Who Is Most Susceptible To COVID Misinformation?

Researchers with The COVID States Project asked 20,000 people across the nation about whether they believe four debunked claims about COVID vaccines: That the shots alter DNA, implant trackable microchips, cause infertility or contain tissue from aborted fetuses.

The results? Twenty percent said they believe at least one of the claims and more than half weren't certain about one or more. Jim Braude was joined on Greater Boston by David Lazer, one of the principal investigators behind this effort to describe the research. Lazer is a professor of political science and computer sciences at Northeastern University and co-director of the NULab for Texts Maps and Networks.

Lazer’s research found that there are certain demographic groups more likely to be unvaccinated, including white people, middle aged people, people with less access to doctors, younger women and mothers — because of the misinformation around infertility.

“We find a strong association between not being informed and not being vaccinated,” Lazer said. “We find that people who rely more on Facebook compared to other sources are more likely to be vaccine-resistant and less likely to be vaccinated, and more likely to believe these disbeliefs.”

Lazer added: “The best messengers [about COVID facts] are people’s own doctors… If I were king for the day, I’d say everyone should have a free visit to their doctor to discuss getting vaccinated.”

WATCH: Who Is most susceptible to COVID misinformation?