The White House singled out 12 persons branded as the “disinformation dozen”, who are held responsible for a large amount of misinformation regarding COVID-19 in an effort to clamp down on Silicon Valley on Friday to address vaccination disinformation, .

“There are about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

That figure comes from the organisation, Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which designated roughly a dozen people as “super-spreaders” of anti-vaccine disinformation in a report released in March.

The majority of the 12 people are active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

According to the research, they frequently avoid breaking social media site restrictions by swapping code words or hand signs for words. The “disinformation dozen” has a significant social media following and generates content at a high and regular pace, according to the research.

Also Read | Joe Biden slams social media disinformation on COVID, vaccines

Joseph Mercola

Joseph Mercola is a well-known anti-vaccine entrepreneur who sells dietary supplements and bogus treatments as vaccination alternatives, as per CCDH. Mercola’s personal social media channels have a total following of about 3.6 million people.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy has been an anti-vaxxer for a long time, and his Children’s Health Defense (CHD) website includes a number of anti-vaccine publications. On February 8, Kennedy’s Instagram account was suspended, but his Facebook page is still active, as is the CHD’s Instagram page.

Ty & Charlene Bollinger

Ty and Charlene Bollinger are anti-vaccine entrepreneurs who manage a network of accounts that sell vaccine-related publications and DVDs. The Bollingers have endorsed the false narrative that Bill Gates intends to implant everybody with microchips as part of the virus’ vaccination.

Sherri Tenpenny

Sherri Tenpenny is an osteopath physician who uses social media to propagate anti-vaccine attitudes and misleading claims regarding the safety and efficacy of masks. Her Facebook account has been deleted, but her Twitter and Instagram accounts remain active.

Rizza Islam

Rizza Islam’s anti-vaccine posts attempt to increase vaccination apprehension amongst African Americans. Rizza Islam’s Facebook page was taken down by Facebook in February, but he continues to promote anti-vaccine statements on Instagram and Twitter.

Also Read | COVID ‘becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated’: US CDC chief

Rashid Buttar

Rashid Buttar is an osteopath and conspiracy theorist who is well-known for his YouTube videos on various conspiracy theories.

Erin Elizabeth

Erin Elizabeth, Joseph Mercola’s partner, operates Health Nut News, a well-known “alternative health” website with a newsletter and social media presence.

Sayer Ji

Sayer Ji is the owner of GreenMedInfo.com, a famous alternative medicine website, and its associated social media pages, which promote pseudoscience and anti-vaccine disinformation. Despite Twitter and Instagram removing his GreenMedInfo profiles, it is still available on Facebook.

Kelly Brogan

Kelly Brogan is the significant other of fellow alternative health entrepreneur Sayer Ji. She professes practising “holistic psychiatry,” and her website promotes a variety of books and courses.

Christiane Northrup

Christiane Northrup is an obstetrics and gynaecology physician who believes in alternative medicine and endorses vaccination skepticism. She has propagated misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccination via her social media platforms.

Also Read | US sees rise in COVID-19 cases amid spread of Delta variant

Ben Tapper

Ben Tapper is a chiropractor with a large social media following. He’s been posting COVID misinformation and speaking out against masking on a regular basis.

Kevin Jenkins

Kevin Jenkins is an anti-vaccine activist with a significant social media following who has appeared alongside Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at public events. Jenkins is the founder of the Freedom Airway & Freedom Travel Alliance, a corporation formed in late 2020 to let its customers travel throughout the world without masking, isolating, immunization, or other pandemic control measures.