Abstract
Times of uncertainty and fear were brought on by Covid-19. The ongoing pandemic is a fruitful ground for fake news, as citizens try to find explanations that fit into their worldviews. This process polarizes society and creates echo chambers amplified by recommender systems. Our main goal is to detect anti-vaxxer echo chambers in Serbia by analyzing online reactions to the recent detention of prominent anti-vaxxer Dr. Jovana Stojkovic. A content analysis of online comments is deployed in anti-regime left-leaning, anti-regime right-leaning, and pro-government media to explore attitudes towards a vaccination conspiracy theory, police action towards anti-vaxxers, and the government crisis response team. We clearly identify the anti-vaccine echo chamber among commentators of anti-regime right-leaning media (YouTube podcasts). Additionally, we describe attitudes expressed around issues related to vaccination. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
About the authors
Ljubisa Bojic is a research fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade where he coordinates the Digital Society Lab. Bojic defended his PhD thesis at the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Lyon) at University of Lyon, France in 2013. His research interests include neuromarketing, social polarization, echo chambers, fake news, media addiction, impact of emerging technologies on society and philosophy of technology. His latest papers include examination of how mass media impact emotional patterns of their followers on Twitter and how weather conditions affect mood and post count of social media users. Bojic’s long term project is establishing the Media Reality Index as a tool for quantifying emotions expressed by media, as opposed to emotions expressed by society members in social media posts.
Nemanja Nikolić a doctoral student at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Nemanja Nikolić is the recipient of the scholarship of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia for PhD students. His primary research is in the areas of psychodynamic psychology, clinical, and social psychology.
Lana Tucaković is a doctoral student at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Lana Tucaković is the recipient of the scholarship of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia for PhD students. Her primary research interests are in the areas of social and personality psychology.
Acknowledgments
This paper was realised with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, according to the Agreement on the realisation and financing of scientific research.
References
Ali, K. F., Whitebridge, S., Jamal, M. H., Alsafy, M., & Atkin, S. L. (2020). Perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors related to COVID-19 among social media users: Cross-sectional study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e19913.10.2196/19913Search in Google Scholar
Bertin, P., Nera, K., & Delouvée, S. (2020). Conspiracy beliefs, rejection of vaccination, and support for hydroxychloroquine: A conceptual replication-extension in the COVID-19 pandemic context. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565128Search in Google Scholar
Betsch, C., Brewer, N. T., Brocard, P., Davies, P., Gaissmaier, W., Haase, N., …, Stryk, M. (2012). Opportunities and challenges of Web 2.0 for vaccination decisions. Vaccine, 30(25), 3727–3733.10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.02.025Search in Google Scholar
Blic.rs (2021). Privedena Jovana Stojiković [Jovana Stojiković was detained]. Retrieved April 25, 2021 from https://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/jovana-stojkovic-pritvor/mqxt0k2?strana=komentari.Search in Google Scholar
Bogdanovic, S. (1996). Blic krig [Blitzkrieg]. Retrieved May 2, 2021 from http://www.nin.co.rs/arhiva/2397/2.html.Search in Google Scholar
Bojic, L., Zaric, M., & Zikic, S. (2021). Worrying impact of artificial intelligence and big data through the prism of recommender systems. Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology, 18(3).10.21301/eap.v16i3.13Search in Google Scholar
Brennen, J. S., Simon, F., Howard, P. N., & Nielsen, R. K. (2020). Types, sources, and claims of COVID-19 misinformation. Reuters Institute, 7(3), 1.Search in Google Scholar
