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Anti-vaccine activists, Web 2.0, and the postmodern paradigm - An overview of tactics and tropes used online by the anti-vaccination movement
Abstract
Websites opposing vaccination are prevalent on the Internet. Web 2.0, defined by interaction and user-generated content, has become ubiquitous. Furthermore, a new postmodern paradigm of healthcare has emerged, where power has shifted from doctors to patients, the legitimacy of science is questioned, and expertise is redefined. Together this has created an environment where anti-vaccine activists are able to effectively spread their messages. Evidence shows that individuals turn to the Internet for vaccination advice, and suggests such sources can impact vaccination decisions - therefore it is likely that anti-vaccine websites can influence whether people vaccinate themselves or their children. This overview examines the types of rhetoric individuals may encounter online in order to better understand why the anti-vaccination movement can be convincing, despite lacking scientific support for their claims. Tactics and tropes commonly used to argue against vaccination are described. This includes actions such as skewing science, shifting hypotheses, censoring dissent, and attacking critics; also discussed are frequently made claims such as not being "anti-vaccine" but "pro-safe vaccines", that vaccines are toxic or unnatural, and more. Recognizing disingenuous claims made by the anti-vaccination movement is essential in order to critically evaluate the information and misinformation encountered online.
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“Parents who go to the Internet will find that some of the top “hits” for vaccine-related search terms are websites that propagate anti-vaccine conspiracy theories [14], [15].”
From The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions (2014) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“Such attempts at intervention may therefore fail on people who are sympathetic to a variety of conspiracy claims [14], [15].”
From The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions (2014) · cites this paper as [14]
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“Medical interventions, and in particular vaccinations, are often the target of false information campaigns which may distort the perception of their risks and benefits (e.g., immunisations cause autism; Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundRumetta, J., Hadi, H. A., & Lee, Y. K. (2019) · Journal of Infection and Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2019.07.027 · Cited by 58
Life-course immunization as a gateway to health
Philip, R. K., Attwell, K., Breuer, T., Pasquale, A. D., & Lopalco, P. L. (2018) · Expert Review of Vaccines · doi:10.1080/14760584.2018.1527690 · Cited by 57
Social Technologies for Digital Wellbeing Among Marginalized Communities
DeVito, M. A., Walker, A. M., Birnholtz, J. P., Ringland, K. E., Macapagal, K. R., Kraus, A., Munson, S. A., Liang, C. A., & Saksono, H. (2019) · ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) · doi:10.1145/3311957.3359442 · Cited by 56
Exploring childhood vaccination themes and public opinions on Twitter: A semantic network analysis
Featherstone, J. D., Ruiz, J. B., Barnett, G. A., & Millam, B. J. (2020) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2020.101474 · Cited by 56
“Some anti-vaccine communities are generally more exposed to vaccine skeptical discourse, rather than to messaging that promotes childhood vaccines (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundThe golden age of anti-vaccine conspiracies
Stein, R. A. (2017) · GERMS · doi:10.18683/germs.2017.1122 · Cited by 56
Citizen Science as a Means for Increasing Public Engagement in Science
Martin, V. Y. (2017) · Science Communication · doi:10.1177/1075547017696165 · Cited by 56
“…Phillips, Carvalho, & Doyle, 2012) about issues such as nanotechnology (Anderson, Delborne, & Kleinman, 2013; Powell & Lee Kleinman, 2008), genetically modified food (Irwin, 2006; Nielsen, Lassen, & Sandøe, 2011), vaccinations (Kata, 2012), and climate change (Jaspal, Nerlich, & van Vuuren, 2016).”
Xu, Z., & Guo, H. (2017) · Communication Studies · doi:10.1080/10510974.2017.1414068 · Cited by 55
“Common vaccine-related conspiracy theories include the link between vaccines and autism, and governments and companies covering up side effects of vaccines (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundMyths and conspiracy theories on vaccines and COVID-19: Potential effect on global vaccine refusals
Ullah, I., Khan, K. S., Tahir, M. J., Ahmed, A., & Harapan, H. (2021) · Vacunas (English Edition) · doi:10.1016/j.vacune.2021.01.009 · Cited by 54
Haase, N., Betsch, C., & Renkewitz, F. (2015) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2015.1018605 · Cited by 54
“A typical strategy of anti-vaccination activists is to promote emotional narratives from and about individuals, preferably children, who have allegedly been harmed by vaccinations (Kata, 2010, 2012).”
