Istanbul Gelisim University - Tweets by Trump increase anti-vaxxer

Tweets by Trump increase anti-vaxxer

A study in the U.S. revealed that tweets by US President Donald Trump increased anti- vaxxer. Psychiatrist Dr. Onur Okan Demirci said: "These studies show that politicians' discourses strengthen the thoughts of conspiracy theorists."

“THE THOUGHT OF THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS ARE STRENGTHENED”

According to the research, it is shown that there is an increase in the number of people reacting against the vaccine as a result of Trump’s hesitant tweets about COVID-19 vaccine, Psychiatrist Dr. Onur Okan Demirci from Istanbul Gelisim University said: “These studies show that politicians' discourses also strengthen the thoughts of conspiracy theorists. According to the results of the research, it is seen that the people who become suspicious due to such tweets are also the ones who believe in the conspiracy theories like Princess Diana was murdered, and the climate changes have been made by China on purpose.”

“THE OUTBREAK CAN ACCELERATE”

Indicating that people who tend to believe in conspiracy theories also tend to believe in discourse that does not reflect reality, Demirci spoke: “This situation, namely, misrepresentation or the introduction of conspiracy theories will also hinder the challenge against COVID-19. Thoughts like "The vaccine is actually harmful", "The COVID-19 outbreak is not real", "this virus is produced in the laboratory", "The COVID-19 vaccine will never be found", "wearing a mask or using a disinfectant does not prevent the infection of the virus" and “virus loses its effect in summer” are affecting people who are prone to conspiracy theories. This will lead to disruption of measures and acceleration of the spread of the virus, thereby increasing mortality.”

“AVOID WRONG INFORMATION SHARING”

Indicating that there are numerous people who can believe such false information without even searching not only in all the world but also in Turkey, Demirci said: “For this reason, if we do not avoid sharing false information about COVID-19, our chances of success in reducing the spread of the virus and preventing related deaths will decrease. Therefore, correct information sharing on social media accounts, which have a large number of followers, is quite important.”