Ideas over vaccination against Covid-19 contained in fake news: challenges for Science Education and Science Communication

Abstract

This study aims to determine which ideas are contained in fake news about vaccines for COVID-19 in 2021. We examined texts published in the news checking service Fato or Fake, belonging to Globo Organizations, during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2021. The selection of the year was based on the records of the initial vaccination in Brazil. We employed the technique of content analysis to group and analyze the texts that were found. Out of a total of 285 fabricated news articles about the pandemic situation, only 129 mentioned vaccines. A posteriori, we created 13 categories. Conspiracy theories (26 texts) and the deaths of those who were immunized (20 texts) are the most frequently encountered vaccination-related ideas.

Keywords
Vaccination; Vaccine; Dissemination of information; Science communication; Conspiracy theory