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The story
A study by Rissho University and others has found that people who believe conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccine — such as claims that it contains microchips — tend to distrust newspapers and television, and rarely change their minds even when given accurate information. The findings, published in a journal from the Nature group, raise questions about how to communicate information ahead of the next pandemic, and the topic caught fire on 5ch’s News Speed+ board. While the thread filled up with jokes mocking the microchip theory, it also saw genuinely heated clashes between anti-vaxxers and pro-vaccine posters — playing out, almost too perfectly, the very “deep-rooted conflict” the study describes.
2026.09.11
Science and Society
A study by Rissho University and other institutions has revealed that people who believe conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccine — such as “the vaccine has a microchip embedded in it” or “the government and pharmaceutical companies are hiding information” — have strong distrust of mass media like newspapers and TV, and that giving them accurate information does little to correct their beliefs. This undercuts the common view that conspiracy theories just need “proper public messaging” to fix — a claim the research shows has no scientific backing. The findings suggest that how we communicate information will need to be rethought ahead of future pandemics.
Source: nature.com / Original article here
What people said
Sounds like someone who believes in the microchip thing
I've been duped……
Maybe you turned into 5ch(an) instead? (a pun on "5G" vs. "5ch," this very forum's name)
I remember there being a ton of them on News+ during the presidential election…
You'd think AI could whip one up in seconds if you just asked
That's about U.S. domestic COVID policy — it's got nothing to do with what's actually in the vaccine
Masks and social distancing were already normal in Japan anyway
Yes sir!!
Got it!!
But honestly I'd recommend the egg sandwich instead!!! New item at Big-A, only ¥198!! (Big-A is a Japanese discount supermarket chain)
lol the real errand boys here are you guys, injecting yourselves with this mystery fluid without a shred of doubt
Re: #90
If the vaccine believers were right, anti-vaxxers should've all died out from COVID by now
They've been physically observed and documented,
there's footage all over the place
Bluetooth signals have been detected
coming off both the vaccinated and people who got PCR tested,
you can check it yourself with your phone
The people saying "there's nothing there"
just haven't looked into it themselves,
so they simply don't "know" (´・ω・`)
You're actually serious about this, huh
Has your family not given up on you yet?
That disqualifies you as an anti-vaxxer — you'll never earn a spot among the "Pandemic Treaty People," a proud tradition going all the way back to the HPV vaccine 😡
"It prevents severe illness."
"It prevents long-term symptoms."
"It prevents death."
"To protect the people you love~"
Turns out THIS was the misinformation and conspiracy theory……
There are also plenty of stories of vaccinated people catching it anyway
And people who've never once looked up the history of infectious diseases, COVID included, on any epidemiology site are never going to get it
And on top of that, the notoriously tight-fisted Japanese government handed out multiple doses for free
Even the pro-vaccine crowd stopped getting shots, wasting 660 billion yen worth of doses
I wish the pro-vaxxers would foot that bill themselves
Only getting it if it's free is pretty cheap of them
Background and Talking Points
This study, published by a team from Rissho University and others in a journal from the Nature group, found that the more strongly someone believes in conspiracy theories, the more distrustful they are of mass media — and that “proper public messaging” alone does little to change their minds. The thread ended up ironically demonstrating this very finding: jokes mocking the microchip theory drew plenty of reactions, while exchanges between anti-vaccine and pro-vaccine posters over the history of drug-induced harm and the fairness of dose counts and costs mostly talked past each other, with both sides leaning on claims short on evidence. The pattern the study points to — that simply delivering correct information doesn’t change minds — plays out almost exactly in this thread’s exchanges. Note that this article excludes posts that name real politicians or parties to stoke conflict, attack individuals, or spread unsubstantiated charts and conspiracy theories.
*This article is compiled and summarized from excerpts of the 5ch (News Speed+) thread ““The vaccine has a microchip embedded in it,” “they’re hiding information” — vaccine conspiracy theory believers barely change their minds even with accurate information.”
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