In 2017, Kids Plus Pediatrics, an independent medical practice in Pittsburgh, posted a 90-second video on its Facebook page encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that can cause cancer.
For three weeks, the post garnered positive, higher-than-average interest and engagement from the page’s followers. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the anti-vaccination attacks began. Thousands of comments from vaccine skeptics and opponents poured in from around the world. Chad Hermann, KPP’s communications director, says he spent 18 hours per day, over the next eight days, combing through the remarks, individually banning commenters, and trying to remove dozens of negative Yelp and Google reviews left by strangers who’d never set foot in the practice. Read more…
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