One of the most vocal online communities is the anti-vaccination movement. Members often congregate around the popular, but baseless, claim that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism. The rumours started in 1998 with a scientific paper – since discredited and retracted – led by Andrew Wakefield, who was later struck off the UK medical register. Unfortunately, the British media picked up on Wakefield’s claims and amplified them.
