This study analyzes how vaccine-opposed users on Instagram share anti-vaccine content despite facing growing moderation attempts by the platform. Through a thematic analysis of Instagram content (in-feed and ephemeral “stories”) of a sample of vaccine-opposed Instagram users, we explore the observable tactics deployed by vaccine-opposed users in their attempts to avoid content moderation and amplify anti-vaccination content. Tactics range from lexical variations to encode vaccine-related keywords, to the creative use of Instagram features and affordances. The emergence of such tactics exists as a type of “folk theorization”—the cultivation of non-professional knowledge of how visibility on the platform works. Findings highlight the complications of content moderation as a route to minimizing misinformation, the consequences of algorithmic opacity and knowledge-building within problematic online communities.

As pressure continues to mount on social media platforms to address the spread of vaccine misinformation, we aim to look at solutions to the rise in vaccine hesitancy. But to truly address vaccine misinformation and hesitancy, we need to address the underlying issues with trust in large institutions and inequity in healthcare.

Individuals seeking out information about human-trafficking and anti-trafficking efforts are increasingly turning to social media as an informational source. However, a lack of traditional informational gatekeeping online has allowed for the rapid proliferation of misinformation via social media. This has been clearly evidenced within the realm of human trafficking by the spread of conspiracy theories instigated by the QAnon-led campaign #SaveTheChildren. Through in-depth interviews with members of the public and professionals involved in anti-trafficking activism we explore how individuals find trustworthy information about human trafficking in light of the public spread of misinformation. Our findings highlight the centrality of distrust as a driving force behind information-seeking on social media. Further, we highlight the tensions that arise from using social media as a primary resource within anti-trafficking education and the limitations of interventions to slow the spread of trafficking-related misinformation. This work provides contextual knowledge for researchers looking to better understand the real-world impacts of misinformation and looking to design better interventions into digital information disorder.