Four in five Britons say anti-vaccine lies should be made illegal
Four in five Britons say people who spread fake news about vaccines should face prosecution
- Survey found over half believe a vaccine produced in records time can be safe
- It follows concerns over anti-vax lies hampering mass rollout of Covid vaccine
- Two Labour MPs say that online groups have been churning out disinformation
Four out of five Britons want those who spread fake news about vaccines to face prosecution.
A survey of 2,000 people by ORB International for The Sunday Telegraph found more than half believe that a vaccine produced in record time can be safe.
Those questioned were more likely to respond positively when asked to take a vaccine to protect their friends and family than to safeguard themselves.
Demonstrators during an anti-vax protest in London’s Trafalgar Square in September this year. Four out of five Britons want anti-vaccine lies to be made illegal
It follows growing concern that conspiracy theories and lies peddled by so-called anti-vaxxers could hamper any mass rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine.
This weekend, Labour called for social media firms which fail to ‘stamp out dangerous anti-vaccine content’ to be subject to financial and criminal penalties.
In a letter to the Government, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth and Jo Stevens say online groups with hundreds of thousands of members are churning out disinformation.
According to The Observer, they have offered to provide support for any vote in the Commons if the Government agrees to work with Labour on new legislation.
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