Science Factionalism: How Group Identity Language Affects Public Engagement With Misinformation and Debunking Narratives on a Popular Q&amp;A Platform in China

Chen, Kaiping; Jin, Yepeng; Shao, Anqi

doi:10.1177/20563051221077019

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…With the emphasis on narrative, another important feature of health-related discussions on social media platforms is individualism, or so-called personalization [37,38]. Individualism-nationalism has also been found to be closely integrated with narrative in understanding and responding to COVID-19 in the Chinese context-some scholars refer to a "nationalist narrative" in terms of COVID-19 [39].…”

Section: Individualism/nationalism and Health-related Behaviour On So...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Narrative under Nationalism: Chinese COVID-19 Vaccination Expressions on Douyin

Yang

Luo

Jia

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Scholars are divided over whether narrative/storytelling occupies a central position in health-related behaviour or in the health-related issues discussed on social media platforms. This study explored Chinese COVID-19 vaccination expressions on Douyin, China’s biggest short-video sharing social media platform, and found that narration is still the most important tool employed by Chinese users when talking about COVID-19 vaccinations on Douyin, emphasizing nationalism and widespread optimism. Most of the narratives employed by Chinese users come from a first-person perspective. Nationalism, as manifested in the support expressed for national policies, rather than the external platform characteristics of memetics, makes the Chinese users’ expressions about COVID-19 vaccinations similar on Douyin. Douyin seems to have become a ‘pilgrimage platform’ for the Chinese public to express their patriotic sentiment and their trust in the country and the government.

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Section: Individualism/nationalism and Health-related Behaviour On So...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Narrative under Nationalism: Chinese COVID-19 Vaccination Expressions on Douyin

Yang

Luo

Jia

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…In the original question of Allcott and Gentzkow, our sample indicates more than half (53%) believed "At the third presidential debate, Donald Trump refused to say whether he would concede the election if he lost" versus less than one third (32%) in the negated version. In the original question of Clayton et al, our sample indicates that 80% of the public believes "Presidential candidates should accept the outcome of elections even if 9 As in the United States, there is a growing literature about belief in rumors and conspiracies in China (Chen et al 2020;Chen, Jin, and Shao 2022;Huang 2017;Wang and Huang 2021). 10 We suspect the latter result might be due to poor phrasing in negation on our part.…”

Section: Rumors and Conspiraciesmentioning

confidence: 72%

Acquiescence Bias Inflates Estimates of Conspiratorial Beliefs and Political Misperceptions

Hill¹,

Roberts²

2023

Polit. Anal.

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Scholars, pundits, and politicians use opinion surveys to study citizen beliefs about political facts, such as the current unemployment rate, and more conspiratorial beliefs, such as whether Barack Obama was born abroad. Many studies, however, ignore acquiescence-response bias, the tendency for survey respondents to endorse any assertion made in a survey question regardless of content. With new surveys fielding questions asked in recent scholarship, we show that acquiescence bias inflates estimated incidence of conspiratorial beliefs and political misperceptions in the United States and China by up to 50%. Acquiescence bias is disproportionately prevalent among more ideological respondents, inflating correlations between political ideology such as conservatism and endorsement of conspiracies or misperception of facts. We propose and demonstrate two methods to correct for acquiescence bias.

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“…Misinformation circulates more readily among homogenous groups or “echo chambers” [ 21 ], and misinformation with culturally specific language to promote “in-group identity” may receive higher engagement [ 22 , 23 ]. Messages broadcasting cultural pride may therefore be more readily amplified within relatively insular groups of South Asian users.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19–Associated Misinformation Across the South Asian Diaspora: Qualitative Study of WhatsApp Messages

Sharma¹,

Khosla²,

Potharaju³

et al. 2023

JMIR Infodemiology

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Background South Asians, inclusive of individuals originating in India, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal, comprise the largest diaspora in the world, with large South Asian communities residing in the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and elsewhere. There is evidence that South Asian communities have disproportionately experienced COVID-19 infections and mortality. WhatsApp, a free messaging app, is widely used in transnational communication within the South Asian diaspora. Limited studies exist on COVID-19–related misinformation specific to the South Asian community on WhatsApp. Understanding communication on WhatsApp may improve public health messaging to address COVID-19 disparities among South Asian communities worldwide. Objective We developed the COVID-19–Associated misinfoRmation On Messaging apps (CAROM) study to identify messages containing misinformation about COVID-19 shared via WhatsApp. Methods We collected messages forwarded globally through WhatsApp from self-identified South Asian community members between March 23 and June 3, 2021. We excluded messages that were in languages other than English, did not contain misinformation, or were not relevant to COVID-19. We deidentified each message and coded them for one or more content categories, media types (eg, video, image, text, web link, or a combination of these elements), and tone (eg, fearful, well intentioned, or pleading). We then performed a qualitative content analysis to arrive at key themes of COVID-19 misinformation. Results We received 108 messages; 55 messages met the inclusion criteria for the final analytic sample; 32 (58%) contained text, 15 (27%) contained images, and 13 (24%) contained video. Content analysis revealed the following themes: “community transmission” relating to misinformation on how COVID-19 spreads in the community; “prevention” and “treatment,” including Ayurvedic and traditional remedies for how to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection; and messaging attempting to sell “products or services” to prevent or cure COVID-19. Messages varied in audience from the general public to South Asians specifically; the latter included messages alluding to South Asian pride and solidarity. Scientific jargon and references to major organizations and leaders in health care were included to provide credibility. Messages with a pleading tone encouraged users to forward them to friends or family. Conclusions Misinformation in the South Asian community on WhatsApp spreads erroneous ideas regarding disease transmission, prevention, and treatment. Content evoking solidarity, “trustworthy” sources, and encouragement to forward messages may increase the spread of misinformation. Public health outlets and social media companies must actively combat misinformation to address health disparities among the South Asian diaspora during the COVID-19 pandemic and in future public health emergencies.

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Science Factionalism: How Group Identity Language Affects Public Engagement With Misinformation and Debunking Narratives on a Popular Q&A Platform in China

Cited by 13 publications

References 76 publications

Personal Narrative under Nationalism: Chinese COVID-19 Vaccination Expressions on Douyin

Personal Narrative under Nationalism: Chinese COVID-19 Vaccination Expressions on Douyin

Acquiescence Bias Inflates Estimates of Conspiratorial Beliefs and Political Misperceptions

COVID-19–Associated Misinformation Across the South Asian Diaspora: Qualitative Study of WhatsApp Messages

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