Estonian Literary Museum, Estonia.
University of Tartu, Estonia.
Public Underst Sci. 2023 Jul;32(5):622-640. doi: 10.1177/09636625221147019. Epub 2023 Jan 30.
Conspiracy theories have accompanied vaccination since its mass introduction, circulating, among other forms, in humour - such as cartoons, and now, memes. Importantly, humour has targeted both vaccination and anti-vaccination stances. In this study, we discuss the peculiarities of humorous content within the vaccination debate and uncover the most popular thematic categories, forms and logical mechanisms of humour. We show that humorous and serious discussions on vaccination go hand-in-hand, but playfulness and ambiguity of humour complicate public understanding of the vaccination debate. Our analysis shows that vaccination humour often simplifies the complex issue of vaccination and makes it more understandable and more tangible for a broad audience.
自疫苗大规模推广以来，围绕疫苗接种就一直存在各种阴谋论，以幽默的形式传播，如漫画，现在还有表情包。重要的是，幽默针对的是疫苗接种和反疫苗接种的立场。在这项研究中，我们讨论了幽默内容在疫苗接种辩论中的特殊性，并揭示了幽默最受欢迎的主题类别、形式和逻辑机制。我们表明，关于疫苗接种的幽默和严肃讨论是齐头并进的，但幽默的趣味性和模糊性使公众更难理解疫苗接种辩论。我们的分析表明，疫苗接种幽默常常使接种这一复杂问题变得简单化，使更广泛的受众更容易理解和接受。
