Tech
Exclusive social network for doctors found riddled with vaccine misinformation
A disturbing new report has found that vaccine disinformation is running rampant on Doximity, a social media platform for doctors
A damning new report has found that Doximity is harbouring conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers among its members.
This is despite the site’s extensive vetting process, which verifies that all members are registered US healthcare professionals.
Doximity is a networking site for doctors, with customised feeds based on the user’s area on medical practise. The feed is curated with posts from medical and science journals and sites.
From anti-vaxxers to white supremacists
Although the site doesn’t allow users to post their own stories or articles, they can comment on them.
One retired US doctor who now volunteers with Covid-19 vaccine administration said he often sees misinformation in these comments sections.
“You rarely get to the level of microchips in vaccines, but a lot of this stuff is pretty close to it,” said Dr. Paul Malarik.
In one instance, an article about face masks for children was inundated with comments from anti-vax doctors
One comment said that masks for children were “ridiculous” and “a form of child abuse”.
The current public health advice is that masks help limit the spread of Covid-19. There is also currently no approved vaccine for children under 12 years old.
Doximity says that “spreading false or misleading information” is against its community guidelines
The platform also said that it removes all posts or comments spreading misinformation.
“While we encourage our members to share their views in our comments section, we explicitly prohibit the sharing of medical misinformation,” a spokesperson said.
Doximity has 1.8 million members, including 80 percent of US doctors. The company made a net income of over $50 million in the last financial year, but stocks have fallen almost 8% in the last day.