Research

The Cranky Uncle Vaccine game is informed by inoculation theory, a branch of psychological research. Just as exposing people to a weakened form of a virus builds immunity to the real virus, similarly, exposing people to a weakened form of misinformation builds immunity to the actual misinformation. How do you deliver misinformation in weakened form? By explaining the rhetorical tricks (fallacies) used to mislead.

A fundamental challenge in building resilience against misinformation is that critical thinking is hard! This is because most thinking is effortless, fast thinking (e.g., mental shortcuts or heuristics) rather than effortful, slow thinking (e.g., critically assessing the logical validity of misinformation). However, there is a third type of thinking—expert heuristics. The more experienced or practised we get at a difficult task, the quicker and easier it gets.

Games incentivize players to complete tasks over and over. With the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game, the task is critical thinking—the difficult job of assessing arguments to identify reasoning fallacies. Through repetitive practice, players turn a difficult, slow thinking task into an expert heuristic.

Fact: Vaccines save more than 5 lives every minute around the world. They keep us safe from many harmful and deadly diseases. Thanks to vaccination, over 18 million people who would otherwise have been paralysed by polio can walk today.
Source: UNICEF (2020). Vaccine misinformation management field guide.

Fact: Vaccines are among the most tested medical products available. They may be tested for safety up to 3 times more than other medicines.
Source: New York State Department of Health (2014). The Science Behind Vaccine Research and Testing.

Fact: There are hundreds of thousands of scientific studies about vaccines. Almost all support the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
Source: Howard, J., & Reiss, D. R. (2018). The anti-vaccine movement: a litany of fallacy and errors. Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science, 195-219.

Fact: Traditional medicines can still be used but not as a substitute for vaccines. People need to know that natural remedies aren’t always safe. Just because something is natural doesn’t always mean it’s good for us. Fact: Scientists have published many studies finding there are no links between the vaccines we use and illnesses.
Fact: To make sure vaccines are safe, scientists conduct large studies with tens of thousands of people. The COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be safe in studies with large numbers of people. Vaccines are considered safe if very few people have bad side effects.
Fact: Waiting for more proof before we use the vaccine is an impossible expectation and it puts peoples’ lives at risk.
Fact: While vaccines are never 100% effective, they greatly reduce the chances of getting sick or dying from disease.
Source: Lewandowsky et al. (2021). The COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook. A practical guide for improving vaccine communication and fighting misinformation.

Fact: Wild mushrooms are natural but can also be poisonous.
Source: BCCDC (2022). Fact Sheet: Wild Mushrooms May Be Poisonous.

Fact: Fitness and natural foods may be good for you, but they don’t guarantee immunity from disease.
Source: Bloomer, R. (2021). Can healthy people who eat right and exercise skip the COVID-19 vaccine? A research scientist and fitness enthusiast explains why the answer is no

Fact: The purpose of vaccines is to make peoples’ lives better and save lives by protecting them from harmful and deadly diseases.
Source: UNICEF (2020). Vaccine misinformation management field guide.

Fact: Vaccines help your body fight disease - they don’t cause them. Fact: All mRNA vaccines do is carry instructions to your body on how to fight viruses. They don’t enter the cells where our DNA is, so they can’t change our genes. It’s as likely to change your genes as eating goat will make you grow a beard! While some vaccines contain live virus, it is a very weakened form and cannot cause disease. Cranky uncles try to convince people that they do. Source: CCDH (2020). The Anti-Vaxx Playbook. Center for Countering Digital Hate.

Fact: Vaccines can be a victim of their own success - some people are more worried about the vaccines than the diseases they prevent. Fact: Scientists know that vaccines are safe because of thousands of studies, and they monitor the safety of vaccines as they are being used.
Source: Stolle et al. (2020). Fact vs fallacy: the anti-vaccine discussion reloaded. Advances in Therapy, 37(11), 4481-4490.

Fact: We use large numbers of people in scientific studies to test the benefits of vaccines.
Source: CHOP (2018). Logical fallacies and vaccines. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Vaccine Education Center.

Fact: Vaccines are thoroughly checked for safety by scientists and governments.
Fact: Vaccines are some of the least profitable drugs. Drug companies actually make more money selling drugs that treat sickness, rather than vaccines that prevent disease. Vaccines reduce medical costs for people and their communities.
Source: Howard, J., & Reiss, D. R. (2018). The anti-vaccine movement: a litany of fallacy and errors. Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science, 195-219.

Fact: Some vaccines do contain a tiny, non-toxic amount of aluminium to boost your immune response.
Source: CDC (2022). Adjuvants and Vaccines.

Fact: The health benefits of vaccines far outweigh any small risks. Source: Kata, A. (2012). Anti-vaccine activists, Web 2.0, and the postmodern paradigm–An overview of tactics and tropes used online by the anti-vaccination movement. Vaccine, 30(25), 3778-3789.