'Disinformation Dozen' report drives platform bans of vaccine critics
A March 2021 report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate identified 12 individuals it said produced most anti-vaccine content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The report was cited by the White House and members of Congress and preceded platform actions against many of the twelve, including Joseph Mercola, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Erin Elizabeth, Sherri Tenpenny, Rashid Buttar, and Ty and Charlene Bollinger.
In March 2021 the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published 'The Disinformation Dozen,' asserting that twelve individuals produced up to 65% of anti-vaccine content circulating on major social media platforms. The list included Joseph Mercola, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ty and Charlene Bollinger, Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, Ben Tapper, and Kevin Jenkins. In July 2021 White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy publicly cited the report and called on platforms to act; members of Congress sent letters to Facebook and Twitter demanding removals. Over the following months Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter suspended or removed accounts belonging to most of the twelve. Internal Facebook research later disclosed in the Missouri v. Biden litigation questioned the report's 65% figure, but platform enforcement had already been applied. The episode became a central exhibit in the Fifth Circuit's Murthy v. Missouri (2023) coercion findings.