In August 2017, Kids Plus Pediatrics, an independent, physician-owned practice, produced a 90-second PSA on the power of the HPV vaccine for cancer prevention. One month later, the practice suffered a coordinated, weeklong attack across its Facebook page, Twitter feed, Yelp reviews, and Google ratings.

On day 4 of the attack, two groups of defenders—attendees of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and members of Physician Moms Group—came to the practice’s aid and helped it fight back. They learned that, like all bullies, anti-vaxxers lose interest in punching people when they get punched back.

And so Shots Heard was born: an online digital cavalry to inform, inspire, educate, prepare, and defend providers and practices.

As of 2020, Shots Heard is maintained by the public health nonprofit The Public Good Projects. It supports a digital cavalry of over 2,000 defenders of science.