Carr, C. T., & Hayes, R. A. (2015). Social media: Defining, developing, and divining. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 23(1), 46–65.10.1080/15456870.2015.972282Search in Google Scholar
Chan, A. K. M., Nickson, C. P., Rudolph, J. W., Lee, A., & Joynt, G. M. (2020). Social media for rapid knowledge dissemination: Early experience from the COVID-19 pandemic. Anaesthesia, 75(12).10.1111/anae.15057Search in Google Scholar
Cica Bracala (2021). Upad policije u stan Jovane Stojkovic [Police raid on Jovana Stojkovic’s apartment]. Retrieved April 26, 2021 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VaLUNSNgVo.Search in Google Scholar
Cinelli, M., Morales, G. D. F., Galeazzi, A., Quattrociocchi, W., & Starnini, M. (2021). The echo chamber effect on social media. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(9). Retrieved May 2, 2021 from https://www.pnas.org/content/118/9/e2023301118.10.1073/pnas.2023301118Search in Google Scholar
Cinelli, M., Quattrociocchi, W., Galeazzi, A., Valensise, C. M., Brugnoli, E., Schmidt, A. L., …, Scala, A. (2020). The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Scientific Reports, 10(1).10.1038/s41598-020-73510-5Search in Google Scholar
Davies, P., Chapman, S., & Leask, J. (2002). Antivaccination activists on the world wide web. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 87(1), 22–25.10.1136/adc.87.1.22Search in Google Scholar
Djurković, M. (2020). Black mirror and covid 19: Biotechnological challenges for intercultural thinking. Philosophical polylogue.10.31119/phlog.2020.1.107Search in Google Scholar
Doyle, E., & Lee, Y. (2016). Context, context, context: Priming theory and attitudes towards corporations in social media. Public Relations Review, 42(5), 913–919.10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.09.005Search in Google Scholar
FakeNews tragač (2020). Korona virus i infodemija u Srbiji [Corona virus and infodemic in Serbia]. Retrieved April 20, 2021 from https://fakenews.rs/wp-content/uploads/Korona-i-infodemija-u-Srbiji-2020.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Galliford, N., & Furnham, A. (2017). Individual difference factors and beliefs in medical and political conspiracy theories. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 58(5), 422–428.10.1111/sjop.12382Search in Google Scholar
Garimella, K., De Francisci Morales, G., Gionis, A., & Mathioudakis, M. (2018). ‘Political discourse on social media: Echo chambers, gatekeepers, and the price of bipartisanship’. Proceedings of the 2018 World Wide Web Conference, Geneva, 23–27 April 2018. Geneva: International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee.10.1145/3178876.3186139Search in Google Scholar
Gemius (2021). Prism audience rating Serbia. Retrieved May 2, 2021 from https://rating.gemius.com/rs/tree/32.Search in Google Scholar
Graham, M. W., Avery, E. J., & Park, S. (2015). The role of social media in local government crisis communications. Public Relations Review, 41(3), 386–394.10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.001Search in Google Scholar
Han, Q., Zheng, B., Cristea, M., Agostini, M., Belanger, J. J., Gutzkow, B., …, Leander, N. P. (2021). Trust in government regarding COVID-19 and its associations with preventive health behaviour and prosocial behaviour during the pandemic: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Psychological Medicine, 1–32.10.31234/osf.io/p5gnsSearch in Google Scholar
Hornsey, M. J., Harris, E. A., & Fielding, K. S. (2018). The psychological roots of anti-vaccination attitudes: A 24-nation investigation. Health Psychology, 37(4), 307–315.10.1037/hea0000586Search in Google Scholar
Hosseinmardi, H., Ghasemian, A., Clauset, A., Rothschild, D. M., Mobius, M., & Watts, D. J. (2020). Evaluating the scale, growth, and origins of right-wing echo chambers on YouTube. arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.12843.Search in Google Scholar
Ivanović, M., Đorđević, M., Aleksandar, K., Filip, M., Kristina, N., Tamara, P., …, & Bojan, T. (2020). Serbian citizens’ opinion on the COVID-19 epidemic. South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (SEEJPH), 14.Search in Google Scholar
Jin, Y., Liu, B. F., & Austin, L. L. (2014). Examining the role of social media in effective crisis management: The effects of crisis origin, information form, and source on publics’ crisis responses. Communication Research, 41(1), 74–94.10.1177/0093650211423918Search in Google Scholar
