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May 2021
18m 41s

Vaccine heroes fight back

Bbc World Service
About this episode

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

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