The DOI matches its Crossref record; 80 of the 83 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“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]
Citations
Cites
1 retracted
Wakefield, A., Murch, S., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D., Malik, M., Berelowitz, M., Dhillon, A., Thomson, M., Harvey, P., et al. (1998) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(97)11096-0 · Cited by 3,006
RetractedA postmodern Pandora's box: anti-vaccination misinformation on the internet
Kata, A. (2010) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.12.022 · Cited by 1,208
Self-citationAutism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association
Taylor, B., Miller, E., Farrington, C., Petropoulos, M.-C., Favot-Mayaud, I., Li, J., & Waight, P. A. (1999) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(99)01239-8 · Cited by 753
Impact of anti-vaccine movements on pertussis control: the untold story
Gangarosa, E., Gałazka, A., Wolfe, C., Phillips, L., Miller, E., Chen, R., & Gangarosa, R. E. (1998) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(97)04334-1 · Cited by 749
YouTube as a Source of Information on Immunization: A Content Analysis
Keelan, J. E., Pavri-Garcia, V., TOMLINSON, G. A., & Wilson, K. R. (2007) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.298.21.2482 · Cited by 593
Factors Associated With Refusal of Childhood Vaccines Among Parents of School-aged Children
Salmon, D. A., Moulton, L. H., Omer, S. B., deHart, M. P., Stokley, S. K., & Halsey, N. A. (2005) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.5.470 · Cited by 514
Anti-vaccinationists past and present
Wolfe, R. M., & Sharp, L. K. (2002) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7361.430 · Cited by 505
Parental vaccine safety concerns in 2009
Freed, G. L., Clark, S. J., Butchart, A. T., Singer, D. C., & Davis, M. M. (2010) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2009-1962 · Cited by 503
The Influence of Vaccine-critical Websites on Perceiving Vaccination Risks
Betsch, C., Renkewitz, F., Betsch, T., & Ulshöfer, C. (2010) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105309353647 · Cited by 493
Hate Online: A Content Analysis of Extremist Internet Sites
Gerstenfeld, P. B., Grant, D. R., & Chiang, C. (2003) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/j.1530-2415.2003.00013.x · Cited by 445
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999, Achievements in public health, 1900–1999 impact of vaccines universally recommended for children – United States, 1990–1998, Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 48, 243
- Friedlander, 2001, Opposition to immunization: a pattern of deception, Sci Rev Altern Med, 5, 18
- Betsch, 2009, Langfristige Auswirkungen einer Informationssuche auf impfkritischen Internetseiten, Prävention, 32, 125
- Loe Fisher B. In the wake of vaccines. Mothering 2004; vol. 126 (September–October). http://www.trinitychiro.com/media/Mothering_Vaccine_Article.pdf. [Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5ydNaolTD].
- Sears RW. Is aluminum the new thimerosal? Mothering 2008; vol. 146 (January–February). http://www.whale.to/vaccine/sears.html. [Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5ydMwOrop].
- Age of Autism. Columbia University Press and Dr. Paul Offit Sued for Autism's False Prophets, http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/02/columbia-university-press-and-dr-paul-offit-sued-for-autisms-false-prophets.html; 2009 [accessed 20.04.11]. [Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5y5ucrMvQ].
- Wimer B, Emm JL, Bader D. Chickenpox party: developing natural varicella immunity. Mothering 2004; vol. 122 (January–February). http://www.whale.to/vaccine/wimer.html. [Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5ydfISM5W].
