COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories: The need for cognitive inoculation against misinformation to improve vaccine adherence

PLoS ONE - Tập 16 Số 5 - Trang e0251605
Md Saiful Islam1,2, Abu-Hena Mostofa Kamal3,4, Alamgir Kabir5,2, Dorothy L. Southern6, Sazzad Hossain Khan1, S. M. Murshid Hasan7, Tonmoy Sarkar1, Shayla Sharmin8, Shiuli Das1, Tuhin Roy9, Md. Golam Dostogir Harun1, Abrar Ahmad Chughtai2, Nusrat Homaira10, Holly Seale2
1Infectious Diseases Division, Program for Emerging Infections, International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
3Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
4Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna, Bangladesh
5Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
6Independent Scientific Writing Consultant, Mandalay, Myanmar
7Department of Society and Health, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand
8Independent Researcher, Sydney, Australia
9Sociology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
10School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Tóm tắt

Introduction Rumors and conspiracy theories, can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Monitoring online data related to COVID-19 vaccine candidates can track vaccine misinformation in real-time and assist in negating its impact. This study aimed to examine COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, understand their context, and then review interventions to manage this misinformation and increase vaccine acceptance. Method In June 2020, a multi-disciplinary team was formed to review and collect online rumors and conspiracy theories between 31 December 2019–30 November 2020. Sources included Google, Google Fact Check, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, fact-checking agency websites, and television and newspaper websites. Quantitative data were extracted, entered in an Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed descriptively using the statistical package R version 4.0.3. We conducted a content analysis of the qualitative information from news articles, online reports and blogs and compared with findings from quantitative data. Based on the fact-checking agency ratings, information was categorized as true, false, misleading, or exaggerated. Results We identified 637 COVID-19 vaccine-related items: 91% were rumors and 9% were conspiracy theories from 52 countries. Of the 578 rumors, 36% were related to vaccine development, availability, and access, 20% related to morbidity and mortality, 8% to safety, efficacy, and acceptance, and the rest were other categories. Of the 637 items, 5% (30/) were true, 83% (528/637) were false, 10% (66/637) were misleading, and 2% (13/637) were exaggerated. Conclusions Rumors and conspiracy theories may lead to mistrust contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Tracking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in real-time and engaging with social media to disseminate correct information could help safeguard the public against misinformation.

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PLoS ONE

Tập 16 Số 5

e0251605

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