Fuel for Fake News: Emotion and Partisan Bias in the Processing of Political Misinformation (University of Oklahoma):

https://lnkd.in/d7d9-DSt

Glimpse: This dissertation investigates how people's reactions to political misinformation are influenced by three distinct emotions: wrath, fear, and joy. The study examines how emotions impact political claim evaluation accuracy, decision time, confidence, skepticism toward correct statements, and readiness to communicate verified information. It builds on research on emotional influences, belief congruence, and affective polarization. The results demonstrate that fear consistently lowers desire to communicate information deemed true, regardless of partisan emotional polarization, using a U.S. adult sample (N = 600). On the other hand, among highly polarized people, anger increases confidence and sharing intentions, whereas among those with low polarization, it decreases both outcomes. Reduced accuracy in separating fact from fiction is also predicted by greater alignment between misinformation and prior ideas. The findings demonstrate how partisan and emotional factors work together to affect people's vulnerability to political disinformation and the spread of political content.

---
Free articles and analyses on soft counter-extremism, against online hate, and on the theory of mis-/disinformation (usually third-party content). Two-week reviews available via the following three websites:
• counter-terrorism.org
• preventhate.org
• strategism.org

The most recent LinkedIn posts, with summaries, on the above subjects can be accessed via:
• https://lnkd.in/eBarZAew

#policyinstitutenet #preventradicalization #preventextremism 
#counterextremism #preventhate #disinformation #misinformation

📢 Just published: We examined COVID-19 vaccination intention among Senior High School students in the Jasikan Municipality of Ghana in 2022 using a unified framework combining the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

We found that six in ten students intended to vaccinate, with intention driven by prior COVID-19 experience, adherence to social distancing, attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy. These findings informed school-based risk communication and demand-generation activities and contributed to achieving at least 90% vaccination coverage during the HPV catch-up campaign in October 2025 in the municipality.

🔗 Link: https://lnkd.in/d2Rd6MMP

YEAR ONE MAHA

I posted a few weeks ago about the research of Prof Michael Edelstein, public health specialist and epidemiologist at Bar-Ilan University, that examined vaccine hesitancy among parents which resulted from a lack of trust in the system after the Covid pandemic, and how this is contributing to the current measles outbreak.

Prof Edelstein and peers surveyed over 2,000 parents in the UK and Israel who had children born both before and after Covid, and examined how their attitudes towards vaccinations changed, affecting routine childhood vaccinations such as the MMR.

Unfortunately a small drop in vaccination rates in a region (as well as delaying immunizations or only getting one dose) can lead to severe consequences—a dozen toddlers have died in Israel in the latest outbreak.

Prof Edelstein highlights how part of the issue was in the way science was communicated during the pandemic. While it was a novel virus, and therefore no one had exact data on how it would behave, decisions that were made by public health professionals (based on years of expertise and available data) were communicated in a way of certainty rather than transparency, thus contributing to an erosion of trust when decisions were subsequently modified or reversed, or proven to be not as important as they were initially presented as.

Shifra Jacobs sat down with Prof Edelstein to discuss this all for The Jerusalem Post podcast.

As both a communications professional and someone who finds difficulty in seeing lifesaving, proven vaccines being rejected by some, this study and podcast was an especially interesting listen.

See full episode here: https://lnkd.in/dnbtV-Za
Or find it on your usual podcast players.
| 24 comments on LinkedIn

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝

We are facing a 30-year high in preventable outbreaks. As of late 2025, we have seen ~2,000 measles cases YTD and ~35,000 pertussis cases in the prior year. Fragmenting the schedule now means more missed doses, later protection, and fueling community outbreaks.

✅ 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐯𝐬. 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 (𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚):

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬? Yes. Foundational vaccines (Polio, Measles) were placebo-tested. Modern trials use placebos for new categories like COVID-19 or massive safety trials like the 60,000+ infant Rotavirus study.

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝? Myth. Today’s entire schedule has ~179 antigens—down from ~3,041 in 1980. For perspective, a single scraped knee exposes an infant to 1,000–10,000 antigens.

𝐀𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲? False. Infants receive ~4.4 mg of aluminum from vaccines in their first 6 months. They ingest significantly more through breast milk (~7.0 mg) and ~25x more through soy formula (~117.0 mg).

𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬? Breaking up combination vaccines doesn't help—it increases needle pokes from 8 to 26 in the first year. This "Injection Penalty" adds 18 unnecessary pokes without increasing protection.

𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞? Absolutely FALSE.

📉 Risk of serious vaccine reaction: 0.1 per 100,000.

📈 Risk of Pertussis hospitalization: ~ 1/3 of unvaccinated children.

Measles death rate: 1.5 per 1,000 cases.

