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Volume 10
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10.3390/vaccines10081240
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Article

Bots’ Activity on COVID-19 Pro and Anti-Vaccination Networks: Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter

by
Carlos Ruiz-Núñez
1,
Sergio Segado-Fernández
2,
Beatriz Jiménez-Gómez
2,
Pedro Jesús Jiménez Hidalgo
3,
Carlos Santiago Romero Magdalena
4,
María del Carmen Águila Pollo
2,
Azucena Santillán-Garcia
5 and
Ivan Herrera-Peco
2,4,*
1
PhD Program in Biomedicine, Translational Research and New Health Technologies, School of Medicine, University of Malaga, Blvr. Louis Pasteur, 29010 Málaga, Spain
2
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, Avda Universidad, 1, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28691 Madrid, Spain
3
Traumatology and Orthopedic Surgery Service, Hospital Universitario de Móstoles, C/Dr. Luis Montes s/n., 28935 Madrid, Spain
4
Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, Avda Universidad, 1, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28691 Madrid, Spain
5
Valencia International University, C/Pintor Sorolla 21, 46002 Valencia, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vaccines 2022, 10(8), 1240; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081240
Submission received: 25 June 2022 / Revised: 30 July 2022 / Accepted: 31 July 2022 / Published: 2 August 2022
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Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of bots in the dissemination of health information, both in favor of and opposing vaccination against COVID-19. Study design: An observational, retrospective, time-limited study was proposed, in which activity on the social network Twitter was analyzed. Methods: Data related to pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination networks were compiled from 24 December 2020 to 30 April 2021 and analyzed using the software NodeXL and Botometer. The analyzed tweets were written in Spanish, including keywords that allow identifying the message and focusing on bots’ activity and their influence on both networks. Results: In the pro-vaccination network, 404 bots were found (14.31% of the total number of users), located mainly in Chile (37.87%) and Spain (14.36%). The anti-vaccination network bots represented 16.19% of the total users and were mainly located in Spain (8.09%) and Argentina (6.25%). The pro-vaccination bots generated greater impact than bots in the anti-vaccination network (p < 0.000). With respect to the bots’ influence, the pro-vaccination network did have a significant influence compared to the activity of human users (p < 0.000). Conclusions: This study provides information on bots’ activity in pro- and anti-vaccination networks in Spanish, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter. It is found that bots in the pro-vaccination network influence the dissemination of the pro-vaccination message, as opposed to those in the anti-vaccination network. We consider that this information could provide guidance on how to enhance the dissemination of public health campaigns, but also to combat the spread of health misinformation on social media.
Keywords: bots; COVID-19; misinformation; public health; social media; vaccines bots; COVID-19; misinformation; public health; social media; vaccines

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ruiz-Núñez, C.; Segado-Fernández, S.; Jiménez-Gómez, B.; Hidalgo, P.J.J.; Magdalena, C.S.R.; Pollo, M.d.C.Á.; Santillán-Garcia, A.; Herrera-Peco, I. Bots’ Activity on COVID-19 Pro and Anti-Vaccination Networks: Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter. Vaccines 2022, 10, 1240. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081240

AMA Style

Ruiz-Núñez C, Segado-Fernández S, Jiménez-Gómez B, Hidalgo PJJ, Magdalena CSR, Pollo MdCÁ, Santillán-Garcia A, Herrera-Peco I. Bots’ Activity on COVID-19 Pro and Anti-Vaccination Networks: Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter. Vaccines. 2022; 10(8):1240. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081240

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ruiz-Núñez, Carlos, Sergio Segado-Fernández, Beatriz Jiménez-Gómez, Pedro Jesús Jiménez Hidalgo, Carlos Santiago Romero Magdalena, María del Carmen Águila Pollo, Azucena Santillán-Garcia, and Ivan Herrera-Peco. 2022. "Bots’ Activity on COVID-19 Pro and Anti-Vaccination Networks: Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter" Vaccines 10, no. 8: 1240. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081240

APA Style

Ruiz-Núñez, C., Segado-Fernández, S., Jiménez-Gómez, B., Hidalgo, P. J. J., Magdalena, C. S. R., Pollo, M. d. C. Á., Santillán-Garcia, A., & Herrera-Peco, I. (2022). Bots’ Activity on COVID-19 Pro and Anti-Vaccination Networks: Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter. Vaccines, 10(8), 1240. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081240

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