeted a video featuring Stella Immanuel, a Houston, Tex.–based physician claiming that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment for COVID-19. The video was viewed tens of millions of times before social media companies took it down. The doctor and president’s view was a bit premature as hydroxychloroquine showed promise in test tubes NOT animals or humans. At the end of the trial in humans, hydroxychloroquine was concluded as having no benefit in the outpatient or inpatient setting for treatment of COVID-19. But because President Trump introduced it to the public with his remarks, the public remained a supporter of the false drug due to anchoring bias. Yet again, if we cannot trust a doctor or US President to give us correct information, how do the people managing Facebook, IG and Twitter know what the truth with what posts they keep up surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine?

Kalispell Regional Hospital Social Media Focus

Misinformation is everywhere. Politicians and doctors are getting mixed messages from their sources and thus leading the public to be confused about what to do. Maybe looking at the doctors and nurses who see the sick everyday are more reliable for true stats. They witness the symptoms, observe medication being given, and feel the pain of death firsthand. In northwest Montana, public relations workers at Kalispell Regional Hospital are doing Facebook Live sessions with front-line workers to help spread the realities of Covid-19. Emergency room nurse Jodi Doering went viral after posting on Twitter that she has dealt with dying patients who still believe COVID-19 isn’t real. Are these the people social media companies are believing to share true information about Covid-19 and the vaccine?

A recent study found clusters of anti-vaxxers on Facebook are smaller than pro-vaccination groups. However the anti-vax group are more connected to people who are undecided about the shot. The voice on social media is loud and can spread far. Social media is not the government; thus, they do not need to enforce the first amendment on their turf. Social media users do not have a right to free speech on private social media platforms. That is dangerous power for a conglomerate to own the power of information. This time around the information they decide to share can make one pro or anti vaccine. What does the future hold with this amount of power?

References:

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/19/936248527/covid-19-denial-still-rampant-in-some-virus-hotspots

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eight-persistent-covid-19-myths-and-why-people-believe-them/

https://newsroom.uw.edu/postscript/end-hydroxychloroquine-treatment-covid-19

https://accessiblelaw.untdallas.edu/limits-free-speech-social-media#:~:text=Current%20legal%20precedent%20conclusively%20establishes,policies%20as%20permitted%20by%20Sec.

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Sabrina Fein

An AMS meteorologist with over 15 years of experience in tornado alley, Florida, SoCal & MD. I currently am taking classes to get my Master's in Social Media.