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 401–500 of 1,000
Hasell, A., & Chinn, S. (2023) · Social Media + Society · doi:10.1177/20563051231211945 · Cited by 26
“…but much of it is laden with messages that encourage skepticism of doctors, scientists, and government, all while advocating trust in one’s own instincts over the advice of credentialed experts on a range of topics from health to public policy (Ballantyne et al., 2022; Carrion, 2018; Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundJapanese anti- versus pro-influenza vaccination websites: a text-mining analysis
Okuhara, T., Ishikawa, H., OKADA, M., Kato, M., & Kiuchi, T. (2018) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/day015 · Cited by 19
Emmers‐Sommer, T. M., & Terán, L. (2019) · Sexuality Research and Social Policy · doi:10.1007/s13178-019-0375-z · Cited by 19
DeDominicis, K., Buttenheim, A. M., Howa, A. C., Delamater, P. L., Salmon, D. A., Omer, S. B., & Klein, N. P. (2020) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113216 · Cited by 19
Dissen, A., Qadiri, Q., & Middleton, C. J. (2021) · American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine · doi:10.1177/1559827621990574 · Cited by 19
“Evidence appears to be building which shows that in regions where anti-vaccination messages are being shared and proliferated, vaccination rates of children have been found to decrease significantly.(17) Additionally, a recent study that claims a correlation between the consumption of fluoridated water with lower IQ i…”
ResultClayton, K., Finley, C. A., Flynn, D. J., Graves, M. C., & Nyhan, B. J. (2021) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.047 · Cited by 19
“…agreement on the goal of increasing vaccine compliance, relatively little is known about how to most effectively promote vaccines to hesitant parents (Sadaf et al. 2013), who are often confused by unscientific information they encounter from anti-vaccine activists (Kata 2012; Ruiz and Bell 2014).”
BackgroundGiese, H., Neth, H., & Gaissmaier, W. (2021) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.09.016 · Cited by 19
Roy, D. N., Hossen, M. M., Ferdiousi, N., & Azam, M. S. (2022) · VirusDisease · doi:10.1007/s13337-022-00775-x · Cited by 19
Pox populi: Anti-vaxx, anti-politics
Russell, F. (2022) · Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1177/14407833221101660 · Cited by 19
“…anti-vaccine movements, in which we find little discussion of political ideologies, and instead an emphasis on nuance in dealing with complex issues around misinformation and conspiracy theories, individual rights, and public health messaging (Dubé et al., 2015; Jolley & Douglas, 2017; Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundA review of the key factors to improve adult immunization coverage rates: What can the clinician do?
Tan, L. (2017) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.07.050 · Cited by 19
Nera, K., Pantazi, M., & Klein, O. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00684 · Cited by 20
“Conspiracy theories—explanations of (often socially significant) events involving the causal role of a deliberately malevolent group plotting in secrecy (Keeley, 1999)—are the focus of growing interest among social scientists.”
BackgroundTrust in health care and vaccine hesitancy
Lalumera, E. (2018) · Rivista di estetica · doi:10.4000/estetica.3553 · Cited by 19
Individual preferences for voluntary vs. mandatory vaccination policies: an experimental analysis
Meier, N. W., BOHM, R. M., Korn, L., & Betsch, C. (2019) · European Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckz181 · Cited by 19
Shades of Grey in Vaccination Decision Making
Seethaler, S. L. (2016) · Science Communication · doi:10.1177/1075547016637083 · Cited by 19
“Vaccine-hesitant parents may believe it is better for their children to develop “natural” immunity (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialNetwork Structure of an AIDS-Denialist Online Community: Identifying Core Members and the Risk Group
Rykov, Y. G., Meylakhs, P. A., & Эдуардовна, С. Я. (2017) · American Behavioral Scientist · doi:10.1177/0002764217717565 · Cited by 21
“, 2014) or (anti)vaccination movements (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundToward a Generative Model of Legend: Pizzas, Bridges, Vaccines, and Witches
Tangherlini, T. R. (2017) · Humanities · doi:10.3390/h7010001 · Cited by 19
“Andrea Kitta, among others, has pointed to the long‐standing domain of anti‐vaccination attitudes in various groups, and has explored in significant detail the role that storytelling has played in creating and perpetuating various beliefs surrounding vaccination (Kitta 2012).”
