COVID-19 Vaccine Discourse on Twitter: A Content Analysis of Persuasion Techniques, Sentiment and Mis/Disinformation

COVID-19 Vaccine Discourse on Twitter: A Content Analysis of Persuasion Techniques, Sentiment and Mis/Disinformation

This research aims to understand the persuasion techniques used in Twitter posts about COVID-19 vaccines by the different vaccine sentiments (i.e., Pro-Vaccine, Anti-Vaccine, and Neutral) using the Elaboration Likelihood Model, Social judgment Theory, and the Extended Parallel Process Model as theor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health communication Vol. 26; no. 7; pp. 443 - 459
Main Authors: Scannell, Denise, Desens, Linda, Guadagno, Marie, Tra, Yolande, Acker, Emily, Sheridan, Kate, Rosner, Margo, Mathieu, Jennifer, Fulk, Mike
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Philadelphia Routledge 03-07-2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
Campaigns
Celebrities
Conspiracy
Content analysis
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Elaboration
False information
Health information
Health technology assessment
Humor
Persuasion
Sarcasm
Susceptibility
Vaccines
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Summary:This research aims to understand the persuasion techniques used in Twitter posts about COVID-19 vaccines by the different vaccine sentiments (i.e., Pro-Vaccine, Anti-Vaccine, and Neutral) using the Elaboration Likelihood Model, Social judgment Theory, and the Extended Parallel Process Model as theoretical frameworks. A content analysis was conducted on a data set of 1,000 Twitter posts. The corpus of Tweets was examined using the persuasion frameworks; tweets that were identified as emanating from bots were further examined. Results found Anti-Vaccine messages predominantly used Anecdotal stories, Humor/Sarcasm, and Celebrity figures as persuasion techniques, while Pro-Vaccine messages primarily used Information, Celebrity figures, and Participation. Results also showed the Anti-Vaccine messages primarily focused on values related to the categories of Safety, Political/Conspiracy Theories, and Choice. Finally, results revealed Anti-Vaccine messages primarily used Perceived Severity and Perceived Susceptibility, which are fear appeal elements. The findings for messages by bots were comparable to the messages in the larger corpus of tweets. Based on the findings, a response framework-Health Information Persuasion Exploration (HIPE)-is proposed to address mis/disinformation and Anti-Vaccine messaging. The results of this study and the HIPE framework can inform a national COVID-19 vaccine health campaign to increase vaccine adoption.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:1081-0730
1087-0415
DOI:10.1080/10810730.2021.1955050