Introduction
Anon. 2023. “CDC Museum Covid-19 Timeline.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 8, 2024 (https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html#:~:text=March%2011%2C%202020,declares%20COVID%2D19%20a%20pandemic.).
Horstman, Celli and Corinne Lewis. 2022. “More COVID-19 Fallout: Social Isolation Associated with Poor Health and Emotional Distress,” To the Point (blog): Commonwealth Fund. https://doi.org/10.26099/wy20-1611
Alkış Küçükaydın, M. S. Esen, & S. Gürbüzer. 2023. “Did we trust in science during the COVID‐19 pandemic? Modeling the relationship between trust, awareness, and conspiracy theories”. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(6), 1266–1276. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4120
Gabarron, E., S.O. Oyeyemi, & R. Wynn .2021. “COVID-19-related misinformation on social media: a systematic review”. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 99(6), 455–463A. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.20.276782
Ferreira, S., C. Campos., B. Marinho, S. Rocha, E. Fonseca-Pedrero. & N.Barbosa Rocha. 2022. “What drives beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories? The role of psychotic-like experiences and confinement-related factors.” Social Science & Medicine, 292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114611
Dmitry, Erokhin, Yosipof Abraham and Komendantova Nadejda. 2022. “COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Discussion on Twitter.” Social Media + Society 8(4). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221126051.
Gargano, JW., M Wallace, SC Hadler et al. 2021 “Use of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine After Reports of Myocarditis Among Vaccine Recipients”. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 70:977–982. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7027e2
Mayo Clinic. 2022. “Myocarditis”. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved May 1st, 2024. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myocarditis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352539)
Background
Tafuri, S., D. Martinelli, R. Prato, & C. Germinario. 2011. “From the struggle for freedom to the denial of evidence: history of the anti-vaccination movements in Europe.” Annali Di Igiene : Medicina Preventiva e Di Comunita 23(2), 93–99. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmedm&AN=21770225&site=ehost-live.
Green, J., J. Petty, L. Whiting, F. Orr., K. Walker., A-M. Brown., E.P. Crisp, C. Fowler, & L.K. Jones. 2021. “The Impact of the Anti-Vaccination Movement and Vaccine Hesitancy on the Health of the Child.” Pediatric Nursing 47(5), 225–243
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hch&AN=152987839&site=ehost-live.
Skafle, I., A. Nordahl-Hansen, D.S. Quintana, R. Wynn., & E. Gabarron. 2022. “Misinformation About COVID-19 Vaccines on Social Media: Rapid Review.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(8), e37367. https://doi.org/10.2196/37367
KFF. 2021.“Covid-19 Misinformation Is Ubiquitous: 78% of the Public Believes or Is Unsure about at Least One False Statement, and Nearly a Third Believe at Least Four of Eight False Statements Tested.” KFF. Retrieved March 8, 2024 (https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/press-release/covid-19-misinformation-is-ubiquitous-78-of-the-public-believes-or-is-unsure-about-at-least-one-false-statement-and-nearly-at-third-believe-at-least-four-of-eight-false-statem
Ahmed W., Seguí F. López , J. Vidal-Alaball , M. Katz. 2020. “COVID-19 and the “‘Film Your Hospital”’ Conspiracy Theory: Social Network Analysis of Twitter Data” J Med Internet Res: 22(10) doi:10.2196/22374
Flaherty, E., T. Sturm, & E. Farries. 2022. “The conspiracy of Covid-19 and 5G: Spatial analysis fallacies in the age of data democratization”. Social science & medicine (1982), 293, 114546.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621008789?via%3Dihub
Theoretical Framework
Gerbner, George, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, and Nancy Signorielli. 1986. “Living with television: The dynamics of the cultivation process.” Perspectives on media effects 17-40.http://wiki.commres.org/pds/CultivationTheory/LivingWithTelevision_TheDynamicsoftheCultivationProcess.pdf
Dixon, Stacy Jo. 2024. “Average daily time spent on social media worldwide 2012-2024.”Retrieved Apr. 19th, 2024 (e) https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/#:~:text=Average%20daily%20time%20spent%20on%20social%20media%20worldwide%202012%2D2024&text=As%20of%202024%2C%20the%20average,minutes%20in%20the%20previous%20year.