BackgroundBianchini, C., Truccolo, I., Bidoli, E., & Mazzocut, M. (2019) · Library & Information Science Research · doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2019.02.006 · Cited by 20
Current concepts of infections of the fetus and newborn infant
Remington, J. S., Klein, J. O., Maldonado, Y., Nizet, V., Barnett, E. D., Edwards, K. M., & Malley, R. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-79525-8.00010-x · Cited by 19
‘Blurred boundaries’: When nurses and midwives give anti-vaccination advice on Facebook
Green, J., Petty, J., Whiting, L. S., Orr, F., Smart, L., Brown, A., & Jones, L. (2022) · Nursing Ethics · doi:10.1177/09697330211041749 · Cited by 18
“However, Facebook groups opposing vaccination are prevalent and are a platform where anti-vaccine activists spread their messages questioning the legitimacy of science.(11) These are problematic because individuals turn to Facebook groups for vaccination advice and have been shown to influence whether people get vacci…”
Carvalho, E. D. M., dos Santos, M. A., Neves, L. F. F., de Oliveira, T. M., Massarani, L., & Carvalho, M. S. (2022) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/0102-311xpt054722 · Cited by 18
Understanding the Role of Recruitment in Collective Robot Foraging
Pitonakova, L., Crowder, R., & Bullock, S. (2014) · Conference on Artificial Life (ALIFE) · doi:10.7551/978-0-262-32621-6-ch043 · Cited by 18
Attitudes of health care professionals towards COVID-19 vaccine - a sequence from Turkey
Oruç, M. A., & Öztürk, O. (2021) · Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/21645515.2021.1928462 · Cited by 18
Abrams, L. R., Koehly, L. M., Hooker, G. W., Paquin, R. S., Cappella, J. N., & McBride, C. M. (2016) · Public Health Genomics · doi:10.1159/000447944 · Cited by 18
Murphy, J., Vallières, F., Bentall, R. P., Shevlin, M. E., McBride, O., Hartman, T. K., McKay, R., Bennett, K. M., Mason, L., Miller, J. G., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/8dtnq · Cited by 19
Boullier, H., Kotras, B., & Siles, I. (2021) · RESET · doi:10.4000/reset.2698 · Cited by 17
Primack, B. A., Perryman, K. L., Crofford, R. A., & Escobar-Viera, C. G. (2021) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.chc.2021.07.007 · Cited by 19
“49 51 A study conducted with 25 transitional-age participants on Tumblr who had posted about depression demonstrated that receiving online mental health resources was associated with greater satisfaction.”
BackgroundCook, J., Lepage, C., Hopkins, K. L., Cook, W., Kolog, E. A., Thomson, A., Iddrisu, I., & Burnette, S. (2024) · Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/21645515.2024.2407204 · Cited by 17
Portrayals of Vaccination in Entertainment Television: A Content Analysis
McClaran, N., & Rhodes, N. D. (2020) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2020.1749356 · Cited by 17
“The sentiments of those who oppose vaccinations (i.e., anti-vaxxers) have become loudly expressed in the digital sphere, largely due to the affordances of the internet and social media (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundSharevski, F., Jachim, P., & Florek, K. (2020) · International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security (ARES) · doi:10.1145/3407023.3407025 · Cited by 22
“The original tweet was based on the tropes commonly used to argue vaccination effectiveness elaborated in [31].”
BackgroundMethodMedia Choice and the Polarization of Public Opinion About Covid-19 in Brazil
Pereira, F. B., & Nunes, F. (2021) · Revista Latinoamericana de Opinión Pública · doi:10.14201/rlop.23681 · Cited by 17
“Vol. 10, 2 (2021), 39-57 the 2018 elections won by Bolsonaro (Machado et al., 2019; Resende et al., 2019; Rossini et al., 2020).”
