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The anti-vax influencer plot that flopped Jul 24, 2021

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Who was behind a secret plot to pay social media stars to falsely discredit the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine?

Trending investigates an attempt to weaponise the power of influencer marketing in the online disinformation war over the pandemic.

In May this year a marketing agency contacted influencers in several countries with an extraordinary offer. A mystery client was offering big money if the influencers would use their YouTube and Instagram videos to spread lies about the health risks associated with the Pfizer vaccine. The anonymous sponsor wanted them to pretend they weren’t being paid so the fake message would appear genuine.

The plan failed spectacularly when several influencers went public and blew the whistle. But who was behind it and what were their motives?

Presenter: Charlie Haynes

Reporter: Flora Carmichael

Editor: Ed Main

Photo: French YouTuber Leo Grasset

Photo credit: Leo Grasset

Vaccine heroes fight back May 08, 2021

Show notes

Nicole is a paediatrician in Ohio who was shocked when she received a ton of nasty comments on one of her online videos. Her “mistake” was providing reliable, evidence-based information about vaccines.

It meant that anti-vaccine activists targeted her. But with the help of a group of volunteer medical professionals called Shots Heard Around the World, she led a fight back against abuse and disinformation.

The pandemic is far from over – but there are signs that science is winning out over hardcore anti-vaccine lies.

In the final episode of the series, we reveal the extent of vaccine disinformation in countries around the world. And we meet some of the volunteers on the frontlines of the push back.

They’re filling in some of the gaps, but shouldn’t that be the job of the social media companies? We quiz a Facebook executive about whether their policies and systems are really working.

Presenter: Mike Wendling Reporter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane

Brazil’s bubble of bad information May 01, 2021

Show notes

A helicopter carrying vaccines is greeted in a by a crowd in an indigenous village – and the villagers are armed with bows and arrows. It’s just one, thankfully rare incident. But it’s a symptom of the creeping misinformation hitting some of Brazil’s most remote communities. But rather than being a vestige of traditional ideas or village life, rumours about health and vaccines are being spread in a very modern way. Mobile phone operators in Brazil often include free data in their user plans, but the package is limited only to select social media platforms. These plans, popular in poorer, rural and indigenous communities, allow Brazilians to spend hours online for free – but limit access to other apps and alternative sources of online information. It means Brazil’s poorest can find themselves unable to check what they’re reading on chat apps – and stuck in a misinformation bubble. And the fact that some religious and political leaders – including President Jair Bolsonaro – have been spreading falsehoods and anti-vax messages doesn’t help either. In Brazil, the uptake of vaccines in indigenous communities is now significantly lower than expected – but the news isn’t all bad. We meet indigenous people trying to convince their families to take the jab.

Presenter: Mike Wendling Reporter: Juliana Gragnani Producer: Jonathan Griffin

The rise of India’s ‘Covid quack’ Apr 24, 2021

Show notes

As India struggles with a surge in Covid-19 cases, it is also dealing with a wave of misinformation about the virus and vaccines.

Although now banned from Facebook and YouTube, self-proclaimed nutritionist Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury built his social media stardom by claiming that conventional medicine is almost entirely wrong about coronavirus.

Labelled a dangerous “quack” by his critics, Chowdhury has a track record of spreading outrageous medical falsehoods. He is opposed to all vaccines and even claims AIDS is not caused by HIV.

During the global pandemic he has gained a new audience by spreading conspiracy theories about Covid-19, which he calls “the scandal of the millennium”.

Chowdhury says – contrary to scientific evidence - that masks and lockdowns are harmful and warns that hospital treatment only increases a patient’s chances of dying.

He claims to have “cured” thousands of Covid-19 patients through diet alone and has set up a course where followers can pay to learn his methods. We challenge his bogus claims and uncover new details about the death of one of his followers.

Presenter: Mike Wendling Reporter: Reha Kansara Producer: Ed Main With reporting by: Shruti Menon, BBC Reality Check, Delhi

One woman’s escape from the rabbit hole Apr 17, 2021

Show notes

Catherine’s family believed in alternative medicine and she grew up in relatively poor, fringe communities that didn’t have much to do with mainstream science or Britain’s national health system. And when social media became a big part of her life, she started believing in all sorts of wild conspiracy theories.

But when she slowly realised that she was being conned by some of the pseudoscientists and charlatans she had put her trust in, she started to turn a sceptical eye on her online sources.

