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Anti-vaccine rabbit hole leads to political representation: the case of Twitter in Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Fujio Toriumi

    (The University of Tokyo)

  • Takeshi Sakaki

    (The University of Tokyo)

  • Tetsuro Kobayashi

    (Waseda University)

  • Mitsuo Yoshida

    (University of Tsukuba)

Abstract

Anti-vaccine attitudes pose a threat to public health by impeding the development of herd immunity. However, the proliferation and politicization of anti-vaccine discourse, exacerbated by the pandemic and the rise of social media, have not been fully elucidated. This study, using Japanese Twitter data, revealed that (a) anti-vaxxers are characterized by high political interest, (b) persistent anti-vaxxers were more ideologically left-leaning and had stronger ties to existing political parties, and (c) pandemic-induced new anti-vaxxers displayed low political engagement but a greater affinity for conspiracy theories, spirituality, naturalism, and alternative health practices, which served as gateways to anti-vaccination views. Furthermore, those who turned anti-vaccine after the pandemic also exhibited an increased tendency to follow the newly emerged anti-vaccine party, potentially contributing to their political representation at the national level. These analyses show that the anti-vaccine discourse has expanded and reached a politically representative scale, strengthening its discursive network with conspiracy theories, spirituality, naturalism, and alternative health practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Fujio Toriumi & Takeshi Sakaki & Tetsuro Kobayashi & Mitsuo Yoshida, 2024. "Anti-vaccine rabbit hole leads to political representation: the case of Twitter in Japan," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 405-423, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jcsosc:v:7:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s42001-023-00241-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s42001-023-00241-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Neil F. Johnson & Nicolas Velásquez & Nicholas Johnson Restrepo & Rhys Leahy & Nicholas Gabriel & Sara El Oud & Minzhang Zheng & Pedro Manrique & Stefan Wuchty & Yonatan Lupu, 2020. "The online competition between pro- and anti-vaccination views," Nature, Nature, vol. 582(7811), pages 230-233, June.
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    3. John M. Carey & Andrew M. Guess & Peter J. Loewen & Eric Merkley & Brendan Nyhan & Joseph B. Phillips & Jason Reifler, 2022. "The ephemeral effects of fact-checks on COVID-19 misperceptions in the United States, Great Britain and Canada," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(2), pages 236-243, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yukihiro Sato & Ichiro Kawachi & Yasuaki Saijo & Eiji Yoshioka & Ken Osaka & Takahiro Tabuchi, 2024. "Correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in Japan: A cross-sectional study of 28,175 residents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(12), pages 1-17, December.

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