Rudloff, J. P., Hutmacher, F., & Appel, M. (2022) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12706 · Cited by 22
“The disregard of evidence can be supported by endorsing the idea that facts, including scientific evidence, are partially or completely constructed by society which allows for multiple perspectives on what is to be regarded as true (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundMartínez-Diz, S., Romero, M. M., Fernández-Prada, M., Cruz-Piqueras, M., Ruano, R. M., & Sierra, M. A. F. (2013) · Anales de Pediatría · doi:10.1016/j.anpedi.2013.08.009 · Cited by 17
Examining the use of ‘natural’ in breastfeeding promotion: ethical and practical concerns
Martucci, J., & Barnhill, A. (2018) · Journal of Medical Ethics · doi:10.1136/medethics-2017-104455 · Cited by 17
Opinion Dynamics via Search Engines (and Other Algorithmic Gatekeepers)Preprint
Germano, F., & Sobbrio, F. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2890853 · Cited by 20
I Know That I Know: Online Health Information Seeking, Self‐Care and the Overconfidence Effect1,2
Bertolazzi, A., Lombi, L., Lovari, A., Ducci, G., & D’Ambrosi, L. (2023) · Sociological Forum · doi:10.1111/socf.12925 · Cited by 19
Hiaeshutter-Rice, D., Chinn, S., & Chen, K. (2021) · Frontiers in Political Science · doi:10.3389/fpos.2021.642394 · Cited by 17
“But fear and anxiety have also been deployed strategically to bring attention to and spread false information; by intentionally provoking fear, doubt, and uncertainty in their online content, anti-vaccine activists sow confusion and misperceptions about vaccines (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundLorini, C., Collini, F., Galletti, G., Ierardi, F., Forni, S., Gatteschi, C., Gemmi, F., Stacchini, L., Papini, S., Velpini, B., et al. (2022) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines10050682 · Cited by 16
Recio-Román, A., Recio-Menéndez, M., & Román-González, M. V. (2023) · Computation · doi:10.3390/computation11100208 · Cited by 22
Public health: An injection of trust
Eisenstein, M. S. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/507s17a · Cited by 16
Mitchell, S. S. D. (2019) · Canadian Journal of Communication · doi:10.22230/cjc.2019v44n2a3329 · Cited by 16
“…and health communication often calls for the use of social media platforms to disseminate accurate information and challenge problematic beliefs (Chou, Hunt, Beckjord, Moser, & Hesse, 2009; Gesser-Edelsburg, Diamant, Hijazi, & Mesch, 2018; Korda & Itani, 2013; Scanfeld, Scanfield, & Larson, 2010).”
BackgroundTwitter Communication During an Outbreak of Hepatitis A in San Diego, 2016–2018
Oren, E., Martinez, L. S., Hensley, R. E., Jain, P., Ahmed, T., Purnajo, I., Nara, A., & Tsou, M. (2020) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2020.305900 · Cited by 16
Malova, E. (2021) · Communication Research Reports · doi:10.1080/08824096.2021.1983424 · Cited by 18
“In addition, research shows that people routinely turn to the Internet for vaccination advice, and thus such sources can impact vaccination decisions (Kata, 2012) and promote vaccine hesitancy with misinformation (Kata, 2010).”
BackgroundUnderstanding Conspiracy Online: Social Media and the Spread of Suspicious Thinking
Mortimer, K. (2017) · Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management · doi:10.5931/djim.v13i1.6928 · Cited by 16
“An exact study of the tactics of a conspiracy community (as per Kata, 2012) is not strictly necessary, because certain arguments or approaches are less compelling to the information literate.”
BackgroundInfluentiald’Onofrio, A., Carbone, G., & Buonomo, B. (2017) · Mathematical Biosciences & Engineering · doi:10.3934/mbe.2018013 · Cited by 16
Community water fluoridation online: an analysis of the digital media ecosystem
Helmi, M. F., Spinella, M. K., & Seymour, B. A. (2018) · Journal of Public Health Dentistry · doi:10.1111/jphd.12268 · Cited by 16
The case for tracking misinformation the way we track disease
Bonnevie, E., Sittig, J., & Smyser, J. (2021) · Big Data & Society · doi:10.1177/20539517211013867 · Cited by 16
“…conversation themes and strategies of the anti-vaccination movement (Betsch and Sachse, 2012; Blankenship, 2018; Bonnevie et al., 2020b; Broniatowski et al., 2018; Deiner et al., 2019; Hoffman et al., 2019; Kata, 2012; Lutkenhaus et al., 2019; Meyer et al., 2019; Mollema et al., 2015; Shoup, 2019).”
