Mailchimp cracks down on anti-vaccination content

Mailchimp is blocking anti-vaccination content from its platform, calling the spread of misinformation a “serious threat to public health.” 

The marketing service said in a statement Thursday it shut down a number of accounts for anti-vaccination content that violate its terms of use. 

{mosads}”Spreading misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines poses a serious threat to public health and causes real-world harm. We cannot allow these individuals and groups to use our Marketing Platform to spread harmful messages and expand their audiences,” a Mailchimp spokesman said.

The platform began quietly implementing the change last week, according to NBC News which first reported the policy change.

Mailchimp said it trusts “the world’s leading health authorities,” including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics, when assessing “this type of misuse of our platform.”

The U.S. is currently experiencing a measles outbreak. The CDC announced this week the number of measles cases jumped to 1,022 as of June 6, making it the worst outbreak in more than 25 years. 

Health officials have been urging parents to vaccinate their children to counter the growth in anti-vaccination messages and the spread of misinformation toward vulnerable groups.