A fringe anti-vaccine movement took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to bring conspiracy theories to a much wider audience, propelling dangerous misinformation about life-saving jabs that still endures five years later, experts warn.
Vaccine skepticism was around long before COVID but the pandemic "served as an accelerant, helping to turn a niche movement into a more powerful force," according to a 2023 paper in The Lancet journal.
The pandemic also marked a change in strategy by anti-vaxxers, who previously targeted parents because children routinely received the most jabs.
But when next-generation vaccines were developed in record time to help bring COVID under control, mandatory vaccination was introduced for adults in many countries.
Vaccine skepticism suddenly had a much larger audience, bringing together people across swathes of the political spectrum.
"During this period, we observed several bubbles with normally well-defined borders converge towards anti-vaccine beliefs," said Romy Sauvayre, a French sociologist specializing in vaccine hesitancy.
The pandemic saw conspiracy theorists, "alternative medicine" enthusiasts, politicians and even some doctors and researchers make or amplify false information about vaccines or COVID.
One example was hydroxychloroquine, which controversial French researcher Didier Raoult claimed could cure COVID, in an initial study that was recently retracted.
Donald Trump, who was U.S. president at the time, was among those who then promoted the drug.
"Behind these sometimes quite radical media doctors, there are broader issues of trust in health authorities," said sociologist Jeremy Ward, who has studied vaccination in France since 2020.
'Backbone of vaccine misinformation'
Beyond concerns about health, "this movement has mainly been structured around the defense of individual freedom", said Jocelyn Raude, a researcher in health psychology.
This was seen during the pandemic, when protests proliferated against mandatory vaccination and lockdown measures.
The anti-vaccine movement found particularly fertile ground on the far-right, with some proponents reaching the highest rungs of power.
Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has repeatedly spread anti-vaccine conspiracies, including suggesting that COVID is an "ethnically targeted" virus.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate named RFK Jr and his anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense -- from which Kennedy has temporarily withdrawn -- among its "disinformation dozen" of leading online anti-vaxxers.
Callum Hood, the center's head of research, said Kennedy's "accounts were some of the fastest growing anti-vaccine accounts during the pandemic", reaching an audience of millions.
"That is a really strong position to be in when you start to look to build a support base for his political ambitions."
Noel Brewer, a public health professor at the University of North Carolina and one of the authors of The Lancet study, said that "social media has been the backbone of vaccine misinformation efforts".
Rising measles as bird flu looms
The consequences of this mass misinformation are difficult to calculate.
"Some researchers believe that repeated exposure to false information can cause people to not get vaccinated, while others believe the effect is relatively weak because it would only allow them to justify pre-existing vaccine hesitancy," said Raude.
Meg Schaeffer, an epidemiologist at the SAS Institute, told AFP that "misinformation around COVID" was driving down overall vaccination rates in the United States, including for long-conquered measles.
"The result is hundreds of cases of measles in kids, half of whom are hospitalised -- that's something we never used to see in the U.S.," she said.
With fears rising about the potential threat of bird flu to spark a mass outbreak in humans, there are also concerns that vaccine hesitancy could inhibit the world's ability to fend off another pandemic.
"If we would for instance be confronted with a pandemic in the near future, we would have major issues with the use of vaccines because of that," Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans told AFP.
With the world largely turning its attention away from COVID, some anti-vaxx influencers have been pivoting to other conspiracy theories.
"These same accounts now share content that is pro-Russian or skeptical about climate change," said Laurent Cordonier, a sociologist at the Descartes Foundation.
While these subjects may not seem connected, "the driving force is anti-system sentiment", he added.
© 2025 AFP
30 Comments
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Jay
Calling millions of critical thinkers "fringe" is a clearly desperate attempt to dismiss legitimate concerns about rushed, experimental vaccines that were never designed to stop transmission, as confirmed by Pfizer executives themselves. Let's not forget the skyrocketing rates of myocarditis, blood clots, and other "rare" side effects that conveniently get swept under the rug while the pharmaceutical conglomerates raked in RECORD profits. If these "life-saving" jabs were so flawless, why were manufacturers granted immunity from lawsuits? And why were dissenting doctors and scientists silenced, de-platformed, or labeled as "conspiracy theorists" for simply following real science? The real danger isn't questioning authority - it's blindly obeying it while governments and globalists consolidate power under the guise of "health emergencies."