BackgroundMurphy, J., Vallières, F., Bentall, R. P., Shevlin, M. E., McBride, O., Hartman, T. K., McKay, R., Bennett, K. M., Mason, L., Miller, J. G., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/pev2b · Cited by 16
“42,43 This poses further challenges to effective communication for vaccine resistant individuals, and highlights the need for public health officials to disseminate information via other sources of information, in order to increase the chances of accessing vaccine resistant or hesitant individuals.”
An Updated Account on Parents’ Use of and Attitudes Towards Time-Out
Canning, M. G., Jugovac, S., & Pasalich, D. S. (2021) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-021-01252-0 · Cited by 15
Howell, J. L., Gasser, M. L., Kaysen, D. L., & Lindgren, K. P. (2022) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115275 · Cited by 21
“Other research suggests that interpersonal sources religious leaders and healthcare providers (Gargano et al., 2013; Shelton et al., 2013) as well as interactions with other parents on social media (Kata, 2010, 2012; Meyer et al., 2019) can influence willingness to vaccinate.”
Cmeciu, C. M. (2023) · Discourse & Society · doi:10.1177/09579265231174793 · Cited by 15
“Diana Șoșoacă’s offline and online actions against the COVID19 restriction measures along with her beliefs against vaccination that could be found in the opponents’ comments resemble the political style of medical populism often used in health crises (Lasco, 2020).”
BackgroundHawkins, I., & Chinn, S. (2023) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2023.2219724 · Cited by 15
“On social media, they can bypass traditional gatekeepers to fi nd alternative sources of information because social media platforms ’ features empower more ‘ democratic ’ forms of expertise (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundSocial Epistemology and Cognitive Authority in Online Comments about Vaccine Safety
Doty, C. (2015) · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · Cited by 15
Vaccine criticism: Presence and arguments on French-speaking websites
Nugier, A., Limousi, F., & Lydié, N. (2017) · Médecine et Maladies Infectieuses · doi:10.1016/j.medmal.2017.09.003 · Cited by 15
Framing Vaccination in Post-Socialist Serbia: An Anthropological Perspective
Trifunović, V. (2019) · Etnoantropološki problemi / Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology · doi:10.21301/eap.v14i2.5 · Cited by 15
Countering misinformation: Strategies, challenges, and uncertainties
Peter, C., & Koch, T. (2019) · Studies in Communication and Media · doi:10.5771/2192-4007-2019-4-431 · Cited by 16
Towards elimination of measles and rubella in Italy: Progress and challenges
Adamo, G., Baccolini, V., Massimi, A., Barbato, D., Cocchiara, R. A., Paolo, C. D., Mele, A., Cianfanelli, S., Angelozzi, A., Castellani, F., et al. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226513 · Cited by 15
Forecasting and Prevention Mechanisms Using Social Media in Health Care
Koukaras, P., Rousidis, D., & Tjortjis, C. (2020) · Studies in computational intelligence · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-61114-2_8 · Cited by 15
Lavorgna, A., & Carr, L. A. (2021) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440211003084 · Cited by 17
“…exaggeration and over-glamorization in selfpromotion, have indeed given individuals without recognized qualifications a platform for potentially large-scale communication, where they can construct a cleansed version of themselves as experts or quasi-experts (Khamis et al., 2016; Rojek, 2017).”
