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COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review

Social media allows for easy access and sharing of information in real-time. Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social media has been used as a tool for public health officials to spread valuable information. However, many Internet users have also used it to spread m...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Joseph, Andrew M, Fernandez, Virginia, Kritzman, Sophia, Eaddy, Isabel, Cook, Olivia M, Lambros, Sarah, Jara Silva, Cesar E, Arguelles, Daryl, Abraham, Christy, Dorgham, Noelle, Gilbert, Zachary A, Chacko, Lindsey, Hirpara, Ram J, Mayi, Bindu S, Jacobs, Robin J
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9148617/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35664409
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24601
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author Joseph, Andrew M
Fernandez, Virginia
Kritzman, Sophia
Eaddy, Isabel
Cook, Olivia M
Lambros, Sarah
Jara Silva, Cesar E
Arguelles, Daryl
Abraham, Christy
Dorgham, Noelle
Gilbert, Zachary A
Chacko, Lindsey
Hirpara, Ram J
Mayi, Bindu S
Jacobs, Robin J
author_facet Joseph, Andrew M
Fernandez, Virginia
Kritzman, Sophia
Eaddy, Isabel
Cook, Olivia M
Lambros, Sarah
Jara Silva, Cesar E
Arguelles, Daryl
Abraham, Christy
Dorgham, Noelle
Gilbert, Zachary A
Chacko, Lindsey
Hirpara, Ram J
Mayi, Bindu S
Jacobs, Robin J
author_sort Joseph, Andrew M
collection PubMed
description Social media allows for easy access and sharing of information in real-time. Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social media has been used as a tool for public health officials to spread valuable information. However, many Internet users have also used it to spread misinformation, commonly referred to as “fake news.” The spread of misinformation can lead to detrimental effects on the infrastructure of healthcare and society. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify the sources and impact of COVID-19 misinformation on social media and examine potential strategies for limiting the spread of misinformation. A systemized search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science electronic databases using search terms relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic, social media, misinformation, or disinformation was conducted. Identified titles and abstracts were screened to select original reports and cross-checked for duplications. Using both inclusion and exclusion criteria, results from the initial literature search were screened by independent reviewers. After quality assessment and screening for relevance, 20 articles were included in the final review. The following three themes emerged: (1) sources of misinformation, (2) impact of misinformation, and (3) strategies to limit misinformation about COVID-19 on social media. Misinformation was commonly shared on social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, messaging applications, and personal websites. The utilization of social media for the dissemination of evidence-based information was shown to be beneficial in combating misinformation. The evidence suggests that both individual websites and social media networks play a role in the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. This practice may potentially exacerbate the severity of the pandemic, create mistrust in public health experts, and impact physical and mental health. Efforts to limit and prevent misinformation require interdisciplinary, multilevel approaches involving government and public health agencies, social media corporations, and social influencers.
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spelling pubmed-91486172022-06-02 COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review Joseph, Andrew M Fernandez, Virginia Kritzman, Sophia Eaddy, Isabel Cook, Olivia M Lambros, Sarah Jara Silva, Cesar E Arguelles, Daryl Abraham, Christy Dorgham, Noelle Gilbert, Zachary A Chacko, Lindsey Hirpara, Ram J Mayi, Bindu S Jacobs, Robin J Cureus Infectious Disease Social media allows for easy access and sharing of information in real-time. Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social media has been used as a tool for public health officials to spread valuable information. However, many Internet users have also used it to spread misinformation, commonly referred to as “fake news.” The spread of misinformation can lead to detrimental effects on the infrastructure of healthcare and society. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify the sources and impact of COVID-19 misinformation on social media and examine potential strategies for limiting the spread of misinformation. A systemized search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science electronic databases using search terms relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic, social media, misinformation, or disinformation was conducted. Identified titles and abstracts were screened to select original reports and cross-checked for duplications. Using both inclusion and exclusion criteria, results from the initial literature search were screened by independent reviewers. After quality assessment and screening for relevance, 20 articles were included in the final review. The following three themes emerged: (1) sources of misinformation, (2) impact of misinformation, and (3) strategies to limit misinformation about COVID-19 on social media. Misinformation was commonly shared on social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, messaging applications, and personal websites. The utilization of social media for the dissemination of evidence-based information was shown to be beneficial in combating misinformation. The evidence suggests that both individual websites and social media networks play a role in the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. This practice may potentially exacerbate the severity of the pandemic, create mistrust in public health experts, and impact physical and mental health. Efforts to limit and prevent misinformation require interdisciplinary, multilevel approaches involving government and public health agencies, social media corporations, and social influencers. Cureus 2022-04-29 /pmc/articles/PMC9148617/ /pubmed/35664409 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24601 Text en Copyright © 2022, Joseph et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Infectious Disease
Joseph, Andrew M
Fernandez, Virginia
Kritzman, Sophia
Eaddy, Isabel
Cook, Olivia M
Lambros, Sarah
Jara Silva, Cesar E
Arguelles, Daryl
Abraham, Christy
Dorgham, Noelle
Gilbert, Zachary A
Chacko, Lindsey
Hirpara, Ram J
Mayi, Bindu S
Jacobs, Robin J
COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review
title COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review
title_full COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review
title_fullStr COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review
title_short COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: A Scoping Review
title_sort covid-19 misinformation on social media: a scoping review
topic Infectious Disease
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9148617/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35664409
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24601
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