Catherine now lives a quiet life in southern England with her family, gardening and selling clothes at festivals. She also dedicates her free time to spreading reliable information about medicine and science online. It’s a mission that’s become ever more urgent throughout the global pandemic. Her story gives us insight into why people fall victim to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories - and what can help them to get out.

Presenter: Mike Wendling Reporter: Marianna Spring Producer: Joseph Martin

Targeting Germany’s youth Apr 10, 2021

Show notes

The Querdenken (in English, “lateral thinking”) sprung up last summer – it’s Germany’s anti-vaccine, Covid-denying, anti-lockdown movement, and it’s created a new crop of social media figures. The baseless conspiracy theories they spread have got more extreme over time – and one man in particular has used parents’ worries about the impact of lockdown on their children as a vehicle for false narratives. Samuel Eckert, a former evangelical preacher, runs a private Telegram group for under-18s called Samuel Eckert Youngsters. There are more than 300 children involved, all aged between 10-17, despite Telegram only being open to those aged 16 and above. Eckert says the group is for Covid-sceptic children to meet and support each other. An inside source tells us that the children adore Eckert, post selfies with him - and some even refer to him as “father”. But the children involved have also been exposed to far-right content, and some have been bullied for their views. What really goes on inside Germany’s secret Telegram group for Covid-sceptic teens?

Presenter: Mike Wendling Reporter: Jessica Bateman Producer: Reha Kansara

South Africa's imported 'infodemic' Apr 03, 2021

Show notes

Recent surveys indicate that there might be rising scepticism about vaccines in South Africa. But even before the coronavirus pandemic started, the Rainbow Nation was battling a tide of anti-vaccine misinformation online. And one study found that although there is a relatively small group of South African anti-vaccine activists, they are being bolstered by a wave of material coming from abroad. We meet a pharmacist who has been tracking the alarming reach of that small group of hardcore anti-vaccinators for the last five years. And we hear how the country’s class system contributes to a big divide in willingness to take vaccines. Plus we hear from the activists staging a fightback against the Covid-19 “infodemic”. Sarah is a mole in a number of anti-vax chat app groups and runs a pro-vaccine Facebook page aimed at countering their disinformation. But can she convince someone with questions about vaccines to actually get one? Pres: Mike Wendling Reporter: Jonathan Griffin Additional production: Jack Goodman

France’s misinformation fight Mar 27, 2021

Show notes

France is one of the most vaccine sceptical countries in the world. A recent poll suggests just 40% of French people intend to take a Covid-19 vaccine, but what's fuelling the doubt?

We meet the superstar doctor whose anti-authoritarian zeal has inspired an army of devotees, and the conspiracy obsessed shaman with a huge following on social media.

Plus, the activists staging a fightback. “Marie” runs a pro-vaccine Facebook group aimed at countering disinformation but wants to remain anonymous following a string of death threats. And Tristan Mendes France works with the team behind “Conspiracy Watch”, a site that keeps a close eye on the spread of toxic information online.

Presenter: Mike Wendling Reporter: Marianna Spring Producer: Sam Judah

How anti-vax went viral Mar 20, 2021

Show notes

Scientists say only a vaccine will really get us out of the Covid-19 pandemic. So why has the anti-vaccine movement grown stronger than ever over the last year? In the first episode of this new series, BBC Trending and a team of disinformation reporters will investigate how hardcore anti-vaccine activists have used social media to spread their message far and wide, capitalising on fear and mistrust to advance their own agendas. We’re not talking about legitimate medical debate or questions that people have about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. No, we’re talking about completely debunked conspiracy theories – that the vaccines contain microchips in order to track everyone who takes them, that they will make you infertile or are poisonous, or that they will alter your DNA. Exclusive research by BBC Monitoring shows just how popular far anti-vaccine material has spread on Facebook and Instagram. With the help of some of the world’s leading researchers, we investigate how these posts increase vaccine hesitancy and find out how some fringe activists are turning their online efforts into real-world action. Presenter: Mike Wendling

Votes, viruses, victims: 2020 in disinformation Dec 25, 2020

Show notes

From the global pandemic to the US election, the extraordinary events of 2020 have both fuelled, and been shaped by, the online spread of falsehoods, propaganda and bizarre conspiracy theories. Trending’s Mike Wendling and Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, look back at some of the most viral rumours, how they debunked them, and discover what happened next. Producer: Jonathan Griffin Picture caption: Photo illustration of a phone showing “fake news” Picture credit: BBC

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