Narratives of Anti-Vaccination Movements in the German and Brazilian Twittersphere: A Grounded Theory Approach

Amaral, Adriana; Jung, Anna-Katharina; Braun, Lea-Marie; Blanco, Beatriz

doi:10.17645/mac.v10i2.5037

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The role of the influence of social representations of vaccination ( da Rosa et al, 2022 ) and of peer and support group attitudes and behaviour (e.g. Latkin et al, 2021 ) on the willingness of individuals to vaccinate has been previously established.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identity resilience, science mistrust, COVID-19 risk and fear predictors of vaccine positivity and vaccination likelihood: A survey of UK and Portuguese samples

2023

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Based on Identity Process Theory, we hypothesised that two elements of identity resilience (identity worth and identity continuity) differentially predict variance in COVID-19 fear and risk, science mistrust, vaccine positivity, and vaccination likelihood. Data from an online survey of 643 UK and 485 Portuguese adults collected during March 2021 showed the UK and Portuguese did not differ significantly on vaccination likelihood or identity resilience. UK respondents reported less science mistrust, COVID-19 risk, and fear, but higher vaccine positivity than the Portuguese. Identity worth and identity continuity differed between countries in their effects on science mistrust, COVID-19 fear, risk, vaccine positivity and vaccination likelihood. Science mistrust and COVID-19 fear proved key factors in predicting vaccine positivity and vaccination likelihood. We conclude the roles of discrete elements of identity resilience in health behaviour require further examination and action reducing prevalence of specific forms of science mistrust can improve vaccination likelihood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identity resilience, science mistrust, COVID-19 risk and fear predictors of vaccine positivity and vaccination likelihood: A survey of UK and Portuguese samples

2023

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“…Allcott et al, 2019), the mapping and classification of misinformation disseminators (e.g. Amaral et al, 2022;Burki, 2019) and the investigation of technological means to detect or flag misinformation (e.g. Ross et al, 2018).…”

Section: Misinformation and Internet Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the conveyed negligence concerning the pandemic was closely linked to social media communication. Many official statements expressing distrust toward COVID-19 vaccines were live streamed through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (Amaral et al., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combating misinformation with internet culture: the case of Brazilian public health organizations and their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns

Marx,

Blanco,

Amaral

et al. 2023

INTR

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Purpose This study investigates the communication behavior of public health organizations on Twitter during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Brazil. It contributes to the understanding of the organizational framing of health communication by showcasing several instances of framing devices that borrow from (Brazilian) internet culture. The investigation of this case extends the knowledge by providing a rich description of the organizational framing of health communication to combat misinformation in a politically charged environment.Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a Twitter dataset of 77,527 tweets and analyzed a purposeful subsample of 536 tweets that contained information provided by Brazilian public health organizations about COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The data analysis was carried out quantitatively and qualitatively by combining social media analytics techniques and frame analysis.Findings The analysis showed that Brazilian health organizations used several framing devices that have been identified by previous literature such as hashtags, links, emojis or images. However, the analysis also unearthed hitherto unknown visual framing devices for misinformation prevention and debunking that borrow from internet culture such as “infographics,” “pop culture references” and “internet-native symbolism.”Research limitations/implications First, the identification of framing devices relating to internet culture add to our understanding of the so far little addressed framing of misinformation combat messages. The case of Brazilian health organizations provides a novel perspective to knowledge by offering a notion of internet-native symbols (e.g. humor, memes) and popular culture references for misinformation combat, including misinformation prevention. Second, this study introduces a frontier of political contextualization to misinformation research that does not relate to the partisanship of the spreaders but that relates to the political dilemmas of public organizations with a commitment to provide accurate information to citizens.Practical implications The findings inform decision-makers and public health organizations about framing devices that are tailored to internet-native audiences and can guide strategies to carry out information campaigns in misinformation-laden social media environments.Social implications The findings of this case study expose the often-overlooked cultural peculiarities of framing information campaigns on social media. The report of this study from a country in the Global South helps to contrast several assumptions and strategies that are prevalent in (health) discourses in Western societies and scholarship.Originality/value This study uncovers unconventional and barely addressed framing devices of health organizations operating in Brazil, which provides a novel perspective to the body of research on misinformation. It contributes to existing knowledge about frame analysis and broadens the understanding of frame devices borrowing from internet culture. It is a call for a frontier in misinformation research that deals with internet culture as part of organizational strategies for successful misinformation combat.

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“…The author shows how these Facebook groups provide opportunity structures for mobilizing non-normative collective action, and in particular how prevalent related psychological variables are in these groups. Amaral et al (2022) investigated anti-vaccination movements in the German and Brazilian Twittersphere. For that, the aim was to map and compare the social media communication of anti-vaccination movements that circulate misinformation in Germany and Brazil.…”

Section: Social Media Harming Social Cohesionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Social Media on Social Cohesion: A Double-Edged Sword

Stieglitz

Roß

2022

MaC

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Social media plays a major role in public communication in many countries. Therefore, it has a large impact on societies and their cohesion. This thematic issue explores the impact social media has on social cohesion on a local or national level. The nine articles in this issue focus on both the potential of social media usage to foster social cohesion and the possible drawbacks of social media which could negatively influence the development and maintenance of social cohesion. In the articles, social cohesion is examined from different perspectives with or without the background of crisis, and on various social media platforms. The picture that emerges is that of social media as, to borrow a phrase used in one of the articles, a double-edged sword.

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Narratives of Anti-Vaccination Movements in the German and Brazilian Twittersphere: A Grounded Theory Approach

Cited by 10 publications

References 49 publications

Identity resilience, science mistrust, COVID-19 risk and fear predictors of vaccine positivity and vaccination likelihood: A survey of UK and Portuguese samples

Identity resilience, science mistrust, COVID-19 risk and fear predictors of vaccine positivity and vaccination likelihood: A survey of UK and Portuguese samples

Combating misinformation with internet culture: the case of Brazilian public health organizations and their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns

The Impact of Social Media on Social Cohesion: A Double-Edged Sword

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