Anti-vaxxers make up to $1.1 billion for social media companies
The global anti-vaccination industry, including influencers and followers, generates up to $1.1 billion in annual revenue for social media giants, according to a damning new report published this week. Anti-vaccine content creates a vast amount of engagement for leading technology platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, with an estimated total social media audience of 62 million people. The arrangement works both ways, with the anti-vax industry earning up to $36million a year.
The Center for Digital Hate, based in Washington D.C., has called on social media companies to deplatform leading anti-vaxxers, who are responsible for the majority of vaccine misinformation generated online. The Center’s CEO, Imran Ahmed, said that the $36 million estimate was conservative and that their real profits could be much higher.
https://www.rappler.com/technology/features/social-media-profit-pandemic-antivax-coda-story