BackgroundRepalust, A., Šević, S., Rihtar, S., & Štulhofer, A. (2016) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2016.1263756 · Cited by 54
“Religiosity and holistic postmodern spirituality were also suggested as obstacles to childhood immunization (Kata, 2012; Ruijs et al., 2012; Wielders et al., 2011).”
BackgroundCapurro, G., Greenberg, J., Dubé, È., & Driedger, S. M. (2018) · The Canadian Journal of Sociology · doi:10.29173/cjs29301 · Cited by 54
“Although social media platforms play an important role in the construction of the anti-vaccination debate (Kata 2012, 2010; Bean 2011), most parents in Canada still rely on legacy media for timely and reliable information about vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases, especially during outbreaks…”
Using persuasive refutation texts to prompt attitudinal and conceptual change.
Thacker, I., Sinatra, G. M., Muis, K. R., Danielson, R., Pekrun, R. H., Winne, P. H., & Chevrier, M. (2019) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000434 · Cited by 55
The vaccination debate in the “post‐truth” era: social media as sites of multi‐layered reflexivity
Numerato, D., Vochocová, L., Štětka, V., & Macková, A. (2019) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12873 · Cited by 53
Qualitative Assessment of Vaccine Hesitancy in Romania
Miko, D., Costache, C. A., Colosi, H. A., Neculicioiu, V. S., & Colosi, I. A. (2019) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina55060282 · Cited by 53
“already identified by 2012 in a study of the rhetorical tactics used by anti-vaccine activists on Internet, which include “I’m not anti-vaccine, I’m pro-safe vaccines,” “Vaccines are toxic!”, “You cannot prove vaccines are safe,” “Vaccines are unnatural,” “You are in the pocket of Big Pharma,” and “I am an expert on m…”
BackgroundActive pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine groups: Their group identities and attitudes toward science
Maciuszek, J., Polak, M., Stasiuk, K., & Doliński, D. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0261648 · Cited by 58
Viruses, vaccines, and COVID-19: Explaining and improving risky decision-making.
Reyna, V. F., Broniatowski, D. A., & Edelson, S. M. (2021) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2021.08.004 · Cited by 59
“…3730; but see Bekker et al., 2013), and there is ample evidence suggesting that online misinformation takes advantage of preexisting “tropes” (Broniatowski et al., 2020; Dredze et al., 2016; Jamison et al., 2020; Kata, 2010, 2012) to construct misinformative narratives that might resonate online.”
BackgroundDevelopment of an Interactive Social Media Tool for Parents With Concerns About Vaccines
Shoup, J. A., Wagner, N. M., Kraus, C. R., Narwaney, K. J., Goddard, K., & Glanz, J. M. (2014) · Health Education & Behavior · doi:10.1177/1090198114557129 · Cited by 53
“Many of these web-based resources, however, are using these technologies to disseminate erroneous information, discredit the medical community, and create fear (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundThe legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic for childhood vaccination in the USA
Opel, D. J., Brewer, N. T., Buttenheim, A. M., Callaghan, T., Carpiano, R. M., Clinton, C., Elharake, J. A., Flowers, L. C., Galvani, A. P., Hotez, P. J., et al. (2023) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)01693-2 · Cited by 45
“9 Although the majority of parents historically have had high levels of trust in a clinician’s vaccine guidance for their child, 10 this reality could fall prey to the growing milieu of science denialism and misinformation.”
Tustin, J. L., Crowcroft, N. S., Gesink, D., Johnson, I. L., & Keelan, J. E. (2018) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/publichealth.8921 · Cited by 51
“Thus our respondents were likely exposed to a variety of messages, but several studies have shown an abundance of antivaccination messaging via Internet searching (or “Googling”) for information on vaccines [40-43].”
