There are people who believe conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 vaccines, such as "microchips are embedded in vaccines" or "governments and pharmaceutical companies are hiding information." A study by Rissho University and other institutions revealed that such people have strong distrust toward mass media such as newspapers and television, and providing accurate information has little corrective effect in changing their minds. While some claim that "correct media reporting is necessary" to counter conspiracy theories, such a claim lacks scientific backing. This result suggests that ingenuity is required in ways of communicating information to prepare for future pandemics.
A research group including Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto at the Faculty of Business Administration, Rissho University, who specializes in the evolution of cooperation, social simulation, and evolutionary game theory, analyzed responses obtained using "Yahoo! Crowdsourcing" five times between April 2020 and April 2024. The subjects targeted for analysis were 600 people who answered all five surveys, comprising 431 men and 169 women.
In conducting this survey and research, Yamamoto considered the question: "Why can we not stand together when facing an infectious disease, which is a crisis that humanity should be able to confront most easily?" In addition, he posed the question: "Does biased media viewing lead to incorrect thinking, or do people who originally had biased ways of thinking simply manifest them?"
He asked the 600 people on a 5-point scale to what extent they agreed with items such as: frequency of contact with mass media like newspapers and television or SNS (social networking services), whether they trusted the media, their degree of cooperation with "self-restraint" for COVID-19 infection prevention, and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines (such as microchips being in drugs, or pharmaceutical companies and governments hiding information).
As a result, people who trusted newspapers and television less showed a stronger tendency to believe conspiracy theories. Among vaccine conspiracy theories, few people trusted the microchip theory, but the information concealment theory tended to be moderately believed. In addition, people with less time contacting newspapers and television believed conspiracy theories more strongly. Furthermore, the point that has been made in recent years that "people were influenced by information on SNS" could not be proven directly.
In other words, it can be said that the level of trust in mass media influences judgments on conspiracy theories. In addition, people who trust media less fall into conspiracy theories without obtaining correct information. While slander and defamation against medical personnel occurred during the COVID-19 crisis, it is said that it is extremely difficult for people engaging in such extreme actions to return to correct recognition as they act "based on the justice that they believe in."
Provided by Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto
Regarding claims that microchips could be inserted into vaccines, even the world's smallest semiconductors are considered too large to be injected through the inner diameter of the needles used for COVID-19 vaccinations. As for conspiracy theories alleging that governments and pharmaceutical companies are concealing information, vaccines that have received regulatory approval are subject to the same disclosure requirements as other medicines, and information such as their ingredients is provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Yamamoto reflected: "When speaking of conspiracy theories, people think of them all together. However, as shown this time, it can be said that while a certain conspiracy theory is not believed, there are people who believe in another conspiracy theory to some extent. We must not group them together. This will serve as insight for information provision during the next pandemic." Compared with the time of the COVID-19 epidemic, artificial intelligence (AI) and SNS have spread widely. When the next pandemic occurs, possibilities exist where users can obtain only information that aligns with their own ideology and thinking.
He added: "When speaking of media literacy, people discuss it as if it is an individual ability, but in reality, it carries a strong nuance as a public good. People acting based on information from media can be called infrastructure that supports a healthy society. Other research has clarified that once a person falls into a conspiracy theory, they cannot escape from that spiral. Because it possesses the possibility of becoming a 'one-way fall into darkness,' we must consider measures to heighten trust in media as a prerequisite for conveying correct information."
The research was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The results were published in the online edition of the British scientific journal Scientific Reports on August 3, and Rissho University announced the achievement on August 5.
Original article was provided by the Science Portal and has been translated by Science Japan.