October 8, 2021
Hi everyone! Senior editor Kiera Butler here. I’ve been covering COVID and misinformation at Mother Jones for the last 18 months. Right after the Facebook whistleblower dropped her bombshell news on 60 Minutes this week, I published a piece about yet another way in which Facebook enables the spread of disinformation. On Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, anti-vaxxers are using a host of new techniques to hide their vaccine misinformation from algorithms designed to catch them. They put their anti-vaccine content in their Instagram stories or call vaccines “Maxine” or “jabberwock” or other code words. Many have backup accounts in case they get booted. And backups to backups. One particularly popular algorithm-dodge among anti-vaxxers right now: They make content in actual posts deliberately cryptic, with vague mentions of “freedom” or “questioning authority.” Then they put the vaccine content in a list of links hosted by third-party companies including Linktree and Campsite.bio. It’s tricky to hold link-list platforms legally accountable. They’re not curating this stuff, just hosting it, UC Hastings legal scholar Dorit Reiss tells me. Now you could argue they have a moral obligation to root this out, but that’s of course subjective. I wrote about one anti-vax Instagram account, Janny Organically, who regularly posts vaccine misinformation in a link list. I wanted to make it fair, so I contacted her for comment. Shortly thereafter, she blocked me, removed the Campsite.bio link from her account, and deleted all actual links from her Campsite.bio page. Soon after my piece was published, she made her account private and changed its name to Nachomamajones. Make no mistake: The influencers are enjoying this game of cat and mouse. And so far, they're winning. This is a new generation of anti-vaccine activists, and they're evolving before our eyes. Mother Jones will be following them closely over the coming months—and asking tough questions of the platforms that continue to elevate their dangerous messages. —Kiera Butler And they're using these latest techniques to draw followers into other far-right movements. BY KIERA BUTLER
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SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE
It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the Fugees released The Score and 15 years since they last toured together, remaking the realms of rap, reggae, funk, and rock. It’s even harder to believe, if you’re steeped in Fugee fandom, that they’re playing again, crisscrossing the United States, England, France, Nigeria, and Ghana. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel are back with charitable shows to raise funds in partnership with the poverty-fighting group Global Citizen. “I decided to honor [our album’s] anniversary and the fans who appreciated the music by creating a peaceful platform where we could unite,” Hill says, “and set an example of reconciliation for the world.” Reconciliation on a personal level—the three had vowed to stay apart—and at the level of legacy, testing what time does to a singular sound bound up in 1990s America. “Times have changed, but the vibe remains the same,” the Fugees tweeted. And Fugee fandom has never been just Lauryn fandom—she shares the bill with Wyclef and Pras—but there’s a singular way that a love of Lauryn, the prizing of her vocal and lyrical warmth, and the captivation around her growth enamor listeners. Tour dates are here. If you can’t make it, take a spin of “Killing Me Softy” and “Ready or Not.” A second Recharge into the weekend: the mesmerizing new video by Explosions in the Sky, the Austin-based post-rock band. It’s a new soundtrack in honor of Big Bend National Park, accompanying a public TV documentary, to lift all moods. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
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