A business owner who only wants to be known as Najib recalls feeling upset when his father refused to be signed up for vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
His father, who is in his 50s, was largely influenced by anti-vaccination or anti-vax content posted by others on social media.
“Because of them, I had trouble convincing my dad even though we are currently facing a crisis and a lot of people are affected by Covid-19.
“But the anti-vaxxers say they have the right to refuse vaccination and can protect themselves with methods not proven effective.
“They are saying all sorts of things without research to back it up,” shares Najib adding that his father had been watching anti-vax content on TikTok where videos are presented in short, bite-size formats.
Despite the lack of evidence or credible research, anti-vax videos have gone viral on social media platforms.
In July, the US Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) published a study claiming that TikTok videos featuring Sounds with vaccine misinformation don’t get flagged and circulate widely on the platform.
TikTok Sounds is a library of audio clips of popular songs, music, shows and even past TikTok videos that can be reused by others.
The firm analysed 124 videos featuring Sounds containing vaccine misinformation and found that they got 1,628,634 likes and 55,120 comments, and were shared 339,991 times and viewed 20,019,798 times.
In one of the videos analysed by ISD, the user promoted vaccine hesitancy by saying: “You’re telling me in 40 years there has been no vaccine for HIV... no vaccine for cancer, no vaccine for the common cold. Yet in one year we’ve developed a vaccine for Covid-19 and you want me to take that... thanks, but no thanks.”
Though the original video has since been taken down, the Sound of the anti-vaccine comment from the video is being reused by other users to spread misinformation.
ISD found that the top 25 videos using the Sound have been viewed more than 16.7 million times based on a list on TikTok.
Reuters has labelled the claim as “misleading”, explaining that it makes a false comparison by juxtaposing the quick timeline of the Covid-19 vaccine against the lack of vaccine for HIV/AIDS, cancer and the common cold.
Seeking validation
In Malaysia, anti-vaccination groups are still growing on various social media platforms.
A quick search on Telegram with keywords commonly associated with anti-vax sentiments yielded a group with over 130,000 subscribers that is focused on spreading misinformation, particularly on health complications from vaccine shots.
The posts are mostly screengrabs purportedly of individuals sharing their experiences on Facebook or Instagram about the dangers of vaccination and the authorities’ hidden agendas.
Another anti-vax group with over 17,000 subscribers encourages participants to share posts of deaths due to vaccines.
The followers of such groups are usually given dubious advice – for instance, when one person posted about her husband suffering from an eye-related issue after being vaccinated, another user recommended cupping as treatment once every two weeks, describing the practice as “wajib” (mandatory).
Dr Joanne Lim, deputy dean and associate professor of media, communications and cultural studies at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, says anti-vax groups on social media operate by sending targeted messages to convince specific communities.
“As they understand the age group of users for each platform, the messages are framed specifically to speak to them in a language that is persuasive,” Lim says.
She adds that most include unfounded facts and figures with unverified case studies and quotations from so-called professionals or medical experts as “evidence” of having evaluated the matter in depth.
As society becomes aware how fake news is being circulated, she says, the anti-vax groups are attempting to give their posts “some form of credibility, trustability and reliability, even if they are indeed manipulated and falsified, in order to gather a following of believers”.
Social media platforms also tend to “feed” or recommend users content based on what they have been searching or reading.
“Once individuals search for anti-vax information, the algorithm takes over and feeds them with more of such information,” Lim says.
What drives a person to look for anti-vax groups on social media platforms? Alvin Tan, director and clinical psychologist at People Psychological Solutions in Kuala Lumpur, believes it’s due to people seeking validation for their beliefs, including finding a sense of support and community.
He explains that people generally need time to adapt to changes that affect their lifestyles, beliefs or behaviour.
But when new safety measures such as physical distancing and requirement to wear masks were introduced, Tan says some people may have had trouble accepting the sudden change.
“During the pandemic, the public’s ability to accept authoritative reasoning is being tested.
“Due to the need to act quickly in curbing further spread of the virus, quick shifts in policies and deployment of vaccines were required.
“If such quick decisions go against deeply held values that a person has then it can be very difficult to accept,” he says.
