This article was translated from Dutch
Opponents of vaccination are much more effective at spreading their ideas on social media than advocates. Despite the fact that the opponents are in the minority. This is the conclusion of American researchers after analyzing the more than 1,300 Facebook forums that are discussing vaccination. The results of the study were published in Nature on Wednesday .
The trend that the scientists uncover in their research also plays a role, according to them, when a vaccine against the disease Covid-19 becomes available, which is spreading like a pandemic around the world. "Resistance to that vaccine is already building on social media," said Neil Johnson. He is the lead author of the publication and a professor of physics at George Washington University in Washington.