COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study
COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study
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DOI：
10.2196/19374
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发表时间：
2020-04-01
影响因子：
8.5
通讯作者：
Bhagavathula, Akshaya Srikanth
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Rovetta, Alessandro;Bhagavathula, Akshaya Srikanth
背景资料：自新型冠状病毒病开始以来，（COVID-19）疫情、假新闻和误导性信息在全球范围内传播，这可能深刻影响公共卫生传播。目的：我们调查了与COVID-19爆发相关的在线搜索行为以及“信息流行病绰号”的态度在意大利传播的信息（即导致解释错误的错误信息、假新闻、种族主义事件等）。通过使用Google Trends探索2020年1月至3月期间与COVID-19相关的互联网搜索活动，从阅读量最大的报纸和政府网站中挖掘文章标题，以调查在意大利各地区和城市传播的信息流行病绰号的态度。结果：“novel coronavirus”、“China coronavirus”、“COVID-19”、“2019-nCOV”和“SARS-COV-2”等关键词是意大利最热门的COVID-19信息和科学术语。与健康相关的前五名搜索是“口罩”，“amuchina”（消毒剂），“新型冠状病毒的症状”，“健康公告”和“冠状病毒疫苗”。“翁布里亚和巴西利卡塔地区记录了大量的信息流行病绰号（APC加权总数>140）。错误信息在坎帕尼亚地区广泛传播，与种族主义有关的信息在翁布里亚和巴西利卡塔广泛传播。这些绰号在包括罗马在内的意大利10多个主要城市中经常被搜索（APC加权总数>100）。结论：我们发现意大利对COVID-19的区域和人口水平的兴趣正在增长。大多数搜索与中国平安、口罩、健康公告和COVID-19症状有关。由于在意大利各地观察到大量的信息流行病绰号，我们建议卫生机构使用Google趋势来预测人类行为，并管理意大利的错误信息传播。
Background: Since the beginning of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, fake news and misleading information have circulated worldwide, which can profoundly affect public health communication.Objective: We investigated online search behavior related to the COVID-19 outbreak and the attitudes of "infodemic monikers" (ie, erroneous information that gives rise to interpretative mistakes, fake news, episodes of racism, etc) circulating in Italy.Methods: By using Google Trends to explore the internet search activity related to COVID-19 from January to March 2020, article titles from the most read newspapers and government websites were mined to investigate the attitudes of infodemic monikers circulating across various regions and cities in Italy. Search volume values and average peak comparison (APC) values were used to analyze the results.Results: Keywords such as "novel coronavirus," "China coronavirus," "COVID-19," "2019-nCOV," and "SARS-COV-2" were the top infodemic and scientific COVID-19 terms trending in Italy. The top five searches related to health were "face masks," "amuchina" (disinfectant), "symptoms of the novel coronavirus," "health bulletin," and "vaccines for coronavirus." The regions of Umbria and Basilicata recorded a high number of infodemic monikers (APC weighted total >140). Misinformation was widely circulated in the Campania region, and racism-related information was widespread in Umbria and Basilicata. These monikers were frequently searched (APC weighted total >100) in more than 10 major cities in Italy, including Rome.Conclusions: We identified a growing regional and population-level interest in COVID-19 in Italy. The majority of searches were related to amuchina, face masks, health bulletins, and COVID-19 symptoms. Since a large number of infodemic monikers were observed across Italy, we recommend that health agencies use Google Trends to predict human behavior as well as to manage misinformation circulation in Italy.