How do you want to set up reading the script?
[Reporter] When it comes to setting up a conversation about science
Mitchell Moffett and Greg Brown are pros.
What are we talking about today?
Talking about vaccines.
[Reporter] The Toronto-based duo behind ASAP Science
take on stuff people are talking about.
Go for it.
[Reporter] Right now this is it.
So how do they make this vaccine so fast when often historically it's taken a decade
or two decades?
[Reporter] With 10 million subscribers on YouTube alone their influence is undeniable.
So is it safe?
Is the big question tons of people are asking ultimately so far, yes
and in this pandemic so is their power to shape a high-stakes message
around the new COVID vaccines.
There's a lot of misinformation online that is going to change your DNA
but that's completely false this mRNA never goes into your nucleus
and it doesn't last very long in your body.
There's definitely some wild conspiracy theories.
Not even that they're necessarily worth sharing but just like the kind of extreme things
that this is like you know microchipped and brain controlled
and so you see anything I think that's the frustrating part about misinformation
is that anyone can say anything.
But misinformation and conspiracy theories are always going to be more "sexy or interesting" than science.
Science is nuanced but when this pandemic hit it was just like very clear to us what we needed to do.
What we wanted to do.
We wanted to explain how they work and what happens --
[Reporter] As science communicators, Brown and Moffitt use fact to combat fiction
and to address understandable questions.
What exactly does this mRNA do?
It's a great chance to just put that out there in a package that people are wanting to listen to
and I guess that's kind of encouraging that lots of people are at least searching looking for answers.
And so the more likely they are to find the right answers.
And I think that is really a responsibility of these big media corporations like YouTube like Facebook.
[Reporter] To help people find the right answers Google, Tik Tok and Twitter recently announced
tighter policies around vaccine misinformation.
Facebook also released its plan.
We've actually removed 12 million pieces of individual misinformation content that's harmful in nature.
[Reporter] Kevin Chan is Global Director of Public Policy at Facebook Canada.
From his home office in Ottawa he says the pandemic strategy has been about removing and redirecting.
Through our partnerships with public health experts like the Public Health Agency of Canada
we've actually run pop-up notifications to drive traffic to the official website of the Public Health agency of Canada
and there we think that we've reached millions of Canadians
and globally we've reached over 2 billion people in this way
If you search and you type in vaccine and COVID-19.
[Reporter] Searches lead to a COVID resource page that includes a section on vaccines.
The new rules also dictate what people can say about them.
Can you give us a sense of when you're taking away that disinformation or harmful misinformation
have you seen anything specific to the vaccine that you've removed?
It's about its safety, its efficacy, the ingredients
we will remove those things from Facebook.
If there are conspiracies about the origins of this vaccine we will remove that as well.
I think it's important to note that people will have their own questions about the vaccine
and they are legitimate questions and so we do want to preserve the space
for people to be able to express individual thoughts individual anecdotes about their experiences.
[Reporter] It's a tough balance and getting it right is critical.
People who get most of their information from social media
are more likely to be hesitant about getting vaccinated.
The concern is a barrage of misleading content
could harden that hesitancy.
Posing a risk to hurt immunity and to the way out of this pandemic.
We are tracking misinformation every day.
We are taking action against misinformation every day.
Michelle Austin is the Head of Public Policy at Twitter Canada
based in Ottawa.
Starting next week she says, Twitter will also track and remove misleading posts
specifically about vaccines and keep pointing users to trusted sources
like the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Safety is our number one priority.
[Reporter] But she says it will hold back when it's clear people are looking for answers.
So context is really important.
If it's very clear to us that it's malicious or factually wrong
then it'll be taken down.
But a lot of people are coming to Twitter to find out more about the vaccine
and that is extremely important.
[Reporter] It is part of a broader soft sell from public health officials to politicians.
The strategy is to partner with platforms and the influencers on them.
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and musician Johnny Orlando joined forces
to create a Tik Tok promoting safe pandemic choices.
With Orlando's nearly 10 million followers is a surefire way to reach the masses.
This is a very weird year and it's a year where a lot of misinformation
a lot of crazy things happening so
I feel like it's kind of a waste of a platform if I can't use it to help inspire
and keep people healthy.
Social media has been a great tool to connect.
Particularly now when we've been really isolated more than ever.
[Reporter] And while this Tik Tok doesn't have to do with vaccines
Singh says that one is coming.
Absolutely, I'm planning on getting vaccinated very, very publicly
and sharing that with people.
There's this enormous opportunity that you can reach a huge population very quickly
with well-crafted viral messaging and that can be very powerful.
[Reporter] Angus Bridgeman is a researcher at the Media Ecosystem Observatory in Montreal.
He says people tend to follow people who think like them.
So while social media's reach is enormous
it is limited too.
When a creator comes out with a piece of content
and shares it to their followers
it's already likely that that group of followers already is gonna maybe believe that message
or agree with them already.
And so they might not be able to move the needle very much
and the communities that are not following them that maybe need that messaging more.
They won't get it.
[Reporter] Bridgeman says more could be done to reach vaccine hesitant people
if the government moves in to regulate social media platforms and the misinformation on them.
Especially during your pandemic when face-to-face contact is limited
these online spaces happen to be the primary forms of conversation about an issue.
And so now they're coming up and saying oh yeah we're going to do all these things.
Well OK, but where's the democratic oversight of that?
I think many have been sending this alarm for many years
but it is uniquely important right now during this time of COVID-19
when these misperceptions have real life or death consequences.
I think we need to calm down because we still have months before we actually get these vaccines.
[Reporter] It will be a while before most Canadians get vaccinated.
Time say Moffitt and Brown for science to keep making its case.
It's just going to be time passing it's just going to show even more efficacy
even more safety that I would honestly say let's not get too riled up
and start fighting right now, let's just relax and like let this play out
because it will be fine.
We all want to protect ourselves, we all want to protect our families, our kids
and so I think to simply educate people is like really powerful.
Thank you all so much for watching.
Hope this video was helpful for understanding the virus in the vaccine
and make sure to subscribe for more science.
[Reporter] And the hope is when it comes to vaccines the facts will win the day.
Ioanna Roumeliotis, CBC News, Toronto.