Misinformation and Disinformation of COVID-19 on Social Media in Indonesia

Abstract

Infodemics in the COVID-19 pandemic situation biases information, and the community's need for the correctness of information becomes increasingly difficult to fulfill. Misinformation and disinformation circulate widely on social media, including instant chat applications. The research problem's formulation is how the contents of COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation that occurred on social media in Indonesia for the period January 20 - March 9, 2020. The research method used is quantitative with a content analysis approach. All misinformation and disinformation cases on social media are taken from cases that have been fact-checked by Mafindo (Indonesian Anti-Defamation Society) in a predetermined period. In total, there were 69 cases of misinformation and disinformation. As a result, there are three main conclusions in this study. First, false context and misleading content are the most common types of misinformation and disinformation. Second, the producers and distributors of these messages are individuals with Facebook and WhatsApp. Third, these findings indicate a tendency for the production and distribution of misinformation and disinformation messages to be carried out by individuals. The high accessibility of the community facilitates this to communication media.

Doctors for the Truth: Echo Chambers of Disinformation, Hate Speech, and Authority Bias on Social Media

“…This is, therefore, a sign that fake news and information are shared to find simple answers to complex problems and are not part of a premeditated effort to sow chaos and distrust. In fact, the data show that most of the sharing of disinformation is done by individual users, demonstrating that there is no malign intention behind these behaviours [69,70]. Even so, it is important to state that some disinformation is shared with a disruptive intent.…”

Ketika Fakta Bukanlah Kebenaran: Peran Media Daring dalam Amplifikasi Misinformasi Kesehatan di Era Pandemi Covid-19

“…Oleh karena itu, tidak mengherankan jika sebagian besar penelitian mengenai misinformasi kesehatan memfokuskan analisisnya pada misinformasi yang tersebar di media sosial (Bafadhal & Santoso, 2020;Mardika & Wulandari, 2021;Rahayu, 2020;Teluma, 2020;Yustitia & Asharianto, 2020) dan tidak pada media. Meski demikian, misinformasi kesehatan dalam media bukan tidak pernah menjadi perhatian.…”

Development of Digital Health Literacy Instruments for Students of the Faculty of Health Science, Universitas Dian Nuswantoro

“…People are becoming more aware of health information globally as media and sources of health information develop, which is often referred to as global health information disclosure; however, because the diversity of information can be confusing, an understanding of health literacy is required, which includes how to access, understand, assess, and apply correct health information. Misunderstandings and even misinformation can occur as a result of receiving information through the wrong medium [1] According to Yustitia et al (2020), health-related content in online media ranks first due to the highest percentage of incorrect information, up to 27%. Meanwhile, Facebook/Twitter/Instagram (92.4%) are the most commonly used media to spread false health information, followed by Whatsapp/Line/Path (62.8%) and websites (34.9%) [2].…”

“…Misunderstandings and even misinformation can occur as a result of receiving information through the wrong medium [1] According to Yustitia et al (2020), health-related content in online media ranks first due to the highest percentage of incorrect information, up to 27%. Meanwhile, Facebook/Twitter/Instagram (92.4%) are the most commonly used media to spread false health information, followed by Whatsapp/Line/Path (62.8%) and websites (34.9%) [2]. Misinformation, particularly healthrelated misinformation, can spread faster than accurate information.…”