Vaccine debate mobilizes misinformation and Lula is being called "genocidal"

By: FGV ECMI

 

• Different disinformation threads about vaccines were identified on X, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram, with associations between vaccinations, severe diseases and the death of children;
• Supporters and allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro mobilize arguments to reverse the narrative of irresponsibility in relation to Covid-19 vaccination and classify Lula as “genocidal”;
• On Telegram, there are abundant offers of fake vaccination cards on ConecteSUS (Brazillian health information system) by anti-vaccine groups.

 

The debate about vaccines is still subject to several misinformation threads and denialist discourse on social media, especially regarding alleged negative effects on babies and children. Additionally, political polarization remains a central feature of the discussion, with a notable attempt to transfer the stigma of “genocidal” in relation to the vaccination policy from former president Jair Bolsonaro to President Lula. This is revealed by a survey by FGV School of Communication, Media, and Information (FGV ECMI) shows, which analyzed the digital debate about vaccines on X, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram, between June 1st and September 10th, 2023.

In terms of disinformation threads, extremist groups and profiles have a significant presence on social media, especially on mobile applications. Within the more polarized scope of the debate, allies and supporters of Bolsonaro have greater resonance and are working together to exonerate the former president of responsibility for the vaccination efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic and label Lula as "genocidal" due to alleged refusal to import dengue vaccines.

 

Debate about vaccination

Evolution of the debate on vaccination on X

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Source: X | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• In general, the debate on vaccination recorded a high volume of disinformation, especially about Covid-19 vaccines, and criticism of the current administration regarding the dengue vaccine. The highest peak recorded was associated with the news that Lula's administration had supposedly chosen not to import dengue vaccines from Japan and decided to wait for the national version of the immunization. With the hashtag “#lulagenocida”, the episode, denied by the Ministry of Health, fueled a narrative that counters the notion that former president Jair Bolsonaro had been irresponsible with the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines;
• Opposition to Lula's administration gained marked prominence in the discussion through two notably contradictory perspectives: scientific denialism that questions the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, and on the other hand, directed attacks at President Lula under the argument that the leader is allegedly sabotaging the dengue vaccine;
• Another significant peak in the debate on vaccination, on August 17th, was associated with a campaign by the Federal Government aimed at promoting multi-vaccination of children and adolescents against diseases that are once again affecting this population. In this particular case, a significant portion of the publications tended to support the initiative, with criticisms directed at anti-vaccine groups;

• The case of commander Mauro Cid, associated with the circulation of disinformation about Covid-19 and fraud in the vaccination system, received peripheral attention in the debate and was mentioned primarily by critics of former president Bolsonaro. As in the case of the government campaign mentioned above, this episode was one of the few topics driven by progressive profiles;

• Attacks on the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, were also recorded due to a statement in which she advocated for the punishment of doctors who spread misinformation about vaccines. In some of the messages circulating on the network, Trindade was ridiculed and labeled as “authoritarian” and “fascist”;

• Furthermore, the information that the WHO had requested the withdrawal of Covid-19 vaccines from circulation was highlighted. The main source is the website "Médicos Pela Vida Covid-19", from the self-declared "Manifesto pela Vida" movement, which relativizes science and argues that medicine should be practiced autonomously, without “external interference”, and that, beyond evidence, “clinical insight and life experience should never lose their sovereignty”.

 

Main terms about vaccination on X

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Source: X | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• In the debate about vaccination, messages claiming that Covid-19 vaccines have been unsuccessful have important prominence. Despite there being a large number of posts in support of vaccination, there is an attempt to validate a denialist position based on “alternative” data that are presented in pseudoscientific language;
•  News about a bill that would require parents to vaccinate their children and alleged heart damage caused by mRNA Covid injections were also disseminated with alarm. According to other posts, this has been classified as an “illegal biological weapon”. On the other hand, the repercussion of a report that Bolsonaro's administration had concealed reports from Abin and GSI with projections of Covid-19 cases and deaths gained significant traction, countering the prevailing denialist narrative;
• The episode of the dengue vaccine and the allegations that Lula would be “genocidal” for allegedly hindering access to the vaccine were also featured prominently in the word cloud, with critics of the president taking center stage.

 

Parliamentary debate on vaccination on Facebook and Instagram.

