tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
JMIR Hum Factors
. 2020 Dec 23.
doi: 10.2196/23279. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 Infodemic Prevalence over 35 Countries
Meeyoung Cha[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Chiyoung Cha[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Karandeep Singh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriel Lima[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yong-Yeol Ahn[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Juhi Kulshrestha[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Onur Varol[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic, in which a plethora of false information has been rapidly disseminated online, leading to serious harm around the world.
Objective: This work aims to analyze the prevalence of common misinformation related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Methods: We conducted an online survey via a survey company and social media platforms to ask whether respondents have been exposed to a broad set of false claims regarding the disease and their respective fact-checks.
Results: We obtained more than 41,000 responses from 85 countries by 1,257 respondents, and we identified a strong negative correlation between a country's economic status and the prevalence of the misinformation (Spearman's ρ=-0.72, P<.001). Our results suggest that fact-checks spread to a lesser degree than their respective false claims following a sublinear trend (β=0.64).
Conclusions: Our results imply that the potential harm of misinformation could be more substantial for developing countries than developed economies. Countries with poor infrastructures might not only have to combat the spreading pandemic but also the COVID-19 infodemic, which can derail crucial efforts in saving lives.
. 2020 Dec 23.
doi: 10.2196/23279. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 Infodemic Prevalence over 35 Countries
Meeyoung Cha[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Chiyoung Cha[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Karandeep Singh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gabriel Lima[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yong-Yeol Ahn[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Juhi Kulshrestha[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Onur Varol[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33395395
- DOI: 10.2196/23279
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic, in which a plethora of false information has been rapidly disseminated online, leading to serious harm around the world.
Objective: This work aims to analyze the prevalence of common misinformation related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Methods: We conducted an online survey via a survey company and social media platforms to ask whether respondents have been exposed to a broad set of false claims regarding the disease and their respective fact-checks.
Results: We obtained more than 41,000 responses from 85 countries by 1,257 respondents, and we identified a strong negative correlation between a country's economic status and the prevalence of the misinformation (Spearman's ρ=-0.72, P<.001). Our results suggest that fact-checks spread to a lesser degree than their respective false claims following a sublinear trend (β=0.64).
Conclusions: Our results imply that the potential harm of misinformation could be more substantial for developing countries than developed economies. Countries with poor infrastructures might not only have to combat the spreading pandemic but also the COVID-19 infodemic, which can derail crucial efforts in saving lives.