YouTube breeding ground for anti-vaccination views

TORONTO, CDA. – As cold and flu season hits this year amid growing debate over the necessity of vaccinations, University of Toronto researchers have uncovered widespread misinformation in related videos on YouTube.

In the first-ever study of its kind, U of T researchers Dr. Kumanan Wilson and Dr. Jennifer Keelan analyzed 153 videos about vaccination and immunization on YouTube, a popular online video-sharing site. Researchers found that more than half of the videos portrayed childhood, HPV, flu and other vaccinations negatively or ambiguously. Of those videos, a staggering 45 per cent contained messages that contradict the 2006 Canadian Immunization Guide, which provides national guidelines for immunization practices. The Canadian recommendations are similar to guidelines from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“YouTube is increasingly a resource people consult for health information, including vaccination,” says first author Keelan, an assistant professor in U of T’s Department of Public Health Sciences. “Our study shows that a significant amount of immunization content on YouTube contradicts the best scientific evidence at large. From a public health perspective, this is very concerning.”

The research team also found that videos skeptical of vaccinations – many of them highly provocative and powerful – received more views and better ratings by YouTube users than those videos that portray immunizations in a positive light.

“Health care professionals need to be aware that individuals critical of immunization are using YouTube to communicate their viewpoints and that patients may be obtaining information from these videos” says Wilson, senior author and an associate professor with U of T’s Department of Medicine. “YouTube users also need to be aware of this, so they can filter information from the site accordingly.”

“The findings also indicate that public health officials should consider how to effectively communicate their viewpoints through Internet video portals,” Wilson says. ###

For more information on the study, published in the December 5 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, please contact:

Kumanan Wilson, senior author: 416-340-3662 (office) or 647-504-7054 (cell)

Jennifer Keelan, first author: (011) 86 135-2146-1374 (cell)

Contact: April Kemick april.kemick@utoronto.ca 416-978-5949 University of Toronto

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Freedom Calendar 01/05/08 - 01/12/08

January 5, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt nominates African-American physician William D. Crum as Collector of Customs, over racist objections from Senate Democrats.

January 6, 1874, African-American U.S. Rep. Robert B. Elliott (R-SC) delivers eloquent hour-long speech supporting Republicans’ civil rights bill.

January 7, 1922, Death of Republican Jonah Kalanianaole, native Hawaiian who served as Delegate in U.S. Congress for 19 years.

January 8, 1867, Republicans override Democrat President Andrew Johnson’s veto of law granting voting rights to African-Americans in D.C.

January 9, 1890, Death of abolitionist and U.S. Rep. William Kelley (R-PA), outspoken advocate of equality for African-Americans.

January 10, 1878, U.S. Senator Aaron Sargent (R-CA) introduces Susan B. Anthony amendment for women’s suffrage; Democrat-controlled Senate defeated it 4 times before election of Republican House and Senate guaranteed its approval in 1919.

January 11, 2001, Republican Elaine Chao, first Asian-American woman to hold a cabinet position, nominated as U.S. Secretary of Labor.

January 12, 1956, Jewish Republican Simon Sobeloff, who as U.S. Solicitor General argued President Eisenhower’s position against segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, appointed to U.S. Court of Appeals 13

I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

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