Vaccine misinformation has been thriving on the internet mainly fueled by celebrities who are looked up to by large parts of the population and seen as ‘demigods’ and can do no wrong. This has led to fear mongering that has brought about throngs of people on social media spreading fake news about vaccines and medications. The misinformation, though debunked, it is debunked too late as people have already shared the information countless of times and brought on new mindsets in people. This is in especially those that do not follow up on the information.
Fake news travels fast as conspiracy theories bare fun to read about and tell the ‘stories’ whereas the truth needs digging up of information and thorough research leading to its low ‘sharing’ and spread. A wide spread rumor, for example, is that vaccines are the reason for the autism spectrum in children and toddlers.
The HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine has been under fire in most recent years due to concerns of permanent injury, sexual promiscuity and risk of other viral infections leading to increased skepticism and decreasing numbers of teens and young adults getting the vaccine. The vaccine prevents anal uterine and cervical cancer, and cancers of the neck and head. However, the benefits may have been overshadowed by the side effects of the HPV vaccine. It reduces the risk of cancer in young adults. However, the whole controversy around it makes it taken by fewer than 40% of young adults per year in Canada and the US.
Recent studies undertaken to understand the misinformation spread on the internet about the vaccine, especially on Facebook has unearthed shocking revelations. One study looks at posts from 2006-2016 where 6500 posts related to HPV vaccine were unearthed. Of these 6500, over 47% of them talked of barriers and concerns regarding the vaccine. Fewer than 20% of the posts expressed any of the benefits of the vaccine. In 45% of these posts, negativity about the vaccine was adamant making these posts the most shared on the platform with thousands of engagements. This led to anti-HPV vaccine rise on the internet with most not following up to see if the information is true or not true. Moreover, the anti HPV posts got more and more engagements.
The second study showed the risks of the anti HPV spread with most positive posts of the HPV vaccines having negative comments on them with hatred brewing. The negative posts though got more and more engagements showing that the negative posts begot negative posts while the positive rarely begot any form of positivity in return. Social media is a tool for all and a place where people meet virtually to share information. However, with this type of negativity reigning high, pretty soon all the good in the world will be eroded and negativity will reign supreme. You should always check your sources and fact check any information from the internet for clarity and effective arguing of facts. Researchers and scientists have checked and written their findings and these makes it clearer for verification of information.
