Anti-vax group in Europe thrives online, thwarts tech effort

DAVID KLEPPER

August 19, 2022 at 12:44 a.m.

FILE - A demonstrator holds a placard reading "Scammer, thief, killer, Pfizer" during a protest against the vaccine pass and vaccinations to protect against COVID-19 in front of the Pfizer headquarters, in Paris, on Jan. 29, 2022. An anti-vaccine group that has harassed doctors and public officials in Italy and France is still active on platforms like Facebook despite efforts to rein in their abuse and misinformation. The organization, known as V_V, bombards its victims with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of abusive posts. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - Dr. Roberto Ieraci vaccinate a woman in a vaccine center in Rome on Feb. 23, 2018. An anti-vaccine group that has harassed doctors and public officials in Italy and France is still active on platforms like Facebook despite efforts to rein in their abuse and misinformation. The organization, known as V_V, bombards its victims with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of abusive posts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Vaccine Misinformation Italy

FILE - A demonstrator holds a placard reading "Scammer, thief, killer, Pfizer" during a protest against the vaccine pass and vaccinations to protect against COVID-19 in front of the Pfizer headquarters, in Paris, on Jan. 29, 2022. An anti-vaccine group that has harassed doctors and public officials in Italy and France is still active on platforms like Facebook despite efforts to rein in their abuse and misinformation. The organization, known as V_V, bombards its victims with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of abusive posts. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Troubled by the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients showing up at his hospital, the French doctor logged on to Facebook and uploaded a video urging people to get vaccinated. He was soon swarmed by dozens, then hundreds, then more than 1,000 hateful messages from an anti-vaccine extremist group known as V_V. The group, active in France and Italy, has harassed doctors and public health officials, vandalized government offices and tried to disrupt vaccine clinics. Alarmed by the abuse of its platform, Facebook kicked off several accounts tied to the group last December.

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