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Tweets containing false claims also had less tentative language than valid claims. A similar study demonstrated that fully false claims about the virus propagated more rapidly and were more frequently liked than partially false claims. The authors found no difference in engagement patterns with misinformation and verified information, suggesting that myths about the virus reach as many people on Twitter as truths. In one sample of tweets related to COVID-19, 24.8% of tweets included misinformation and 17.4% included unverifiable information. Rumors have spread about the origin of the virus, potential treatments or protections, and the severity and prevalence of the disease. Though the pandemic is ongoing, evidence is emerging regarding COVID-19 misinformation on social media. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, referred to this accelerated flow of information about COVID-19, much of it inaccurate, as an “infodemic”. One study found that 33% of people in the United States report having seen “a lot” or “a great deal” of false or misleading information about the virus on social media.
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Unfortunately, this breadth, and the speed with which information can travel, sets the stage for the rapid transmission of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and “fake news” about the pandemic. The number of research articles focusing on COVID-19 has also grown exponentially more research articles about the disease were published in the first 4 months of the COVID-19 pandemic than throughout the entirety of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) pandemics combined. Among Americans, 72% report using an online news source for COVID-19 information in the last week, with 47% reporting that the source was social media. Īs the virus spread across the United States, media coverage and information from online sources grew along with it. The United States accounts for 24.9% of the world’s COVID-19 cases, more than any other country. As of March 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible for over 115 million documented cases, resulting in over 2.5 million deaths. Globally, 2020 has been characterized by COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The proliferation of COVID-19 (mis)information by bots, coupled with human susceptibility to believing and sharing misinformation, may well impact the course of the pandemic. We conclude by conducting and presenting a secondary analysis of data sets of known bots in which we find that up to 66% of bots are discussing COVID-19. We also review strategies used by bots to spread (mis)information and examine the potential origins of bots. As the virus spread exponentially, so did its media coverage, resulting in a proliferation of conflicting information on social media platforms-a so-called “infodemic.” In this viewpoint, we survey past literature investigating the role of automated accounts, or “bots,” in spreading such misinformation, drawing connections to the COVID-19 pandemic. JMIR Perioperative Medicine 38 articlesĪs of March 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been responsible for over 115 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in over 2.5 million deaths.JMIR Biomedical Engineering 42 articles.Journal of Participatory Medicine 57 articles.JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies 114 articles.
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