[2M5-GS-11d] AI and Society

3:30 PM - 3:45 PM JST(6:30 AM - 6:45 AM UTC)

[2M5-GS-11d-01] Evaluating the Effectiveness of Social Media in Promoting Vaccination

〇Akinobu Seki¹, Fujio Toriumi¹ (1. The University of Tokyo)

Keywords:

Data Analysis,Social Media,Network,Conspiracy Theories

In recent years, social media has significantly influenced public opinion regarding vaccination, raising concerns about the impact of scientifically unsubstantiated information and conspiracy theories on vaccination behavior and public health decision-making. This study focuses on posts related to “shedding” circulating on X in connection with COVID-19 vaccination. Using approximately 110,000 related posts from 2024, we constructed a similarity-based network and performed clustering using the Louvain method. The results reveal the existence of two distinct groups on X: a persistently active anti-vaccination group and a pro-vaccination group that becomes temporarily active in response to news or events. User migration between these groups was minimal, indicating a high degree of position fixation. Moreover, when scientific refutations of shedding were reported, pro-vaccination posts increased while anti-vaccination posts decreased, and no backlash-driven spread was observed. These findings suggest that even within conspiracy-related discourse, public opinion may be mitigated without excessive polarization, depending on how information is presented.