From Digital Debunking to Political Power: The Paradoxical Effects of Anti-Anti-Vax Communication on Twitter

This article examines the online debates surrounding COVID-19 vaccination on Twitter, focusing specifically on ‘anti-anti-vaxxers’—a group of users who were particularly active in crusading against anti-vaccination messages. Through a combination of visual network analysis and qualitative content analysis of Tweets, mentions, and user profiles, we map the communicative strategies and network positioning of this group during the critical period of the vaccine rollout. Our findings demonstrate that, despite scholarly evidence indicating that hardcore misinformation was not the primary threat to vaccine campaigns, influential anti-anti-vaxxers decided to focus their campaign on extreme anti-vaccination arguments and failed to recognize the nuanced spectrum of vaccine hesitancy. These misdirected practices of fact-checking and debunking may have generated counterproductive effects and may have ended up amplifying misinformation, alienating hesitant individuals and pushing public opinion toward populist movements. From our 2025 perspective, the analysis reveals social media dynamics that may have led or contributed to the current political landscape, and to the unprecedented electoral success of anti-vaccination leaders. The way in which previously marginalized anti-vaccine discourses have acquired mainstream acceptation and political influence offers valuable lessons on how well-intentioned social media interventions can paradoxically strengthen anti-elite movements, with lasting implications for managing controversies in digital environments.