Assessing the COVID-19 infodemic and misinformation among university students in Morocco

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the implication of university students in Covid-19-related misinformation dissemination in Morocco using an online questionnaire sent out to various faculties and online student groups around the country. A total of 295 university students responded to the questionnaire. The majority of respondents 269/295 (91.2%) claimed to have come across misinformation during the pandemic. The main source of misinformation was online news outlets (77.2%). The most frequent subjects of misinformation had to do with confinement and curfews (24.2%), the politics around the pandemic (17.2%) and the Covid-19 vaccine (16.6%). Some 36.6% of respondents reported having transmitted misinformation at least once. Overall, the difference between medical and non-medical students’ implication in misinformation dissemination did not reach statistical significance (Khi-square = 6.37, p=0.095). Misinformation, in particular, among university students has potentially been an obstacle to satisfactory Covid-19 response. University students should be a focus of interventions aimed at combatting misinformation.

Digital media as COVID-19 lifeline or stressor? An exploratory study on the perception of media usage under isolation

“…These findings are supported by Bendau et al (2021), who found that media consumption and information-seeking behaviour about COVID-19 increased symptoms of depression, unspecific anxiety, and pre-existing fears in the studied population. Accordingly, when encapsulating factors such as information about COVID-19, arguments about the veracity of information, and fake news (Freiling et al, 2021;Klevor et al, 2022;Prpić & Kučiš, 2022;Su, 2020), this particular ICT can act as an amplifier for anxiety.…”