Amazon appears to be helping fund anti-vaccine not-for-profit organizations through its charity arm, the AmazonSmile Foundation, the Guardian can reveal.

The AmazonSmile fundraising program – through which Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price of a shopper’s Amazon transactions to an organization of their choice – is promoted on the websites of four prominent anti-vaccine organizations: National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Physicians for Informed Consent, Learn the Risk, and Age of Autism.

Numerous other anti-vaccine organizations, including American Citizens for Health Choice (ACHC), National Health Freedom Coalition, Michigan for Vaccine Choice, Texans for Vaccine Freedom, A Voice for Choice and the Informed Consent Action Network are also listed by Amazon as eligible for the donations. Amazon’s donations are just the latest example of how US tech companies have – wittingly or not – helped to promote and finance the anti-vaccine movement.

Facebook and YouTube have already faced criticism over the proliferation of anti-vaccine propaganda, which promotes false information casting doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Misinformation frequently outperforms science on the platforms, and self-serve advertising tools empower anti-vaxxers to target parents with fear-mongering propaganda.(theguardian)…[+]