Anti-vaccine disinformation, as a serious social problem, requires active involvement from the scientific community in the search for effective ways to overcome it. Traditional strategies, such as simply correcting misinformation, sometimes fall short, as they address only the cognitive dimension of belief but not emotional and motivational factors (e.g., Nyhan & Reifler, 2015). This chapter explores an innovative method of combating anti-vaccine disinformation by highlighting the emotionally charged nature of one of its sources. Three experimental studies were conducted after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The participants read articles about Russian anti-vaccine propaganda or neutral ones. Then, their readiness to vaccinate was tested. The results showed that exposure to articles on Russian propaganda increased vaccination readiness but only among participants who initially had mostly negative attitudes towards vaccination. These findings suggest that emphasizing the association between disinformation and sources that elicit public resentment can be an effective way to reduce belief in vaccine-related fake news.

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Exposing the Source of Disinformation as a Means of Countering Anti-vaccine Propaganda

  • Anna M. Rędzio

摘要

Anti-vaccine disinformation, as a serious social problem, requires active involvement from the scientific community in the search for effective ways to overcome it. Traditional strategies, such as simply correcting misinformation, sometimes fall short, as they address only the cognitive dimension of belief but not emotional and motivational factors (e.g., Nyhan & Reifler, 2015). This chapter explores an innovative method of combating anti-vaccine disinformation by highlighting the emotionally charged nature of one of its sources. Three experimental studies were conducted after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The participants read articles about Russian anti-vaccine propaganda or neutral ones. Then, their readiness to vaccinate was tested. The results showed that exposure to articles on Russian propaganda increased vaccination readiness but only among participants who initially had mostly negative attitudes towards vaccination. These findings suggest that emphasizing the association between disinformation and sources that elicit public resentment can be an effective way to reduce belief in vaccine-related fake news.