COVID-19 and social-politics of medical misinformation on social media in Pakistan

Ittefaq, Muhammad; Hussain, Syed Ali; Fatima, Maryam

doi:10.1080/01296612.2020.1817264

Cited by 45 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These posts were uploaded by the unauthenticated users and were not taken down by the websites' administration. Thus due to a large number of misinformation on digital platforms, the rise of COVID-19 adversely influence psychosocial and healthcare infrastructures all over the world (Ittefaq et al 2020). However, social media is a social institution and dominant factors can positively influence the people's behaviour towards COVID-19 and misinformation (Kirk 2009;Charlton 2019).…”

Section: Ethical Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is COVID-19 Immune to Misinformation? A Brief Overview

Ali

Khalid

Zahid

2021

ABR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation is a major challenge, raising several social and psychological concerns. This article highlights the prevailing misinformation as an outbreak containing hoaxes, myths, and rumours. In comparison to traditional media, online media platforms facilitate misinformation even more widely. To further affirm this ethical concern, the researchers cite relevant studies demonstrating the role of new media in misinformation and its potential consequences. Besides other significant psychosocial impacts, such as xenophobia, psychological distress, LGBT rights violation, gender-based violence, misinformation is undermining healthcare workers' psychological health and their efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. In view of the adverse consequences of misinformation, this article addresses it as a massive ethical challenge during the current outbreak. Thus, the researchers make relevant suggestions to evaluate misinformation sources and mitigate the psychosocial impacts attributed to misinformation during crises. They include forming mental health teams comprising of psychologists, psychiatrists, and trained paramedical staff; rapid dissemination of authentic and updated COVID-19 situation reports regularly; establishing helpline services; and recognizing a broader range of personal needs. All health authorities should make clear that they are listening and responding to public concerns. Much effort is needed to counteract COVID-19 misinformation.

show abstract

Section: Ethical Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is COVID-19 Immune to Misinformation? A Brief Overview

Ali

Khalid

Zahid

2021

ABR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Extensive work has been done to document conspiracy theories and misinformation on COVID-19 [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]; however, there is a gap in the research on COVID-19 vaccine information circulating on newly developed social platforms such as Parler. Research indicates that false information about health issues on social media spreads faster than accurate information [ 43 ].…”

Section: Background and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

#Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler Social Media Platform Tells Us about COVID-19 Vaccine

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to understand public discussions regarding COVID-19 vaccine on Parler, a newer social media platform that recently gained in popularity. Through analyzing a random sample (n = 400) of Parler posts using the hashtags #COVID19Vaccine and #NoCovidVaccine, we use the concept of echo chambers to understand users’ discussions through a text analytics approach. Thematic analysis reveals five key themes: reasons to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine (40%), side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine (28%), population control through the COVID-19 vaccine (23%), children getting vaccinated without parental consent (5%), and comparison of other health issues with COVID-19 (2%). Textual analysis shows that the most frequently used words in the corpus were: nocovidvaccine (348); vaccine (264); covid (184); covid19 (157); and vaccines (128). These findings suggest that users adopted different terms and hashtags to express their beliefs regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Further, findings revealed that users used certain hashtags such as “echo” to encourage like-minded people to reinforce their existing beliefs on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and vaccine acceptance. These findings have implications for public health communication in attempts to correct false narratives on social media platforms. Through widely sharing the scientific findings of COVID-19 vaccine-related studies can help individuals understand the COVID-19 vaccines efficacy accurately.

show abstract

“…Source: Internet/Facebook/Aziz. leaders has complicated the response to COVID-19 (Ittefaq et al, 2020;Mufsin & Muhsin, 2020). In a recent study of 138 Bangladeshi imams (who lead the daily prayers in Islam), 67% of them feel COVID-19 poses low to negligible risk to their communities (Mobarak et al, 2020) Stigma is often fed by fear of contagion, such as fear of the cough, sneezing that may accompany COVID-19 symptoms.…”

Section: Bangladesh and Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%