BBC criticised online for ‘bragging’ about getting ‘anti-vax’ groups removed from Facebook

THE British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has faced some criticism online after seeming to brag about getting ‘anti-vax’ groups removed from social media platform Facebook.

A post on Twitter from Leilani Dowding has prompted some debate after she accused the BBC of bragging about getting a group removed from Facebook due to them being ‘anti-vax’.

Dowding wrote: “It’s SICK!!! BBC bragging about getting a group removed by grassing them to Facebook… How are they anti vax if they are talking about injuries they had FROM IT!!!”

It’s SICK!!! BBC bragging about getting a group removed by grassing them to facebook… How are they anti vax if they are talking about injuries they had FROM IT!!! https://t.co/dHdyZleVoG pic.twitter.com/SNakxtYO8N

— leilani dowding 🌸🚜 ☮️ (@LeilaniDowding) September 16, 2022

The BBC article highlighted how users of these so-called ‘anti-vax’ were using carrot emojis instead of the vaccine emoji in order to hide the word “vaccine” when talking about people dying after receiving a jab.

In the post, the author writes: “Once the BBC alerted Facebook’s parent company, Meta, the groups were removed.”

After the BBC reported the groups, Meta issued the following reply: “We have removed this group for violating our harmful misinformation policies and will review any other similar content in line with this policy.

“We continue to work closely with public health experts and the UK government to further tackle Covid vaccine misinformation.”

The groups have since reappeared despite being “removed”, according to the BBC.

Dowding called this a brag and many people responded to her comment.

One person said: “BBC engaging in open activism and censuring freedom of Speech @DefundBBC.”

https://twitter.com/peter_s_bailey/status/1570782008003137537?s=21&t=DCHCe4qZBKz-DcK_IQcOTg

Neil Oliver simple said: “Yes.”

Yes. https://t.co/nbDmwQUzDv

— Neil Oliver (@thecoastguy) September 16, 2022

Another person wrote: “@BBC should be taken to court by these groups for false allegations of spreading “misinformation”.”

@BBC should be taken to court by these groups for false allegations of spreading "misinformation". https://t.co/qopHjgU43H

— Far right or Just right? (@davemcaree2) September 16, 2022

According to the husband of the late Lisa Eve (Shaw), the BBC Radio presenter who died from complications from the AstraZeneca vaccine on May 21, 2021, “vaccine deaths are real.”

On Thursday, July 22, Gareth decided to release the 44-year-old’s death certificate online after the topic of vaccine deaths garnered mainstream news again following the recent BBC documentary ‘Unvaccinated’.

On Thursday, August 18, Meta banned the Children’s Health Defense organisation, which has been accused of spreading anti-vax information, from platforms Facebook and Instagram.

The organisation led by Robert Kennedy Jr, the nephew of former US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, has been widely accused of perpetuating the anti-Covid vax movement.

“We have deleted the Instagram and Facebook accounts in question for repeated violations of our Covid-19 policies,” Aaron Simpson, a spokesperson for Meta, told AFP at the time.

Following the ban, Robert Kennedy Jr said in a statement: “Facebook is acting here as a representative of the federal government’s crusade to silence any criticism of the government’s draconian policies.”

Meta’s decision to ban the Children’s Health Defense organisation was based on ‘repeated violations of its Covid-19 policies’ – an accusation that Robert Kennedy Jr’s organisation had been spreading disinformation.

This disinformation was recently revealed in a Twitter video making the rounds regarding the vaccination status of the World Health Organisation’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The video accused the WHO chief of not being vaccinated. However, the video was doctored and highlighted the dangers of doctored viral videos being disseminated online and their power to change public opinion.

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