COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis
Copyright © 2020 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Infodemics, often including rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories, have been common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Monitoring social media data has been identified as the best method for tracking rumors in real time and as a...
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th-mahidol.599882020-11-18T17:02:23Z COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis Md Saiful Islam Tonmoy Sarkar Sazzad Hossain Khan Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal S. M. Murshid Hasan Alamgir Kabir Dalia Yeasmin Mohammad Ariful Islam Kamal Ibne Amin Chowdhury Kazi Selim Anwar Abrar Ahmad Chughtai Holly Seale International University of Health and Welfare University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia Khulna University of Engineering and Technology Mahidol University International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh Immunology and Microbiology Medicine Copyright © 2020 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Infodemics, often including rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories, have been common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Monitoring social media data has been identified as the best method for tracking rumors in real time and as a possible way to dispel misinformation and reduce stigma. However, the detection, assessment, and response to rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in real time are a challenge. Therefore, we followed and examined COVID-19-related rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, including fact-checking agency websites, Facebook, Twitter, and online newspapers, and their impacts on public health. Information was extracted between December 31, 2019 and April 5, 2020, and descriptively analyzed. We performed a content analysis of the news articles to compare and contrast data collected from other sources. We identified 2,311 reports of rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in 25 languages from 87 countries. Claims were related to illness, transmission and mortality (24%), control measures (21%), treatment and cure (19%), cause of disease including the origin (15%), violence (1%), and miscellaneous (20%). Of the 2,276 reports for which text ratings were available, 1,856 claims were false (82%). Misinformation fueled by rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious implications on the individual and community if prioritized over evidence-based guidelines. Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation. 2020-11-18T09:28:19Z 2020-11-18T09:28:19Z 2020-10-01 Article American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vol.103, No.4 (2020), 1621-1629 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0812 14761645 00029637 2-s2.0-85092346421 https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/59988 Mahidol University SCOPUS https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85092346421&origin=inward |
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Immunology and Microbiology Medicine Md Saiful Islam Tonmoy Sarkar Sazzad Hossain Khan Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal S. M. Murshid Hasan Alamgir Kabir Dalia Yeasmin Mohammad Ariful Islam Kamal Ibne Amin Chowdhury Kazi Selim Anwar Abrar Ahmad Chughtai Holly Seale COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis |
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Copyright © 2020 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Infodemics, often including rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories, have been common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Monitoring social media data has been identified as the best method for tracking rumors in real time and as a possible way to dispel misinformation and reduce stigma. However, the detection, assessment, and response to rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in real time are a challenge. Therefore, we followed and examined COVID-19-related rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, including fact-checking agency websites, Facebook, Twitter, and online newspapers, and their impacts on public health. Information was extracted between December 31, 2019 and April 5, 2020, and descriptively analyzed. We performed a content analysis of the news articles to compare and contrast data collected from other sources. We identified 2,311 reports of rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in 25 languages from 87 countries. Claims were related to illness, transmission and mortality (24%), control measures (21%), treatment and cure (19%), cause of disease including the origin (15%), violence (1%), and miscellaneous (20%). Of the 2,276 reports for which text ratings were available, 1,856 claims were false (82%). Misinformation fueled by rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious implications on the individual and community if prioritized over evidence-based guidelines. Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation. |
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International University of Health and Welfare |
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International University of Health and Welfare Md Saiful Islam Tonmoy Sarkar Sazzad Hossain Khan Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal S. M. Murshid Hasan Alamgir Kabir Dalia Yeasmin Mohammad Ariful Islam Kamal Ibne Amin Chowdhury Kazi Selim Anwar Abrar Ahmad Chughtai Holly Seale |
format |
Article |
author |
Md Saiful Islam Tonmoy Sarkar Sazzad Hossain Khan Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal S. M. Murshid Hasan Alamgir Kabir Dalia Yeasmin Mohammad Ariful Islam Kamal Ibne Amin Chowdhury Kazi Selim Anwar Abrar Ahmad Chughtai Holly Seale |
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Md Saiful Islam |
title |
COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis |
title_short |
COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis |
title_full |
COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis |
title_fullStr |
COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis |
title_sort |
covid-19-related infodemic and its impact on public health: a global social media analysis |
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2020 |
url |
https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/59988 |
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1763488193864269824 |