Also: The disruptive power of vaccine conspiracy theories.
Vaccines offer the surest hope of getting out of this pandemic and returning to normal, but there are still high rates of vaccine hesitancy in this country. The National Post’s Road Map to Immunity series takes an in-depth look at the issues surrounding vaccines and why some people are still reluctant to take them.
Iwish I could say that having to argue against a sitting United States congresswoman who again compared COVID-19 vaccines to the practices undertaken by the Nazis during the Holocaust was unusual, but given that, as an academic, I research conspiracy theories and play an active role in debunking them online, this was a typical Tuesday.
What then are some of the trending COVID vaccine conspiracy theories? Why do people believe them? And what can we do to help challenge these beliefs, given their impact on public health initiatives?
Without exaggeration, I could spend the entire length of this column laying out the myriad COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories. Instead, here’s a brief list of the hottest theories found on social media.
Claim: After you receive your COVID vaccine, because of the 5G technology or metals contained within it, a magnet will miraculously stick to the site of the injection.
In fact, the dose is too small to be magnetic. Claim: Those who have received the vaccine should not get too close to the unvaccinated, as they can shed a protein from the vaccine and vaccinate others around them, or change their DNA, give them Alzheimer’s, impact their menstrual cycles or turn on a car’s Bluetooth system.
In actuality, none of these are possible, as the COVID vaccines don’t contain live elements and thus cannot shed.
Claim: Concealed within the COVID vaccine is a Bill Gates-created microchip, which allows the “Deep State” to track you.
If this were true, the vaccines would have to be administered using larger needles (12 versus 25 gauge), and the antennas would be too tiny to function properly. The irony is that these posts are being made from people’s cellphones … Claim: Those who are being vaccinated by today’s doctors are no different than the Jews who the Nazis rounded up in cattle cars.
The Auschwitz Memorial responded by saying that comparing vaccines to the Holocaust to push a personal agenda “is a symptom of intellectual and moral degeneration.”
Claim: COVID vaccines are unnecessary because of your natural immunity.
In fact, recent studies show vaccines “kick natural immunity’s butt,” and protect against variants.
Claim: COVID vaccines are full of chemicals and have no place in a human body.
In reality, chemicals are not the issue, toxicity is. Check out the chemical composition of a banana. Seriously.
Claim: COVID vaccines are the latest Big Pharma plot to make billions of dollars while making us all dependent on drugs, and anyone supporting Big Pharma’s vaccination drive is a paid shill.
Well, if I’m a paid shill, my cheques seem to have gotten lost in the mail.
And the list goes on. And on. And on.
The study of conspiracy theories is ultimately a study of society. The theories highlight what those who believe in them see as the major forces that are negatively impacting their lives. Indeed, anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories have existed since vaccines were invented.
Part of this is simply fear. Pandemics and viruses are scary. People get sick and die. Science, when it’s not understood, is itself scary (there’s a reason why “Frankenstein” is a horror story) and the everchanging nature of decoding viruses suggests to some that even the scientists don’t understand what they’re looking at.
This has been made worse by a public health communications strategy that hasn’t been particularly clear: Masks aren’t necessary; wear a mask! Wash your food to avoid contamination; nah, you’re good. This is the “preferred vaccine,” while this one is suspended because of a tiny risk of blood clots.
All this is normal, but also confusing.
The accessibility of social media (and people with time to spend on it) has exacerbated this trend. Twitter, Facebook and the other platforms are available around the globe. Anyone can post anything and can instantly reach an audience of thousands, if not millions. And algorithms select posts that align with your previous clicks, making it easy to exist in an echo chamber.
Conspiracy theories also give people a sense of accomplishment and of the democratization of information, allowing them to believe that, through their own investigative skills, they were able to uncover a deep, dark secret that the smartest people failed to see or were paid to ignore. That they are an individual, not a “sheeple,” blindly believing what the government and media feed them. That they are important enough for the government to track with a microchip.
Just as important is a long-standing anti-government trend that exists in the U.S. and is becoming more prevalent elsewhere. It fosters a belief that “the government” (which is never fully defined) is out to take away our God-given rights. In this view, vaccines and vaccine passports are another step toward a fascist society, akin to the yellow star Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust.
But there is another element of these COVID conspiracy theories — the deliberate spreading of disinformation. For decades, the Russians have proven to be masters in pushing conspiracy theories to sow distrust, from the Kennedy assassination, to the AIDS epidemic, to COVID. A French newspaper recently published details of how Russia offers cash incentives to influencers to spread lies about COVID vaccines.
Another group that’s responsible for this disinformation, which has been dubbed “the Disinformation Dozen,” has been shown to be responsible for nearly 65 per cent of the online anti-vaccine content. These individuals are likely seeking fame, notoriety and the money they bring in through donations, speaking fees and the sale of herbal remedies.
Some conspiracy theories are harmless and fun. This is not one of them. Health-care workers are facing death threats, and we’re seeing the return of diseases that vaccines had once eradicated. Prior to COVID, and after a catastrophic drop in vaccinations, a measles outbreak in Samoa killed 83 people, the vast majority of whom were children younger than four. Even more frightening is the fact that the anti-vaxxer conspiracy crowd is beginning to overlap with the Qanon conspiracists.
So what can be done? What should you do if you know someone who has gone down this rabbit hole? Unfortunately, deradicalization isn’t easy.
Begin by asking questions. Ask them where they got their information. Who provided it? Was it an actual person or an anonymous post? Is the person making this claim an expert in the field, or did they get their information from their cousin’s boyfriend’s best friend? What evidence is provided? Is it simply another anti-vaxx posting? If you read many of these conspiracy theories, you will notice lots of “I heard” or “I saw,” and when you ask for actual sources, odds are that you will be told to “do your own research.”
Try and figure out what is at the root of that person’s fear or distrust. Is it simply the cacophony of conflicting information that exists right now? What other conspiracy theories does that person believe in, and why?
Asking questions is important. Doing research is important. But it is crucial that people get their information from trustworthy sources, that evidence is valid and backed up, that the experts people listen to are actual experts and not charlatans masquerading as such and that people apply the same rigour of questioning those pushing anti-vaxx positions as they do when they question public health officials.
Science deals in facts, in things that can be predicted and observed. When the answers you receive are noticeably light on facts, it’s likely that they have no business in the scientific discourse at all.
SOME CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE HARMLESS AND FUN. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.