“Memes play an integral role in disinformation campaigns by facilitating fear, uncertainty and doubt,” GAVI claims.

GAVI – now legally called “Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance,” originally called the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and heavily funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a number of other countries – recently published an article that railed against memes and how they distorted the truth (from their vantage point) during The Covid War not that long ago.

The article, first published in The Conversation, begins by claiming that “Memes have featured in anti-vaccine messaging for centuries and their power to spread harmful health disinformation is growing” – even though the internet has only been around for roughly several decades.

However, what GAVI was referring to are examples of short warnings and imagery that were traditionally printed on paper, used as propaganda or quick messages to spread awareness of something.

For context, two years ago at this point, around the time The Covid War had entered into the de-escalation phase, Gates had taken to the media to discuss the mistakes that were made and what could be done better to rectify them for the ‘next pandemic.’ When he was asked to address the issue of “mis- and disinformation,” especially about the things said about him, Gates warned that safety nets and added regulations would be needed to prevent this from harming more people again.

You know I believe that the ability to communicate worldwide there’s huge benefits that flow out of that, and now we have to moderate some of the insanity that you know prevents people from helping themselves.

He said at the time

SEE: Bill Gates Tells Al Jazeera How To Prepare For The ‘Next Pandemic’ And ‘To Moderate Some Of The Insanity’ Online

With this latest piece republished by GAVI, this article provides a bit of insight into what Gates was in part referring to when he made that aforementioned statement.

The following is the report republished by GAVI, published on February 15th:


If you think memes are simply online images of cute cats and celebrities with funny captions, then you might be surprised to learn that they can have a more sinister function.

Our research shows that memes form part of a highly sophisticated strategy to spread and monetize health disinformation.

Memes may appear trivial, but they should be taken seriously. Dismissing them as harmless jokes is to grossly underestimate their influence – and bolsters their power to spread potentially harmful health messages.

Anti-Vaccine Memes Have A Long History

Memes aren’t a recent invention. They have featured prominently in anti-vaccination messaging for centuries.

A monster being fed baskets of infants and excreting them with horns; symbolizing vaccination and its effects. Etching by C. Williams, 1802. Wellcome CollectionCC BY-NC

When widespread smallpox immunization began in the early 19th century, political cartoons published in print media used memes (see image below) to evoke fear about the safety of the vaccine.

Cartoon from an anti-vaccination publication, titled ‘Do not vaccinate!’, 1892. The Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

The most infamous anti-vaccination meme, however, emerged from a now discredited 1998 study that falsely linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine with autism.

The meme “vaccines cause autism”, which appeared on billboards and was circulated widely in the media, provoked doubts about the safety of the vaccine. The study, since described as an “elaborate fraud”, was published the same year as the launch of Google’s search engine allowing “vaccines cause autism” to became a global meme.

Today, memes remain an important part of the anti-vaccine movement. The internet enables memes to be created anonymously, repurposed and shared at scale – making them a highly effective medium for spreading health disinformation.

They are often used as part of a meme war, defined as “the intentional propagation of political memes on social media for the purpose of political persuasion or community building, or to strategically spread narratives and other messaging crucial to a media manipulation campaign.” According to disinformation research platform The Media Manipulation Casebook.

Memes play an integral role in disinformation campaigns by facilitating fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Influencers And Money

Our study analysed how popular anti-vaccine influencers used memes to galvanise the anti-vaccine movement during the COVID pandemic.

We discovered three recurring themes for encouraging vaccine refusal.

First, memes were used to vilify the government and social institutions, portraying them as corrupt and politically compromised. Anti-government sentiments were used to support several claims. These included claims that the government is corrupt and tyrannical; that vaccines are unsafe and ineffective and that the government is using vaccines as a form of state surveillance, for control and profit.

Second, memes depicted unvaccinated people as unfairly stigmatized. Influencers suggested the unvaccinated were being persecuted, using evocative imagery to imply a false equivalence between those who remain unvaccinated by choice and the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. Such memes portrayed unvaccinated people as victims subject to Nazi-like sanctions and social exclusion.

A meme representing the Jewish Star to draw parallels between the victimization of the Jews during the Holocaust and the unvaccinated today.

Third, vaccinated people were depicted as morally and physically inferior to the unvaccinated. Vaccination was associated with infertility, low sex drive and a lack of critical thinking. Those opposed to vaccines, however, were portrayed positively as virile, attractive and intellectually superior.

To establish group membership and promote a sense of belonging, influencers referred to those who are anti vaccines as their “soul family”. But our research suggests there may be a more cynical motivation behind this apparently warm sentiment.

Going Viral – And Avoiding Challenge

Influencers were strategic in their use of memes for political persuasion and commercial gain.

Several influencers provided their followers with “meme drops”: packages of memes with dissemination instructions. These memes were tested and produced in meme factories, then distributed monthly to a mass audience via personal newsletters and websites, encouraging followers to spread anti-vaccination content. By adapting memes to current affairs, influencers increased their relevance and likelihood of going viral.

Memes weren’t just a method of self-promotion for anti-vaccination influencers, however. They were also a way to profit financially from pandemic anxieties.

Anti-vaccine sentiment became a powerful gateway to promote potentially harmful health products. We found that memes were used to market unauthorized medical products by directing consumers to online stores. For example, we found that clicking on satirical COVID themed memes directed consumers to purchase hydroxychloroquine (a treatment for autoimmune disorders) and veterinary Ivermectin (used to treat parasites in animals). Both medicines are unapproved for the treatment of COVID.

A meme depicting the U.S. House of Representatives, which refers to elected officials as parasites, and links to the anti-parasitic drug, Ivermectin, which was promoted by some anti-vaccine influencers as an alternative (and unapproved) treatment for COVID-19.
The Ivermectin pills sold by the influencer for $90USD were intended for animal use only.

Memes are powerful propagators of disinformation because they allow influencers to claim plausible deniability. Under the protective guise of humor and satire, memes can evade fact checkers and content moderators while promoting anti-vaccine myths and unauthorized treatments.

Influencers promoting vaccine hesitancy use memes to build their online following, sow distrust of health authorities and profit from the promotion of unapproved medicines. This enables them to evade responsibility for any negative consequences of their messaging.

Memes may not look threatening – but that’s why they are such effective super spreaders of health disinformation.


AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Oh, those terrible memesters, how evil and cynical of them!?

An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.

Proverbs 11:9

These evil, hypocritical, sons of Satan, continue to pretend that they are victims, and how they are the virtuous and righteous ones. Absolutely disgusting, but we should expect nothing less from these people.

But, I do thank you GAVI, for reminding me of my ancestors from a bygone era that were exposing your father’s evil of the time, unabashed to call it for what it was!

As for the memes about the ivermectin and the hydroxychloroquine, as far as I am concerned, that was part of the psyop perpetuated during that time by controlled and so-called “truth teller” media.

SEE: The Joe Rogan Psy-Op: Recovers From Covid By Taking Variety Of Pharmaceuticals

Beware Of Anti-Covid Actors And Psychological Operations To Deceive You

In short, as we knew coming into this year, the crackdown on speech and massive increase in censorship is going to intensify very soon.


[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

The WinePress needs your support! If God has laid it on your heart to want to contribute, please prayerfully consider donating to this ministry. If you cannot gift a monetary donation, then please donate your fervent prayers to keep this ministry going! Thank you and may God bless you.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

4 Comments

Leave a Comment

×