Misinformation on social networks during the novel coronavirus pandemic: a quali-quantitative case study of Brazil
| Autor: | Claudia Jurberg, Priscila Biancovilli, Lilla Makszin |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Population 050801 communication & media studies Health literacy Context (language use) Social Networking Social media 03 medical and health sciences 0508 media and communications 0302 clinical medicine Pandemic Humans Medicine Fact check 030212 general & internal medicine Misinformation education Pandemics education.field_of_study SARS-CoV-2 business.industry Communication Research Public health 05 social sciences Politics Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health COVID-19 Advertising Coronavirus The Internet Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 business Brazil |
| Zdroj: | BMC Public Health, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021) BMC Public Health |
| ISSN: | 1471-2458 |
| Popis: | BackgroundOne of the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic is theinfodemic risk, that is, a huge amount of information being published on the topic, along with misinformation and rumours; with social media, this phenomenon is amplified, and it goes faster and further. Around 100 million people in Brazil (50% of the inhabitants) are users of social media networks – almost half of the country’s population. Most of the information on the Internet is unregulated, and its quality remains questionable.MethodsIn this study, we examine the main characteristics of misinformation published on the topic. We analysed 232 pieces of misinformation published by the Brazilian fact-checking service “Agência Lupa”. The following aspects of each news item were analysed: a) In what social media has it circulated?; b) What is the content classification, sentiment and type of misinformation?; d) Are there recurrent themes in the sample studied?ResultsMost were published on Facebook (76%), followed by WhatsApp, with 10% of total cases. Half of the stories (47%) are classified as “real-life”, that is, the focus is on everyday situations, or circumstances involving people. Regarding the type of misinformation, there is a preponderance of fabricated content, with 53% of total, followed by false context (34%) and misleading content (13%). Wrong information was mostly published in text format (47%). We found that 92.9% of misinformation classified as “fabricated content” are “health tips”, and 88.9% of “virtual scams” are also fabricated.ConclusionBrazilian media and science communicators must understand the main characteristics of misinformation in social media about COVID-19, so that they can develop attractive, up-to-date and evidence-based content that helps to increase health literacy and counteract the spread of false information. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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