#JimsJabs campaign participant’s information appropriated by anti-vax groups
A participant of Jim’s Group’s #JimsJabs competition, where social media users uploaded proof of their vaccination status in exchange for branded Jim’s Group merchandise, has found that the information they uploaded online has been used to create fake vaccination passports.
The original TikTok by Jim’s Group launching the competition has 812,500 views at the time of writing, and a follow-up TikTok advising participants to blur personal information sits at 55,700 views.
The original TikTok does not mention that participants should blur personal information.
@jimsgroup #jimsjabs claim your free merch while it lasts! #giveaway #giveaways #tshirt #tshirts #buckethat #buckethats
A follow-up TikTok was posted, asking people to blurt their personal information when they upload their vaccination status.
@jimsgroup #jimsjabs update from Jim! Thank You! Remember to blur out private details. #giveaway #giveaways #tshirt #buckethats #buckethat
On Jim’s Group’s website, the instructions for entering are below.
When asked by Mumbrella about the protection of user’s information, Jim’s Group founder Jim Penman said: “We’ve advised people to blur their private information, to avoid the certificates being abused and also to stop trolling by anti-vaxxers.”
Jim’s Group has also confirmed to Mumbrella that they will also not be deleting the original video that does not advise participants to blur personal information.
One user that has had her information shared in anti-vaccination groups is Millicent Richards, who initially uploaded her vaccination status to Instagram with the Individual Healthcare Identifier and Document Number blacked out but her full name and date of birth still in the photo.
Two to three weeks after posting her Instagram post, she began to receive multiple messages from different people informing her that her photo was being used in anti-vaccination groups online to create fake vaccination passports.
Some of the messages Roberts has received
The third screenshot is from Telegram, an encrypted messaging app where it appears Richards’ information was shared.
Richards told Mumbrella: “I’m angry at myself for ever entering – although I, of course, did think it would be enough to blackout the document numbers.”
Richards continued: “I definitely would not have posted that information to Instagram if not for the campaign – there would not have been any need to push to. I was fully vaccinated months before the campaign. I saw the promotion and at first thought it was good to see them encouraging people to get vaccinated and was interested in a free bucket hat.
“As I said, I thought it would be enough to blackout the doc details but I was wrong. The campaign definitely could have been more thought out – but you can see that easily by the fact they had to post another video clarifying and telling people to blackout their details instead of ‘get your vaccination certificate and upload it to social media’. Even now if you search the hashtag, you will see people who didn’t blackout their details at all. It makes me wonder why I’ve received so many messages about mine.”
A screenshot of the current #JimsJabs homepage
Jim’s Group’s TikTok account did publicly comment on one of Richards’ TikToks she made about the situation, stating: “We didn’t anticipate it would go viral as it did or we would have invested time into making a QANTAS [sic] style upload setup if we did it again.”
Jim’s Group in that comment is referring to Qantas’ vaccination campaign, which allows Australian-based Frequent Flyers to upload their vaccination status to the Qantas App in exchange for rewards.
Soon after receiving the messages, Richards deleted the post and set her Instagram to private.
Richards is still receiving messages about her information being used in anti-vaccination groups, with some users messaging her asking to buy fake vaccination passports from her directly.
Richards commented: “I wish I hadn’t have entered at all. The fact that my photo is helping people create fake vaccine passports is nothing short of sickening and very upsetting. It’s one thing to not get vaccinated, but an entirely different thing to fake being vaccinated.”
