“Rightwing populists ride wave of mistrust of vaccine science”
Now vaccine doubt is spreading faster and further than ever through social media, and populist rightwing politicians in Europe and the US are riding on the back of a wave of mistrust of vaccine science.
The arguments align. Populists are often suspicious of the establishment and authority figures. Antivaxers are hostile to government, medical institutions, Big Pharma and science. In several countries – Italy, France, Poland, the US – both are on the rise.