BackgroundUncertain Knowledge. Studying “Truth” and “Conspiracies” in the Digital Age
Boullier, H., Kotras, B., & Siles, I. (2021) · RESET · doi:10.4000/reset.2750 · Cited by 15
Deprived, Radical, Alternatively Informed
Ziegele, M., Resing, M., Frehmann, K., Jackob, N., Jakobs, I., Quiring, O., Schemer, C., Schultz, T., & Viehmann, C. (2022) · European Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.47368/ejhc.2022.205 · Cited by 15
“Ultimately, vaccination hesitancy is deeply linked to mistrust and criticism towards scientists and doctors (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialFernandes, C. M., & Montuori, C. (2020) · Reciis · doi:10.29397/reciis.v14i2.1975 · Cited by 15
Appel, R. E., Roozenbeek, J., Rayburn-Reeves, R. M., Basol, M., Corbin, J. C., Compton, J., & van der Linden, S. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-09462-5 · Cited by 17
“The game trains people to spot four manipulation techniques, which previous studies have identified as being commonly used in the area of vaccine misinformation 26–28 : (1) emotional storytelling, (2) fake expertise and pseudoscience, (3) the naturalistic fallacy, and (4) conspiracy theories.”
Claggett, J. L., Kitchens, B., Paino, M., & Levin, K. B. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/29275 · Cited by 14
“The internet is an obvious tool for patients to find alternative medical information [11,12].”
BackgroundHo, K. K. W., & Ye, S. (2024) · Information · doi:10.3390/info15020116 · Cited by 14
“[5,18] Follow their political party line Political party supporters believe (false) health information agreed upon by their political party line.”
InfluentialThe impact of toxic trolling comments on anti-vaccine YouTube videos
Miyazaki, K., Uchiba, T., Kwak, H., An, J., & Sasahara, K. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-54925-w · Cited by 14
“Additionally, we found that fear in comments was significantly associated with the topics of viruses and children’s diseases, which aligns with previous research linking these topics to fear among anti-vaccine groups 5,32 .”
Marhánková, J. H., Kotherová, Z., & Numerato, D. (2024) · Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/21645515.2024.2361943 · Cited by 15
“10 A study focused on the ways parents communicate anxieties about a connection between autism and vaccines shows that rather than a lack of information, parents struggle with the knowledge that their understanding of the risk of vaccination will always be partial while, simultaneously, feeling…”
BackgroundDubé, È., Trottier, M.-È., Greyson, D. L., MacDonald, N. E., Meyer, S. B., MacDonald, S. E., Driedger, S. M., Witteman, H. O., Ouakki, M., & Gagnon, D. (2024) · Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/21645515.2024.2379093 · Cited by 16
“5 The COVID-19 pandemic only reinforced the need for public health authorities to tackle online mis-and disinformation to build resilience and maintain vaccine confidence.”
BackgroundA Resistant Strain: Revealing the Online Grassroots Rise of the Antivaccination Movement
Bandari, R., Zhou, Z., Qian, H., Tangherlini, T. R., & Roychowdhury, V. (2017) · Computer · doi:10.1109/mc.2017.4041354 · Cited by 14
Heyerdahl, L. W., Vray, M., Leger, V., Fouler, L. L., Antouly, J., Troit, V., & Giles‐Vernick, T. (2021) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042579 · Cited by 14
Anxiety and covid-19 compliance behaviors in the UK: The moderating role of conspiratorial thinking
Copping, L. T. (2022) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.111604 · Cited by 15
“From a health perspective, theories focus on pharmaceutical greed, faked results, and the ongoing cover-up harmful side effects (Kata, 2012).”
HPV Prophylactic Vaccines: Lessons Learned from 10 Years Experience
Brotherton, J. M. L. (2015) · Future Virology · doi:10.2217/fvl.15.60 · Cited by 14
Tuells, J., Martínez-Martínez, P. J., Torrijos, J. L. D., Caballero, P., Fraga-Freijeiro, P., & Navarro‐López, V. (2015) · Revista Española de Salud Pública · doi:10.4321/s1135-57272015000100012 · Cited by 14
The Role of Patience in Arguments About Vaccine Science
Coleman, M. C. (2017) · Western Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/10570314.2017.1294708 · Cited by 14
“… of patient empowerment and shared decision-making, where individuals play a more involved role in their healthcare” (Kata, 2012, p. 3784).”
