Post by Yoda on Feb 19, 2021 11:37:51 GMT -8
How to shutdown anti-vaxxers who ‘tell the most outrageous lies’
It's MSM lies used to discredit those of us who can see past the BS they (MSM) spread calling us Anti-vaxers liars.
www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/how-to-shutdown-antivaxxers-who-tell-the-most-outrageous-lies/news-story/8f95d482648af8a5d8c4c8a3e614052d
If ridiculous claims spouted by anti-vaccination activists are enough to make your blood boil, here’s how to shut them down.
COVID-19 conspiracy theories are rife. While some people question its origins, others outright deny that it exists.
If you’ve ever engaged with an anti-vaxxer, you’ve probably quickly found there is no reasoning with them, despite just how much evidence you present that proves them wrong.
Fortunately they represent a small portion of the Australian population, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t difficult conversations that can arise at the dinner table or in the workplace if you have family members, friends or colleague who fall into that group.
Their voices have only become louder amid a worldwide pandemic and a rushed but lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Vaccinating against COVID-19 is the easiest way for Australians to get their normal lives back, but millions are hesitant to get the jab.
News.com.au’s Our Best Shot campaign answers your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine roll out.
We’ll debunk myths about vaccines, answer your concerns about the jab and tell you when you can get the COVID-19 vaccine.
One big issue to unpack is a lot of the myths coming from anti-vaxxers.
NED-3025-Our-Best-Shot-Logo - 0
If your tactic isn’t to retreat from the table or water cooler, delete or block said person from Facebook (sorry, uncle Bob) and make up excuses why your kids can’t play (conjunctivitis works a treat), there are ways you can soundly approach the topic.
Of course, that’s depending who you speak to.
“The trouble is these are beliefs people have like religion,” Professor Adrian Esterman, epidemiologist at the University of South Australia, says.
“Proof is irrelevant because it’s their belief. They truly believe it. There’s nothing you can do about it really. I can show people papers that say vaccines are safe but it’s irrelevant because they simply won’t believe it.”
Heated debates and pleas to vaccinate are happening everywhere from social media to the doctor’s office and they’ve been amplified since the coronavirus pandemic hit.
RELATED: Pete Evans has gone from beloved celebrity chef to full time conspiracist
Experts say there is no use reasoning with conspiracy theorists such as Pete Evans. Picture: Instagram
Experts say there is no use reasoning with conspiracy theorists such as Pete Evans. Picture: InstagramSource:Supplied
The simple fact is vaccination has been repeatedly demonstrated to be one of the most effective interventions to prevent disease worldwide.
Still, that’s not enough for uncle Bob who is the kind who embarrassingly shares “plandemic” posts from celebrity chef turned conspiracy theorist Pete Evans or that documentary that did the viral rounds, as well as videos from anti-mask Karens with lines like “we must fight for our freedom”, as if they’re starring in their own weird version of Braveheart.
If you haven’t given up hope yet, here are some of the ways you can approach an anti-vaxxer – if you dare! (Wishing you the best of luck).
HOW TO RESPOND TO ARGUMENTS AGAINST VACCINATION
Dr Tom Aechtner, senior lecturer at The University of Queensland and member of the Australian Vaccine Response Alliance, says one piece of advice is to make pro-science messaging simple, easy to read, and understandable to non-specialists.
“This is something that I personally struggle with, but it’s advice that I always need to be thinking about,” he says.
“The goal should be to make pro-vaccine messages easier to grasp, read, and listen to.”
A 2013 Australian Government guide on “responding to arguments against vaccination” says if people raise arguments against vaccination, the best approach is to listen to the person’s concerns, explore their reasoning and then tailor appropriate information to the person’s individual circumstances and education levels.
People should avoid downplaying concerns or offering overtly personal opinions, respect differences of opinion and consider the personal, cultural and religious background that may influence a person’s decisions about vaccination.
Instead of getting bogged down in studies and references, it’s best to keep it simple and refer them to resources provided by the Department of Health.
THE MOST RIDICULOUS THINGS ANTI-VAXXERS SAY
If you’re unfortunate enough to know someone tied up in the Australian Vaccination-risks Network (better known as the AVN), the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission in 2014 warned the “AVN does not provide reliable information in relation to certain vaccines and vaccination more generally”.
“The Commission considers that AVN’s dissemination of misleading, misrepresented and incorrect information about vaccination engenders fear and alarm and is likely to detrimentally affect the clinical management or care of its readers,” they said.
Of course that hasn’t stopped the network and its president Meryl Dorey, who have been further fuelled during the pandemic.
A recent video posted from Ms Dorey encourages followers to join her for a “fully-referenced update of the information YOU need to know about the harm and death being caused by the new warp-speed COVID vaccines and the threats from social media censorship and No Jab No Job”.
Ken McLeod, who has been running the Stop the AVN group for over a decade, says the most ridiculous thing anti-vaxxers have said is that the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax, “that the virus doesn't exist and so on which is just rubbish”.
“The more dangerous myths they spread that vaccines cause autism, that vaccines kill people,” he says. “The other one we see occasionally is the vaccines contain tissue from aborted foetuses – that’s not true.”
COVID-19 conspiracy theories are rife. While some people question its origins, others outright deny that it exists.
If you’ve ever engaged with an anti-vaxxer, you’ve probably quickly found there is no reasoning with them, despite just how much evidence you present that proves them wrong.
Fortunately they represent a small portion of the Australian population, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t difficult conversations that can arise at the dinner table or in the workplace if you have family members, friends or colleague who fall into that group.
Their voices have only become louder amid a worldwide pandemic and a rushed but lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Vaccinating against COVID-19 is the easiest way for Australians to get their normal lives back, but millions are hesitant to get the jab.
News.com.au’s Our Best Shot campaign answers your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine roll out.
We’ll debunk myths about vaccines, answer your concerns about the jab and tell you when you can get the COVID-19 vaccine.
One big issue to unpack is a lot of the myths coming from anti-vaxxers.
NED-3025-Our-Best-Shot-Logo - 0
If your tactic isn’t to retreat from the table or water cooler, delete or block said person from Facebook (sorry, uncle Bob) and make up excuses why your kids can’t play (conjunctivitis works a treat), there are ways you can soundly approach the topic.
Of course, that’s depending who you speak to.
“The trouble is these are beliefs people have like religion,” Professor Adrian Esterman, epidemiologist at the University of South Australia, says.
“Proof is irrelevant because it’s their belief. They truly believe it. There’s nothing you can do about it really. I can show people papers that say vaccines are safe but it’s irrelevant because they simply won’t believe it.”
Heated debates and pleas to vaccinate are happening everywhere from social media to the doctor’s office and they’ve been amplified since the coronavirus pandemic hit.
RELATED: Pete Evans has gone from beloved celebrity chef to full time conspiracist
Experts say there is no use reasoning with conspiracy theorists such as Pete Evans. Picture: Instagram
Experts say there is no use reasoning with conspiracy theorists such as Pete Evans. Picture: InstagramSource:Supplied
The simple fact is vaccination has been repeatedly demonstrated to be one of the most effective interventions to prevent disease worldwide.
Still, that’s not enough for uncle Bob who is the kind who embarrassingly shares “plandemic” posts from celebrity chef turned conspiracy theorist Pete Evans or that documentary that did the viral rounds, as well as videos from anti-mask Karens with lines like “we must fight for our freedom”, as if they’re starring in their own weird version of Braveheart.
If you haven’t given up hope yet, here are some of the ways you can approach an anti-vaxxer – if you dare! (Wishing you the best of luck).
HOW TO RESPOND TO ARGUMENTS AGAINST VACCINATION
Dr Tom Aechtner, senior lecturer at The University of Queensland and member of the Australian Vaccine Response Alliance, says one piece of advice is to make pro-science messaging simple, easy to read, and understandable to non-specialists.
“This is something that I personally struggle with, but it’s advice that I always need to be thinking about,” he says.
“The goal should be to make pro-vaccine messages easier to grasp, read, and listen to.”
A 2013 Australian Government guide on “responding to arguments against vaccination” says if people raise arguments against vaccination, the best approach is to listen to the person’s concerns, explore their reasoning and then tailor appropriate information to the person’s individual circumstances and education levels.
People should avoid downplaying concerns or offering overtly personal opinions, respect differences of opinion and consider the personal, cultural and religious background that may influence a person’s decisions about vaccination.
Instead of getting bogged down in studies and references, it’s best to keep it simple and refer them to resources provided by the Department of Health.
THE MOST RIDICULOUS THINGS ANTI-VAXXERS SAY
If you’re unfortunate enough to know someone tied up in the Australian Vaccination-risks Network (better known as the AVN), the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission in 2014 warned the “AVN does not provide reliable information in relation to certain vaccines and vaccination more generally”.
“The Commission considers that AVN’s dissemination of misleading, misrepresented and incorrect information about vaccination engenders fear and alarm and is likely to detrimentally affect the clinical management or care of its readers,” they said.
Of course that hasn’t stopped the network and its president Meryl Dorey, who have been further fuelled during the pandemic.
A recent video posted from Ms Dorey encourages followers to join her for a “fully-referenced update of the information YOU need to know about the harm and death being caused by the new warp-speed COVID vaccines and the threats from social media censorship and No Jab No Job”.
Ken McLeod, who has been running the Stop the AVN group for over a decade, says the most ridiculous thing anti-vaxxers have said is that the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax, “that the virus doesn't exist and so on which is just rubbish”.
“The more dangerous myths they spread that vaccines cause autism, that vaccines kill people,” he says. “The other one we see occasionally is the vaccines contain tissue from aborted foetuses – that’s not true.”
DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH, SEE WHAT WE FOUND!