Abstract
Vaccine passports and similar measures encouraging COVID-19 immunization have been a major point of contention in public debates in Canada and many other western countries. As shown in the significant increase in violence at recent anti-vax events, however, there is an alarming convergence between the anti-vaccine movement and far-right political extremism.
This chapter aims to offer a detailed analysis of the role of social media in radicalizing the anti-vaccine movement. Through a case study of recent anti-vaccine messages on Twitter under the hashtag #CanadaHasFallen, I suggest that algorithm-based digital echo chambers have considerably exacerbated many far-right individuals’ aversion to top-down public health measures. Additionally, hashtags such as #CanadaHasFallen serve as rallying places for anti-vaxxers, allowing them to interact exclusively with like-minded netizens and media sources, which subsequently results in biased information absorption.
To resolve the political divide around COVID-19 immunization, effective initiatives targeting our society’s fundamentally dysfunctional public realm are required. Along with stricter media regulations against online hate speech and disinformation, innovative communications that transcend echo chambers are critical, as shown in some netizens’ humorous appropriation of #CanadaHasFallen for the purpose of spreading positive social messages.
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Chen, S. (2024). Far-Right Political Extremism and the Radicalisation of the Anti-vaccine Movement in Canada. In: Lewis, M., Govender, E., Holland, K. (eds) Communicating COVID-19. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41237-0_16
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