Five years later, the only enduring truth is how easily people were manipulated into trading their health and freedoms for false security.
Jay
And the sheer DESPERATION of these writers clinging to the "antivaxxer"/ "fringe" narrative is as transparent as it is pathetic. If the pro-health and anti-COVID vaccine movement were truly so small and inconsequential, why dedicate endless hit pieces to discredit it? Could it be because MILLIONS of people worldwide have woken up to the lies, coercion, and blatant profiteering of the pharmaceutical conglomerates and their government enablers? The fact that the desperate pharmaceutical racketeers and their media lackeys still feel the need to vilify and silence dissent only proves they fear the truth coming out.
virusrex
False accusations only evidence how desperate antivaxxer propaganda groups are now that the huge value of vaccines was demonstrated again, with millions of lives saved even when those groups baselessly insisted on uncountable deaths because of the vaccines that never happened.
Covid is the one producing cardiac problems, there is no hidden side effects, the manufactures are not immune from lawsuits, and "dissenting" doctors that lied and mislead people for personal profits must be sanctioned accordingly, they are acting unprofessionally and unethically, that is what professional accreditation authorities are for.
What part of the article says it is inconsequential? fighting disinformation that puts in risk the health and lives of people is something well worth it, even if it involves only a small group of antiscientific people.
virusrex
Then again, media outlets that allow or even promote the disinformation share a responsibility for this. Serious outlets will penalize and restrict the comments that completely contradict valuable health information because allowing it means putting other people at risk because of the lies. That is taking their roles seriously and accepting the responsibility that comes from propagating dangerous lies.
On the other hand this causes that those very few exceptions that allow the dangerous disinformation quickly become swamped with people that wish nothing more but to convince others of their mistaken beliefs, accounts that almost exclusively comment to contradict the opinion of experts in the articles published and trying desperately to convince others to make mistakes that could cost them their lives.
It is very easy to see where this happens, since every single article that deals with topics like the pandemic or vaccines ends up swamped with antivaxx comments from people that face no negative consequence for these actions.
lincolnman
Indeed....imbeciles...who think bleach and horse de-wormer are "cures"....
And it's possible one will be leading the Dept of Health and Human Services...a guy who leaves dead bears in parks and thinks he has a worm inside his brain....
Maybe that explains the "horse de-wormer" fascination...
Moriah
Misinformation purveyors on the internet tried to convince people like me that natural immunity didn’t exist and that if I tried to rely on it I would face negative health consequences.
I’m glad I ignored the misinformation.
Jay
The mental gymnastics on display here. Incredible.
No mounting evidence? Over 1,000 peer-reviewed studies and growing (including from reputable sources like Nature and JAMA) document vaccine-induced myocarditis, particularly in young males.
Vaccine manufacturers were granted legal immunity in MANY countries, which means if you’re harmed, tough cookies. That's not accountability - that's a free pass.
"Tiny fraction?" Even the CDC admits that myocarditis cases post-vaccine occur at rates significantly higher than expected in young males. But sure, let’s downplay it because it’s "only" someone else's heart, right?
Not clinically important? Tell that to the people hospitalized with chest pain and heart inflammation post Covid vaccine. I'm sure they'll appreciate being told their suffering is "not important."
Zero cardiology organizations recommend avoiding the vaccines? Haha well, when organizations receive funding from the SAME pharmaceutical companies making these vaccines, you think they're going to bite the hand that feeds them? That's not science - it's a conflict of interest.
So, before throwing around blanket denials, maybe take a moment to step out of your echo chamber and face the uncomfortable reality: the evidence is real, and unfortunately for you, pretending it's not doesn't make it go away.
Jay
Yay, how good is parroting tired, unfunny talking points from Uber "Liberal" late-night comedians that nobody watches! "Horse de-wormer." Awesome.
Fun fact: Ivermectin won a Nobel Prize for human use LONG before your favorite smug Twitter account even existed.
virusrex
Vaccines use natural immunity, nobody says it does not exist, just that irrationally rejecting safe and effective vaccines would come with much higher risks of deaths.
There is a reason why people in the US that believed the disinformation on vaccines were more likely to die, specially those belonging to antiscientific groups.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10003493/
What mental gymnastics, you make baseless claims and false accusations, the arguments disprove them and you readily abandon any effort to defend them because you know they are incorrect. Hardly any need for anything beyond providing the arguments that have repeatedly debunked the claims.
