Frequent AI chatbot users more likely to believe anti-vaccine myths, poll finds

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/30/ai-chatbot-use-anti-vaccine-myths-poll

127 points · 12 comments · view on lemmy.world

12 Comments

manxu@piefed.social · 35 pts · 56d (1 reply)

I don't know you, but in my friend circle, it's not the smartest ones that use ChatGPT. "I asked ChatGPT" might as well be the new "I saw it on Fox News."

BlindPenguin@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 56d

They should just say "I spent 3 hours manipulating ChatGPT to agree with me", because that thing usually doesn't spout outright conspiracy bullshit without someone telling it to do so.

I have over a decade of experience engaging with conspiracy fetishists, so i know their methods. They twist any information however it fits them, even if their source disagrees with them or says something entirely unrelated.

Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 56d (4 replies)

Confirmation bias for the win

FurryMemesAccount@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 56d (2 replies)

I'm thinking also causality isn't attributed to AI use, here.

AI is more used by right-wingers because you need to not care enough about workers' rights to use it, that's right-wing. Nor about the climate. Nor about [infinite reasons].

And we all know antivaxxers tend to skew right, often pretty far.

Rothe@piefed.social · 6 pts · 56d

There does seem to be an increasing correlation with adherence to right wing politics and cog-loving. Another reason is likely the tendency of right wingers to autopmatically simp for oligarchs and everything they do. So in their minds using AI is "owning the libs".

FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 56d

The biggest problem is that when something is absolutely factually known to be true- like "Vaccines save lives"- It doesn't matter. If one were to push it hard enough, it will eventually cave and agree with them and call whatever cockamamie theory got them to 'vaccines actually cause autism and are used to covertly implant mind-control chips in people's arms and will render the entire population of white people sterile...*'

they use LLMs because they sound submissive and subservient. But they quote it because it agrees with them.

(*this is an actual set of beliefs two of my uncles held. One of them died from COVID, though he expressly refused an autopsy in his will, so he will appear in one of the 'excess deaths' statistics. The other lost a grandson to COVID.)

JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 51d

Dunnig krueger on a national scale

jadesom222@aussie.zone · 12 pts · 56d (1 reply)

"Anti-vaxers more likely to rely on chat bots for information." Fixed it for you.

JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 51d

'People who dont think, dont think.' - my turn

Dyskolos@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 55d

Noooo... Really? Less critically thinking people do more dumb things? I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

Barbuzie@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 55d

Definitely checks out

frongt@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 55d

Yes, people who don't do much critical thinking tend to do both of those things.