| I know I'm not the only person who shakes their head in disbelief about people who risk their health and that of others by refusing to get a coronavirus vaccine. "How can they believe this nonsense?" we wonder (perhaps using a stronger word than nonsense). But after editing the story "Five tactics used to spread vaccine misinformation in the wellness community, and why they work," I understand better why people might be taken in by the fallacies being spread by anti-vaxxers. As reporters Allyson Chiu and Razzan Nakhlawi show us, many anti-vaxxers don't simply hand out misinformation. Instead, they strategically cloak that misinformation in something to make it more believable or palatable – whether it's a cherry-picked fact, a statement encouraging distrust of the government, or an invitation to become part of a community. Casting doubt on the government can be especially effective, as illustrated by this Post quiz about conspiracy theories. One of the questions reads: Conspiracy theorists commonly seize on subjects that most people have little expertise in, such as health and science, and therefore cannot easily be debunked. Half of Americans believe one of the claims in the list below, but only one is backed by evidence. Which of these is true? - A. The dangers of genetically modified foods are being hidden from the public.
- B. The U.S. government secretly dosed Americans with LSD in an attempt to develop mind control technology.
- C. The AIDS virus was created and spread around the world on purpose by a secret organization.
- D. The coronavirus was purposely created and released by powerful people as part of a conspiracy.
The answer is B. It's not difficult, therefore, to see why people might distrust the government and why trying to make this a black-and-white issue is likely to fail. Two things are true here: The government is not hiding information about vaccine side effects, as anti-vaxxers charge, and it did secretly give people LSD to try to catch up on alleged Chinese and Russian advances in mind control. We're all living in a world of gray. So where does that leave you when it comes to talking with your vaccine-hesitant friend or loved one? "The way I always address this is like getting to the root rather than the weed above the ground," says psychologist Doreen Dodgen-Magee, one of the experts Allyson and Raz consulted. If you attack someone else's facts, you're just trimming weeds, which will come right up again. But if you try to get at the concerns underlying those facts, you might uproot their hesitancy. To do so, you must express care and concern, assure them you are not trying to be superior, ask questions and listen to the answers. So, next time you're about to dismiss someone who refuses to get a vaccine, I hope you'll keep the five tactics in mind – especially the tactic of building community. There are anti-vaccine groups out there eager to lure people into their ranks. Don't give your friends and loved ones a shove in that direction by kicking them out of yours. Take care. | 
Email 
