Covid: Fake news about the vaccine is once again infesting the internet – 03/28/2023 – Health

Fake news about Covid-19 vaccines has once again infested social media and WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

A survey by the UFRJ NetLab (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) shows that misinformation about the vaccine, with misleading narratives about supposed side effects and natural immunity, had a jump from February 27th. That day, the vaccination campaign was launched in Brazil, with images of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva being vaccinated with the fifth dose by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who is a doctor.

On the day, Lula urged the population to get vaccinated. “For God’s sake, don’t be irresponsible. If you have a vaccine, go there and get the vaccine, because the vaccine is the only guarantee you have of not dying due to lack of responsibility, it is a guarantee of life”, he said. The date marked the beginning of the application of Pfizer’s bivalent vaccine, an update that immunizes against the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron variants.

According to the survey, many WhatsApp groups circulate texts and links that blame Covid-19 vaccines for the deaths of children and artists, such as Brazilian musician Bebeto Castilho and South African Costa Titch —victims of sudden illness with no indication of a relationship. with the vaccine.

A video message that went viral in early March said that the vaccine is part of a “world population extermination plan” and that the immunizer would have high amounts of graphene, which would cause pulmonary embolism, thrombosis and heart attack in vaccinees. Many messages deny the effectiveness of doses based on false international studies and claim that vaccines cause heart attacks and infant mortality.

“This is a serious problem, because more is at stake than the Covid vaccination”, says Marie Santini, coordinator of NetLab. “The entire vaccination campaign is affected by misinformation, Brazil now has a reduction in the coverage of several vaccines.”

On Instagram, the main focus is on narratives that mistakenly associate the bivalent vaccine with serious side effects. Already on TikTok, videos critical of the Lula government proliferated on the 27th, including conspiracy theories suggesting that he would not have actually taken the vaccine.

Another front of misinformation was fake news, with image manipulation, saying that the government of Bahia would have used a trans Zé Gotinha to encourage vaccination.

Politicians and Bolsonarist influencers remain among the main drivers of misinformation about vaccines. On his Instagram profile, Sérgio Camargo, former president of the Palmares Cultural Foundation, stated that the mandatory vaccine is “irresponsible” and that people would be “exposed to the risk of myocarditis, cancer, sudden death”.

Federal deputy Osmar Terra (MDB-RS), another Bolsonarist who minimized the severity of Covid, made a series of tweets against the bivalent vaccine.

“Narratives are repeated because disinformation campaigns are perennial, they tend to return to issues”, says Santini. “That’s part of the strategy, exposing people to misinformation over time, coming from different sources, increases the power of influence.”

The study identified a high prevalence of bots on Twitter – 38% of anti-vaccine tweets were made by these accounts that automated, semi-automated or inauthentic behavior, with the aim of manipulating the algorithm.

They spread tweets that claim, without evidence, that Covid vaccines are associated with cases of deaths and myocarditis.

On Telegram, groups and channels disclose alleged services for falsifying vaccine receipts from the ConectSUS app. There were also messages and fake experts saying that vaccines were responsible for deaths.