Digging the rabbit hole, COVID-19 edition: anti-vaccine themes and the discourse around COVID-19

This article draws on a broadcast popular among the anti-vaccine community to map out six themes used by the broadcast to mislead viewers about COVID-19. The themes are the claim that “they” – government and pharma – are lying to you, claims that COVID-19 is an excuse to remove civil liberties, view...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microbes and infection 2020-11, Vol.22 (10), p.608-610
Main Authors: Smith, Tara C., Reiss, Dorit Rubinstein
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Coronavirus
Coronavirus Infections - immunology
Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - immunology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
Humans
Misinformation
Original
Pandemics - prevention & control
Public Health - education
Public Health - methods
Vaccination - adverse effects
Vaccination - psychology
Vaccine
Vaccines
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Summary:This article draws on a broadcast popular among the anti-vaccine community to map out six themes used by the broadcast to mislead viewers about COVID-19. The themes are the claim that “they” – government and pharma – are lying to you, claims that COVID-19 is an excuse to remove civil liberties, viewing everyone as an expert, claiming that science cannot save us, skewing the science, and a claim that “they” are out to harm the viewers. The article points out that similar themes are used to mislead followers with anti-vaccine information. It highlights the concern that these themes will not only mislead people who are already anti-vaccine about the pandemic, but may draw in people who are not anti-vaccine but are seeking information about COVID-19, and suggests some options for dealing with the misinformation. Scientists benefit from understanding these claims, as we are often tasked with providing rebuttals to this misinformation.
ISSN:1286-4579
1769-714X
DOI:10.1016/j.micinf.2020.11.001