Hardcore vaccine refuseniks could need deradicalising like terrorists – expert
3 years ago

Hardcore vaccine refuseniks could need deradicalising like terrorists – expert

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “You’re getting to people who hold a cluster of very exotic beliefs – now, they’re very difficult to reach.” Measures that could be used to reach more moderate people who remain unvaccinated, he said, include assigning vaccine appointments to people rather than asking them to book their own, or setting up pop-up clinics in places like supermarkets or shopping centres. “Because we’re really talking, when we get down to that small number of committed refusers, we’re talking about the psychology of cults and extremism, and it’s a very similar psychology.” Mr Lewandowsky said online misinformation is a contributing factor, adding that while some steps had been taken to remove false claims, sites like Facebook and YouTube are “not doing enough”. “Nothing could make me decide to have this jab, it’s dangerous,” he told PA. “I’ve had Covid and it’s true I was very ill and could barely breathe for over a week but I survived through my immune system, I’m willing to continue to trust said immune system rather than a jab with so many cases of bad, life-ending side affects. “I believe we’re being lied to.” Online Covid misinformation is “a very serious public health issue”, according to one expert.

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History of this topic

One-third of Americans don’t trust the COVID vaccines, survey finds
1 month, 2 weeks ago

One-third of Americans don’t trust the COVID vaccines, survey finds

Salon  

Across the U.S., 35% of adults reported that they did not trust COVID-19 vaccines, without much variation across years 2021-2023, according to a survey published in the journal Vaccine: X this week. Vaccine hesitancy is one piece of a growing distrust in public health exacerbated by the government’s pandemic response that many experts fear will only deepen with the new …

‘Dire implications’: Experts warn Trump could spark global health crisis with latest idea
1 month, 2 weeks ago

‘Dire implications’: Experts warn Trump could spark global health crisis with latest idea

Raw Story  

Over the weekend Donald Trump said he is considering a ban on not just vaccine mandates, but vaccines themselves—an extension of his embrace of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is expected to put RFK Jr., a known AIDS denialist and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and purveyor of vaccine misinformation who has likened the use of vaccines to the "holocaust," in charge …

Column: How a blunder by a respected medical journal is fueling an anti-vaccine lie
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Column: How a blunder by a respected medical journal is fueling an anti-vaccine lie

LA Times  

The paper published by the respected British Medical Journal earlier this month was eye-opening, to say the least. Its language alluding to “serious concerns” about the impact of vaccines and “containment measures” such as lockdowns on excess deaths was transmogrified into the Telegram’s headline stating that “Covid vaccines may have helped fuel rise in excess deaths” and similar language in …

Column: Disinformation is a public health crisis. Here’s how scientists and doctors are fighting it
10 months ago

Column: Disinformation is a public health crisis. Here’s how scientists and doctors are fighting it

LA Times  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Is there a way to inoculate the public against his anti-vaccine lies? “Scientists really recognize this as a problem, from what they see in the community and read in the news,” says Tara Kirk Sell of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security. It’s part of an emerging genre of advice for scientists, public health officials …

Column: Scientists are paying a huge personal price in the lonely fight against anti-vaxxers
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: Scientists are paying a huge personal price in the lonely fight against anti-vaxxers

LA Times  

In the preface of the new book by vaccine expert and pro-science crusader Peter Hotez, there are several acknowledgments of a kind that may never have appeared before in a book like it. Things have only gotten worse since then, as Hotez reports in his new book, “The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning.” A professor of pediatrics and …

America's antivaxx crisis laid bare: A QUARTER believe MMR shot causes autism and a THIRD think the Covid vaccines killed thousands, poll finds
1 year, 4 months ago

America's antivaxx crisis laid bare: A QUARTER believe MMR shot causes autism and a THIRD think the Covid vaccines killed thousands, poll finds

Daily Mail  

The Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed 2,007 adults in an online poll this year America's growing anti-vaxx crisis has been laid bare in a national poll that shows huge chunks of the country believe in conspiracy theories about safe shots. The Kaiser Family Foundation poll also found that a third of adults believe that the Covid shots caused thousands of sudden …

Column: COVID boosted anti-vaccine propaganda. Now measles and other childhood diseases are on the march
2 years ago

Column: COVID boosted anti-vaccine propaganda. Now measles and other childhood diseases are on the march

LA Times  

In the modern world and our modern society, there can be no excuse for an outbreak of measles. In July 2021, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an icon of the far right, absurdly attacked leaders of the Biden administration’s campaign to encourage all Americans to get vaccinated against COVID as “medical brown shirts.” Her reference was to Nazi storm troopers during …

