{"id":2112,"date":"2022-07-28T13:48:12","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T13:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2112"},"modified":"2022-07-28T13:48:12","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T13:48:12","slug":"tone-as-important-as-truth-to-counter-vaccine-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2112\/tone-as-important-as-truth-to-counter-vaccine-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Tone as important as truth to counter vaccine fake news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lack of trust in health authorities, combined with the fear and uncertainty about the disease, created fertile ground for false rumours to spread about Covid-19 vaccines. Countering the rumours may be about attitude as well as facts.<\/p>\n

False assertions about Covid-19 vaccines have had a deadly impact \u2013 they are one reason why some people delayed being inoculated until it was too late. Some still refuse to be vaccinated.<\/p>\n

More than two years after the start of the pandemic, false rumours continue to circulate that the vaccines do not work, cause illness and death, have not been properly tested and even contain microchips or toxic metals.<\/p>\n

Now a study raises hopes of deflecting such falsehoods in future by changing the tone of official health messaging and building people\u2019s trust.<\/p>\n

In many countries, public confidence in government, media, the pharmaceutical industry and health experts was already on the wane before the pandemic. And in some cases, it deteriorated further during the rollout of Covid vaccines.<\/p>\n

This was partly because some national campaigns said the jabs would protect people from falling ill.<\/p>\n

Friends over facts<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018There was a lot of overpromising around the vaccine without really knowing what would happen,\u2019 said Prof Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou, research scientist and Marie Curie Global Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Zurich.<\/p>\n

\u2018Then people started getting sick, even though they were vaccinated.\u00a0That created a lack of trust in the government issuing these policies, and in the scientific community.\u2019<\/p>\n

Prof Dimitrakopoulou studied public perceptions of Covid vaccines and obstacles to acceptance of reliable information as part of a project called\u00a0FAKEOLOGY<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She found that, when people lose faith in institutional sources, they end up relying only on themselves, close friends and family.<\/p>\n

\u2018They trust their instincts, they trust what resonates with them,\u2019 Prof Dimitrakopoulou said. That means they will search the internet, social media and other sources until they find information that reinforces the beliefs they already hold.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have lived with fake news and misinformation long enough to understand that it cannot be debunked with facts,\u2019 she said. \u2018People just raise these emotional blocks.\u2019<\/p>\n

For example, a story about a mother whose child fell sick after getting a Covid vaccination would likely be more influential than a message containing scientific facts.<\/p>\n

Building trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof Dimitrakopoulou surveyed 3 200 parents of children under 11 years old in the United States, and conducted focus groups with 54 of them, to discuss their views about Covid vaccines for kids.<\/p>\n

Many parents felt confused by conflicting information about the shots and had a lot of questions about their effectiveness.<\/p>\n

She gave the parents a selection of messages to assess. They were put off by the ones that were largely factual, rigid and prescriptive \u2013 the tone of many public health campaigns.<\/p>\n

They were more persuaded by messages that addressed their concerns about the vaccines with empathy and compassion while acknowledging that they face a difficult decision.<\/p>\n

\u2018We need to be ready to answer any questions they may have and be ready to have a conversation – without expecting the conversation to end with someone getting vaccinated,\u2019 said Prof Dimitrakopoulou.<\/p>\n

Those exchanges will ultimately help bolster public faith in health bodies and government institutions. \u2018Covid is a great opportunity for us to start building this trust,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

While a lengthy process, building these bridges could enlighten people\u2019s perceptions for the rest of their lives, she said.<\/p>\n

Fake news filter<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is also important for journalists, researchers and the general public to be able to spot and filter out fake news.<\/p>\n

Researchers on a project called\u00a0SocialTruth<\/a>\u00a0have developed a tool to flag fake news content on the internet and social media.<\/p>\n

The software, called a Digital Companion, can check the reliability of a piece of information. It analyses the text, images, source and author and, within two minutes, produces a credibility score \u2013 a rating of between one and five stars.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is a computer-generated score that can give a red-flag warning if the content is very similar to other types of content that have been found to be false,\u2019 said Dr Konstantinos Demestichas, researcher at the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems in Athens and coordinator of SocialTruth.<\/p>\n

