COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: analyzing anti-vaccine rhetoric on Greek Facebook

Iliana Giannouli, Achilleas Karadimitriou, Ioanna Archontaki, S. Papathanassopoulos
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Abstract

Abstract Purpose The distinction between beliefs and facts, as well as between science and pseudoscience, appears to be hazy in the post-truth era. This study draws inspiration from public discourse concerning the safety of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, aiming to explore the narratives of COVID-19 vaccine skeptics within the Greek online public sphere. Methodology For the purposes of our study, we analyzed Facebook posts from users’ pages and public groups during a three-month period (from September 2021 to November 2021), focusing primarily on content related to COVID-19 vaccination. By employing thematic analysis, we investigated the main themes upon which the anti-vaccination camp bases its rhetoric and the sources it uses to justify its claims. Findings Our findings suggest that in the Greek online context, the anti-vaccination discourse, as expressed on Facebook platform, is an amalgam of distrust towards institutional actors (politicians, the medical community, legacy media, the establishment in general) and concerns regarding the safety/complications of COVID-19 vaccination itself. Social implications Our study contributes to the existing body of academic literature addressing the impact of social media platforms on public opinion related to health matters. It underscores the potential and challenges associated with the unregulated dissemination of information within polarized digital contexts. Originality/value This study sheds light on the distinctive characteristics of anti-vaccine rhetoric, as expressed on social media, within the context of Greek society. It offers insights to scholars and researchers interested in the dynamics of social media discourse and its implications for public health communication.
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COVID-19 疫苗犹豫:分析希腊 Facebook 上的反疫苗言论
摘要 目的 在后真相时代,信仰与事实、科学与伪科学之间的区别似乎变得模糊不清。本研究从大流行病期间有关 COVID-19 疫苗安全性的公共讨论中汲取灵感,旨在探索希腊网络公共领域中 COVID-19 疫苗怀疑论者的叙述。研究方法 为了研究的目的,我们分析了三个月期间(2021 年 9 月至 2021 年 11 月)来自用户页面和公共群组的 Facebook 帖子,主要关注与 COVID-19 疫苗接种相关的内容。通过采用主题分析法,我们调查了反疫苗接种阵营的主要言论主题及其用于证明其主张的来源。研究结果 我们的研究结果表明,在希腊的网络环境中,Facebook 平台上的反疫苗接种言论是对机构行为者(政治家、医学界、传统媒体、一般机构)的不信任和对 COVID-19 疫苗接种本身的安全性/影响的担忧的综合体。社会影响 我们的研究为现有的学术文献体系做出了贡献,这些文献涉及社交媒体平台对与健康问题相关的公众舆论的影响。它强调了在两极分化的数字环境中,不受监管的信息传播所带来的潜力和挑战。原创性/价值 本研究揭示了希腊社会背景下社交媒体上反疫苗言论的显著特点。它为对社交媒体言论动态及其对公共卫生传播的影响感兴趣的学者和研究人员提供了见解。
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