And exactly zero of which say this is a reason to avoid the vaccines, specially because the infection come with much higher risks of myocarditis that actually affect the person. And no, 1000 studies is a baseless accusation, the risks has been so well characterized now that there is no merit in repeating again that the vaccines prevent much more cardiac risks than what they produce.
What people? studies have to use laboratory tests because of lack of any clinical signs on almost every patient, the ones hospitalizes are those that contracted the problems thanks to covid, not the vaccines.
Still false accusations, either all the cardiology associations of the world are letting their families and friends die for money or you are wrong. It is easy to see which option is rational.
virusrex
Once again proved, media outlets that promote dangerous disinformation and personal attacks end up filling up with the people that are not allowed to do that on sites that take their responsibility seriously.
Jay
Agreed.
On Australia's largest news site, a poll revealed:
MORE THAN 50% of respondents said they REGRET getting vaccinated.
LESS THAN 35% per cent out of more than 45,000 people said they got the Covid jab and would make the same decision again.
NOT A SINGLE PERSON said they were unvaccinated and regret the decision.
Jay
Classic sleight of hand: acknowledging natural immunity exists while simultaneously undermining it to push an agenda!
Your claim that Covid vaccines "use natural immunity" is simply disinformation. Covid Vaccines stimulate an artificial immune response by introducing spike proteins or mRNA instructions, which is COMPLETELY different from the broad and robust immunity gained through natural infection. It’s like calling a pair of knockoff shoes the real deal - just doesn't work, unfortunately for you.
As for the idea that "nobody says natural immunity doesn’t exist," that's a convenient rewriting of history. Your trusted "experts", health officials and media outlets spent the pandemic downplaying or outright IGNORING natural immunity, despite centuries of immunological science. When the evidence became undeniable, they grudgingly admitted its existence. Funny how that works.
lincolnman
Awesomely deluded and manipulated...
Yea, that was funny - showing how easily some folks are played for a sucker...and pay with their and their families lives...
Some dude
While there's no real way to measure the former, I would bet that over the history of homo sapiens, deliberate ignorance in combination with the Dunning-Kruger effect has killed way, way more people than all the viruses in human history combined.
virusrex
You know that those that were unvaccinated and died from this are not exactly able to speak up, right?
You are also making a false argument, the appeal to popularity fallacy, where you can't defend something that was demonstrated as false, so you try to say that being popular would magically correct that.
What if 100% of the people in a poll say the moon is made of cheese? would it make it so? or would it just prove that people can be mislead to believing things that are false, specially on uncontrolled, unverified polls?
Vaccines use natural immunity, just in a safer and more effective way, there is no undermining except when you are trying very hard to be irration.
Bring a source that says vaccines do no use natural immunity. A source that describe what artificial antibiodies or cytokines are involved, because your appeal to your personal authority is not even close enough to prove the claims you are making.
The immunity from the infection can only come from running the full risks of the disease that the immunity is meant to avoid, so it is exactly 0% effective compared with the vaccines. Nobody is ignoring the natural immuntiy, experts simply use it in a much more efficient and safe way to protect people.
Also, can you again provide proof of my employment as you claimed to know? or are you accepting this was a false claim made with the specific purpose of attack another commenter breaking the rules of the site?
I'veSeenFootage
Kinda hard to voice your satisfaction about being unvaccinated when you're dead from COVID.
bass4funk
Yes and this is why I don’t take these people too seriously.
virusrex
So claims that were demonstrated false is why you don't take seriously the people that actually protected the public? that makes no sense.
fallaffel
What I can never understand is why critical thinkers like yourself think getting a disease (natural immunity) is a good way to prevent getting the same disease you're presumably trying to avoid. Please explain it to the rest of us.
iknowall
Unfortunately many countries were subject firsthand to Covid related conspiracy theories. And instead of natural immunity, millions are suffering from the effects of those theories.
virusrex
Can you bring any institution in the world that defend those claims?
No? that is because they were demonstrated as false, not being able to accept reality is not an argument to prove it does not exist.
On the opposite, the conspiracy theories are the ones that baselessly claimed vaccines were worst than risking the infection, making millions of people lose their lives unnecessarily. Vaccines have demonstrated to have saved millions of lives and are considered a huge medical success with plenty of data to prove it, no need for any conspiracy when the claims are easily proved.
Jay
@lincolnman
Hysterical, triple-vaccinated helicopter parent comment. Need a quick review on the blatant lies we were spoon-fed about the COVID vaccine? Don't worry, I've got you covered.
