Rise of Conspiracy Theories in the Pandemic Times.

COVID-19 pandemic occurred as an unexpected experience affecting all countries around the globe. In addition to the obvious health, economic and political effects, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered immense changes in the social spheres. People and institutions were forced to adjust to the new circumstances, change habits and move most or all of their activity online. In the completely virtual world, pandemic became a fertile ground for the bloom of the conspiracy theories already existing, but struggling for the global attention. The aim of the paper is to present three main conspiracy theories rapidly gaining popularity during the pandemic (the QAnon, anti-vaccination movements and anti-5G movements) and to analyse how they developed since the pandemic had been announced. In particular, the rising activity of the representatives of the movements will be analysed, as well as its acceleration in connection with pandemic and the resulting influence on social and political life. Finally, the paper will try examine whether the rapid development of conspiracy theories within societies has had any relations to the level of trust towards government-made decisions. The thesis being verified hereto is that pandemic accelerated the development of conspiracy theories due to the diminishing level of trust towards governments operating in the most difficult period in recent history. There are variety of reasons for the belief in conspiracy theories and they depend on the specificity of the theory and specificity of group of people it originates from. In general, it can be noted that all kind of conspiracies are developed by either (1) people who actually believe in them and are sharing them with good intentions (to warn other about the dangers hidden behind certain actions or institutions) or (2) malignant individuals whose aim is to discord or discredit an opponent or critic or, alternatively, distract attention from misconduct or lack of competence.

Narrativas antivacinas e a crise de confiança em algumas instituições / Anti-vaccine narratives and the crisis of trust in some institutions / Narrativas antivacunas y crisis de confianza en algunas instituciones

As narrativas antivacinas vêm ganhando força ao redor do mundo e têm sido foco de preocupação de autoridades de saúde nacionais e internacionais. Este artigo tem como objetivo principal analisar as narrativas postadas em dois grupos antivacinas no Facebook publicadas em 2020, quando o mundo iniciava o enfrentamento da pandemia de covid-19. A estratégia metodológica utilizada para alcançar o objetivo e ancorar as análises é o Mapa das Mediações, de Martín-Barbero. Os resultados revelam, entre outros pontos, que as narrativas antivacinas estão, em grande parte, relacionadas com uma desconfiança em duas instituições: a ciência e o Estado. Isso permite o desdobramento de novos estudos focados no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas para o combate à desinformação sobre a saúde nos meios de comunicação.

Anti-vaccine narratives have been gaining strength around the world and have been a focus of concern of national and international health authorities. This article has as main objective to analyze the narratives posted in two anti-vaccine groups on Facebook, published in 2020, when the world was starting the fighting against the covid-19 pandemic. The methodological strategy to achieve the objective and anchor the analyzes is the Map of Mediations, produced by Martín-Barbero. The results reveal, among other points, that the antivaccine narratives are connected with a distrust in two institutions: the science and the State, allowing the development of new studies focused on public policies to combat misinformation about health in the media.

Las narrativas contra las vacunas están ganando fuerza en todo el mundo y están siendo un foco de preocupación para las autoridades sanitarias nacionales e internacionales. Este artículo tiene como objetivo principal analizar las narrativas publicadas en dos grupos antivacunas en Facebook, en 2020, cuando el mundo empezó a luchar contra la pandemia de covid-19. La estrategia metodológica utilizada para lograr el objetivo y realizar los análisis es el Mapa de las mediaciones, evidenciado por Martín-Barbero. Los resultados revelan, entre otros puntos, que las narrativas antivacuna están conectadas con la desconfianza en dos instituciones: la ciencia y el Estado, lo que permite el desarrollo de nuevos estudios enfocados en políticas públicas para combatir la desinformación sobre salud en los medios de comunicación.

Mothers' Opinions on Vaccinations and Penal Responsibility for Vaccination Avoidance in Nine Selected European Countries: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Survey.

