Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) named anti-vaxxers as one of the top ten public health hazards in 2019. Anti-vaxxers are a health danger since they are mostly responsible for the reemergence of deadly contagious diseases such as measles and diphteria, that has increased by recent years. The media, as the primary source of information, are responsible for disseminating messages and public knowledge about health issues, particularly health hazards. Despite the WHO's warning, the Malaysian media paid scant attention to anti-vaxxers. As a result, this paper proposes that newspapers, as the primary source of information, should provide critical information such as scientific and credible data to challenge anti-vaccine views online, especially by appropriately framing anti-vaxxers. This study examined the Malaysian media through a quantitative content analysis of four newspapers (Harian Metro, Berita Harian, New Straits Times, and The Star) published between 1 January 2019 and 30 September 2021. The 43-month period offered adequate data for analysing reporting trends. The findings suggested that, despite the media's sensationalization of anti-vaxxers, the media continue to fall short of educating the public on the scientific facts opposing anti-vaxxers.
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