UK to pressure social media companies to fight anti-vax info

Britain's government plans to call a summit of social media companies to discuss what more they can do to fight online misinformation about vaccines following a spike in measles cases.

Although plans for such a gathering were still being worked out, Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concern on Monday at the rising incidence of measles. He said Britain had a great record in fighting the disease but things were suddenly "going in the wrong direction," with 230 new measles cases in the first few months of this year.

He said authorities need to address misleading information online about vaccinations.

"I'm afraid people have been listening to that superstitious mumbo jumbo on the internet, all that anti-vax stuff and thinking that the MMR vaccine is a bad idea," he said while visiting a hospital in southwestern England. "That's wrong."