AIM: Relations between penal responsibility and vaccination obligation can be essential for raising the vaccination rate. Social media play a vital role in distributing information. The attitude towards vaccination consists of many factors, including the criminal law situation in the field of vaccination in a given country. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of criminal law liability and other social factors such as age and education on mothers' desire to vaccinate their children. METHODS: Survey target: mothers from nine European countries (Poland, Germany, Slovakia, France, Norway, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Italy). Response count: 2205. Questionnaire content: adjusted to country-specific legal regulations concerning vaccinations - considering whether vaccines are mandatory, recommended, additional, and how to cover costs. The way of dissemination of the questionnaire: general parental groups on Facebook. RESULTS: The respondents: Poles (30%), Italians, Germans, Slovaks, Greeks (10% each), Norwegians, Frenchwomen, Romanians, Serbians (5% each). The average respondent age: highest: Norway (38.14±10.08) and Italy (37.35±8.12), lowest: Slovakia (30.22±6.19). Respondents with higher, secondary, vocational, primary education represent 58%, 27%, 12%, 3%, respectively, of the group. Countries with above 90% rate of answers that they vaccinate their children: Greece, Norway, Slovakia, France. The lowest rate (55%) recorded for Romania. Sixty-seven percent aware of the existence of anti-vaccination movements. High rates were recorded for Norway (88%), Romania (82%), Poland (78%), Serbia (71%), Greece (67%), Germany (66%). The lowest rate for France (31%). Countries without vaccination at all (Germany, Norway, Romania, Greece), the rest of the countries mentioned above - have some mandatory, recommended and additional vaccinations. CONCLUSION: In countries with mandatory vaccinations parents have their children vaccinated less willingly than in countries with voluntary vaccinations. The rising level of education and providing information about complications following infectious diseases appear to increase the vaccination rate.

The influence of socio-demographic characteristics on attitudes towards prophylactic vaccination in Poland.

OBJECTIVES: A legally regulated program of mandatory vaccinations is in place in Poland. The number of vaccination refusals increased from 3437 to 48 609 in 2010-2019. The aim of the study was to determine the association of various socio-demographic factors with the attitudes of the residents of Poland to prophylactic vaccination. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was based on a secondary statistical analysis of a representative sample of 977 adult residents of Poland (a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study). Data was purchased from the Public Opinion Research Center. RESULTS: The study group was characterized by a high level of acceptance of vaccinations. At the same time, nearly a third (31%) of the subjects agreed with the statement that vaccination is promoted mainly because this is in the interests of pharmaceutical companies, and more than a fifth (22%) of the respondents believed that vaccines for children can cause serious developmental disorders, including autism. A detailed multivariate analysis based on logistic regression revealed that being deeply religious (compared to being a non-believer) and living in a town with a population of 20 000-499 999 (compared to living in a rural area) were strongly associated with a very high acceptance of the anti-vaccination content. The opposite attitude was associated with having an average or good financial situation (compared to a poor financial situation), having completed vocational education (compared to primary education) and being ≥65 years old (as opposed to being <30 years old). CONCLUSIONS: Most socio-economic factors analyzed did not influence the respondents' attitudes to prophylactic vaccination or showed little influence. Strong anti-vaccination beliefs were associated with being deeply religious and living in a town with a medium-size or small population. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(1):121-32.

The discontinuation of routine smallpox vaccination in the United States, 1960-1976: an unlikely affirmation of biomedical hegemony / A descontinuação da vacinação de rotina contra a varíola nos Estados Unidos, 1960-1976: uma afirmação improvável da hegemonia biomédica

Este artigo procura entender o contexto discursivo da cessação da vacinação de rotina contra varíola nos Estados Unidos no início dos anos 70. Os Estados Unidos têm uma longa tradição na oposição à vacinação compulsória contra a varíola, geralmente expressa em relação ao que se refere à liberdade pessoal, à extensão da autoridade estadual e desafios à hegemonia da biomedicina ortodoxa. A rotina de vacinação contra varíola continuou nos Estados Unidos até a extinção da doença nos anos 70, seguida de uma recomendação em 1971 contra a prática emitida pelo Serviço de Saúde Pública dos Estados Unidos. Essa história investiga as maneiras pelas quais a oposição à vacinação compulsória contra a varíola nos anos 60 e 70 foi articulada e entendida por contemporâneos através da análise da retórica utilizada pelos principais periódicos médicos e jornais populares. Descobriu-se que esse movimento bem-sucedido de eliminar a rotina de vacinação contra a varíola explorou a linguagem da autoridade biomédica em vez de protesto político.

This article seeks to understand the discursive context of the cessation of routine smallpox vaccination in the United States in the early 1970s. The United States has a long tradition of opposition to compulsory smallpox vaccination, usually expressed in terms of concerns about personal liberties, the extent of state authority, and challenges to the hegemony of orthodox biomedicine. The practice of routine smallpox vaccination continued in the United States until its termination in the 1970s, following a 1971 recommendation against the practice issued by the United States Public Health Service. This history investigates the ways in which opposition to compulsory smallpox vaccination in the 1960s and 70s was articulated and understood by contemporaries through an analysis of the rhetoric used in leading medical journals and popular newspapers. It finds that this ultimately successful movement to end routine smallpox vaccination drew upon the language of biomedical authority rather than political protest.