Background Social media platforms such as YouTube are hotbeds for the spread of misinformation about vaccines. Objective The aim of this study was to explore how individuals are exposed to antivaccine misinformation on YouTube based on whether they start their viewing from a keyword-based search or from antivaccine seed videos. Methods Four networks of videos based on YouTube recommendations were collected in November 2019. Two search networks were created from provaccine and antivaccine keywords to resemble goal-oriented browsing . Two seed networks were constructed from conspiracy and antivaccine expert seed videos to resemble direct navigation . Video contents and network structures were analyzed using the network exposure model. Results Viewers are more likely to encounter antivaccine videos through direct navigation starting from an antivaccine video than through goal-oriented browsing. In the two seed networks, provaccine videos, antivaccine videos, and videos containing health misinformation were all found to be more likely to lead to more antivaccine videos. Conclusions YouTube has boosted the search rankings of provaccine videos to combat the influence of antivaccine information. However, when viewers are directed to antivaccine videos on YouTube from another site, the recommendation algorithm is still likely to expose them to additional antivaccine information.

No abstract

No abstract

BACKGROUND Social media platforms such as YouTube are hotbeds for the spread of misinformation about vaccines. OBJECTIVE To explore how individuals are exposed to anti-vaccine misinformation on YouTube. METHODS Four networks of videos based on YouTube recommendations were collected in November 2019. Two search networks were created from pro- and anti-vaccine keywords to resemble goal-oriented browsing. Two seed networks were constructed from conspiracy and anti-vaccine expert seed videos to resemble direct navigation. Video contents and network structures were analyzed using the Network Exposure Model. RESULTS Viewers are more likely to encounter anti-vaccine videos through direct navigation starting from an anti-vaccine video than through goal-oriented browsing. In the two seed networks, pro-vaccine videos, anti-vaccine videos, and videos containing health misinformation are all likely to lead to more anti-vaccine videos. CONCLUSIONS YouTube has boosted the search rankings of pro-vaccine videos to diminish the influence of anti-vaccine information. However, when viewers are directed to anti-vaccine videos on YouTube from another site, the recommendation algorithm is still likely to expose them to additional anti-vaccine information.

This article explores how contradictory sources of authority manifest the organizational presence of a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) in the southeastern region of the United States. As a type of shadowed organization, a CPC’s organizational presence is produced in a tensional space between dialectics of revelation and concealment. With an interest toward understanding these dynamics, we conduct a ventriloquial analysis of CPC’s pamphlets and website to examine how sources of authority produce the CPC as a distinct organization. Through this analysis, we develop the idea of authorial incongruity—the co-presence of multiple and heterogeneous sources of authority—to demonstrate how organizational presence emerges as a byproduct of tensional relations between authorities, which serve as resources for organizations seeking to present themselves as consistently “who they have always been.” The implications of these findings suggest distinct challenges and opportunities for building strategic relations between (shadowed) organizations and various incongruent stakeholder groups.