BackgroundGeneration and influence of eccentric ideas on social networks
Pandey, S., Cao, Y., Dong, Y., Kim, M.-J., MacLaren, N. G., Dionne, S. D., Yammarino, F. J., & Sayama, H. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-47823-0 · Cited by 13
COVID-19 and influenza vaccine-hesitancy subgroups
Mäki, K. O., Karlsson, L. C., Kaakinen, J. K., Schmid, P., Lewandowsky, S., Antfolk, J., & Soveri, A. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0308159 · Cited by 15
Persuasion or Co-creation? Social Identity Threat and the Mechanisms of Deliberative Transformation
Wright, G. W. (2022) · Journal of Deliberative Democracy · doi:10.16997/jdd.977 · Cited by 13
“Indeed, VHR parents often reject the label of ‘anti-vaccine,’ preferring to identify as ‘pro-safe vaccine’ (Kata, 2012).”
BackgroundValidation of a Scale to Measure Parental Psychological Empowerment in the Vaccination Decision
Fadda, M., Elisa, G., Luisa, R., Marino, F., Sabrina, S., Alessandro, Z., & Schulz, P. J. (2017) · Journal of Public Health Research · doi:10.4081/jphr.2017.955 · Cited by 14
Brunson, E. K., Chandler, H., Grönvall, G. K., Ravi, S., Sell, T. K., Shearer, M. P., & Schoch‐Spana, M. (2020) · Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research · doi:10.30658/jicrcr.3.1.4 · Cited by 13
“…reporting and images, are more swayed by personal narratives about vaccination’s adverse effects than the science, and tend to judge disparate ideas about vaccines as equally valid, regardless of expertise (Guidry et al., 2015; Kata, 2012; Poland et al., 2009; Witteman & Zikmund-Fisher, 2012).”
BackgroundVaccination Attitude and Communication in Early Settings: An Exploratory Study
Mereu, N. M., Mereu, A., Murgia, A., Liori, A., Piga, M., Argiolas, F., Salis, G., Santus, S., Porcu, C., Contu, P., et al. (2020) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines8040701 · Cited by 13
Should I get that jab? Exploring influence to encourage vaccination via online social media
Langley, D., Wijn, R., Epskamp, S., & van Bork, R. (2015) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) · Cited by 13
Insights from Public Health: A Framework for Understanding and Fostering Vaccine Acceptance
Nowak, G. J., LaVail, K., Kennedy, A., & Sheedy, K. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-7438-8_25 · Cited by 13
Understanding the rise of vaccine refusal: perceptions, fears, and influences
Uğrak, U., Aksungur, A., Akyüz, S., Şen, H., & SEYHAN, F. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-23754-5 · Cited by 12
“Similarly, several studies have demonstrated that individuals rely on the Internet as a primary source of information when making vaccination decisions [15–17].”
Effects of Competing Statistical and Testimonial Evidence in Debates About Science
Chinn, S., & Weeks, B. E. (2020) · Environmental Communication · doi:10.1080/17524032.2020.1837900 · Cited by 12
“…preferences (Wynne, 1992), the internet has also empowered formerly marginalized actors to increase public circulation of empirically false claims (e.g. Holocaust denial, vaccine-autism link) through usergenerated content such as blogging and social media (Kata, 2012; Ross & Rivers, 2019).”
BackgroundDubé, È., MacDonald, S. E., Manca, T., Bettinger, J. A., Driedger, S. M., Graham, J., Greyson, D. L., MacDonald, N. E., Meyer, S. B., Roch, G., et al. (2022) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/41012 · Cited by 12
“Prior to the pandemic, web-based misinformation and disinformation were identified as key issues that negatively impact vaccine acceptance [1,2].”
