Author Information
Alicia García-Oliva, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, SpainManel Palencia-Lefler, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Abstract
Vaccination is globally considered one of the most effective methods of disease prevention. However, parents’ vaccine hesitancy persists as a significant public health challenge. Anti-vaccine videos on YouTube prior to COVID-19 have now moved onto Odysee. This study analyses the strategic use of disinformation, pseudoscience, and emotional appeals in Spanish-language antivaccine videos across both platforms. Employing grounded theory, we performed an inductive content analysis on two samples: the most frequent YouTube videos released prior to COVID-19 and the most shared Odysee videos published following the pandemic's onset. We collect data until reaching the saturation point, where no new codes or relations appear. The coding process focused on using emotional framing and persuasive techniques. Preliminary findings indicate that disinformation and pseudoscience serve as fundamental persuasive components, with our initial investigation into childhood vaccination videos demonstrating both a significant prevalence and intensity of these strategies. This study is part of broader research on childhood vaccination disinformation and pseudoscience content and communication techniques used by childhood anti-vaccine groups to sway parents’ decision-making. The results show the need for new health communication strategies that consider the use of emotions and persuasion in childhood vaccine disinformation, especially in online videos.
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