GCF Global. 2024. “What is an Echo Chamber” Retrieved Apr 19th, 2024 (https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/digital-media-literacy/what-is-an-echo-chamber/1/)
Seidman, Steven. 2017. Contested Knowledge : Social Theory Today. Sixth edition. Chichester, West Sussex ; Wiley Blackwell. https://gettysburg.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GETTYSBURG_INST/rol5uk/alma991004813596805231
Literature Review
CDC Reports on June 23rd, 2021 on Side Effect of Myocarditis
Wong, H. L., M. Hu, C.K. Zhou, P.C. Lloyd, K.L. Amend., D.C. Beachler., A. Secora, C.N McMahill-Walrvaen., Y. Lu, Y. Wu, R.P. Ogilvie, C. Reich., D.A. Djibo, Z. Wan, J.D. Seeger, S. Akhtar, Y. Jiao, Y. Chillarrige, R. Do, J. Hornberger, S.A. Anerson. 2022. “Risk of myocarditis and pericarditis after the COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in the USA: a cohort study in claims databases.” Lancet (London, England), 399(10342), 2191–2199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00791-7
Hromić-Jahjefendić, A., A Sezer, A.A.A. Aljaba, Á Serrano-Aroca, M.M Tambuwala, V.N. Uversky, E.M. Redwan, E.M. Redwan, D Barh & K. Lundstrom. 2023. “COVID-19 Vaccines and Myocarditis: An Overview of Current Evidence.” Biomedicines 11(5), 1469. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11051469
COVID-19 Vaccine Resistance:Conspiracy
Hussain, H., Ganesh, A., Milane, L., & Amiji, M. 2023. “Lessons learned from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; from nucleic acid nanomedicines, to clinical trials, herd immunity, and the vaccination divide. Expert opinion on drug delivery”, 20(4), 489–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425247.2023.2189697
Ahmed W., J. Vidal-Alaball , J Downing, Seguí F López. 2020. “COVID-19 and the 5G Conspiracy Theory: Social Network Analysis of Twitter Data” J Med Internet Res: 22(5)doi: 10.2196/19458
Sharp, Rory. 2023. “Tilting at 5G Towers: Rethinking Infrastructural Transition in 2020.” Social Inclusion 11(3):332-341. doi: https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v11i3.6741.
COVID-19 Vaccine Resistance: Side Effects
Ngai C., R. Singh, L. Yao. 2022. “Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation on Social Media Virality: Content Analysis of Message Themes and Writing Strategies” Journal of Medical Internet Research: 24(7):e37806. https://www.jmir.org/2022/7/e37806
Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation
Jeremiah, Morelock, and Felipe Z. Narita. 2022. “The Nexus of QAnon and COVID-19: Legitimation Crisis and Epistemic Crisis.” Critical Sociology 48(6):1005-1024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211069614.
Grindal, Matthew, and Kristin Haltinner. 2023. “White Racial Identity and its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model.” Social Sciences 12(7):369. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12070369.
