U.K. Labour Party pushes for censorship of anti-vax social media groups
Britain's Labour Party is urging a crack down on anti-vaccine discussions online, calling for the government to financially and criminally punish social media companies for allowing such content to be hosted.
The push from the United Kingdom's official Opposition comes as new developments surrounding a COVID-19 vaccine have made headlines recently. Last week, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer released the news of its 90 per cent effective vaccine. This week, Moderna announced its variant was even more effective, claiming it offered 94.5 per cent protection.
A vaccine is our great hope for the coming months.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 15, 2020
The Labour Party will work with the government on a cross-party basis to build trust and help promote the take-up of the vaccine.https://t.co/4FBmb3D0LT
The government, in return, said that it was taking the issue “extremely seriously,” citing commitments it had gained from Facebook, Twitter and Google to combat social media posts critical of vaccines.
Johnathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said such content was “exploiting people's fears, their mistrust of institutions and governments and spreading poison and harm.”
Legitimate questions would arise, Ashworth said, citing circumstances regarding levels of immunity and whether the vaccine would be an appropriate choice for some individuals with chronic health conditions.
“There's nothing wrong with asking those questions and strong public health messaging from the government, reinforced by us, will allay those fears,” he added.
Can Labour seriously stoop any lower? WIN THE BLOODY ARGUMENTS rather than encouraging gov to be even more draconian by "calling for financial and criminal penalties for social media companies that fail to censor posts promoting anti-vaccination content": https://t.co/QQpa1CofsQ
— Claire Fox (@Fox_Claire) November 14, 2020
However, an estimated 30 per cent of people in the U.K. have said they would consider refusing a vaccine if one was offered, stoking fears that national protection could be hindered.
The Labour Party sent a message to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden pointing a finger at the anti-vaccination groups online that have hundreds of thousands of members as stoking fea and doubt over a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
The totalitarian Labour Party is an enemy of freedom. Everyone has the right to express their opinions about vaccines. A statement may be right or wrong, but the state has no business imprisoning people for stating an opinion they don't like. https://t.co/XTMZvcRb3x
— David Kurten (@davidkurten) November 15, 2020
Europe is currently mired in the midst of its second wave of COVID-19, with a number of countries enacting more restrictions on the public. The United Kingdom reported more than 50,000 new cases over the weekend, as well as more than 600 deaths.
Start your free trial
Access exclusive members only RebelNews+ shows, event footage, and documentaries
SubscribeDon't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.
Don't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.