Fake news and science denier attacks on vaccines. What can you do?

"Never before has the public been so bombarded by information, nor has it ever been so difficult to know what and whom to believe. The critical importance of this problem is well illustrated by the World Health Organization (WHO) shining a bright light on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic infodemic (1). Infodemic refers to a rapid and far-reaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information. Misinformation (information that is false but not created with the intention of causing harm) and disinformation (or “fake news”; information that is false and deliberately created to cause harm) travel faster and farther than truth.

 

Science deniers, including vaccine science deniers, have a strong and very effective platform now—the Web—from which to shill their scientifically-bankrupt wares (4). We, who understand the rigor of science and know the evidence supporting immunization for health and well-being, are often aghast at the falsehoods promulgated and—too often—accepted and acted upon by members of the public.

...

Know the five tactics used widely, often with great vigor, by vocal vaccine deniers on the Web, in mainstream media and in public appearances (11😞

• Conspiracies—drug companies, the government, the health system—pick your scapegoat—are out to trick the general public; they withhold information, lie and cover up “the truth”

• Fake experts—quote or use fake experts and vigorously denigrate, even decry, real experts

• Selectivity—refer to obscure and or discredited papers that support their argument but omit the vast science that refute it

• Impossible expectations—vaccine must be 100% safe and effective—and yet no medical intervention is 100% safe and effective

...

Interestingly, once you know these tactics they are easy to recognize, as is evidenced by the fake news complaints and the misinformation and disinformation appearing almost daily in the mainstream and social media."

 

(more)

 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7799877/

 

By Noni E MacDonald

Department of Paediatrics, Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS

 

 

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Fake news and science denier attacks on vaccines. What can you do?

"Never before has the public been so bombarded by information, nor has it ever been so difficult to know what and whom to believe. The critical importance of this problem is well illustrated by the World Health Organization (WHO) shining a bright light on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic infodemic (1). Infodemic refers to a rapid and far-reaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information. Misinformation (information that is false but not created with the intention of causing harm) and disinformation (or “fake news”; information that is false and deliberately created to cause harm) travel faster and farther than truth.

 

Science deniers, including vaccine science deniers, have a strong and very effective platform now—the Web—from which to shill their scientifically-bankrupt wares (4). We, who understand the rigor of science and know the evidence supporting immunization for health and well-being, are often aghast at the falsehoods promulgated and—too often—accepted and acted upon by members of the public.

...

Know the five tactics used widely, often with great vigor, by vocal vaccine deniers on the Web, in mainstream media and in public appearances (11😞

• Conspiracies—drug companies, the government, the health system—pick your scapegoat—are out to trick the general public; they withhold information, lie and cover up “the truth”

• Fake experts—quote or use fake experts and vigorously denigrate, even decry, real experts

• Selectivity—refer to obscure and or discredited papers that support their argument but omit the vast science that refute it

• Impossible expectations—vaccine must be 100% safe and effective—and yet no medical intervention is 100% safe and effective

...

Interestingly, once you know these tactics they are easy to recognize, as is evidenced by the fake news complaints and the misinformation and disinformation appearing almost daily in the mainstream and social media."

 

(more)

 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7799877/

 

By Noni E MacDonald

Department of Paediatrics, Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS

 

 

Why is there so much push back against the Big Pharma $$$ narrative? Because the likes of:

 

By Noni E MacDonald

Department of Paediatrics, Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS

 

Is deftly steering believing, and gullible, souls away from the real problems. And for me, a big problem is there is no science whatsoever for what she writes:

 

''Science deniers, including vaccine science deniers, have a strong and very effective platform now—the Web—from which to shill their scientifically-bankrupt wares,,."

 

Simply turning facts and truth on its head. The www has been a marvel for those seeking reinforcement, to what they naturally felt was not right; a mother's instinct, some might call it. 

 

I'm sure there will be plenty of people in authority who would like to have firm control of the www. After all, they don't want truths getting out there do they? Might mean more informed people. What a  nightmare that would be for the likes of Noni E MacDonald.

 

 

 

What I do is simply ignore those dire predictions and stick to what I know is the truth,

 

Much the same as I also ignore the people who post that junk.

Vaccine Misinformation Outpaces Efforts to Counter It

January 16, 2024

 

"Misinformation about vaccines has proliferated on social media where it has led to rising levels of vaccine hesitancy at a faster rate than interventions are addressing it, according to a study led by a researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Some interventions to counter vaccine misinformation on social media have been beneficial, but very few test their effect on real-world behaviors. The findings are published in the peer-reviewed journal BMJ'

 

Anti-vaccine misinformation is as old as vaccines themselves, but anti-vaccine campaigns have proliferated in recent years on social media—particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This misinformation targets all kinds of vaccines, including childhood vaccines, COVID-19, flu, HPV, and more.

 

While vaccine hesitancy can stem from many sources, including mass media and political rhetoric, as well as genuine safety concerns, there is ample evidence that a proliferation of anti-vaccine messages on social media increased vaccine hesitancy and lowered vaccination rates over the same period that social media networks expanded. The return of measles after aggressive antivaccine campaigns prompted the World Health Organization to list vaccine hesitancy among the greatest threats to global health."

 

https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/vaccine-misinformation-outpaces-efforts-counter-it

 

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
 

- Mahatma Gandhi

 

Keep fighting the good fight John!   Have you ever considered monetizing your posts?  With a dozen or two views a day it could be quite lucrative.

 

Your posts…..sponsored by Pfizer.   A match made in heaven.  😌 

I think you'd be better served addressing your concerns to forum members who repeatedly post dreck here from sources like these: