For this blog post, I am going to explore the origins and rise of a specific controversy, to help better understand and identify potential propaganda: Vaccines and Autism. To date, over 20 years since it first began, conspiracy theories still exist surrounding autism and vaccinations. In this post, I will explore how this controversy originated, what enabled the controversy to spread, and where the public stands today regarding ASD and vaccinations.
Per the definition from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined as a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. This is a very general definition; however, I was not able to find specific information on the CDC website regarding the cause of ASD.
Several theories exist as to what causes ASD, however I am only going to explore one of the more controversial theories that originated in the late 1990s that ASD is caused by routine vaccinations given at a young age. This controversy has caused conspiracy theories surrounding vaccines and ASD and resulted in a decline of parents choosing to vaccinate their children.
The controversy surrounding vaccines, particularly the Measles, Mumps, And Rubella (MMR) Vaccine, and ASD dates back to a 1998 study that was conducted by a researcher, Andrew Wakefield, a doctor from the U.K. that eventually lost his license to practice medicine 12 years after his first study was published. In this 1998 study, Wakefield concluded that the MMR vaccine may predispose to behavioral regression and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Later in 2002, a second additional study was conducted by Wakefield that attempted to link the Measles vaccine to ASD.
As a result of this study, the media began covering the topic, with over two-thirds of media articles linking ASD to vaccines. This resulted in the forming of conspiracy theories and controversy surrounding the vaccine, resulting in a decline in vaccinations.
This was prior to social media. From what I have found in through my for this post, is that most of the misinformation that was spread surrounding any link between ASD and vaccinations was a result of the media misinforming the public before additional studies could be conducted. In 2003, just 1 year after Wakefield’s study was conducted, a study from the National Institute of Health (NIH), stated the media was at fault for misinforming the public surrounding any link between ASD and vaccinations. In fact, since 1998 to date, 9 additional studies have been funded/conducted by the CDC finding no evidence that links ASD to vaccinations.
To date, there are still anti-vaccination groups and activists that exist that stem from the study conducted by Wakefield. Some parent are not willing to vaccinate their children even after the study was proven inaccurate and false, most likely due to misinformation they have heard, either on social media or from someone they know. In fact, it’s apparent that information like this is really hard to retract once it has been brought forth to the public, which has contributed to a decline in vaccinations for children. It seems individuals are trusting social media and what they believe to be first-hand experiences over scientific fact. Many parents that choose not to vaccinate their children are doing so out of fear of what they have “heard”. We also saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic where the anti-vaccine movement was re-invigorated via protests and wild, inaccurate information on social media.
So how do we know how to make the right decision? With the sea of information available to us, it’s important to educate ourselves on how to identify information that could be inaccurate or false. Here you can see where I go through a process to fact-check info. It’s important to learn to question everything and perform an objective evaluation of the facts to understand if what we are looking at seems accurate. Additionally, we should question the motives of the source of information and determine whether information we are reading is propaganda in nature. Are we being swayed in a way to follow a certain belief?
This article from Minds over Media is super helpful in understanding how to spot propaganda and also how to understand its influence. Is what you are hearing true? I challenge you to look deeply into topics such as these to understand if information you receive is factual or the result of an activist or political agenda. These important steps are vital to becoming a more media literate society.