Social Media and the J&J Vaccine

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    For this week I wanted to look into the recent debacle regarding the J&J vaccine over the past two weeks. If you have not heard, the J&J covid vaccine were halted due to a number of cases that caused blood clots, which was all women if I am correct. This issue created a lot of talk around social media about how safe these covid vaccines really are, and that is okay. However, this weeks article points out the issues that this J&J covid vaccine caused on social media once the news of it being halted came out. This weeks article goes over how there was a massive conspiracy theory posted about the J&J vaccine onto the popular social media site Facebook. This conspiracy theory was posted by an account called Anomaly that describes how the pandemic is a government project designed for civilian control. If this sounds familiar, its because it is a massive aspect of the Q-anon conspiracy theory that is still being widely talked about (this theory is dwindling thankfully). 

The article goes on to state that this conspiracy theory post was the most popular link regarding Johnson and Johnson about their vaccine, more than CNN, ABC News, Fox News, and more. This is another fantastic example of how social media can be one of if not the most dangerous area for misinformation. This story being widely misreported has caused more individuals to become concerned over these covid vaccines and whether or not they are actually safe. It is okay to be cautious during a pandemic I do not blame individuals for this, however when their fear comes from obvious massive misinformation pieces it is harder for me to forgive them.

Individuals must be careful and observant of the information they are reading, just because it is on the internet does not mean it is true.

Source:

Parks, Miles. “The Most Popular J&J Vaccine Story On Facebook? A Conspiracy Theorist Posted It.” NPR, NPR, 15 Apr. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/04/15/987182241/the-most-popular-j-j-vaccine-story-on-facebook-a-conspiracy-theorist-posted-it.



Comments

  1. Covid-19 and PoliticsApril 25, 2021 at 12:05 AM

    I too was following that story regarding the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine being on pause. It's is extremely terrifying to learn what those women went/are going through after getting the vaccine. It does make the public more wary about taking the vaccine. It wasn't easy to convince some of us to take the vaccine and with things like this happening, it makes it even harder to convince us to trust the vaccine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NicoleApril 25, 2021 at 11:13 PM

      While I completely understand the concerns involved with new vaccines, one has to look at the risks in the correct context. For example, birth control has a much, much higher risk of causing blood clots in women, and yet it is still prescribed. Also, Covid-19 carries the risk of clotting.

      Delete
  2. Kelly Norton @ Contrasting CoverageApril 26, 2021 at 3:57 AM

    You are more likely to be a victim of gun violence this week than you are of getting blood clots from the J&J vaccine people! I agree with you that social media is a major factor in the spreading of misinformation and conspiracy theories to the public. People will post just about anything on Facebook. Just because it is on the internet does not mean it is true! You are absolutely correct. I wish people would understand there are always risks with vaccinations, just like there are risks in getting in your car and driving to work or taking prescription meds. The reward and benefit of the vaccine far outweighs the risk. Great post!

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  3. SoteriaApril 26, 2021 at 7:13 AM

    It's so interesting to see how much of an impact articles regarding the Johnson and Johnson vaccine had on people. I can speak from personal experience. My mother is a sucker for conspiracy theories, and when reports of the J&J vaccine causing blood clots came afoot, she absolutely freaked out. She started to "string" together theories and by into the theory of the J&J vaccine targeting certain people. While it's funny to me from afar (i.e. seeing her elaborate over theories), I know that this is quite the serious issue. As more articles of misinformation being produced, the U.S. is constantly taking three steps forward and suddenly two steps backwards in terms of getting everyone vaccinated.

    ReplyDelete

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