Gerts D., C Shelley., N Parikh., T Pitts., Ross C Watson., G Fairchild., Chavez N Vaquera. and N Daughton. 2021. “Thought I’d Share First” and Other Conspiracy Theory Tweets from the COVID-19 Infodemic: Exploratory Study.” Journal of Medical Internet Research Public Health Surveillance 7(4):e26527. doi:10.2196/26527
Gabriel, A. S., R. L. MacGowan, M.L. Ganster, & J. E. Slaughter. 2021. “The influence of COVID-induced job search anxiety and conspiracy beliefs on job search effort: A within-person investigation.” Journal of Applied Psychology. 106(5), 657–673. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000926
Reliance on Social Media
Buturoiu, Raluca, Georgiana Udrea, Denisa-Adriana Oprea and Nicoleta Corbu. 2021. “Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories about the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania? An Analysis of Conspiracy Theories Believers’ Profiles.” Societies 11(4):138. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040138
Methodology
Drisko, James W., and Tina Maschi. 2016. Content Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/content-analysis-9780190215491?cc=us&lang=en&
Chen, Emily, Kristina Lerman, and Emilio Ferrara. 2020. “Tracking Social Media Discourse about the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development of a Public Coronavirus Twitter Data Set.” JMIR public health and surveillance 6(2): e19273–e19273. https://publichealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e19273/
Blackstone, Amy. 2012. Principles of Sociological Inquiry : Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Place of publication not identified: Saylor Foundation. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/139
Results and Discussion
Shift from anti-coercion to anti-authority
Mike Yardley (@YardleyShooting), 2021 “I am not anti-vax but I am very definitely anti forced vaccination or indiscriminate vaccination.” Twitter, June 1. https://twitter.com/YardleyShooting/status/1399785392765865985
AMABLACKPATRIOT (@DrShayPhD), 2021. “I am not anti-vax. It is just that no one will convince me that a vaccine produced in one year flat, that takes years to produce, whether the FDA approves it or not, is good for me. My body, my choice!”. Twitter, May 17. https://twitter.com/DrShayPhD/status/1394432528182910977
GBNEWS (@GBNEWS), 2021. “’They aren’t going to publish their findings, they are concerned about losing research money’” Dr Aseem Malhotra reveals a cardiology researcher found similar results to a new report showing an increase in risk of heart attack following the mRNA COVID vaccine.”. Twitter, Nov 25. https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1463926037889396736
Hodgkin, Rosa. 2021. “Vaccine mandates”. Institute for Government. Retrieved May 1, 2024 (https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/vaccine-mandates)
Sigalos, MacKenzie. 2020. “You can’t sue Pfizer or Moderna if you have severe Covid vaccine side effects. The government likely won’t compensate you for damages either”. CNBC. Retrieved Apr. 4, 2024 (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/covid-vaccine-side-effects-compensation-lawsuit.html)
Not Your Mom (@Notyour28981739). 2021. “If you still think the govt. is looking out for your best interests, then why did they make a law to protect the vaccine makers from injury, but not you?”. Twitter, Aug 8. https://twitter.com/Notyour28981739/status/1424532125597020163
abi dickson (@abidickson01). 2021. “I’m not anti vaccine but I seriously think as humans we deserve the freedom to make our own choices. Implementing vaccine passports etc to go & live ur life properly is bs”. Twitter, Jul 20. https://twitter.com/abidickson01/status/1417373059380568064
Not anti-vax but anti-covid vax
Lexham (@Lexham_1). 2021. “Considering over the last 50 years, I have perfectly happily had many vaccinations (Tetanus, Mumps, Measles, Yellow Fever, Polio, Hepatitis, a few seasonal influenza jabs etc..) how exactly does my refusal to have ‘this’ vaccine suddenly make me…. ‘Anti-vax’?”. Twitter, Mar 21. https://twitter.com/Lexham_1/status/1373740955338223621
Sam Sorbo (@thesamsorbo). 2021. “Not wanting to get the Covid vaccine does not make you “Anti-vax.”. Twitter, May 25. https://twitter.com/thesamsorbo/status/1397237940523311104
Zuby (@ZubyMusic). 2021. “I’m not ‘anti-vax’. I’ve taken several vaccines before.I’m pro information and anti medical coercion. Big difference.”. Twitter, Jul 27. https://twitter.com/ZubyMusic/status/1420099614619881472
Aﻥréliane (@aurelianeb) 2021. “Some of your commentators are scary af. I’m happy to see that even if you’re anti-vax you keep your senses!”. Twitter, Jul 27. https://twitter.com/aurelianeb/status/1420070239597903872
Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) 2021. “‘I get messages supporting or attacking me for my “anti-vaccine stance.”’I am pro-vaccines and personally vaccinated, but against any discrimination of the unvaccinated. Vaccine mandates and passports are unscientific and immoral, reminding us of the darkest periods in history.” Twitter, Dec 7. https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1468250242751643657
Feels like an experiment: From unknown risk to undisclosed risk
Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) 2021 “After several big pharma shills called me “anti-vax” and “conspiracy theorist” today, let me get one thing straight: I’m not anti-vax. I’m vaccinated against several diseases. However, experimental vaccines should be 100% voluntary and not be injected into children – period!”. Twitter, May 13. https://twitter.com/goddeketal/status/1392906805290934282
James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) 2021. “BREAKING: @Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Takes ‘Anti-Vax’ Stance in Violation of His Own Platform’s New Policy ‘”I Share Some Caution on this [Vaccine] Because We Just Don’t Know the Long-Term Side Effects of Basically Modifying People’s DNA and RNA”’ Twitter, Feb 16. https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1361827707152171008
Progressive International (@ProgIntl) 2021. “BREAKING: 2.5 million nurses from 28 countries have filed for a UN investigation of human rights violations by the EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway, and Singapore for blocking the waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents as new strains proliferate: http://covid19criminals.exposed” Twitter, Nov 29. https://twitter.com/ProgIntl/status/1465202919687348227
Melissa Tate (@TheRightMelissa) 2021. “BREAKING: FDA advisory board elected NOT to approve Covid boosters. In a meeting that was streamed live, Jessica Rose an FDA advisory scientist, sited the explosive number of injuries & deaths reported compared to previous vaccines in the Vaers as reason to pause on boosters.” Twitter, Sep 18. https://twitter.com/TheRightMelissa/status/1439303238919106568
Rep. Paul Gosar (@RepGosar) 2021. “Project Veritas has uncovered serious fraud with at least one hospital in Arizona not reporting vaccine injuries. I’ve got something to say about it”. Twitter, Sep 23. https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/1441191971788181511
Increase in discussion of vaccine injury
Michael (@HegKong) 2021. “There can be no talk of a ‘moral obligation’ to vaccinate, as long as vaccine manufacturers are exempt from liabilities for vaccine injuries or death.” Twitter, May 19. https://twitter.com/HegKong/status/1394948338303254529
Aaron Siri (@AaronSiriSG) 2021. “FDA asks federal judge to grant it until the year 2076 to fully release Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine data. So, the gov’t mandates Pfizer’s product, grants it immunity for injuries, and wants to hide its safety data for 55 years. Who does the gov’t work for? https://bit.ly/2YVhLZQ”. Twitter, Nov 17. https://twitter.com/AaronSiriSG/status/1461042652862767110
Tanya Klymenko (@Taka_tut) 2021. “1/3 I am seriously disturbed by the censoring of the vaccine injury stories & data. We accept that Covid vaccines are leaky. We accept that vaccine immunity wanes within months. When are we going to accept that the Covid vaccine injuries are real and not so “incredibly rare”?. Twitter, Nov 14. https://twitter.com/Taka_tut/status/1460022697321193473
Christopher Tabet (@Christo6228503) 2021. “I was diagnosed with myocarditis from the Pfizer vaccine. I’m 30 years old and healthy. There should be awareness raised for people with vaccine injuries.This is important data. I’m pro-vax for those who want it, and I’m anti-vax for people who don’t. Mandatory Vax is a mistake.” Twitter, Oct 30. https://twitter.com/Christo62228503/status/1454384854838120453
Conclusion
Analysis
Howard, Jacqueline. 2021. “All 50 states now have expanded or will expand Covid vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and up”. CNN. Retrieved April 23rd, 2024 (https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/30/health/states-covid-19-vaccine-eligibility-bn/index.html)
Limitations
Paul, Kari. 2021. “Twitter targets Covid vaccine misinformation with labels and ‘strike’ system”. The Guardian. Retrieved April 23rd, 2024 (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/mar/01/twitter-coronavirus-vaccine-misinformation-labels )