BY RIJUL BAATH

Australian social media influencers, some with followings in the hundreds of thousands, are using their platforms to spread dangerous misinformation about COVID19.

Although vaccination numbers are starting to rise amidst Australia’s third wave of COVID-19, according to a survey conducted by the University of Melbourne, vaccine hesitancy is also gradually increasing.

Influencers with a big social media following have added fuel to the fire by posting anti-vax and other conspiracy theories on their accounts. 

Most recently, Gold Coast-based wellness influencer Chloe Szepanowski lost tens of thousands of followers after sharing anti-vax sentiments, supporting anti-lockdown protests and breaking mask requirements on her social media.

In response, more than 20,000 people unfollowed her Instagram account and many have been reselling clothing from her activewear brand online.

Melbourne General Practitioner Dr Michael Mrozinski, who frequently uses his TikTok following of more than 83,000 followers to bust myths surrounding COVID communication and vaccines said influencers rely on sources they think are credible, which are oftentimes actually not. 

According to Dr Mrozinski, once that information is on social media, it spreads like wildfire.

“It's really, really difficult to get on top of and really frustrating for doctors and virologists and epidemiologists, who are trying their best to debunk all this stuff,” Dr Mrozinski said.

“We are not going to force anybody to have a vaccine, but we want people to be making sure that they're making the right decision for them based on credible evidence and not on complete misinformation.” 

Another Australian influencer with an anti-vaccination stance, Taylor Winterstein, proudly boasts her views to her 70,000 followers. 

Calling the COVID vaccines an “experimental Frankenstein jab”, many of her Instagram posts and stories bash healthcare communication surrounding the virus and vaccine.

The Instagram life coach, who has attended several anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protests, has also compared the vaccine to Donald Trump's suggestion to drink bleach as a coronavirus cure.

President of the Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control Associate Professor Philip Russo said rising COVID-19 infections and deaths in both New South Wales and Victoria should bring home the realisation that things are going to continue like this until there is good vaccine coverage. 

New South Wales recorded 1533 positive COVID-19 cases on September 4, setting the record for the highest number of cases across Australia since the pandemic started. 

Yesterday that number was 935 infections, with four people dying from COVID-19.

“I suspect that a lot of the hysteria or misinformation that was put around [COVID vaccinations] may well have led to some vaccine hesitancy,” Assoc. Prof. Russo said.

“They should only be looking at government health websites because that’s where the most reliable information is from,” he said.

Mr Russo said that for social media influencers to be reliable influences, they should only share information from reliable sources.