Roles of online social media platforms and artificial intelligence in diffusing the impact of COVID-19 as scientists find a cure

Nations worldwide are currently fighting the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and are facing challenges in disseminating accurate and credible information to the public. During such conditions, people are seeking help from social media and social networking platforms, owing to their speed and reach, for the latest updates on the pandemic. Such alarming situations test the potential of social media and their role in providing assistance to the healthcare community. Current chapter broadly discusses the wide range of contributions made by social media platforms in acting as an information disseminating tool, a tracking tool, and also providing psychological aid to the public to elevate the positive attitude during pandemic. Spread of fake news and misinformation is a drawback faced by these platforms and they are continuously updating their technology to identify and solve this glitch. This chapter throws a brief light on how social media influencers are propitious in conveying information to the society. The chapter aims at encouraging the proper and validated use of social media and social networks in conditions of pandemic like COVID-19.