‘Anti-science extremist’: Tory MP shut down for claiming Covid jabs ‘disaster in the making’
2 years, 8 months ago

‘Anti-science extremist’: Tory MP shut down for claiming Covid jabs ‘disaster in the making’

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A Tory MP …

Op-Ed: The anti-vax movement was already getting scary. COVID supercharged it
2 years, 10 months ago

Op-Ed: The anti-vax movement was already getting scary. COVID supercharged it

LA Times  

Conspiracy theorists’ disinformation has led to the deaths of thousands of Americans every week by discouraging COVID-19 vaccinations. One study found that people who believe “9/11 truther” theories are more likely than average to also believe COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an influential anti-vaxxer, said at a recent rally in Washington: “Bill Gates and his 65,000 satellites …

Vaccine refusal is child abuse
2 years, 10 months ago

Vaccine refusal is child abuse

Salon  

Republican media and politicians adopted an anti-vaccine message for one obvious purpose: To sabotage Joe Biden's presidency by prolonging the pandemic. Due to Republican obstruction, the U.S. is the only United Nations member state not to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Child — mainly because Republicans fear it will interfere with the "right" to beat children and force …

Vaccine skeptics slammed across Europe as Omicron rages
2 years, 11 months ago

Vaccine skeptics slammed across Europe as Omicron rages

Deccan Chronicle  

From Boris Johnson to Emmanuel Macron, Europe’s leaders are increasingly going after anti-vaxxers as the battle against the fast-spreading omicron variant deepens the region’s pandemic fatigue. French President Macron took the rhetoric to a new level this week when he said his government’s strategy was to “p--- off” those who have refused shots. In the U.K., Johnson accused anti-vaxxers of …

Facebook is having a tougher time managing vaccine misinformation than it is letting on, leaks suggest
3 years, 1 month ago

Facebook is having a tougher time managing vaccine misinformation than it is letting on, leaks suggest

CNN  

New York CNN Business — In public, Facebook has touted the resources it has dedicated to tackling Covid-19 and vaccine misinformation, even scolding US President Joe Biden for his harsh criticism of the company’s handling of the issue. “We have no idea about the scale of the problem when it comes to comments,” an internal research report posted to Facebook’s …

How to fight COVID vaccine misinformation?
3 years, 2 months ago

How to fight COVID vaccine misinformation?

Al Jazeera  

Opposition to vaccination is as old as vaccination itself. Although vaccines save five lives every minute, and even though 85 percent of children worldwide are vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, some people are resisting the life-saving shots. Although this opposition has not prevented many countries from reaching very high vaccine uptake – for example in Spain, nearly 80 …

Doctors grow frustrated over COVID-19 denial, misinformation
3 years, 2 months ago

Doctors grow frustrated over COVID-19 denial, misinformation

Associated Press  

The COVID-19 patient’s health was deteriorating quickly at a Michigan hospital, but he was having none of the doctor’s diagnosis. Stop, stop, just stop looking at Facebook.’” DALLAS ER DOCTOR: Baffled at how he’s ‘lost all credibility’ with anti-vaccine patients Dr. Stu Coffman has patients tell him they are scared about vaccine side effects. Trunsky’s response: “You may get your …

Fighting wave of misinfo, YouTube bans false vaccine claims
3 years, 2 months ago

Fighting wave of misinfo, YouTube bans false vaccine claims

Associated Press  

YouTube announced a sweeping crackdown of vaccine misinformation Wednesday that booted popular anti-vaccine influencers from its site and deleted false claims that have been made about a range of immunizations. Despite tech companies announcing a string of new rules around COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation during the pandemic, falsehoods have still found big audiences on the platforms. Facebook, which also owns …

Let’s Keep the Vaccine Misinformation Problem in Perspective
3 years, 4 months ago

Let’s Keep the Vaccine Misinformation Problem in Perspective

Wired  

With Covid cases surging in parts of the United States and vaccinations proceeding at a crawl, all eyes are on social media platforms. Then, late last week, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced a bill that would strip away Section 230 immunity for vaccine content promoted by social media algorithms. As my former colleague Daniel Engber recently pointed out in …

Conservative media offers mixed messages on COVID-19 vaccine
3 years, 5 months ago

Conservative media offers mixed messages on COVID-19 vaccine

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Two recent exchanges in recent days on Fox News Channel’s popular morning show, “Fox …

