The World Health Organization (WHO) has dubbed vaccination a “major threat” to global health. However, some people do not trust vaccines and health officials because they do not trust or want to be vaccinated. New research results from DTU Published in PLOS One magazineMisinformation on social media contributes to this mistrust and creates a distorted picture of the pros and cons of vaccines.
Vaccination profiles are often linked to news sites and science fiction sites where immunization advocates share knowledge about vaccines on Twitter. Bjarke Monstedt, who holds a doctorate degree from DTU Computer, is also a conspiracy theorist. to be continued –
“In addition, the profiles of vaccine opponents are often linked to commercial sites that sell alternatives to health products. Incorrect information, including who to contact.
Bjarke Mønsted, with Sune Lehmann of the Cognitive Systems Research Unit at DTU Computer, analyzes the 60 billion tweets written before the outbreak to find out more about today’s vaccination on social media.
Anti-proxies do not communicate.
Researchers in the field of Artificial Intelligence have developed a new technology in the field of Artificial Intelligence and the use of natural language.
In doing so, you identify users who have expressed strong views on provaxx or antivirus and whose profiles share their immunization information. According to their work, 22.5% of antivirus-profile vaccination tweets are linked to YouTube videos.
The researchers then divided the sources into five categories: popular sites, news sites, social media, YouTube (given its own category due to multiple links) and finally medical-related business pages and health.
The study confirms the results of the eco-chamber, which makes it difficult for vaccines advocates and opponents to confront one another on the Internet – because social media algorithms ensure that people interact with others who share their views.
“Indeed, we find that the sources of information that people find on their social media sites depend on their attitude toward vaccines.
Fighting false information is a shared responsibility.
Suppose health officials need more support for vaccines. At the same time, the responsibility lies not only with technology giants but also with the media to dispel medical misconceptions, says Bjarke Monsted.
“Studies clearly show that combating misinformation is a common responsibility.
Professor Sune Lehman hopes that the novel he and Bjarke Mønsted developed and used to analyze billions of tweets will shed more light on the outbreak and future discussions of the vaccine.
“Our study covers the period before COVID-19. And there is no doubt that vaccines have become a talking point in the last two years. The common denominator has shifted.
Reference Mønsted B, Lehmann S. Polarization Behavior in Online Vaccine Speech – A Large Study. PLoS A. 2022; 17 (2): e0263746. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0263746
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