Science Denialism through an Anti-Vaccination Lens: A Rhetorical Analysis of Online Multimodal Discourse

How does online opposition to vaccination become a critique of established sources of knowledge and authority? This presentation examines visual and verbal discourse about vaccination posted by geographically dispersed online groups between 2011 and 2020. A rhetorical analysis identifies four recurring frames: Anti-Capitalism, Back to Nature, Free Choice, and Surveillance, Oppression, and Deceit. The findings show how vaccine hesitancy can serve as an entry point for broader distrust towards modern cultural institutions, such as governments, the media, and science. They also reveal how posts combine frames and sustain ambiguity strategically, in ways that may appeal to different audiences. The project contributes to institutional theory more broadly by examining how multimodal rhetoric can erode institutional authority and the legitimacy of established knowledge.