Social media abounds with misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines. Some sources suggest that they can cause autism or are full of dangerous toxins. Yet others believe they are a plot to control society.

Given the ability of vaccines to prevent disease and save lives, public health experts say it’s very important that unfounded beliefs such as these are wiped out.
Public health experts around the world have long fought to dispel such myths by educating people with the facts.
Now, a new study says that social media fact-checking may play a valuable role in these efforts.
The study found that fact-checking labels on misinformation helped people view vaccines in a more favorable light.
For the study, the researchers tested to see the effects of the use of fact-checking labels.
Over 1,000 people with varying levels of “vaccine hesitancy” from around the United States were involved in the study.
A mock Twitter account was used to display several different misinformation messages covering five vaccine types and five categories of 13 fact-checking sources.
The researchers used alternating fact-checking labels from various sources, including the media and organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
What they found was that the people who were shown fact-checking labels were more likely to have a positive view of vaccines than those who saw the misinformation alone.
The study authors suggest that something as simple as tagging the information as false and linking to a credible source can be effective in changing attitudes about vaccines.
They recommend that ideally this should be done by the social media company itself in conjunction with institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO).
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there, so we need to do everything we can to help people find credible sources of information about COVID-19 vaccines and feel confident in their decisions.
“In general, health agencies run by the federal government and international public health organizations are credible sources of vaccine information,” he noted. These include:
WHO.
CDC.
National Institutes of Health.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Many academic institutions and large healthcare organizations are also credible, such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and accredited universities and health systems.
People should also look carefully at dates because information can change rapidly as more research is conducted.
In addition, look for links and references to peer-reviewed research and original, credible sources.
After educating ourselves, it’s important to help our friends and family find good quality information, point them to credible information sources.
When friends and family share information, we should ask them where it comes from and check whether the source is credible.
Credible information may not be accessible to some, for example, if they don’t speak English, or they don’t have access to a computer or other resources.
So, it is important for us to ensure vulnerable individuals and communities have access to credible information as well.
Let’s use our social media accounts to share credible information. What’s your thought on this?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAmbftR-NUw