Conspiracy Theories Dominate Spanish Antivaccine Narratives on TikTok: A Content Analysis of Algorithmic and Linguistic Evasion

This study provides one of the first systematic examinations of Spanish-language antivaccine narratives on TikTok. Through a two-phase content analysis, we characterized antivaccine narratives on Spanish TikTok guided by the sociotechnical theory of media effects. A total of 186 vaccine posts were initially retrieved via hashtag searches conducted from Spain, with 100 antivaccine posts forming the final sample representing Spanish-language content from across Hispanic communities on TikTok. Findings indicate the dominance of conspiratorial narratives, propagated primarily by non-experts who frequently cite scientific sources to enhance credibility using TikTok features such as viral audio trends and coded lexical variations in Spanish (e.g., v4cun4, 3nf3rm3d4d, la pua, pinchazo) revealing how Spanish antivaccine narratives adapt to platform-specific features to evade detection. These narratives were linked to broader conspiracy theories, including Agenda 2030, 5 G, and the “global reset.” These results highlight persistent algorithmic blind spots for Spanish antivaccine content and underscore the need for language-specific detection and counter-messaging strategies.