As measles cases surge across the US, new research reveals how the media people consume, and the sources they trust for health advice, may be quietly shaping vaccine attitudes in a deeply polarized information landscape.
Study: MMR vaccine hesitancy in a polarized information ecosystem: Results from a cross-sectional survey of US adults. Image credit: vectorfusionart/Shutterstock.com
Vaccine hesitancy is a major concern amidst the declining uptake of the highly effective measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in the US. A study in the journal Vaccine found that MMR vaccine hesitancy is associated with engagement with certain ‘new’ right-leaning media outlets and non-authoritative health information sources, such as social media influencers, alternative practitioners, and newsletters.
Falling MMR coverage threatens US herd immunity status
The 2025 measles outbreak in the US, numbering over 2,000 cases, is the largest since 2000, when the country gained measles elimination status. About 93 % of cases occurred among non-vaccinated individuals or those with uncertain vaccination status.
Childhood vaccination declined after the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with vaccine hesitancy among the leading contributors. Vaccine hesitancy is described as the “state of indecision and uncertainty about vaccination”, but it is a dynamic state that changes rapidly with alterations in the background factors.
The current study examined hesitancy rather than refusal, but moved from the individual to the systemic level to examine social and informational factors influencing vaccine attitudes. In particular, it examined the role of intentionally and passively acquired healthcare information on vaccine attitudes. This is especially important in the US, where a substantial proportion of parents express skepticism towards federal health agencies, largely due to politically nuanced perceptions communicated through their chosen news sources.
This matters in shaping vaccine attitudes because more people may now be “encountering health information as it is framed through their chosen news sources.”
Trends linked to vaccine hesitancy
The researchers conducted an online survey with 2,970 American adults, about 61 % White, 14 % Hispanic, and 13 % Black. About 17 % of the adults thought that MMR risks exceeded the benefits. Characteristics linked to higher odds of hesitancy include:
- Age less than 44 years
- Lower education levels (with higher education showing a protective effect in adjusted analyses)
- Politically independent stance (the only demographic factor significantly associated with higher odds after adjustment)
Most adults use multiple digital media. Some of the biggest differences between hesitant and non-hesitant individuals were seen in their media habits. Hesitant individuals report higher engagement with non-mainstream news sources and less commonly used platforms such as podcasts, generative artificial intelligence (AI), social media platforms like WhatsApp or Truth Social, and media channels like Newsmax or Breitbart. The difference was as large as 15 % to 23 %.
Vaccine hesitancy linked to selective news sources
After adjusting for other differences, the odds of MMR hesitancy were doubled among those who sometimes or often engaged with the ‘new’ right-leaning media channel, Breitbart. In contrast, engagement with Huffington Post was associated with reduced vaccine hesitancy, as was rarely consuming the New York Times or ESPN.
However, consuming more of these sources was not associated with a change in hesitancy. Use of some platforms, such as TikTok, was also associated with slightly lower odds of hesitancy, highlighting the complexity of these relationships. No significant associations were observed for several other mainstream or right-leaning outlets, highlighting that effects were outlet-specific rather than uniform across political categories.
Vaccine hesitancy linked to healthcare information sources
In addition, those most likely to look for health information outside the mainstream healthcare system were also more likely to be hesitant to use MMR. For instance, the use of alternative health newsletters was associated with about 40 % higher odds of hesitancy, compared with 70 % higher odds if alternative health practitioners were sometimes or often used.
The odds were up to 44 % lower among those who sometimes or often went to physicians for their health information. Among those who used professional medical organizations, the odds of hesitancy were very low.
Taken together, these findings convey the significant association between vaccine attitudes and media sources for news and health information. While consuming mainstream media was not typically linked to vaccine hesitancy, the converse was true in specific non-mainstream and ‘new’ right-leaning outlets rather than right-leaning media overall.
Study limitations
This cross-sectional study does not establish causality, which requires longitudinal follow-up to determine whether hesitancy shapes a target group that is vulnerable to certain media sources, whether such adults seek out alternative sources, or whether both occur side by side.
the power of pre-existing worldviews – especially political views - in shaping vaccine attitudes, both directly and indirectly by influencing trust in institutions and information.
However, these political effects were weakened after adjusting for other factors, with only political independence remaining statistically significant. Algorithms determine selective user feeds, and thus may help strengthen such attitudes, potentially creating feedback loops that reinforce existing beliefs over time. These, in turn, help shape future public health policy through electoral decisions.
Strengths and limitations
Only English-speaking adults were included, limiting the generalizability of the study. Self-reported media engagement may have been inaccurate. The study deals only with attitudes towards the MMR vaccine, and not the uptake of this or other vaccines.
Despite this, the study represents some of the earliest explorations of the influence of media sources, not just in presenting health information but also in the general context in which it emerges. Vaccine hesitancy occurs not only because of the information consumed but also through dynamic interactions between media exposure and individuals’ pre-existing beliefs, which may reinforce each other over time.
This emphasizes the challenges faced in addressing vaccine hesitancy in a fragmented and polarized media landscape.
Download your PDF copy by clicking here.
Genetic study maps bacteria’s protective armor behind severe infections