Echo chambers as early warning signals of widespread vaccine refusal in social-epidemiological networks

Phillips, Brendon; Bauch, Chris T.

doi:10.1101/2020.10.17.20214312

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Previous studies have shown that echo chambers have been under media scrutiny since they may lead to skewed assessments of factual information and lower the validity of information [ 19 ]. Studies further indicate that the homogeneity of the members within an echo chamber helps them to reinforce their biases, in this case COVID-19 vaccine refusal [ 24 , 67 ]. Based on our findings guided by the echo chamber conceptual framework, our study suggests that the Parler network is homogenous and the COVID-19 vaccine is discussed as a controversial issue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Echo chambers are also seen as drivers of polarization, especially with unreliable anti-vaccine content, because large numbers of internet users seek their health information from unreliable sources circulating in these chambers [ 21 , 22 ]. Besides facilitating the spread of political extremism [ 23 ], echo chambers have also been shown to disperse misinformation about infectious diseases [ 24 ].…”

Section: Background and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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#Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler Social Media Platform Tells Us about COVID-19 Vaccine

2021

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This study aims to understand public discussions regarding COVID-19 vaccine on Parler, a newer social media platform that recently gained in popularity. Through analyzing a random sample (n = 400) of Parler posts using the hashtags #COVID19Vaccine and #NoCovidVaccine, we use the concept of echo chambers to understand users’ discussions through a text analytics approach. Thematic analysis reveals five key themes: reasons to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine (40%), side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine (28%), population control through the COVID-19 vaccine (23%), children getting vaccinated without parental consent (5%), and comparison of other health issues with COVID-19 (2%). Textual analysis shows that the most frequently used words in the corpus were: nocovidvaccine (348); vaccine (264); covid (184); covid19 (157); and vaccines (128). These findings suggest that users adopted different terms and hashtags to express their beliefs regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Further, findings revealed that users used certain hashtags such as “echo” to encourage like-minded people to reinforce their existing beliefs on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and vaccine acceptance. These findings have implications for public health communication in attempts to correct false narratives on social media platforms. Through widely sharing the scientific findings of COVID-19 vaccine-related studies can help individuals understand the COVID-19 vaccines efficacy accurately.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

#Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler Social Media Platform Tells Us about COVID-19 Vaccine

2021

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Vaccine Hesitancy in Taiwan: Temporal, Multilayer Network Study of Echo Chambers Shaped by Influential Users

Yin

2024

Online J Public Health Inform

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Background Vaccine hesitancy is a growing global health threat that is increasingly studied through the monitoring and analysis of social media platforms. One understudied area is the impact of echo chambers and influential users on disseminating vaccine information in social networks. Assessing the temporal development of echo chambers and the influence of key users on their growth provides valuable insights into effective communication strategies to prevent increases in vaccine hesitancy. This also aligns with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) infodemiology research agenda, which aims to propose new methods for social listening. Objective Using data from a Taiwanese forum, this study aims to examine how engagement patterns of influential users, both within and across different COVID-19 stances, contribute to the formation of echo chambers over time. Methods Data for this study come from a Taiwanese forum called PTT. All vaccine-related posts on the “Gossiping” subforum were scraped from January 2021 to December 2022 using the keyword “vaccine.” A multilayer network model was constructed to assess the existence of echo chambers. Each layer represents either provaccination, vaccine hesitant, or antivaccination posts based on specific criteria. Layer-level metrics, such as average diversity and Spearman rank correlations, were used to measure chambering. To understand the behavior of influential users—or key nodes—in the network, the activity of high-diversity and hardliner nodes was analyzed. Results Overall, the provaccination and antivaccination layers are strongly polarized. This trend is temporal and becomes more apparent after November 2021. Diverse nodes primarily participate in discussions related to provaccination topics, both receiving comments and contributing to them. Interactions with the antivaccination layer are comparatively minimal, likely due to its smaller size, suggesting that the forum is a “healthy community.” Overall, diverse nodes exhibit cross-cutting engagement. By contrast, hardliners in the vaccine hesitant and antivaccination layers are more active in commenting within their own communities. This trend is temporal, showing an increase during the Omicron outbreak. Hardliner activity potentially reinforces their stances over time. Thus, there are opposing forces of chambering and cross-cutting. Conclusions Efforts should be made to moderate hardliner and influential nodes in the antivaccination layer and to support provaccination users engaged in cross-cutting exchanges. There are several limitations to this study. One is the bias of the platform used, and another is the lack of a comprehensive definition of “influence.” To address these issues, comparative studies across different platforms can be conducted, and various metrics of influence should be explored. Additionally, examining the impact of influential users on network structure and chambering through network simulations and regression analysis provides more robust insights. The study also lacks an explanation for the reasons behind chambering trends. Conducting content analysis can help to understand the nature of engagement and inform interventions to address echo chambers. These approaches align with and further the WHO infodemic research agenda.

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Vaccine Hesitancy in Taiwan: Temporal, Multilayer Network Study of Echo Chambers Shaped by Influential Users (Preprint)

Yin

2023

Preprint

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UNSTRUCTURED The impact of echo chambers and influential users on information dissemination in social networks is important for health communication to combat vaccine hesitancy. Assessing the temporal development of echo chambers, and the relation that influential users have on their growth, gives insight on effective communication for preventing rise in vaccine hesitancy. In this study, a Taiwanese forum dataset is used, and a multilayer network model is constructed to assess the existence of echo chambers. Each layer represents either pro-vaccination, vaccine hesitant, or anti-vaccination board posts, and their cross-commenting and comment-receiving behaviour is used to measure echo chambering. For understanding the behaviour of influential users – or key nodes – in the network, node degree and PageRank is used, in addition to the conceptualisations of these measurements on a multilevel network. The decreasing homophily between layers over time suggests that there is no existence of echo chambers. Instead, there are increasing cross-cutting exchanges between layers, supporting a “battleground” engagement from both polarised layers on vaccine hesitant boards. When looking at behaviour of hardliners – a type of influential node mostly commenting within their layer – anti-vaccination hardliners are more active in engaging with the vaccine hesitant layer than the pro-vaccination equivalent. When looking at behaviour of high PageRank nodes in a layer, they also mostly engage with the vaccine hesitant layer. The findings suggest that the pro-vaccination layer should increase its efforts to engage with vaccine hesitant individuals. In addition, efforts should be made to target hardliner and influential nodes in the anti-vaccination layer to reduce engagement with the vaccine hesitant layer, preventing sway in the battleground.

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Echo chambers as early warning signals of widespread vaccine refusal in social-epidemiological networks

Cited by 3 publications

References 56 publications

#Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler Social Media Platform Tells Us about COVID-19 Vaccine

#Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler Social Media Platform Tells Us about COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccine Hesitancy in Taiwan: Temporal, Multilayer Network Study of Echo Chambers Shaped by Influential Users

Vaccine Hesitancy in Taiwan: Temporal, Multilayer Network Study of Echo Chambers Shaped by Influential Users (Preprint)

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