Biden: Social media ‘killing people’ with COVID misinformation
3 years, 5 months ago

Biden: Social media ‘killing people’ with COVID misinformation

Al Jazeera  

Misinformation about the virus and vaccines has spread on platforms including Facebook and Twitter. President Joe Biden has said that social media companies are “killing people” by failing to police misinformation on their platforms about COVID-19 vaccines. “Misinformation poses an imminent and insidious threat to our nation’s health,” Murthy said during remarks on Thursday at the White House. Lives are …

‘They’re killing people’: Biden blames social media for COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
3 years, 5 months ago

‘They’re killing people’: Biden blames social media for COVID-19 vaccine misinformation

LA Times  

President Biden targeted social media platforms like Facebook on Friday for allowing the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, as many Americans’ resistance to getting the shots has left wide swaths of the country vulnerable to the more contagious Delta variant. President Biden said Friday that misinformation on social media about COVID-19 vaccines was “killing people.” Unlike the increase in …

US steps up fight against COVID-19 misinformation
3 years, 5 months ago

US steps up fight against COVID-19 misinformation

Al Jazeera  

The effort comes as the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations has slowed throughout the US, due in part to false claims. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Thursday called for a national effort to fight misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines, urging tech companies, health care workers, journalists and everyday Americans to do more to address a problem “that cost us lives”. …

Fox News Hammered With How Its Vaccine Coverage Will Go Down In History
3 years, 5 months ago

Fox News Hammered With How Its Vaccine Coverage Will Go Down In History

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING CNN “New Day” anchors Brianna Keilar and John Berman hammered home the same point over and over on Wednesday — that 99% of people who are now dying from COVID-19 in the United States are unvaccinated. “Millions of Americans are seeing this nonsensical, nonscientific propaganda instead of this,” said Berman, cutting to a public service announcement from …

Just Give Us the Vaccines, WHO Pleads, as Poor Countries Go Wanting
3 years, 5 months ago

Just Give Us the Vaccines, WHO Pleads, as Poor Countries Go Wanting

News 18  

Rich countries are opening up societies and vaccinating young people who are not at great risk from COVID-19, while the poorest countries cruelly lack doses, the World Health Organization said on Friday, condemning a global failure. The situation in Africa, where new infections and deaths jumped by nearly 40% last week compared to the previous week, is “so dangerous” as …

Global COVID-19 infection rate approaching highest, says WHO
3 years, 8 months ago

Global COVID-19 infection rate approaching highest, says WHO

India TV News  

The number of new COVID-19 cases per week worldwide has nearly doubled over the past two months, approaching the highest infection rate seen so far during the pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Friday. He attributed the alarming increase to rapidly spreading variants, inconsistent use and premature easing of public health measures, fatigue of populations with social restrictions, and …

Opinion: The consequences will be deadly if we don’t fight vaccine misinformation
3 years, 8 months ago

Opinion: The consequences will be deadly if we don’t fight vaccine misinformation

CNN  

Editor’s Note: K. “Vish” Viswanath, PhD, is director of the Harvard T.H. But a large number of people had already refused the vaccines outright or adopted a wait-and-see approach early on in the pandemic due to misinformation or disinformation they saw on social media platforms. That’s why social media companies must do more to combat vaccine misinformation and disinformation. Social …

Few Facts, Millions Of Clicks: Fearmongering Vaccine Stories Go Viral Online
3 years, 9 months ago

Few Facts, Millions Of Clicks: Fearmongering Vaccine Stories Go Viral Online

NPR  

Few Facts, Millions Of Clicks: Fearmongering Vaccine Stories Go Viral Online Enlarge this image toggle caption Sarah Reingewirtz/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images Sarah Reingewirtz/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images The odds of dying after getting a COVID-19 vaccine are virtually nonexistent. Enlarge this image toggle caption Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long …

Articles Linking COVID-19 Vaccines To Death Seem To Be Driving Misinformation Online
3 years, 9 months ago

Articles Linking COVID-19 Vaccines To Death Seem To Be Driving Misinformation Online

NPR  

Articles Linking COVID-19 Vaccines To Death Seem To Be Driving Misinformation Online Ahead of congressional testimony from the heads of Facebook, Twitter and Google, a new NPR analysis finds that articles linking COVID-19 vaccines to death are driving misinformation online. New reporting from NPR out today shows that a specific type of story about vaccines has been spreading quickly online …

Residents of Melbourne's hard tower lockdowns mobilise against off-radar COVID misinformation
3 years, 9 months ago