Grimes, D. R., Brennan, L. J., & O'Connor, R. A. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035626 · Cited by 51
The Impact of Socioeconomic Status, Perceived Threat and Healthism on Vaccine Hesitancy
Kirbiš, A. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su15076107 · Cited by 55
Addressing Parental Vaccine Concerns: Engagement, Balance, and Timing
Glanz, J. M., Kraus, C. R., & Daley, M. F. (2015) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002227 · Cited by 51
Betsch, C., Haase, N., Renkewitz, F., & Schmid, P. (2015) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/s1930297500004654 · Cited by 51
“…health related decision consult the Internet for information (Fox & Duggan, 2013); and narrative evidence is a common feature on anti-vaccination activist websites that propagate alleged adverse events and high risks of vaccination (Betsch et al., 2012; Haase & Betsch, 2012; Kata, 2010, 2012).”
BackgroundZeng, J., & Chan, C. (2021) · Online Information Review · doi:10.1108/oir-09-2020-0417 · Cited by 56
Characterizing Discourse about COVID-19 Vaccines: A Reddit Version of the Pandemic Story
Wu, W., Lyu, H., & Luo, J. (2021) · Health Data Science · doi:10.34133/2021/9837856 · Cited by 52
“As information on social media platforms puts greater influence on people’s vaccination behaviors (Kata 2012), we believe the findings of our study can provide policy makers with useful insights in the process of designing effective communication and immunization programs.”
BackgroundInfluentialPaul, K. T., Zimmermann, B. M., Corsico, P., Fiske, A., Geiger, S., Johnson, S. B., Kuiper, J. M. L., Lievevrouw, E., Marelli, L., Prainsack, B., et al. (2022) · SSM - Qualitative Research in Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2021.100035 · Cited by 54
Reasons for Refusal of Newborn Vitamin K Prophylaxis: Implications for Management and Education
Hamrick, H. J., Gable, E. K., Freeman, E. H., Dunn, L. L., Zimmerman, S. P., Rusin, M. M., Linthavong, O., Wright, M. E., Moss, L. A., & Skinner, A. C. (2016) · Hospital Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/hpeds.2015-0095 · Cited by 50
Retiring the Flip Phones: Exploring Social Media Use for Managing Public Health Incidents
Khan, Y., Tracey, S., O’Sullivan, T. L., Gournis, E., & Johnson, I. L. (2019) · Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness · doi:10.1017/dmp.2018.147 · Cited by 49
Exploring reasons for vaccine‐hesitancy among higher‐SES parents in Perth, Western Australia
Swaney, S. E., & Burns, S. K. (2018) · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · doi:10.1002/hpja.190 · Cited by 49
Propagandizing anti-vaccination: Analysis of Vaccines Revealed documentary series
Bradshaw, A. S., Treise, D. M., Shelton, S., Cretul, M., Raisa, A., Fitzsimmons, A. B., & Peek, D. (2020) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.12.027 · Cited by 50
Broniatowski, D. A., Jamison, A., Johnson, N. F., Velásquez, N., Leahy, R., Restrepo, N. J., Dredze, M. H., & Quinn, S. C. (2020) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2020.305869 · Cited by 53
How evolutionary behavioural sciences can help us understand behaviour in a pandemic
Arnot, M., Brandl, E., Campbell, O. L. K., Chen, Y., Du, J., Dyble, M., Emmott, E. H., Ge, E., Kretschmer, L., Mace, R. H., et al. (2020) · Evolution Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.1093/emph/eoaa038 · Cited by 49
Jemielniak, D. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198839705.001.0001 · Cited by 64
Metadata
- Authors
- Kata, A.
- Affiliations
- McMaster University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Kata, Anna
- ORCID
- Kata, Anna
- Venue
- Vaccine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-05
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 25
- Pages
- 3778-3789
- ISSN
- 0264-410X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2062321610
- Cited by
- 1,094
- References
- 83
- Citations by year
- 2026: 36 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 111 · 2022: 124 · 2021: 151 · 2020: 158 · 2019: 81 · 2018: 73 · 2017: 58 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 56.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Vaccine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Health › Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Keywords
- anti-vaccine movement, anti-vaccine activism, Web 2.0, misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, user-generated content, science communication, online health information
- MeSH terms
- Communication, Decision Making, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Vaccination, Vaccines, Health Communication, Social Media
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