First, we were told the vaccine would stop transmission. False. Studies have shown vaccinated individuals can still contract and spread the virus, sometimes at similar viral loads to the unvaccinated. Oops!
Next, we were assured it would prevent infection. Again, false. Breakthrough cases became so common that even the most ardent pro-vaxxers had to admit the jab doesn’t stop you from catching COVID. Moving the goalposts much?
Oh, but, but... how about the promise of reducing severity? The blanket narrative IGNORED the fact that for healthy, low-risk individuals, the virus was already unlikely to cause severe outcomes.
And we're guessing you're going to conveniently "forget" the adverse effects like myocarditis, clotting disorders, and neurological issues - funnily dismissed as "rare" but all too real for those affected.
So, before throwing around accusations of people "paying with their lives," maybe acknowledge the real suckers here: those who trusted the propaganda, only to realize they were given a product that failed to deliver on its overhyped promises.
Moderator
Readers, please stop bickering. If you have already posted more than once on this thread, then please move on to other topics.
Jay
A desperate and horribly insensitive comment. I guess we should assume the people "vaccinated" against Covid and who suffered severe adverse reactions or died suddenly are also unable to speak up? Or maybe they're just drowned out by the relentless PR machines of pharmaceutical conglomerates that conveniently ignores them while pretending the vaccines were flawless.
The proof of where you're employed is right there in your previous admission. To deny that you ever made that comment is complete and utter gaslighting.
virusrex
False, the experts told that vaccine would likely reduce transmission, this was proved scientifically.
Again false, the experts clearly said that it would reduce the risk of infection, but as a virus that directly replicates in the same organ that mediates transmission the main focus would be on the reduction of hospitalizations, complications and deaths.
Also proved scientifically without any reasonable doubt.
Much rarer and extremely milder compared with the cases resulting from the infection, which means that being vaccinated reduce their frequency and severity. Proved scientifically. The people that are actually affected are those that cursed with infection, not the vaccination.
So all the claims of lies and deception ended up being baseless (you have never brought any expert making the claims you are supposedly debunking, only politicians and newscasters)
.
Also, you have yet to provide proof of my employment. Does this mean you recognize this accusation is false and meant to attack other commenters to force people not to argue against your claims?
virusrex
What insensitive comment? that would be your claim. Unvaccinated people that deeply regretted their decision and died are not able to raise their voices about it, you are the one that consider them irrelevant and only want to consider the opinion of those left alive. The one being insensitive would be you.
Bring a study that proves they are in any way a significant portion of those that suffered and died because of not being vaccinated. That is the whole point. If someone dies from complications of the use of an antibiotic, would you consider this a valid argument to stop using them? Of course not, you would have to prove these complications are more frequent and severe than the problems solved by using them. There is nothing used in medicine that is free of complications, but if the intervention is more positive than negative then it is better to keep it and even promote it instead of making the irrational argument that things should be perfect or else useless.
Bring the proof, or are you just making more false accusations? You know they are against the rules of the site right? even if you insist on breaking those rules on a daily basis.
So, where is that proof?
Jay
Oh, come on Moderator - "stop bickering" while uploading a story designed to stir the pot by calling the majority of people "conspiracy theorists" and "anti-vaxxers"? That’s like hosting a chili cook-off and complaining about the spice.
Bad Haircut
They weren't demonstrated as false. That's just what you believe.
If you're so confident that these jabs are "safe and effective", why don't you volunteer to be a test subject for them?
Off topic?
Come on! Suggesting that JT's most vocal advocate for the vaccines puts his money where his mouth is is directly related to this topic.
Bad Haircut
Geeter's son was a victim of the jab, but Geeter has been subjected to constant gaslighting and censorship on this forum from virusrex et al and the moderators instead of sympathy for the injuries. Very poor form.
Thank goodness Trumpis back in the White House and we can look forward to some light being shed on the dark culture of disinformation that has been infecting the FDA and NIH in regard to the pandemic response.
Bad Haircut
To paraphrase Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Men:
The proof? the proof? You can't handle the proof! You're here day in, day out defending the indefensible with a gusto and regularity than can only come from someone paid to do it. The spiel echos what's in hit pieces like the one above, loaded with fallacies and non-facts.
If the products had worked like you and the makers and their other mouthpieces claim, there'd be no need to come here all the time to defend them.