Faridah Abdul Jalil, a coordinator at Pusat Kaunseling Selangor (PKS), says its counsellors were approached by people who were concerned about getting vaccinated after encountering anti-vax content on social media.
Some were also influenced by friends or family members claiming that the vaccine had made them feel nauseous and ill, she says, adding that PKS is an initiative by the Selangor state government to offer free counselling services to members of the public.
“They started seeking psychological and counselling services because they needed different opinions as they were surrounded by individuals who have adopted an anti-vax stance.
“They may have expressed their feelings to friends or close family members but didn’t receive the support needed to get vaccinated because they were told there is no guarantee for their health or safety,” she says, adding that people with health issues are generally more cautious about getting vaccinated.
Forbidden by law
There are also legal consequences for spreading misinformation about Covid-19 vaccination.
In August, a man who made a Facebook post claiming that a police officer had died after receiving his second vaccine dose was charged with spreading false information. He faces a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both, if found guilty.
On Oct 8, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin tweeted that a police report had been lodged against a user on Twitter for spreading fake news about Covid-19 vaccination.
The user had shared a name list of teachers, which he had come across in an anti-vaccination group on Telegram, that alleged they had died after getting their jabs.
A week later, Khairy said the Health Ministry had also filed a police report against the anti-vax group.
“We hope that follow-up action (investigation, prosecution, etc) can be expedited. The group continues to spread false news, threatening public health and (is) annoying,” he tweeted.
In an online report, National Recovery Council chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged the government to come up with drastic measures to address the issue of anti-vaxxers.
Though the number of anti-vaxxers was negligible, he said, they could still hamper the country’s recovery targets.
“This small group of people could be carriers of the virus which can be detrimental to a larger group,” he said.
Faridah says counsellors at PKS use methods such as cognitive behavioural therapy (to improve mental health) and rational emotional behaviour therapy (to aid in managing emotions and thoughts) in their approach towards people who are vaccine hesitant.
“Ultimately, we help clients to realise why it’s important to love themselves by getting vaccinated from Covid-19 as a safety measure.
“We also need to convince them with facts. Previously, they were aligned with anti-vax beliefs because it was socially acceptable within their circle and they didn’t do any research of their own about vaccines,” she says.
If a friend or family member refuses to get vaccinated because he or she has been influenced by anti-vax groups, Tan says it can be challenging to reason or persuade a person through factual and rational approach alone.
“Persuasion oftentimes is more successful when an appeal is made to a person’s emotions and needs.
“As such, for loved ones, changing their minds requires a person to be understanding while being able to provide emotional support with an attitude of openness as opposed to chastising them for their beliefs regarding the matter,” he explains.
As for Najib’s father, the thought of not being able to participate in the food business that they were about to start made him rethink his anti-vaccination stance.
Najib says his father agreed to get vaccinated after he was told it was necessary in order to engage customers.
“He was fine after the vaccination. Since then, I don’t think I’ve seen him watching any more anti-vax videos,” Najib says.
Tan shares that people can overcome their negative perception towards vaccination by forming the habit to fact check content or messages that they receive against reliable and scientific sources.
“If we are not inclined to consume scientific literature on our own, we can also rely on scientific experts and organisations that are actively working on the cause.
“This can be done by visiting websites and social media pages of such figures and organisations, including the Health Ministry or World Health Organisation, prior to forming an assumption based on social media posts,” he says.
Both Tan and Faridah also encourage those who are vaccine-hesitant to speak to a mental health professional, as they will be able to discuss their concerns in an open, non-judgemental and objective environment.
It also pays to be mindful of the time spent on social media with such groups.
“It’s for their emotional and mental well-being. We are concerned that spending too much time on content from unverified sources online could lead to extreme anxiety.
“Clients will be asked to avoid surrounding themselves with negative thoughts by leaving social media groups that are contributing to their anxiety,” she says.
Lim believes that people can put more thought into how they choose to share content on social media, especially in regards to matters of health and safety.
“It is important for society to be aware that even following, liking, reposting and forwarding information are forms of affirmation, endorsement and support that will propagate the information being shared,” she says.
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