White House recruits TikTokers and other influencers to fight vaccine fake news
The White House is recruiting an army of influencers to combat fake news about vaccines in the US. More than 50 Twitch streamers, YouTubers and TikTokers with millions of followers, as well as 18-year-old pop star Olivia Rodrigo, have been chosen by the Joe Biden administration to educate young Americans about the importance of getting vaccinated.
Currently in the US, less than half of people between the ages of 18 and 39 have received both doses of the vaccine, according to the CDC. Among the population aged 12 to 17, only about 58% have taken the first dose.
State and municipal administrations are also investing in young local influencers to promote Covid-19 vaccines, with some being paid up to $1 a month to address the issue on their feeds.
Influencers vs. anti-vaxxers
And these White House-appointed influencers will have to contend with a barrage of vaccine misinformation online. Anti-vaxxers across social media are spreading it memes and fake news about vaccination on their profiles. Some have such an aggressive stance that young creators say they don't mention the vaccine in their content to avoid negative reactions in the comments.
The idea is to produce light-hearted but factual content about vaccines, like the video by influencer Tinx (Cristina Najjar, 30) with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States. In the video posted on Instagram, Tinx asks serious questions, like whether it’s safe to go out drinking after getting vaccinated or whether it’s dangerous to get pregnant after the vaccine, and also jokes, like how Dr. Fauci can guess her age.
Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. New York Times
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On receiving negative comments from anti-vaccine activists, Najjar told the New York Times: “I don’t worry about negative reactions. Helping spread the message about the importance of the vaccine is the right thing to do.”
Rob Perry, chief executive of XOMAD, a digital marketing company, said the White House’s move to recruit influencers to promote the vaccine was a smart move. “When multiple influencers post about the vaccine at the same time, vaccination rates go up.”
Image: David Everett Strickler / Unsplash
