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Anti-Coronavirus Vaccine Movement Grows, Fueled By Online Misinformation, Conspiracies

Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Within weeks, the first Americans outside clinical trials could be rolling up their sleeves to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Public health experts agree it’s our best shot at ending the pandemic. But as the virus spreads, so does the anti-vaccine movement, fueled by an amalgam of players — some who distrust politicians, others who oppose government rules, and many who believe misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines.

According to recent reports, anti-vaccine books now top the search list on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites.

Host Robin Young talks to Renee DiResta, research manager at Stanford’s Internet Observatory and an expert on online misinformation and the anti-vaccine movement.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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