Reddit's pre-covid anti-antivaxxer hysteria: Trying to nail down the time frame.

submitted by wristaction from (self.DownTheMemoryHole)

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[–]hghghg 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (4 children)

I remember seeing the thing you are describing, at least a few years ago, maybe as early as 2018. I was asleep then, so I remember agreeing with it. Now that I look back on it, I think it seemed like the phenomenon came on suddenly, like a popular meme that persists for a while. It seemed to be rising along with the "Karen" and "flat Earther" memes.

The site I spent the most time on was Reddit. I saw a lot of it on the meme subs like r/DankMemes, as well as in comments scattered around the site. One instance of it I remember clearly are written jokes that compare unvaccinated children to things that are dead or live only a few years. I also remember stories in r/LegalAdvice type subs about minors who allegedly were upset that their parents didn't vax them so they wanted to get vaxxed without their parents' knowledge or consent.

[–]jet199 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I used join in all the jeering about anti-vaxxers on reddit.

Now I actually think it kicked off because the anti vax movement got linked to women so therefore it was ripe for ridicule and misogynistic attacks. Hence the Karen link. Of course most people making the choice over vaccines are mothers so they would be the ones discussing the issues the most.

Of course there were far more influential, famous men in the anti vax movement who caused far more damage but the focus of the bullying was always on ordinary mothers making choices about their kids.

[–]hghghg 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

This user notes that "Antivaxx memes are getting old" about 2 years ago, suggesting that anti-anti-vax memes were at their peak when it was posted. A cursory search of r/DankMemes for keywords supports this.

Some keywords that may aid you in your search:

  • anti-vax, antivaxx, and spelling variants

  • unvaccinated kids/children

  • Karen

  • polio

  • measles

  • autism

  • vaccines cause/don't cause autism

Entering these terms into Google Trends and observing the change over time may reveal some interesting patterns.

[–]wristaction[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Good pointers. Thanks.

I also seem to remember it coming post-Net Neutrality hysteria.

[–]wristaction[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yes. Thanks. This is helpful. I too recall that genre of karma-farming posts in which a user would claim that he had, upon finally reaching the age of majority, snuck away from his insane antivaxxer parents and gotten vaccinated, attendant with thousands of praiseful comments extolling his stunning bravery in doing so. That's probably the peak example of it.

I found a sub called "anti-antivaxxer" which indicates it was opened in March of 2018.