Study of vaccine-related Facebook ads reveals ongoing challenges to public health
In a year that has seen the largest measles outbreak in the US in more than two decades, the role of social media in giving a platform to unscientific anti-vaccine messages and organizations has become a flashpoint.
In the first study of public health-related Facebook advertising, newly published in the journal Vaccine, researchers at the University of Maryland, the George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University show that a small group of anti-vaccine ad buyers has successfully leveraged Facebook to reach targeted audiences and that the social media platform’s efforts to improve transparency have actually led to the removal of ads promoting vaccination and communicating scientific findings.
The research calls attention to the threat of social media misinformation as it may contribute to increasing “vaccine hesitancy,” which the World Health Organization ranks among the top threats to global health this year. This increasing reluctance or refusal to vaccinate threatens to reverse the progress made in halting vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, which has seen a 30% increase in cases globally.
The research team, co-led by UMD’s Dr. Sandra C. Quinn, GW’s Dr. David Broniatowski and JHU’s Dr. Mark Dredze, examined more than 500 vaccine-related ads served to Facebook users and archived in Facebook’s Ad Library. This archive, which became available in late 2018, catalogued ad content related to “issues of national importance.” Their findings reveal that the majority of advertisements (54%) which opposed vaccination, were posted by only two groups funded by private individuals, the World Mercury Project and Stop Mandatory Vaccination, and emphasized the purported harms of vaccination.
“The average person might think that this anti-vaccine movement is a grassroots effort led by parents, but what we see on Facebook is that there are a handful of well-connected, powerful people who are responsible for the majority of advertisements. These buyers are more organized than people think,” said Amelia Jamison, a faculty research assistant in the Maryland Center for Health Equity, and the study’s first author.
In contrast, those ads promoting vaccination did not reflect a common or organized theme or funder, and were focused on trying to get people vaccinated against a specific disease in a targeted population. Examples included ads for a local WalMart’s flu vaccine clinic or the Gates Foundation campaign against polio.
Yet, because Facebook categorizes ads about vaccines as “political,” it has led the platform to reject some pro-vaccine messages. “By accepting the framing of vaccine opponents – that vaccination is a political topic, rather than one on which there is widespread public agreement and scientific consensus – Facebook perpetuates the false idea that there is even a debate to be had,” said David Broniatowski, associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering at GW, and principal investigator of the study. “This leads to increased vaccine hesitancy, and ultimately, more epidemics.”
“Worse, these policies actually penalize pro-vaccine content since Facebook requires disclosure of funding sources for ‘political’ ads, but vaccine proponents rarely think of themselves as political. Additionally, vaccine opponents are more organized and more able to make sure that their ads meet these requirements.”
Facebook is a pervasive presence in the lives of many people, meaning its decisions about how to handle vaccine messaging have far-reaching and serious consequences, said Sandra Crouse Quinn, professor and chair of the Department of Family Science at UMD’s School of Public Health, and a principal investigator on the study.
“In today’s social media world, Facebook looms large as a source of information for many, yet their policies have made it more difficult for users to discern what is legitimate, credible vaccine information. This puts public health officials, with limited staff resources for social media campaigns, at a true disadvantage, just when we need to communicate the urgency of vaccines as a means to protect our children and our families,” said Quinn.
The researchers note that the data gathered for this study from Facebook’s Ad Archive was collected in December 2018 and February 2019, before Facebook’s March 2019 announcement of updated advertising policies designed to limit the spread of vaccine-related misinformation. This study provides a baseline to compare how new policy changes may change the reach of ads from anti-vaccine organizations. Those standards, issued in response to the proliferation of anti-vaccination misinformation that coincided with measles outbreaks across the U.S.in early 2019, include that Facebook will block advertisements that include false content about vaccines and disallow advertisers from targeting ads to people “interested in vaccine controversies,” as they were previously able to do.
Yet, the messengers may simply mutate their messages, virus-like, to avoid the tightening standards. “There is a whole set of ads that focus on themes of freedom’ or ‘choice’ and that elude the Facebook rules around vaccine ads,” Broniatowski said.
Jamison says that the research team will continue to study how anti-vaccine arguments are spreading on Facebook and how the company is responding to demands from public health organizations to clean up its act.
“While everyone knows that Facebook can be used to spread misinformation, few people realize the control that advertisers have to target their message,” said Mark Dredze, a John C. Malone associate professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins. “For a few thousand dollars, a small number of anti-vaccine groups can micro-target their message, exploiting vulnerabilities in the health of the public.”
Learn more: Inoculating against the spread of viral misinformation
The Latest on: Misinformation
- Kazakhstan: Misinformation and punishmenton May 9, 2024 at 8:42 am
Thus far, those found guilty of circulating demonstrably false content on social media have faced only administrative penalties. But Kazakhstan’s criminal code does provide for punishment of such ...
- Harmful misinformation can’t distract from tribal progress in Maineon May 9, 2024 at 8:05 am
"The speech casts doubt on the integrity of our tribal court, social services department, tribal administration, tribal council and the tribal citizens who trust and make use of these services or are ...