Modern vaccines are safe, effective, and intensely monitored. We don’t avoid placebos; we evolve standards as ethics and proven protections require.

👇 Swipe through the slides to see the full data breakdown. (Full evidence deck and references linked in the first comment/bio)

#VaccineSafety #PublicHealth #EvidenceBasedMedicine #GrandRounds

Well, how different is our reading of the highlights of Physicians for Informed Consent… Pushed more misinformation and polluting social medias with more lies. Publishing a series of misinformation fact sheets that convey more lies than truth. In pretending to protect physician’s speech, Physicians for Informed Consent are protecting physicians conveying lies rather than truth and calling such narrative of misinformation being removed censorship. It is not. Pushing for religious exemptions for vaccines while the Catholic religion and the past Pope support these and called not being vaccinated a sin and suicide. Ad finally, their Silver Booklet is simply a piece of tras…

DTP vaccine was used as the control, as the baseline of safety, to license the DTaP vaccine. This would’ve been appropriate if DTP had been properly licensed, but it wasn’t.  | 17 comments on LinkedIn

News: Washington, D.C. - U.S. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors — The Trump administration is weighing a shift away from blanket federal vaccine recommendations, instead encouraging parents to discuss most childhood shots directly with their pediatrician.

The not-yet-finalized plan would move the U.S. closer to Denmark’s model, where fewer childhood vaccines are recommended, and would rely more on shared clinical decision-making rather than one-size-fits-all guidance from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

Supporters say the approach restores parental choice and acknowledges that vaccine decisions should consider individual risk, family circumstances, and physician judgment. The proposal follows President Donald Trump’s directive to reassess the U.S. schedule and ongoing scrutiny from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with officials citing Denmark’s reduced schedule as one reference point.

Full story: https://lnkd.in/gf48ktkS

L'ANSM Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé avait publié le 30.12.2025 "Les médicaments homéopathiques ne sont pas des vaccins" sur X (ex-Twitter) et de nombreuses personnes ont corrigé : ce ne sont pas des médicaments.

En Suisse, il faudrait aussi corriger les allégations de santé non vérifiées des fabricants Boiron et Schmidt-Nagel autorisées par Swissmedic, qui sont un scandale absolu puisque cela met en danger des patients. Rappelons aussi que l'oscillococcinum (soit bactérie "oscillante") n'existe pas et ne correspond donc même pas à un remède homéopathique selon le prétendu principe de similitude de Samuel Hahnemann.

Sur ce, bon nouvel-an à toutes et tous !

My in depth 10 minute interview with Here & Now’s Robin Young NPR WBUR on the collapse of our vaccine ecosystem in America

It would appear that the word of a conspiratorial far-right so-called "influencer ' now serves as actual evidence.

And what a surprise, there's $$$ & grift involved:

"Nick Shirley, suddenly in the national spotlight, has expressed concerns about his safety and is asking supporters to donate to his security, including by selling $50 sweatshirts on his website. "

3 Things That Stood Out About Health Literacy in 2025

1. Organizations can have a major impact.
This year reinforced how much systems shape people’s ability to find and understand information. When materials, processes, and communication channels are clear, people can use information with more confidence.

2. AI can support communication — but it can’t replace people.
We saw that AI can support communication work, but it cannot replace the context, judgment, and lived experience people bring to designing clear messages. AI is a tool, not a substitute for thoughtful human work.

3. Building health literacy skills across all roles matters.
Teams at every level benefit from knowing how to share information clearly. This continues to be a priority for improving understanding and reducing confusion.

We’re excited to carry these lessons into 2026.

The Australian CDC starts today – so here’s the simplest way to understand what we do.
👉We track diseases.
👉We spot early warning signs.
👉We explain what’s happening in plain language.
👉We provide clear, calm public health advice.
👉We help governments respond quickly and confidently.
Public health is complex. Clarity shouldn’t be.
Follow us for insights into how Australia stays safe and prepared. Learn more about who we are at www.cdc.gov.au
#AustralianCDC #PublicHealth #DiseasePrevention #DiseaseSurveillance #HealthSystem | 18 comments on LinkedIn

Last year at this time, my mom pointed out an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about low vaccination rates by county in Missouri.

Since I cover the anti-vaccine movement for The Washington Post, I decided we should take a look at these numbers across the country and teamed up with Caitlin Gilbert, Ph.D., my go-to, incredible data reporting partner. We embarked on a year-long dig that resulted in our investigation today.

We found that only about a quarter of the counties in the U.S. have herd immunity in kindergartners for measles after reaching out to every state for school and county vaccination records.

