Analyzing Social Media Messaging on Masks and Vaccines: A Case Study on Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
; : 1-9, 2023 Jan 10.
Article
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| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36624607
ABSTRACT
Misinformation and disinformation during infectious disease outbreaks can hinder public health responses. This analysis examines comments about masks and COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a content analysis of 6,600 randomly selected English-language tweets, examining tweets for health, political, of societal frames; inclusion of true information, false information, partially true/misleading information, and/or opinion; political components; risk frames; and use of specific types of rumor. We found false and partially false information in 22% of tweets in which we were able to assess veracity. Tweets with misinformation were more likely to mention vaccines, be political in nature, and promote risk elevating messages (p<0.5). We also found false information about vaccines as early as January 2020, nearly a year before COVID-19 vaccines became widely available. These findings highlight a need for new policies and strategies aimed to counter harmful and misleading messaging.
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MEDLINE
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En
Revista:
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
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SAUDE PUBLICA
Año:
2023
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Article