Characteristics of Misinformation Spreading on Social Media During the COVID-19 Outbreak in China: A Descriptive Analysis.
Characteristics of Misinformation Spreading on Social Media During the COVID-19 Outbreak in China: A Descriptive Analysis.
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DOI：
10.2147/rmhp.s312327
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发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Zhang L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Chen K;Luo Y;Hu A;Zhao J;Zhang L
在突发公共卫生事件期间，社交媒体是传播健康错误信息的主要渠道或媒介。了解健康错误信息的特征可以成为谴责和有目的地纠正社交媒体上此类错误信息的前提。本文以中国在社交媒体上发布的与新冠肺炎疫情相关的虚假信息为样本，通过描述性分析，探讨了中国在社交媒体上传播的虚假信息的特征，包括类型分类、被提及次数最多的信息以及发展的时间线。结果显示，与预防和治疗方法有关的错误信息是最常被提及的类型。与人们日常生活相关的其他类型的错误信息也很普遍。此外，文化和社会信仰对错误信息的感知和宣传有影响，危机局势的变化与错误信息的类型变化有关。根据研究结果，给出了管理社交媒体上错误信息的健康传播策略，如可信来源和专家来源。此外，传统信仰或观念在健康传播中发挥着至关重要的作用。总而言之，打击社交媒体上的错误信息可能不是纠正错误信息或防止其传播的单一努力。取而代之的是，学者、记者、教育工作者和公民必须协作识别和纠正任何错误信息。
During a public health emergency, social media is a major conduit or vector for spreading health misinformation. Understanding the characteristics of health misinformation can be a premise for rebuking and purposefully correcting such misinformation on social media. Using samples of China’s misinformation on social media related to the COVID-19 outbreak (N=547), the objective of this article was to illustrate the characteristics of said misinformation on social media in China by descriptive analysis, including the typology, the most-mentioned information, and a developmental timeline. The results reveal that misinformation related to preventive and therapeutic methods is the most-mentioned type. Other types of misinformation associated with people’s daily lives are also widespread. Moreover, cultural and social beliefs have an impact on the perception and propaganda of misinformation, and changes in the crisis situation are relevant to the type variance of misinformation. Following research results, strategies of health communication for managing misinformation on social media are given, such as credible sources and expert sources. Also, traditional beliefs or perceptions play the vital role in health communication. To sum up, combating misinformation on social media is likely not a single effort to correct misinformation or to prevent its spread. Instead, scholars, journalists, educators, and citizens must collaboratively identify and correct any misinformation.