Coronavirus misinformation: quantifying sources and themes in the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ (Preprint)

作者：Sarah Evanega, Mark Lynas, Jordan Adams, Karinne Smolenyak · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.2196/preprints.25143 · 被引用次数：122 · 研究领域：Misinformation and Its Impacts、Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded alongside what the Director-General of the World Health Organization has termed an “infodemic” of misinformation . In their coverage of the pandemic, traditional media outlets have reported and sometimes amplified the voices of various actors across the political spectrum who have advocated unproven cures, denied what is known scientifically about the nature and origins of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and proposed conspiracy theories which purport to explain causation and often allege nefarious intent. These competing narratives and explanations have risen and fallen rapidly, behaving almost as viral phenomena themselves. Misinformation about COVID-19 is a serious threat to global public health. If people are misled by unsubstantiated claims about the nature and treatment of the disease, they are less likely to observe official health advice and may thus contribute to the spread of the pandemic and pose a danger to themselves and others. Health protection strategies such as hygiene, sanitation, social distancing, mask wearing, lockdowns, and other measures will be less effective if distrust of public health authorities becomes sufficiently widespread to substantially affect public behavior. Specifically, misinformation about treatments for COVID disease can prompt people to attempt cures that might harm them, while fears and distrust about a possible vaccine could undermine the uptake of any vaccination campaign aiming to im...