COVID-19: Facebook bans firm over anti-vaccine crusade
August 11, 2021
Fazze, a firm operating out of Russia, had tried to lure influencers to push false information about the AstraZeneca and BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 shots, according to Facebook.
Facebook was one of the platforms that the campaign used to spread false informationImage: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/picture alliance
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Facebook said on Tuesday that it has shut down a smear campaign that sought to spread disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines made by BioNTech-Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Facebook said it traced hundreds of accounts back to Fazze, a UK-registered marketing firm operating out of Russia.
The social media company said it banned Fazze for violating its policy against foreign interference.
Fake reports about vaccinations
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Fake accounts claim AstraZeneca jab turns people into chimpanzees
Facebook's investigators described the campaign as a "cross-platform disinformation laundromat," creating misleading content on forums like Reddit, Medium and Change.org, as well as fake accounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Last year, the network of fake accounts circulated a meme that the AstraZeneca COVID jab would turn people into chimpanzees, Facebook reported.
Around five months later, the campaign attacked BioNTech-Pfizer's vaccine safety and shared what it claimed to be a leaked AstraZeneca document.
The campaign primarily targeted India and Latin America, as well as the US.
Facebook: 'Do your own research'
Fazze had asked influencers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok in several countries to push anti-vaccine content for payment, according to Facebook.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, said the company's efforts to enlist influencers were noteworthy despite the campaign not getting much traction online.
"Although it was sloppy and didn't have very good reach, it was an elaborate setup," Gleicher said.
Facebook said some influencers did post Fazze's material, but later deleted it when stories about the campaign began to emerge.
Two German and French influencers exposed the campaign earlier this year.
"The assumption was the influencers wouldn't do any of their own homework, but two did," Facebook global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo said while briefing journalists.
"It's really a warning — be careful when someone is trying to spoon feed you a story. Do your own research."
New role models? The rise of the German influencers
With millions of followers on platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, here are some of Germany's most successful influencers today.
Image: Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance
Bianca 'Bibi' Classen
Bianca Classen a.k.a. "BibisBeautyPalace" has been pretty successful playing the girl-next-door on social media. Her fortune is estimated at around €3 million ($3.6 million). That is her income from her YouTube videos (with almost six million subscribers), Instagram advertising collabs (with almost eight million followers), and her own beauty brand.
Image: Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance
Younes Zarou
Younes Zarou is the most successful TikTok star in Germany. He has about 30 million followers on his two accounts. He uploads colorful videos with accompanying DIY videos on the rapidly growing platform. In March 2020, he entertained his followers live on TikTok around the clock for a month.
Image: Bernd Kammerer/dpa/picture alliance
Pamela Reif
Pamela Reif was tried in 2020 on charges of hidden advertising and lost the case. The court declared that advertising must be marked as such on Instagram — even if it is only a gratuitous recommendation. This did not put a dent in the fitness influencer's popularity though, and her videos boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lisa and Lena Mantler started uploading lip-syncing and dance videos when they were 13 years old onto a platform called Musical.ly, which later became TikTok. They were a big hit, but withdrew from the platform in March 2019 due to security concerns — only to return in May 2020, much to the delight of their international fanbase.
Image: Clemens Bilan/Getty Images
Gronkh
Born Erik Range, Gronkh is a veteran of the gaming scene and one of its most successful influencers. He has had a YouTube channel since 2010, and for two years, he had the most subscribers among all German channels. He became known through the "Let's Play" videos, in which he filmed himself playing video games. Gronkh is also successful on the streaming channel Twitch.
Image: Christoph Hardt/Future Image/imago images
Stefanie Giesinger
Fashion, beauty and travel are all topics that go down well with Instagram users — a fact Stefanie Giesinger, who is one of the top German influencers in these areas, is well aware of. Crowned "Germany's Next Topmodel" in 2014, she's only occasionally seen on the catwalk these days. She has also founded her own sustainable fashion label.
Image: Federico Pestellini/PanoramiC/imago images
Rezo
This YouTuber's video, "The destruction of the CDU," which criticizes Angela Merkel's governing party, the CDU, created a stir in Germany in 2019, and was viewed over 18 million times. YouTube said it was the most-viewed video in Germany that year. This shows how relevant YouTubers like Rezo have become. In addition to political videos, Rezo also makes regular entertainment videos.
Image: Privat/dpa/picture alliance
Marie Nasemann
She is one of the most popular influencers who focus on sustainability. Marie Nasemann writes about sustainable fashion in her blog "Fairknall." She is one of the "sense-fluencers" who use their reach to discuss what they consider meaningful, important topics like sustainability, feminism or vegan nutrition.