Bosle, C., Orth, B., Reibling, N., Merkel, C., Muschalik, C., & von Rüden, U. (2022) · Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz · doi:10.1007/s00103-022-03617-9 · Cited by 12
Archetypal Populism: The “Intellectual Dark Web” and the “Peterson Paradox”
Kelsey, D. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-55038-7_7 · Cited by 12
Buts, J., Baker, M., Luz, S. F., & Engebretsen, E. (2021) · Medicine Health Care and Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s11019-021-10027-2 · Cited by 12
“They “combine manifold experiences and expectations in such a way that they become indispensable to any formulation of the most urgent issues of a given time”, and “are always both controversial and contested” (Koselleck 1996, p. 64).”
BackgroundSu, L., Du, J., & Du, Z. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.783374 · Cited by 12
“Therefore, some anti-vaccination conspiratorial information or other misinformation is prevalent in websites (Blume, 2006; Kata, 2012), especially on social media (Guidry et al., 2015; Featherstone et al., 2019).”
BackgroundSalimović-Bešić, I., Seremet, M., Hübschen, J. M., Hukić, M., Tihić, N., Ahmetagić, S., Delibegović, Z., Pilav, A., Mulaomerović, M., Ravlija, J., et al. (2016) · Clinical Microbiology and Infection · doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2016.02.005 · Cited by 12
The Quality of Online Health-Related Information – an Emergent Consumer Health Issue
Nădășan, V. (2016) · Acta Marisiensis. Seria Medica · doi:10.1515/amma-2016-0048 · Cited by 13
Bean, S. J., & Catania, J. A. (2018) · SAGE Open Medicine · doi:10.1177/2050312118807625 · Cited by 13
‘Operator, please’ — Connecting truth and power at the science-policy interface
Fähnrich, B., & Ruser, A. (2019) · Journal of Science Communication · doi:10.22323/2.18030501 · Cited by 12
“Accordingly, as, for example, the recent anti-vaccination movements demonstrate [Kata, 2012], the question of what counts as scientific evidence — and furthermore, how important science knowledge is compared to other forms of knowledge and expertise — has to be answered against the background of specific socio-histori…”
BackgroundVINCENT: A visual analytics system for investigating the online vaccine debate
Ninkov, A., & Sedig, K. (2019) · Online Journal of Public Health Informatics · doi:10.5210/ojphi.v11i2.10114 · Cited by 14
“[11] states, “The connective power of the Internet brings together those previously considered on the fringe.”
BackgroundResisting Moral Permissiveness about Vaccine Refusal
Navin, M. C. (2013) · PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) · Cited by 12
Lavazza, A., & Farina, M. (2022) · New Zealand Science Review · doi:10.26686/nzsr.v76i3.7816 · Cited by 16
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Africa: A scoping reviewPreprint
Ackah, B., Woo, M., Ukah, U. V., Fazal, Z. A., Stallwood, L., Okpani, A. I., & Adu, P. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-759005/v1 · Cited by 12
Enhanced ability of information gathering may intensify disagreement among groups
Sayama, H. (2020) · Physical review. E · doi:10.1103/physreve.102.012303 · Cited by 12
Caring for the Vaccine-Hesitant Family: Evidence-Based Alternatives to Dismissal
Williams, J. T. B., O’Leary, S. T., & Nussbaum, A. M. (2020) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.05.029 · Cited by 11
An Analysis of French-Language Tweets About COVID-19 Vaccines: Supervised Learning Approach
Sauvayre, R., Vernier, J., & Chauvière, C. (2022) · JMIR Medical Informatics · doi:10.2196/37831 · Cited by 11
Witchel, H. J., Thompson, G. A., Jones, C. I., Westling, C. E. I., Romero, J., Nicotra, A., Maag, B., & Critchley, H. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/15171 · Cited by 10
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
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
