Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Fake News and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Study of Practices and Sociopolitical Implications in Cameroon
Jönköping University, School of Education and Communication, HLK, Sustainable Societies (SUS). Malmö Institute for studies of Multiculturalism, Diversity and Welfare, Malmö University; Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Communication; Université Montpellier I.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9726-0903
2021 (English)Report (Other academic)
Sustainable development
00. Sustainable Development
Abstract [en]

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exact a heavy death toll, weakens health systems and devastates economies, the discovery and delivery of vaccines have rekindled hope. However, fake news has emerged as a serious obstacle to countries’ vaccination campaigns. Taking Cameroon as a case study, this article investigates the practices (types and contents) and sociopolitical implications at micro and macro levels of fake news on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination campaign. It shows that vaccine hesitancy is mostly linked to conspiracy theories. Vaccine complacency, the first component of vaccine hesitancy, mainly relates to conspiracy theories about foreign extermination/experimentation plots. Vaccine confidence, the second component of vaccine hesitancy mostly correlates with conspiracy theories alleging the complicity of local authorities in these plots. Vaccine confidence, the third component of vaccine hesitancy, is linked to disinformation notably about acts of corruption. These translate into claims of alternative truth, infodemic, nationalism and distrust of elites at individual level, and the rise of vaccine hesitancy, the delegitimization of public institutions and claims of alternative truth at societal level. The phenomenon occurs in fairly similar ways as in the West but there are marked thematic differences. The article provides policy recommendations on the scientific, communication, and sociopolitical planes.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 39
Series
SSRN, E-ISSN 1556-5068
Keywords [en]
COVID-19, Fake News, Cameroon, Pandemic, Social Policy
National Category
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-59617DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3850603OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-59617DiVA, id: diva2:1733678
Available from: 2023-02-02 Created: 2023-02-02 Last updated: 2024-04-02Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textDataset

Authority records

Tawat, Mahama

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Tawat, Mahama
By organisation
HLK, Sustainable Societies (SUS)
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 164 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf