Expressions of pro- and anti-vaccine sentiment on YouTube

Yiannakoulias, Nikolaos; Slavik, Catherine E.; Chase, Monika

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.03.001

Cited by 67 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…These categories are based on myths about vaccination most heard by Brazilian physicians, most spread M&D about vaccines in Brazil (Avaaz and SBIm, 2019), and in research analyzing the content of sites or videos about vaccination on the last two decades (Nasir, 2000;Wolfe et al, 2002;Zimmerman et al, 2005;Kata, 2010;Bean, 2011;Ward et al, 2015;Ekram et al, 2019;Yiannakoulias et al, 2019). Self-direction, as presented in the category Other, is based on Koltai's research on the antivaccination movement in the United States (Koltai, 2020).…”

Section: Classifying the Videosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Stings: Selling Distrust About Vaccines on Brazilian YouTube

2020

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In this study, we investigate misinformation and disinformation (M&D) about vaccines using a case study approach to understand how M&D about vaccines circulate on YouTube in Portuguese, and who are the channels creating and disseminating this kind of content. The World Health Organization considered vaccine hesitation as one of the greatest threats to global health in 2019. Researchers associated this hesitation to a strengthening of the anti-vaccination movements, suggesting that social media is currently the main spreader of this position. YouTube increasingly becomes a matter of concern, since its recommendation system is identified as a promoter of misinformation and extreme content. Despite YouTube's statements, M&D about vaccines continue to be disseminated in videos in Portuguese, reaching a large audience. We found 52 videos containing M&D about vaccines. The main M&D were the claim of dangerous ingredients in vaccines, the defense of self-direction-freedom of choice, independent research-, the promotion of alternative health services, the myth that vaccines cause diseases, conspiracy theories, and the allegation of vaccine's severe collateral effects. We identified 39 brands advertising on 13 videos of our M&D sample. Although the YouTube Partner Program is an important source of income, the channels use different economic strategies, such as the selling of courses, and therapies and the use of fundraising platforms. We also found that alternative health channels spread distrust about traditional institutions to promote themselves as trusted sources for the audience and thereby profit with alternative health services.

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Section: Classifying the Videosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Stings: Selling Distrust About Vaccines on Brazilian YouTube

2020

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“…With this level of penetration, the internet is the most influential tool on earth for distributing information, whether it be accurate or otherwise. Therefore, understanding the creation, spread and uptake of internet misinformation is of critical importance [2] given that misinformation can be given credibility and create negative impacts [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Misinformation about spinal manipulation and boosting immunity: an analysis of Twitter activity during the COVID-19 crisis

et al. 2020

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Background: Social media has become an increasingly important tool in monitoring the onset and spread of infectious diseases globally as well monitoring the spread of information about those diseases. This includes the spread of misinformation, which has been documented within the context of the emerging COVID-19 crisis. Understanding the creation, spread and uptake of social media misinformation is of critical importance to public safety. In this descriptive study, we detail Twitter activity regarding spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) and claims it increases, or "boosts", immunity. Spinal manipulation is a common intervention used by many health professions, most commonly by chiropractors. There is no clinical evidence that SMT improves human immunity. Methods: Social media searching software (Talkwalker Quick Search) was used to describe Twitter activity regarding SMT and improving or boosting immunity. Searches were performed for the 3 months and 12 months before March 31, 2020 using terms related to 1) SMT, 2) the professions that most often provide SMT and 3) immunity. From these searches, we determined the magnitude and time course of Twitter activity then coded this activity into content that promoted or refuted a SMT/immunity link. Content themes, high-influence users and user demographics were then stratified as either promoting or refuting this linkage. Results: Twitter misinformation regarding a SMT/immunity link increased dramatically during the onset of the COVID crisis. Activity levels (number of tweets) and engagement scores (likes + retweets) were roughly equal between content promoting or refuting a SMT/immunity link, however, the potential reach (audience) of tweets refuting a SMT/immunity link was 3 times higher than those promoting a link. Users with the greatest influence on Twitter, as either promoters or refuters, were individuals, not institutions or organizations. The majority of tweets promoting a SMT/immunity link were generated in the USA while the majority of refuting tweets originated from Canada. Conclusion: Twitter activity about SMT and immunity increased during the COVID-19 crisis. Results from this work have the potential to help policy makers and others understand the impact of SMT misinformation and devise strategies to mitigate its impact.

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“…For instance, it is not uncommon for people to dismiss entirely a doctor's advice based on conflicting advice online; as two examples, consider the anti-vaccination movement (Brownlie & Howson, 2005) as well as the use of crowdsourced medical information sites (Bakke, 2015). A key strategy of this movement is to incite distrust in the traditional medical community through proliferation of personal stories and conspiracy theories, websites devoted to "alternative" interpretations of scientific data, and the promotion of alternative treatments, medications, and educational materials (Hoffman et al, 2019;Yiannakoulias et al, 2019). An accompanying strategy is the (mis)use of crowdsourced review forums, such as Yelp, with coordinated activities of posting negative reviews of doctors and medical institutions assessed as "pro-vaccine. "…”

Section: Collective Online Social Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The internet: A brief history based on trust

Antonijević¹,

Gurak²

2019

Sociologija

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postao do te mere složeno društveno-tehnološko okruženja da utvrdjeni obrasci za uspostavljanje poverenja više nisu adekvatni. Usled toga, odluke o toke kome i čemu da (ne)veruju na internetu korisnici sve više donose u delimično dobrovoljnoj, a delimično nametnutoj saradnji sa nizom institucija. Takva saradnja, medjutim, lako se pretvara u institucionalnu kontrolu gde su "korisnici bez nadzora" viđeni kao lake žrtve internet aktera koji su označeni kao nepouzdani i opasni. Poverenje tako postaje jedan od ključnih pokretača u razvoju i regulaciji interneta, značajno redefinišući odnose izmedju pojedinaca i institucija, te dodatno destabilizujući faktore internet komunikacije analizirane u ovom radu.

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Expressions of pro- and anti-vaccine sentiment on YouTube

Cited by 67 publications

References 30 publications

Natural Stings: Selling Distrust About Vaccines on Brazilian YouTube

Natural Stings: Selling Distrust About Vaccines on Brazilian YouTube

Misinformation about spinal manipulation and boosting immunity: an analysis of Twitter activity during the COVID-19 crisis

The internet: A brief history based on trust

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