Journalism and health

08. Information processing: Vaccination and its controversies /

One of the difficulties faced by health journalists is the opposition movements led by religious and sectarian groups or conspiracy theorists.  

By opposing health guidelines and institutional recommendations, they use many methods to denigrate scientific findings and those who advocate for them.

Controversies over immunisation and refusal to take shots often derive from these movements, which endanger public health.

Lately, all over the world, ancient diseases which disappeared are resurfacing. Others, on the verge of being eradicated, persist because of lack of trust in vaccines.

Vaccines are accused of causing harm and believed to induce autism, multiple sclerosis or lupus. They are also accused of defying God’s will or thought to implant tracking chips in the body to trace the population.

Today, vaccination sceptics’ movements are spreading everywhere in the world and are taking various shapes and motives, according to the countries.

Let’s speak to Sophie Malibeaux, deputy editor at RFI and expert in Asian affairs, social media platforms and misinformation, Olivier Marbot, journalist at « Jeune Afrique » and Caroline Paré, host of the radio show “Priorité Santé” on RFI.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

Good morning, I am Sophie Malibeaux and I am a journalist at RFI, I live in the outskirts of Paris. At RFI, I produce a column called « What lies behind misinformation » to uncover the facts behind the misinformation campaigns spreading on the web.

Olivier Marbot – Journalist – Jeune Afrique – France

Good morning, I am Olivier Marbot, journalist at « Jeune Afrique » where I run the section « The Enquiry » which covers multiple topics pertaining to health and medicine, but can also touch on other topics. I live and work in south of Paris.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

Good morning, I am Caroline Paré, journalist at RFI, I host the radio show « Priorité Santé » every Monday to Friday at Issy-les-Moulineaux, at the FMM studios.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France 

Vaccination scepticism takes the form of misinformation campaigns organised by misinformation activists, people who, purposefully, use and misuse fear to talk people out of vaccination, which prevents them from getting sick.

Olivier Marbot – Journalist – Jeune Afrique – France

In France, mistrust in vaccination is widespread, it’s not something I discovered in Africa.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

This topic was tackled in many of our shows. What we see is sort of map of vaccination scepticism. The more people face pandemics, the less they become sceptical because they need to get their children vaccinated to protect them from many diseases. Vaccination for them is something simply vital.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

People who spread this misinformation around the vaccine are people who mistrust systematically science in general.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

However, mistrust in vaccination can differ depending on north or south. In the south, it could be linked to religion or local customs.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France 

Creationists refuse to inject products in the human body, arguing that God is the one who decides and that nature should take its course, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

The antivax movement dates back to when vaccines were discovered. At first, it was initiated by the church.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

The role of social media is essential, as they inform people who have a limited choice of information channels. Social media has two major specificities; anonymity and the speed at which information circulates.

 It is very hard to limit the spread of misinformation, it often circulates from one platform to another, from YouTube to Facebook, to Twitter, Snapchat.

Olivier Marbot – Journalist – Jeune Afrique – France

The great concern of Africans was: « Are we going to have access to it? Can our countries afford it? » We are the forgotten ones, we’re Africans, we’re black, « they will let us die ».

When the COVAX initiative was announced and we explained that these countries will have access to a specific number of doses, by prioritising high-risk people.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

Some journalists think that we should give the floor to everyone, that the debate is open to all, and that being an antivaxxer is acceptable, that people can support vaccination, and that it’s just an idea.

This is not how we see things at « Priorité Santé », and this does not reflect our own views.

Vaccination is a public health component.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

It is important to choose multiple and reliable so.

I always start by checking official sites of prominent organisations such as WHO.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

We also seek the opinions of patients, users, our listeners and parents who sometimes struggle to find a healthcare centre, who often view this vaccination as an obligation to protect their children, not as a luxury.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

When I hear the opinion of interviewees who claim to be doctors or scientists, I try to identify their discipline and I enquire about their path, and I interview experts active in this specific discipline.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

We work with researchers such as the ones at Institut Pasteur, who share with us their in-depth analysis.

We collaborate with industry professionals who tell us that producing billions of vaccines cannot be done as if by magic, it takes time. We also work with historians and anthropologists.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

I don’t necessarily seek the opinion of high-profile publicised researchers, as some of them spend more time on TV sets talking about issues they don’t really master that well.

Caroline Paré – Journalist – RFI – France

As a health journalist, I will not say “OK, keep healing the wound with cow manure, this is your belief”.

We are here to try to help people and stir them in the right direction. It’s not just common sense, it about science.

Sophie Malibeaux – Journalist – RFI – France

We should be clear-headed, and not treat this with irony. We should take very seriously the fears arising from some misinformation campaigns.

We shouldn’t be sarcastic, and we should instead study how these misinformation campaigns are structured.

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