Jolley, D., & Douglas, K. M. (2014). The effects of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories on vaccination intentions. PLoS ONE, 9(2), e89177.10.1371/journal.pone.0089177Search in Google Scholar
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–68.10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003Search in Google Scholar
Kata, A. (2010). A postmodern Pandora’s box: Anti-vaccination misinformation on the internet. Vaccine, 28(7), 1709–1716.10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.12.022Search in Google Scholar
Khandkar, S. H. (2009). Open coding. University of Calgary, 23.Search in Google Scholar
Klein, S. A., Heck, D. W., Reese, G., & Hilbig, B. E. (2019). On the relationship between openness to experience, political orientation, and pro-environmental behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, 344–348.10.1016/j.paid.2018.10.017Search in Google Scholar
Kurir.rs (2021). Stojkovićeva sprovedena iz SBPOK na saslušanje u tužilaštvo: Antivakserka širila paniku na društvenim mrežama [Stojkovic carried out of SBPOK for hearing in prosecutor’s office: Antivaxer spread panic on social networks]. Retrieved April 25, 2021 from https://www.kurir.rs/crna-hronika/3657411/stojkovicka-sprovedena-iz-sbpok-na-saslusanje-u-tuzilastvo-antivakserka-sirila-paniku-na-drustvenim-mrezama/komentari.Search in Google Scholar
Larson, H. J., Jarrett, C., Eckersberger, E., Smith, D. M. D., & Paterson, P. (2014). Understanding vaccine hesitancy around vaccines and vaccination from a global perspective: A systematic review of published literature, 2007–2012. Vaccine, 32(19), 2150–2159.10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.01.081Search in Google Scholar
Lau, L. S., Samari, G., Moresky, R. T., Casey, S. E., Kachur, S. P., Roberts, L. F., & Zard, M. (2020). COVID-19 in humanitarian settings and lessons learned from past epidemics. Nature Medicine.10.1038/s41591-020-0851-2Search in Google Scholar
Lewandowsky, S., Gignac, G. E., & Oberauer, K. (2013). The role of conspiracist ideation and worldviews in predicting rejection of science. PloS one, 8(10), e75637.10.1371/journal.pone.0075637Search in Google Scholar
Li, H. O. Y., Bailey, A., Huynh, D., & Chan, J. (2020). YouTube as a source of information on COVID-19: A pandemic of misinformation? BMJ global health, 5(5), e002604.10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002604Search in Google Scholar
Maarek, P. J. (2014). Politics 2.0: New forms of digital political marketing and political communication. Trípodos, (34), 13–22.Search in Google Scholar
Marie, J.-L., & Bojic, Lj. (2016). Media addiction and political participation in Serbia. Serbian Political Thought, 14(2), 167–182.10.22182/spt.1422016.10Search in Google Scholar
Matz, S. C. (2021). Personal echo chambers: Openness-to-experience is linked to higher levels of psychological interest diversity in large-scale behavioral data. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.10.1037/pspp0000324Search in Google Scholar
Media (2021). List of media in Serbia. [online]. Available from https://serbia.mom-rsf.org/en/media/detail/outlet/n1-tv/ [accessed 2 May 2021].Search in Google Scholar
Mitkovski, I. (2021). Pretres stana Jovane Stojković zbog “širenja straha i panike”. [Raid of Jovana Stojković’s apartment for “spreading fear and panic”.] Available April 25, 2021 from: https://rs.n1info.com/vesti/pretres-stana-jovane-stojkovic-zbog-sirenja-straha-i-panike/.Search in Google Scholar
Moscovici, S. (1987). The conspiracy mentality. Changing conceptions of conspiracy (pp. 151–169). New York: Springer.10.1007/978-1-4612-4618-3_9Search in Google Scholar
Moscovici, S. (2020). Reflections on the popularity of “conspiracy mentalities”. International Review of Social Psychology, 33(1).10.5334/irsp.432Search in Google Scholar
Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Schulz, A., Andi, S., Robertson, C. T., & Nielsen, R. K. (2021). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.Search in Google Scholar
Nguyen, C. T. (2018). Echo chambers and epistemic bubbles. Episteme, 17(2), 1–21.10.1017/epi.2018.32Search in Google Scholar
Oliver, J. E., & Wood, T. (2014). Medical conspiracy theories and health behaviors in the United States. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(5), 817.10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.190Search in Google Scholar
