Will we soon see Youtubers denigrate the Pfizer vaccine in front of the camera?
In any case, this is what some want.
Several influencers have in fact been contacted in recent days in order to produce content in this direction.
At least three denounced him on social networks.
While it is not officially known who is behind this communication campaign, there are several links with Russia, which is already engaged in a battle against Western vaccines.
Léo Grasset, popularizer of science on his YouTube channel DirtyBiology (1.17 million subscribers), was contacted on Wednesday, May 19 by email.
In email exchanges that we were able to consult, his interlocutor, who calls himself "Anton", explains that he is starting "an information campaign" to "share some information with the audience" on Covid-19 and in particular vaccines.
The words used suggest the use of an automatic translator.
The first email sent by Fazze to Léo Grasset.
DR
“This is the current discussion on Covid-19 and the vaccines offered to the European population, including AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
The idea of the campaign is to talk about certain results concerning the effectiveness of vaccines ”, continues, by email,“ Anton ”.
And to specify, in brackets: "We provide all the information."
In other words: like a product placement, in which an influencer receives money to advertise, here "Anton" suggests talking about Western vaccines for money (the budget "is quite considerable", write he later, making the price of Léo Grasset his price).
To denigrate Pfizer
In another email, "Anton" explains further what his client would like to disseminate as information. The goal is clear: to denigrate the Pfizer vaccine. He lists three points: "The mortality rate of the Pfizer vaccine is 3 times greater compared to AstraZeneca according to official information", "AstraZeneca experts sent this report to regulators and mainstream media but it has never been published. The question is
why?
"," Why is the European Union buying Pfizer vaccine in large quantities despite the information provided? It is a monopoly (sic) and causes damage to public health ”.
In a PDF document in English, which Le Parisien was able to consult, the agency further specifies its expectations from influencers: do not use the word “advertising” or “sponsored video” and present the information “like yours”. The document describes, step by step, what to do, like a classic product placement: "say that you have started to learn about vaccination because it is an important subject for everyone", "Explain that the AstraZeneca report was leaked and that it shows the death rate among the vaccinated population", "show a table" (that of mortality, vaccine by vaccine) and "explain" that the death rate is three times higher with Pfizer than AstraZeneca,"Say that the media are ignoring this subject and that you have decided to share this with your subscribers" ... And the agency recommends ending with a question: "Why are some governments actively buying the Pfizer vaccine, which is dangerous for the health of people? "
The instructions sent by Fazze to influencers.
DR
"I would still like to know who the customer is, especially if I have to engage my public image", then replies Léo Grasset by email.
"We spoke to our partners, but the client prefers to remain incognito," replies his interlocutor.
In their opinion, it is the content of the discussion and the documents disclosed that are important.
What do you think?
"Léo Grasset ends the conversation:" I cannot work for a client who does not say his name and who asks me to hide the partnership.
"
Sami Ouladitto, a comedian who talks about everything but science on his YouTube channel with 400,000 subscribers, was also contacted.
"An agency contacted me to share, in exchange for remuneration, articles that discredit the Pfizer vaccine, and to talk about its death rate," he said on Twitter.
"And it says doctor" also said to have received "on Instagram a request for a paid partnership like 2,000 euros" the story to discredit the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
An agency contacted me to share, in exchange for remuneration, articles that discredit the pfizer vaccine, and to talk about its mortality rate.
2/4
- Sami Ouladitto (@SamiOuladitto) May 20, 2021
The mysterious Fazze agency
Who is behind this campaign? Mystery. However, the profile of the agency that contacted these influencers calls out. Her name ? Fazze. She is unknown and there are no records of her on the Internet other than her own site. For only information, one finds on its Internet site an address based in London which turns out to be in fact a fictitious address since 177 companies are domiciled there and none is called Fazze. Impossible, either, to find the identity of the owner of this company.
The concept of Fazze turns out to be interesting on paper: all you have to do is create an account to be able to access campaigns to be broadcast on your networks to earn money ... It is theoretically possible to subscribe via your Facebook account and Google, but also via his account… VKontakte, a social network almost non-existent in Europe, widely used in Russia. Registration via Facebook and Google is blocked by platforms. “This app attempted to access sensitive information from your Google account. Google has blocked this access to protect your account, ”warns Google when trying to connect. According to an analysis of the Internet code, the Fazze site works with certain tools from Yandex, the Russian search engine. Part of the site is also hosted in Russia.
“Anton”, who contacted Léo Grasset, is he really called Anton?
Everything leads to believe it.
We were able to access his Telegram profile.
He is displayed there in a tie and with badges on his shoulders.
In Russia, it is found on two platforms where it offers English lessons.
A few seconds after we sent him a message on Telegram, our interlocutor changed his username and deleted his profile picture, just before blocking us ... and never answering us.
A search on the professional network LinkedIn also found some Fazze employees, all based in Russia.
A Russian-style offensive strategy
Contacted through its website, Fazze did not respond to the Parisian's requests. The documents related to this campaign, a link of which had been sent to influencers, were deleted during the day on Monday, as were the address registered on the site and the connection button via VKontakte. Fazze offered influencers to drag several links with their content to pages supporting the subject. These pages were also deleted in the afternoon on Monday.
This promotional campaign, offensive against the Pfizer vaccine, is reminiscent of the laboratory's communication strategy on social networks to defend its Sputnik V vaccine or discredit others. Thus, on April 23, the official Russian vaccine account tweeted its own study, showing "that there are many more deaths following vaccination with Pfizer than with the AstraZeneca vaccine." "The causes of these major differences in the number of cases of death between different vaccines should be the subject of an honest scientific and public debate," they continued. Are these the same people who want to pay influencers to spread information about the Pfizer vaccine? Contacted by Le Parisien, the press officer of the Russian laboratory did not respond.
How many influencers have been approached? For now, at least three have denounced these practices on social networks. At the head of the Influencers Agency, an agency representing dozens of social media stars in France, Cyril Attias assures him to the Parisian: “We have had nothing of this style. "In a report published at the end of April, the European Union noted, on the part of Russia and China," efforts of disinformation and manipulation aimed at undermining confidence in vaccines manufactured in the West, in European institutions and in European vaccination strategies ”.