- ‘Word Salad’: Andrew Huberman’s Cannabis Misinformation Slammed by Expertson May 8, 2024 at 5:26 pm
It's not the first time the widely followed podcaster and health guru has been accused of peddling pseudoscience ...
- Campus protests: Dialogue postponed by NAU president as both sides allege misinformationon May 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
In the wake of campus protests over the war in Gaza, Northern Arizona University President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera said Friday that he and university administrators would begin a dialogue with student ...
- Cranky Uncle Vaccine App to address myths, misinformation and disinformation on vaccineson May 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
He said, "The idea is to have a sustainable way we could deal with misinformation and disinformation." Abekuliya made the announcement in an interview on Ghanaweb TV's The Lowdown with host, Daniel ...
- Sam Altman Says He's 'Worried' About AI and Misinformation Ahead of the Presidential Election. Security Researchers Are Tooon May 8, 2024 at 2:57 pm
At the Brookings Institution on Tuesday, the OpenAI CEO talked about efforts to clamp down on election misinformation, but was noticeably light on specifics.
- Gun violence misinformation has found a new home on Chinese language social media, report sayson May 8, 2024 at 1:13 pm
Growing misinformation about gun violence is permeating Chinese-language social media, a new report shows. The report, released Tuesday by the civil rights nonprofit group Chinese for Affirmative ...
- The spread of misinformation varies by topic and by country in Europe, study findson May 8, 2024 at 11:00 am
The eventual prevalence of a piece of misinformation may depend on its topic and the country in which it spreads, with notable differences between the UK, Germany, France and Italy, according to a ...
- How would Oregon’s secretary of state candidates fight misinformation?on May 8, 2024 at 9:25 am
As the state’s chief elections officer, the secretary of state is responsible for keeping Oregon’s elections accurate, secure and accessible to voters. False claims of voter fraud and other ...
- Misinformation about low-income patients clouds reason for Madera hospital’s closure | Opinionon May 7, 2024 at 10:28 am
Attributing the failure of health-care facilities like Madera Community Hospital to the very communities they serve carries a deeply anti-immigrant and anti-Latino undertone. It perpetuates a stigma ...
via Bing News
The Latest on: Anti-vaccine messages
- Fears over Facebook anti-vax messages after five babies die with whooping coughon May 9, 2024 at 4:48 am
More than 2,700 whooping cough cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 - three times as many cases as the whole of last year ...
- Officials: Sandra Miceli, an upstate nurse, provided fake vaccination cards for about 116 children across New York Stateon May 7, 2024 at 4:49 pm
Sandra Miceli, who operates a wellness clinic in a Rochester suburb, falsely reported to the state that her pediatric patients had received required immunizations.
- Study finds U.S. COVID-19 vaccine promotion campaign saved 50,000 liveson May 6, 2024 at 12:06 pm
The "We Can Do This" COVID-19 public education campaign launched by the White House in 2021 to increase confidence in vaccines succeeded in saving more than 50,000 lives, according to a study ...
- A poorly framed article on COVID-19 vaccine injury in the New York Timeson May 6, 2024 at 12:00 am
A poorly framed article on people who believe that COVID-19 vaccines injured them is being trumpeted by antivaxxerst. Where the New York Times and its reporter Apoorva Mandavilli go wrong?
- Documents reveal Biden’s pressure campaign to censor Facebook, YouTube, Amazonon May 5, 2024 at 1:16 pm
YouTube, Facebook and Amazon were frustrated by the Biden administration’s “pressure” to censor and demote content related to COVID-19 vaccines and the origins of the virus.
- Just What Kind of a Third-Party Candidate Is R.F.K. Jr.?on May 4, 2024 at 2:05 am
They can elevate new issues, represent marginal constituencies and sometimes even win plenty of votes: Six third-party candidates have either won states or reached double digits in the national vote ...
- AstraZeneca has admitted its Covid vaccine caused the condition that killed Gareth's BBC presenter wife. So why won't he and their son see a penny in compensation?on May 3, 2024 at 5:03 am
The message from the Government at the time was still ... At the time if you questioned anything about the vaccine, you were accused of being an anti-vaxxer and unpatriotic.' Conversely, he was also ...
- Whooping cough outbreak in North Idaho: With low vaccination rates, what can we do? | Opinionon May 1, 2024 at 2:00 am
Idaho has the lowest vaccination rates across the board in the country, according to the most recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Idaho’s vaccination rate for five ...
- Anti-polio drive continues in ICT: 23% target achieved on 1st dayon April 30, 2024 at 6:11 am
Talking to APP, Islamabad Capital Territory Administration Spokesman, Dr Abdullah Tabassum said that the city’s polio vaccination drive entered its second day with a successful start, reaching 23 ...
- Research finds negativity about vaccines surged on Twitter after COVID-19 shots became availableon April 29, 2024 at 8:51 am
There was a marked increase in negativity about vaccines on Twitter after COVID-19 vaccines became available, according to a presentation at the ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, ...
via Bing News