Puri, N., Coomes, E. A., Haghbayan, H., & Gunaratne, K. (2020). Social media and vaccine hesitancy: New updates for the era of COVID-19 and globalized infectious diseases. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, 16(11), 1–8.10.1080/21645515.2020.1780846Search in Google Scholar
Rao, A., Morstatter, F., Hu, M., Chen, E., Burghardt, K., Ferrara, E., & Lerman, K. (2020). Political partisanship and anti-science attitudes in online discussions about COVID-19. Journal of Medical Internet Research.10.2196/preprints.26692Search in Google Scholar
Rieger, M. O., and Wang, M. (2020). Trust in government actions during the COVID-19 crisis. Universität Trier. Available April 24, 2021 from https://www.uni-trier.de/fileadmin/fb4/prof/BWL/FIN/Files/Trust_in_Government_Actions_during_the_COVID-19_Crisis.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Schmidt, A. L., Zollo, F., Scala, A., Betsch, C., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2018). Polarization of the vaccination debate on Facebook. Vaccine, 36(25), 3606–3612.10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.05.040Search in Google Scholar
Sear, R. F., Velásquez, N., Leahy, R., Restrepo, N. J., El Oud, S., Gabriel, N., Lupu, Y., et al. (2020). Quantifying COVID-19 content in the online health opinion war using machine learning. IEEE Access, 1–1.10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2993967Search in Google Scholar
Spohr, D. (2017). Fake news and ideological polarization. Business Information Review, 34(3), 150–160.10.1177/0266382117722446Search in Google Scholar
Srbin.Info (2021, April 1). Evo kako je izvršen upad u stan Jovane Stojković i kako je doktorku narod dočekao kod Predsedništva. [Here is how the apartment of Jovana Stojković was broken into and how the people welcomed the doctor at the Presidency.] [online video]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgGzoMhe6BY [accessed 26 April 2021].Search in Google Scholar
Stemler, S. (2000). An overview of content analysis. Practical assessment, research, and evaluation, 7(1), 17.Search in Google Scholar
Stojsavljević, V. (2021). Skup podrške za privedenu predsednicu pokreta “Živim za Srbiju”[Rally of support for the detained president of the movement “I live for Serbia”] [online]. Available from https://www.danas.rs/drustvo/policija-pretresla-stan-predsednice-pokreta-zivim-za-srbiju-video/ [accessed 25 April 2021].Search in Google Scholar
Tasnim, S., Hossain, M. M., & Mazumder, H. (2020). Impact of rumors or misinformation on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in social media. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 53(3).10.3961/jpmph.20.094Search in Google Scholar
Tucaković, L., & Nedeljković, B. (2020). ‘Should liberalism be a part of openness to experience as its facet?’ XXVI scientific conference “Empirical studies in psychology”, Belgrade, 15–18th October 2020, Belgrade: Institute of Psychology and Laboratory of Experimental Psychology. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.Search in Google Scholar
Vermeulen, J., Keunen, L., & Lievens, E. (2020). Viral information. How states and platforms deal with Covid-19-related disinformation: An exploratory study of 20 countries. Report on Belgium. GDHRNet Working Paper, 1.Search in Google Scholar
WHO (2019). Ten health issues WHO will tackle this year. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019. [accessed 18 April 2021].Search in Google Scholar
WHO (2020). Immunizing the public against misinformation. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/immunizing-the-public-against-misinformation. [accessed 18 April 2021].Search in Google Scholar
Wilson, K., & Keelan, J. (2013). Social media and the empowering of opponents of medical technologies: The case of anti-vaccinationism. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(5), e103.10.2196/jmir.2409Search in Google Scholar
Witteman, H. O., & Zikmund-Fisher, B. J. (2012). The defining characteristics of Web 2.0 and their potential influence in the online vaccination debate. Vaccine, 30(25), 3734–3740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.12.03910.1016/j.vaccine.2011.12.039Search in Google Scholar
Zollo, F. (2019). Dealing with digital misinformation: A polarised context of narratives and tribes. EFSA Journal, 17.10.2903/j.efsa.2019.e170720Search in Google Scholar
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
