Landscape of COVID-19 Treatments on Media and Internet Trends: Observational Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Individuals with large followings can influence public opinion and behaviours, especially during a pandemic. Recently, Donald Trump (DT) endorsed the use of unproven therapies, with a death attributed to the wrongful ingestion of a chloroquine-containing compound. OBJECTIVE We investigated his speeches, his twitter, Google searches and purchases, Amazon purchases, and TV airtime for hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin, and remdesivir. METHODS Twitter sourcing was catalogued with Factba.se, and analytics, both past and present, was analyzed with TweetBinder to assess average analytics of key metrics. Time spent discussing the unverified treatments on America’s five largest TV stations was catalogued with The Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone, and his speech transcripts were assessed from White House briefings. Google searching and shopping trends was analyzed with google trends. Amazon purchases were assessed Helium 10. RESULTS Over March 1st to April 30th, DT tweeted 11 times unproven therapies, mentioning them 65 times in White House briefings, especially touting hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. These tweets were 300% above his statistical average impression. Following them, at least 2% of airtime on conservative networks, and continuous mentioning of treatment modalities like azithromycin, was seen on stations like Fox News. Google searches and purchases increased following his first mentions on March 19th, and again with his tweeting on March 21st. The same is true for all medications on Amazon, with purchases like hydroxychloroquine increasing by 200%. CONCLUSIONS Individuals in position of power can sway public purchasing, resulting in undesired effects when the claims are unverified. Public health officials must work to dissuade unproven treatments for COVID-19. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable

Drawing Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…11 Trump's social media presence and voice alone elicited an amplification cascade across media outlets, garnering 300% more impression reach than his usual tweets and more than 2% of airtime of conservative networks. 12 In turn, purchases of hydroxychloroquine and its analogs surged on Amazon by over 200%. 13 Another study showed a grim and strong correlation between the degree of approval of Donald Trump and the case fatality rate associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…12 In turn, purchases of hydroxychloroquine and its analogs surged on Amazon by over 200%. 13 Another study showed a grim and strong correlation between the degree of approval of Donald Trump and the case fatality rate associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. 14 While these statistics are shocking, blame mustn't be placed on the public.…”