Analyzing persuasiveness in YouTube videos to counteract vaccine hesitancy

Abstract

Vaccination prevents an estimated 2.5 million deaths worldwide each year (European Commision and World Health Organization, 2019). Nowadays in countries with high vaccination levels, parents ponder about vaccinating their children (Domínguez et al., 2018; Moran, Lucas, Everhart, Morgan, & Prickett, 2016). This is a global problem that risks 90% national minimum vaccination coverage (95% for measles) (WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication, 2013). It involves a hazard for children and adults' life who cannot be vaccinated as well as for those people who reject vaccination. Non-vaccination advocacy people strive to persuade hesitant parents through online videos, a communication source whose consumption is increasing. This research aims to unveil persuasive traits in pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination Youtube videos to provide some hints for future online campaigns to counteract vaccine hesitancy. We will go through nine analysis layers of the content of the videos with pro-vaccination content and with non-vaccination content to compare them.