The Digital Companion uses computer algorithms that draw on a wide variety of verification services. These include non-governmental organisations, businesses and academic institutions \u2013 all with different interests, opinions and intentions.<\/p>\n

Because of the diversity of verification-service providers, \u2018We need to establish their trustworthiness by continuously evaluating their results,\u2019 said Dr Demestichas.<\/p>\n

To do this, the project uses blockchain to record all the scores and results produced by the verifiers. If the verifiers perform poorly, they lose their status \u2013 ensuring the Digital Companion can offer a quality assurance, he said.<\/p>\n

Digital and human fact checkers<\/strong><\/p>\n

For now, the technology has been developed to scan health science and political content. In future, it could be developed for almost all areas.<\/p>\n

Initially it will be for institutions that monitor fake news and disinformation, but the aim is to enable journalists and the general public to take advantage of the resource too.<\/p>\n

The technology \u2018could really make a difference in the daily use of the internet and social media,\u2019 said Dr Demestichas.<\/p>\n

Still, because it will never be able to spot all fake news, \u2018We need journalists, fact checkers, and citizens to be well-trained to exercise their critical thinking,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Manipulated feelings<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fight against misinformation is about more than protecting people\u2019s health, important as that is. The well-being of democratic societies themselves is also at stake, said Dr Demestichas.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fake news tries to manipulate our feelings and fears to get our \u201cclicks\u201d to read their content,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Curbing it is critical \u2018to defend our democracies and allow our societies to function better.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. This article was originally published\u202f<\/em>in Horizon<\/em><\/a>, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lack of trust in health authorities, combined with the fear and uncertainty about the disease, created fertile ground for false rumours to spread about Covid-19 vaccines. Countering the rumours may be about attitude as well as facts. 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Surveys conducted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"People\u2019s willingness to have a vaccine changes depending on how at risk they feel, says anthropologist Heidi Larson. 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A second one is hot on its heels. The two \u2013 one made by Pfizer\/BioNTech and the other by Moderna \u2013 mark the first time this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/ChildVaccine.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/ChildVaccine.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/ChildVaccine.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/ChildVaccine.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/ChildVaccine.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1500,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1500\/qa-how-vaccines-can-strengthen-immune-response-beyond-a-specific-disease\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":3},"title":"Q&A: How vaccines can strengthen immune response beyond a specific disease","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"November 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Live vaccines can give health effects beyond just protecting us from a specific disease and may even help us combat other infections such as Covid-19, according to Christine Stabell Benn, a professor in global health at the University of Southern Denmark. We often think about vaccines protecting us against a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/kid-vaccine-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/kid-vaccine-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/kid-vaccine-sm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/kid-vaccine-sm.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/kid-vaccine-sm.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1716,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1716\/five-things-to-know-about-mixing-and-matching-coronavirus-vaccines\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":4},"title":"Five things to know about: Mixing and matching coronavirus vaccines","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Amid global vaccine rollouts, with\u00a0nearly\u00a01.2 billion\u00a0doses currently administered, some countries have recommended a mixed-dose approach where a first prime shot is followed by a booster of a second type.\u00a0 The measure has been introduced by\u00a0France\u00a0and\u00a0Germany\u00a0for people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine but are in age groups\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/05\/julia-koblitz-6u8SbtZ0q1c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/05\/julia-koblitz-6u8SbtZ0q1c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/05\/julia-koblitz-6u8SbtZ0q1c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/05\/julia-koblitz-6u8SbtZ0q1c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/05\/julia-koblitz-6u8SbtZ0q1c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/05\/julia-koblitz-6u8SbtZ0q1c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1687,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1687\/how-a-year-of-coronavirus-activity-unfolded-at-the-eus-medicines-regulator\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":5},"title":"How a year of coronavirus activity unfolded at the EU’s medicines regulator","author":"Richard Gray","date":"April 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The speed with which coronavirus vaccines have been developed surprised everyone and could transform public health into the future, says Dr Fergus Sweeney, head of the clinical studies and manufacturing taskforce at the European Medicines Agency (EMA). 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