Anti-vaccine Facebook groups rise amidst vaccine hesitancy Tuesday, 18 May 2021 11:45 Anti-vaccine Facebook groups rise amidst vaccine hesitancy
Shares
Reset Australia’s report found that anti-vaccine sentiments and misinformation rose among Facebook groups in the country. As conspiracies sway the public, Reset Australia developed a policy to counter these false claims.
Anti-vaccine sentiments and misinformation, most especially aired on Facebook groups, grew at 300% during the pandemic, Reset Australia found, a direct correlation to Australia’s rising vaccine hesitancy rates.
The report identified 13 public Facebook groups based in Australia and tracked their growth between January 2020 to March 2021. It included anti-lockdown style groups, such as End the Lockdown in Australia, Digital Warfare , and Australia Freedom Alliance , and larger, established anti-vaccine groups, such as Australians for Safe Technology .
Reset Australia
The number of Australians following public anti-vaxx Facebook groups grew nearly 300% during the pandemic, Reset Australia has found, in direct correlation with Australia’s rising vaccine hesitancy rates.
Reset Australia’s report identified 13 public Facebook groups with users based in Australia and tracked their growth between January 2020 to March 2021. The 13 included anti-lockdown style groups, such as ‘End the Lockdown in Australia, ‘ Digital Warfare’, and ‘Australia Freedom Alliance’, and larger, established anti-vaxx groups, such as ‘Australians for Safe Technology’.
During the research period, subscription to these groups grew by 280%, and as of March 2021, these groups had a combined total of over 115,000 members, generating over 2.66 million interactions.