The BMJ is not short for “Behavioral Medical Journal” – but it might as well be.
Now this publication, owned by the British Medical Association, is exploring how to deploy no less than “behavioral interventions” to bring about less “vaccine hesitancy.”
And the article doesn’t stop at medical arguments. The hesitancy here is specifically linked with social media driven “misinformation.”
The recommendations don’t differ greatly from what those Big Tech social subsidiaries have been including for years in their policies – and these “guidelines” were probably cooked in the same kitchen, so to speak.
Things like, boosting the visibility of “reliable health information” and more “pro-action” on these platforms “in dealing with the proliferation of misinformation.”
First, the authors of the piece seek to define the way in which social media affects vaccination campaigns. The take is basically entirely negative – asserting that this effect amounts to misinformation only.
Paying lip service to genuine safety concerns playing a role in low uptake, the BMJ instantly switches back to playing up the danger of hesitancy.
Thus – there’s been a “return of measles” as of late. And, the implication is, the World Health Organization (WHO) used that among other things to issue an extreme “decree” to the world – that vaccine hesitancy is “among the greatest threats to global health,” WHO said.
And while the article positions the concern about vaccination in general – including decades-long used and tested ones – the highly controversial Covid jab eventually makes an appearance.
And it is mentioned as that point where this general “hesitancy” gained momentum, with the social media – rather than the sketchy nature of these particular vaccines – to blame.
Now for the “solutions,” specifically those based on behavioral interventions methods, or let’s say, “reprogramming.”
Here’s what BMJ says are standard behavioral approaches: encouraging vaccination by “(including) mandatory vaccination and regulation for healthcare professionals, incentives, public health communication campaigns, and engaging trusted leaders.”
Don’t feel bad if the term “orchestrated campaign” occurs to you as you read the BMJ mentioning “pre-bunking” information as one way to deal with this problem of its own making. “Pre-bunking” enthusiasts are now cropping up all over the place.
And there’s more ways to inoculate people than just against viruses – there’s also manipulative “inoculation” against broad-minded consideration of all available information.
The BMJ says: “Other intervention types include warning (‘inoculating’) people about manipulation tactics using non-harmful exposure as a tool to identify misinformation, and using accuracy prompts to trigger people to consider the truthfulness of material they are about to share on social media platforms, without stopping them from posting.”
