RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Fake health-related news has spread rapidly through the internet, causing harm to individuals and society. Despite interventions, a fenbendazole scandal recently spread among patients with lung cancer in South Korea. It is crucial to intervene appropriately to prevent the spread of fake news. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the appropriate timing of interventions to minimize the side effects of fake news. METHODS: A simulation was conducted using the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model, which is a representative model of the virus spread mechanism. We applied this model to the fake news spread mechanism. The parameters were set similarly to those in the digital environment, where the fenbendazole scandal occurred. NetLogo, an agent-based model, was used as the analytical tool. RESULTS: Fake news lasted 278 days in the absence of interventions. As a result of adjusting and analyzing the timing of the intervention in response to the fenbendazole scandal, we found that faster intervention leads to a shorter duration of fake news (intervention at 54 days = fake news that lasted for 210 days; intervention at 16 days = fake news that lasted for 187 days; and intervention at 10 days = fake news that lasted for 157 days). However, no significant differences were observed when the intervention was performed within 10 days. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions implemented within 10 days were effective in reducing the duration of the spread of fake news. Our findings suggest that timely intervention is critical for preventing the spread of fake news in the digital environment. Additionally, a monitoring system that can detect fake news should be developed for a rapid response.
RESUMO
Background: Korean society has faced challenges in communicating with cancer patients about false information related to complementary alternative medicine. As the situation has become severe with the 2020 fenbendazole scandal, the demand for reliable information from health authorities has increased. Objectives: This study aimed to examine patients' acquisition patterns and perception of false information by presenting empirical evidence to help health authorities enable effective preemptive responses in the cancer communication context. Method: We conducted a focus group interview with 21 lung cancer patients who were informed about fenbendazole based on a semi-structured questionnaire with three categories: 1) acquisition channel of the general cancer information and the false information, 2) quality of obtained information, and 3) perception toward it. The interviewees, comprising 13 men and eight women, were aged 50 or older. Participants' current stages of cancer were stages one, three, and four and there were seven people in each stage. Results: 1) Acquisition channel: Participants had their first encounter with false information through the TV, while the channels to obtain general cancer information were through Internet communities or portal sites. YouTube was a second channel to actively search for information regardless of the information type. 2) Information quality: participants had only fragmented information through media. 3) Perception: Most patients had a negative attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine information such as fenbendazole. They perceive that it needs to be verified by experts and filtered according to their arbitrary criteria. They had vague expectations based on a hope for "what if" at the same time. Conclusions: Despite the complex media environment, traditional or legacy media is an important channel to encounter information. YouTube is independent of other media as an "active" information-seeking channel. Patients required the appropriate intervention of experts and governments because they perceived that they had obtained irrational and unreliable information from the media. Suggestions are made about how health authorities can construct an effective communication system focusing on the user to prevent patients from getting false cancer information.
RESUMO
Based on morphological examination, two species of Polyporus, P. dictyopus, and P. tuberaster, were identified, which constitutes the first record of these species in South Korea. To confirm their affinity within the genus Polyporus, the phylogenetic relationships of Polyporus and allied genera were established from nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (nLSU rDNA) sequences, and a morphological diagnostic key is presented to clarify the Korean species of Polyporus.