The online structure and development of posting behaviour in Dutch anti-vaccination groups on Telegram

A. Schlette, J.W. van Prooijen*, A. Blokland, F. Thijs

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Online communities play an important role in spreading public discontent and could contribute to polarization. This study focuses on anti-vaccination views in the Netherlands, which have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the structure and development of five Dutch anti-vaccination Telegram groups and studied their interactivity and posting behaviour. Using group-based trajectory modelling, we examined the development of users' posting behaviour in these groups. We find four posting trajectories across all five groups. A small group of users contributes the majority of posts. Overall, posting frequency declines over time and our results do not show evidence for a group of users whose posting frequency increases. This is taken to indicate that only a small group of users spread their anti-vaccination views through Telegram groups. While social media can reach a broad audience, most users are not necessarily engaged to also actively contribute to the online anti-vaccination community.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages22
JournalNew Media & Society
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 1 Oct 2022

Keywords

  • anti-vaccination movement
  • online community
  • posting behaviour
  • social media
  • telegram groups
  • communities

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