Even as millions of people across the globe are grappling with their lives, thanks to the coronavirus, and a few million have already lost the battle, misinformation surrounding the pandemic has spread like wildfire diluting the gravity of the protocols that have been put in place.

However, spreading of such false news surrounding the virus and the vaccines used to battle it has become an entire profitable industry and Dr Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician, in Cape Coral, Florida has been at the heart of these efforts.

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In a 3,400-word article, dated February 9, Dr Mercola declared coronavirus vaccines were “a medical fraud” and said the injections did not prevent infections, provide immunity or stop transmission of the disease, according to the New York Times.  

Further, the article claimed that the shots alter the genetic coding of the receiver and turn one into a “protein factory that has no off-switch.” The claims made were evidently scientifically unproven, however, in a matter of hours the article was translated from English into Spanish and Polish. 

On Facebook, it reached 400,000 people, according to data from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned tool.  

Although he has been a subject of criticism and government regulatory actions, Dr Mercola hasn’t stopped spreading false information and unproven treatments surrounding the virus.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the 67-year-old has published over 600 articles on Facebook that question COVID-19 vaccines and has employed dozens of people to propagate the same. 

According to NYT reports, his articles are not just limited to fellow vaccine sceptics but are also shared widely on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

The anti-vaccine entrepreneur, owing to his dubious distinction, has been tagged as the “Disinformation Dozen,” a list of 12 people responsible for sharing 65% of all anti-vaccine messaging on social media, said the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate.  

According to experts who have investigated Dr Mercola’s network, he has established a massive organisation to promote alternative health treatments, spread anti-vaccination information, and profit from it all. In 2017, he claimed to have a net worth of “in excess of $100 million” in an affidavit.

Mercola’s personal English-language Facebook channel has over 1.7 million followers, while his Spanish-language page has 1 million followers. The Times also found 17 other Facebook pages that appeared to be run by him or were closely connected to his businesses. On Twitter, he has nearly 300,000 followers, plus nearly 400,000 on YouTube. 

Recently, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki lashed out at Facebook and other social media corporations for not doing enough to stop the misinformation on their platforms, in an apparent reference to the ‘disinformation dozen‘.  

“There are about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. All of them remain active on Facebook, despite some even being banned on other platforms,” Psaki said, without identifying those dozen posters.

“Everybody has a role to play in making sure there is accurate information,” she added.

Following the White House press briefing, President Joe Biden too rapped those spreading disinformation about vaccines and the pandemic on social media.

“They are killing people. The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they are killing people,” Biden said.