Residents of Melbourne's hard tower lockdowns mobilise against off-radar COVID misinformation

ABC  

Every day, Abdiwasa Ismael and a small group of other North Melbourne public housing residents set up and run a grassroots stall designed to counter COVID-19 misinformation. Key points: Many community members find official health advice inaccessible or hard to follow Community leaders maintain they need to be engaged more in the distribution process The hard lockdowns in Melbourne last …

Facebook to label vaccine posts to combat COVID-19 misinfo
3 years, 9 months ago

Facebook to label vaccine posts to combat COVID-19 misinfo

Associated Press  

LONDON — Facebook is adding informational labels to posts about vaccines as it expands efforts to counter COVID-19-related misinformation flourishing on its platforms. “For example, we’re adding a label on posts that discuss the safety of COVID-19 vaccines that notes COVID-19 vaccines go through tests for safety and effectiveness before they’re approved,” Zuckerberg said. “This announcement falls well short of …

Defying rules, anti-vaccine accounts thrive on social media
3 years, 9 months ago

Defying rules, anti-vaccine accounts thrive on social media

Associated Press  

With vaccination against COVID-19 in full swing, social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter say they’ve stepped up their fight against misinformation that aims to undermine trust in the vaccines. “It’s a hard situation because we have let this go for so long,” said Jeanine Guidry, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies social media and health information. …

Republicans are trying to sabotage Biden's COVID vaccine plan to "own the libs." We must ditch them
3 years, 9 months ago

Republicans are trying to sabotage Biden's COVID vaccine plan to "own the libs." We must ditch them

Salon  

Good news has been so rare for so long that it hardly seemed real to hear him say it, but sure enough, during his national presidential address Thursday night, President Joe Biden said that COVID-19 vaccination rates are speeding up so much that by May 1 states should be able to make every adult eligible for the shot. Education rates …

The battle to stop the spread of vaccine misinformation online
3 years, 9 months ago

The battle to stop the spread of vaccine misinformation online

Al Jazeera  

The rollout of coronavirus vaccines has presented new challenges to social media websites and groups fighting online misinformation. The group has also launched programmes like Don’t Spread the Virus, endorsed by the United Kingdom government, to help online users counter “the scourge of misinformation on coronavirus online”. Facebook bans vaccine misinformation Health officials have long criticised social media sites for …

Russian disinformation campaign working to undermine confidence in Covid-19 vaccines used in US
3 years, 9 months ago

Russian disinformation campaign working to undermine confidence in Covid-19 vaccines used in US

CNN  

Washington CNN — Online platforms directed by Russian intelligence are spreading disinformation about two of the coronavirus vaccines being used in the US, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Sunday. The agency’s Global Engagement Center identified three Russian outlets – News Front, New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review – that are spreading not only misinformation about the virus, …

Misinformation about COVID vaccines is putting Australia's diverse communities at risk, experts say
3 years, 9 months ago

Misinformation about COVID vaccines is putting Australia's diverse communities at risk, experts say

ABC  

阅读中文版本 | Dalam Bahasa Indonesia As high-risk groups begin rolling up their sleeves to receive COVID-19 vaccines, experts warn against misinformation being spread on social media platforms, including among culturally diverse groups. Key points: Experts confirm it is "completely untrue" that mRNA vaccines interfere with a person's DNA Misinformation thrives on non-English channels where vaccine messaging is less prominent The …

We Still Don’t Know How Well Covid Vaccines Stop Transmission
54 years, 11 months ago

We Still Don’t Know How Well Covid Vaccines Stop Transmission

Wired  

This week, the US passed a grim milestone in the ongoing coronavirus crisis: 500,000 deaths, more than the number of Americans killed in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined. The first, a leaked manuscript first reported by Israeli news site Ynet before being covered by MIT Technology Review, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, and Vox, found …

Facebook vowed to crack down on Covid-19 vaccine misinformation but misleading posts remain easy to find
3 years, 10 months ago

Facebook vowed to crack down on Covid-19 vaccine misinformation but misleading posts remain easy to find

CNN  

CNN Business — Nearly two months into the largest vaccine rollout in US history, Instagram continued to prominently feature anti-vaccination accounts in its search results, while Facebook groups railing against vaccines remained easy to find. Previously, Facebook’s policies banned misinformation about Covid-19 that “contributes to the risk of imminent violence or physical harm.” Public health experts have said they fear …

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Says 'Misinformation' Being Spread As Congress Questions Vaccine Drive
3 years, 11 months ago

