The Relative Influence of Perceived Experts in Covid-19 Vaccine Conversations

Medical professionals and biomedical scientists (whom we will refer to as “perceived experts”) are often identified as trusted sources of medical information who may be especially effective at persuading people to get vaccinated. However, the prevalence and influence of perceived experts acting in the opposite role as disseminators of false and misleading claims about health is poorly characterized. Here, we test the relative influence of perceived experts in a Twitter community that spreads anti-vaccine misinformation. We also test whether any boost in influence associated with perceived expertise is greater within the anti-vaccine community compared to the pro-vaccine community.