Use our novel lookup tool to see what your local vaccination rates are in your area. There is not a single county in Idaho, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah or Wisconsin whose kindergarten rates meet herd immunity protection.

https://lnkd.in/gWAzWDKf

"In the days before Christmas, as measles, whooping cough and influenza continued to spread and surge across the country, the Department of Health and Human Services came perilously close to scrapping the nation’s longstanding list of recommended childhood vaccines.

As CNN reported, the agency’s plan was to go with a shorter list, along the lines of what Denmark recommends. As Politico reported soon after, that plan was jettisoned at the last minute over legal and political concerns.

Sources in and around the department have since suggested that something far worse may still be in the offing. “They could still move to align us with a country like Denmark,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s respiratory disease division. He resigned in August in protest of the agency’s politicization of vaccine policy. “But they could also just scrap the list altogether, so that there are no official recommendations, only vague suggestions.”

Either of those changes would be unconscionable. Among other things, the C.D.C. list, also known as the childhood vaccine schedule, helps determine which vaccines are covered by insurance, which are included in the Vaccines for Children Program that supplies crucial shots to the un- and underinsured, and which are protected from certain liabilities that might otherwise drive vaccine makers from the U.S. market. Altering those recommendations, or downgrading them to “shared clinical decision making,” would upend those protocols, and could make it nearly impossible for millions of families to receive certain lifesaving vaccines, even if they still want them."

Jean-Marc Sabatier est docteur en biologie cellulaire et microbiologie, directeur de recherche au CNRS et expert en conception de médicaments à base de peptides. Spécialisé en toxinologie et en biotechnologie, il a publié plus de 280 articles scientifiques et déposé une cinquantaine de brevets. Il intervient aujourd’hui sur les liens entre peptides, systèmes biologiques complexes et nouvelles thérapies, notamment dans le contexte du COVID-19.

👉 Preuves et éléments de réponse :

1) https://x.com/SabatierJeanMa1/status/1929766896804467020?t=lFm2ab4oMnIoQsT60985TA&s=08

2) https://x.com/SabatierJeanMa1/status/1928708291628089347?t=wIvXxzAUyfljs7TTVDuLtg&s=08

3) https://x.com/SabatierJeanMa1/status/1931212853089886704?t=TGAGcbqOHJltCI-tGyUN_Q&s=08

4) https://x.com/SabatierJeanMa1/status/1929504584168354136?t=AhzHqp9O39FSoU_gjzcs2w&s=08


Grande cagnotte présidentielle pour LIBÉRER LA FRANCE !

🔸 JE PARTICIPE : http://dons.debout-la-france.fr

19% des Français (7 millions) souhaitent la candidature de NDA. Si chacun donne 1€, nous pourrons mener une vraie campagne. Défendez vos convictions, aidez Debout La France, la vraie opposition :

🔸 DONNER : http://dons.debout-la-france.fr
🔸 ADHÉRER : http://adhesions.debout-la-france.fr

🔸 DONNER PAR TÉLÉPHONE : 01 84 16 02 24
🔸 DONNER PAR CHÈQUE : Debout La France BP 80479 75327 Paris Cedex 07
🔸 LES LIVRES DE NICOLAS DUPONT-AIGNAN :
https://www.debout-la-france.fr/boutique/

🔸 SUIVEZ-NOUS SUR LES RÉSEAUX !
https://instagram.com/dupontaignan/
https://twitter.com/dupontaignan
https://facebook.com/nicolasdupontaignan/
https://tiktok.com/@dupontaignannicolas

All those vaccinated, enjoy your last day on earth! Dr. Jane Orrick says we'll all die tomorrow. 😁

If there's ONE time I get to say "Don't listen to your doctor", this will be it. If you're Dr. Orrick's patient, don't listen to her.

"The Post’s findings show that at least 5.2 million kindergarten-age children in the U.S. are living in counties where vaccination rates for classrooms have fallen below the herd immunity threshold — up from about 3.5 million before the pandemic. While the vast majority of those who receive the measles vaccine are protected from severe illness and death, without herd immunity measles can still spread among those not immune, including those who cannot be vaccinated because of age or because they are immunocompromised.
Out of the 44 states reporting county-level rates, 36 and the District of Columbia also reported them for individual schools or districts. At least 19,000 schools — nearly half of schools in the Post analysis — were more vulnerable to outbreaks."

📕A new textbook provides practical and theoretical information on vaccination programs in the WHO European region, updates on established and new routine vaccines for adults, and covers individual-risk based vaccination for various patient groups.

💡 This textbook provides a comprehensive reference on adult vaccines and immunization practices tailored to the European context. The reader is guided from assessing the health burden of vaccine-preventable infections to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of new adult vaccination schedules, introducing and establishing such initiatives, and communicating and managing vaccination programs.

🔗 Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eSM6uZXQ