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Says 'Misinformation' Being Spread As Congress Questions Vaccine Drive

News 18  

During India’s first phase of rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine, where over 2 lakh people have been inoculated, health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan sought to assure the people of the country that the vaccines being rolled out in India went under best possible scientific scrutiny and people should not believe in “misinformation” being spread. From the very beginning we have …

BJP slams ‘vaccine sceptics’ in the Opposition
3 years, 11 months ago

BJP slams ‘vaccine sceptics’ in the Opposition

The Hindu  

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said that statements by COVID-19 vaccine sceptics among Opposition leaders were playing into the hands of vested interests and demonstrated that the Opposition refused to be proud of “anything Indian”. Party chief J.P. Nadda took to Twitter to make these statements against certain Opposition leaders who termed the COVID-19 vaccines as suspect and fraudulent, …

False claims vaccines are ‘not halal’ could hinder immunisation rollout, doctor warns
4 years ago

False claims vaccines are ‘not halal’ could hinder immunisation rollout, doctor warns

The Independent  

A lack of trust in the government, “historic inequalities” and vaccine misinformation – including false claims that the coronavirus jab is not halal – could hinder its rollout, a leading doctor has warned. Among “the usual stuff that is in the spirit of anti-vaxxers”, some of the misinformation currently proliferating “has picked out certain bits that are particularly triggering within …

Opinion: With vaccine rollout comes onslaught of disinformation
4 years ago

Opinion: With vaccine rollout comes onslaught of disinformation

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Samantha Vinograd is a CNN national security analyst. According to US officials, Russia has been hard at work spreading Covid-19 related disinformation – while also hacking into various pieces of the Covid-19 ecosystem and, based on new reporting, into US government systems – it’s quite clear that the Kremlin is good at multitasking in cyberspace. A Sunday Times …

If we want the Covid vaccine to be a success, experts must help the public understand the science behind it
4 years ago

If we want the Covid vaccine to be a success, experts must help the public understand the science behind it

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. We need only look at the …

Coronavirus | Facebook bans false claims about COVID-19 vaccines
4 years ago

Coronavirus | Facebook bans false claims about COVID-19 vaccines

The Hindu  

Facebook Inc on Thursday said it would remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts, following a similar announcement by Alphabet Inc's YouTube in October. Facebook said it would remove debunked COVID-19 vaccine conspiracies, such as that the vaccines' safety is being tested on specific populations without their consent, and misinformation about the vaccines. …

'Fake News' About Covid-19 Vaccine has Become a Second Pandemic, Red Cross Chief Says
4 years ago

'Fake News' About Covid-19 Vaccine has Become a Second Pandemic, Red Cross Chief Says

News 18  

Covid-19 vaccines are fast approaching, but a second pandemic might impede efforts to recover from the first, according to the president of a global humanitarian aid group. Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a virtual briefing to the UN Correspondents Association on Monday that governments and institutions needed to implement …

Misinformation, political instability hamper vaccine trust: Study
4 years, 3 months ago

Misinformation, political instability hamper vaccine trust: Study

Al Jazeera  

Global survey of vaccine confidence shows that perceptions about the safety of jabs are much more volatile than before. “When there is a large drop in vaccination coverage, it is often because there’s an unproven vaccine safety scare seeding doubt and distrust,” Larson said. ‘Thoroughness, effectiveness and safety’ Researchers urged governments to ramp up investments in public information campaigns and …

'This Can't be Correct': Experts Sound Alarm Over Errors in Russian Study Finding Covid-19 Vaccine 'Safe'
4 years, 3 months ago

'This Can't be Correct': Experts Sound Alarm Over Errors in Russian Study Finding Covid-19 Vaccine 'Safe'

News 18  

The Lancet medical journal said Thursday it had asked authors of a study on a potential Russian Covid-19 vaccine for clarifications after their research came under scrutiny. Russia announced last month that its vaccine, named “Sputnik V” after the Soviet-era satellite that was the first launched into space in 1957, had already received approval. However an open letter signed this …

Pro-Russia vaccine misinfo finds home in US Facebook groups
4 years, 4 months ago

Pro-Russia vaccine misinfo finds home in US Facebook groups

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — A false report claiming five Ukrainians had died after taking an American-made coronavirus vaccine spread in just a matter of days from a small Kremlin-friendly website to an audience of thousands in U.S.-based Facebook groups. The unsupported claim that five out of 15 Ukrainians had died during a trial of the U.S. coronavirus vaccine was first published in …

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