Facebook is the main driver of misinformation on COVID-19
vaccines in the Latinx community, according to a study by Change Research.
Of the 37% of Latinx consumers who have seen such material, 49% cite Facebook as the source. And 39% say they
first saw it on local news.
Such material makes them think the COVID-19 vaccine isn't safe.
Moreover, 20% of the Latinx respondents have had wrong or harmful information
shared with them, with Facebook being the source for 53% and messaging apps for 44%.
This varies by language. Among those whose primary language spoken at home is English, Facebook is the most
cited source of wrong or harmful information for 59%.
Messaging apps are the primary source of misinformation for 66% of those who primarily speak Spanish at home.
In addition, 49% of the Latinx respondents say COVID misinformation is a very serious problem, and 29% agree the issue is somewhat serious.
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But 51% fear the vaccine will not be safe,
and that rises to 67% for those whose primary language at home is Spanish.
The impact of this: 27% say they will not take the vaccine, and 24% are not sure if they will. Among the
latter, 72% know someone at home or in the community who is unwilling to take the vaccine because they believe it will be harmful to them.
In addition, 78% are under 50, 24% have a
high-school education at most, 14% have a college degree and 46% either speak both English and Spanish, or only Spanish, at home.
Change Research surveyed 1,896 voters, including 947 Latinx
voters, from March 19-25.