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Source: Facebook | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• In the parliamentary debate on Facebook and Instagram, there is a noticeable collective effort to counter the narrative that former president Jair Bolsonaro was negligent in the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines. The dismissal of an lawsuit against the previous administration, by Supreme Court Minister Cristiano Zanin, was the main argument used to validate the idea that Bolsonaro had not committed crimes of dereliction of duty. This line of argument is coupled with the notion that Lula should be penalized for allegedly being negligent in the purchase of dengue vaccines;
• Another prominent argument in the discussion, supported by this same political group, criticized the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, for advocating for the punishment of doctors who shared misinformation about vaccines. In this regard, the strategy used to legitimize the claim that vaccines would be harmful is based in news headlines, such as the alleged compensation by the British government supposed to “vaccine victims” and restriction of the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine in the United States.
• In the progressive camp, with limited reach in the discussion on both platforms, messages of support for the Minister of Health and endorsement of the multi-vaccination campaign for children and adolescents gained more relevance.

 

Main links about vaccination on Facebook

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Source: Facebook | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• The most circulated links on Facebook highlight the narrative dispute between denialist and scientific discourses. In this specific analysis, scientific and progressive discourses are more prominent than observed on X. News about punishments, actual or potential, related to misinformation about vaccines stands out both in progressive and far-left hyper-partisan outlets, as well in the so-called mainstream media;

• A news article about the organization of a petition for the SUS to offer a vaccine against meningitis B after the death of an unvaccinated baby also gained prominence, as did an article that associates Bolsonaro with a denialist agenda that allegedly contributed to the resurgence of diseases once considered eradicated;

• In the field favorable or not critical to scientific denialism, news articles that associates Covid-19 vaccines with the risk of death had an important reach, as well as the dissemination of a study that would present alleged evidence regarding the “gigantic failure” that the implementation of lockdown measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic purportedly represented.

 

Main posts about vaccination on Facebook and Instagram

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Source: Facebook e Instagram | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• On Facebook and Instagram posts, media outlets from different political spectrums and institutional party profiles had the widely circulated publications. The narrative dispute over the responsibility of the former and current presidents in regarding vaccines – for covid-19 in the case of Bolsonaro, and for dengue in the case of Lula – remained central;

• The dismissal of the case against Bolsonaro is used to exonerate the politician from charges of dereliction of duty. On the other hand, accusations of withholding reports regarding Covid-19 cases and deaths attempt to reestablish the idea that the former president acted criminally during the pandemic;

• To a lesser extent, in a comparative tone with the previous administration, there are praises for the vaccination approach in the current administration. For instance, the presence of the character Zé Gotinha on the 7th of September parade is cited as an example.

 

Misinformation threads on vaccination 

 

The disinformation threads related to vaccines remain prominent on social media. This applies both to Covid-19 vaccines, which are still more prominent due to the recent pandemic, and in relation to vaccines in general, such as the vaccine against meningitis. In general, these messages adopt an alarmist tone and make associations between vaccination and imminent death, especially in the case of babies and children. On X, while the debate tends to be associated with political actors and parties, on Telegram it appears in a more generalized manner, even though it circulates more frequently in groups aligned to the extreme right. In terms of thematic focuses of these disinformation threads, there is a diversity that ranges from offers of services for falsifying vaccination records to the association between vaccination and the acquisition of various serious illnesses.

 

Disinformation threads on vaccination on X

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Source: X | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• Different axes of vaccine misinformation have been identified in the discourse documented on X over the analyzed period. Among these are arguments that suggest: the COVID-19 vaccine could transmit the HIV virus; the United Kingdom is compensating people who have had issues with COVID-19 vaccines; more vaccinated individuals have died than unvaccinated ones; the Fiocruz Institute is allegedly covering up deaths associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine; and the sequence of COVID-19 and flu vaccine doses could affect the immune system. In the case of X, posts and statements from lawmakers such as Caporezzo, a state deputy from Rio de Janeiro (PL), and Osmar Terra, a federal deputy from Rio Grande do Sul (MDB-RS), were strategies used to lend legitimacy to vaccine misinformation.

 

Misinformation threads about vaccination on Telegram

Period: from June 1st to September 10th

Total posts collected on Telegram: 2,242 messages

Source: Telegram | Elaboration: FGV ECMI

 

• On Telegram, most of the most shared messages about vaccination included misinformation. In general, vaccines were portrayed as a risk to life, especially for babies and children. Several different messages were identified that promoted alleged services for falsifying vaccination cards, which would have an immediate effect on the ConecteSUS system. The central argument for using this service is that it would protect those who do not want to "inject the poison.";
• Several messages in a tone of conspiracy theory were identified. In this regard, there were claims that the Covid-19 vaccine, which allegedly contains dead fetuses in its composition, would cause diseases such as cancer and Guillain-Barré syndrome. It was also suggested that the WHO was testing a sterilizing vaccine as a form of population control. In another alarming message, it was asserted that the meningitis vaccine would be lethal for babies, based on a case that occurred in 2013.