Live Free and Die: How Social Media Amplify Populist Vaccine Resistance

The COVID-19 pandemic led to over one million American deaths, disproportionately suffered by those who resisted vaccination by championing individual autonomy over the collective good. The article takes as its point of departure that vaccine resistance is a recurring phenomenon in U.S. history with multiple origins. Among these are the absence of a consistent approach to public health policy—the combined result of the absence of federal police power—and tensions between the public good and libertarian values. The latest instance of populist resistance was assisted by changes in the information system. Relying on several lines of research, we specify a model of group identification that highlights social media’s role in this latest eruption of opposition. A key element is an attentive public that selectively shares information based on reputational concerns. We test our model by applying frame analysis on a body of data drawn from U.S.-based news content and audience reactions on Facebook.