Misinformation Fans: The Role of Fannish Behaviors in the Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Discourse on Instagram

There is increased popular and scholarly attention on the spread of fake news and misinformation, however much of this research is focused on the political outcomes of such information and how to correct this misinformation. This chapter will argue for a different approach. As an interpretative framework, fandom positions the traction and spreadability of misinformation and fake news as anchored in people’s own self-perceptions. The chapter will argue that much like fans of popular culture texts, those who believe and peddle misinformation are drawn to do so by a longing of belonging to a community and an intense affective relationship with the collective. In particular, this study will examine how fannish behaviours explicitly and implicitly help drive and sustain the anti-vaxxer discourse within the Instagram ' health and wellness community'. Drawing on this example, it will examine how this affective investment and quest for belonging inform the performance of social identity and in doing so, argues that any challenge to social identity only serves to further entrench it. Therefore, the implications of the study suggest that trying to rectify problems with misinformation by simply ‘educating’ the public on the correct information will not be sufficient, as this does not address the underlying motivations of engaging with this discourse.