The Twitter origins and evolution of the COVID-19 “plandemic” conspiracy theory

Kearney, Matthew; Chiang, Shawn C.; Massey, Philip M.

doi:10.37016/mr-2020-42

Cited by 58 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, our findings suggest that these efforts did not remove the influence of the three theories on which we focused. This finding is consistent with evidence from a study conducted in April 2020 that found considerable evidence of tweeted comments supporting a conspiracy theory about the pandemic [ 68 ] and other work suggesting that conspiracy claims that are interdicted quickly reappear elsewhere [ 17 , 45 ]. Although experience in China suggests that rapid refutation of pandemic rumors can be successful in reducing transmission of misinformation on social media [ 69 ], the expanse, variety, and decentralized nature of US media make such efforts more challenging than in countries whose media are largely government controlled.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…A notable characteristic of conspiracy beliefs is the tendency for belief in any one to be associated with acceptance of others [ 2 , 15 - 17 ]. In the United States, three such beliefs prevalent early in the pandemic [ 1 , 2 , 4 ] concerned suspicions that the pandemic was the result of malign actions by either the Chinese government or the pharmaceutical industry or that some in the US government were exaggerating the danger of COVID-19 to undermine the president of the United States.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Patterns of Media Use, Strength of Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories, and the Prevention of COVID-19 From March to July 2020 in the United States: Survey Study

Romer¹,

Jamieson²

2021

J Med Internet Res

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Holding conspiracy beliefs regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been associated with reductions in both actions to prevent the spread of the infection (eg, mask wearing) and intentions to accept a vaccine when one becomes available. Patterns of media use have also been associated with acceptance of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs. Here we ask whether the type of media on which a person relies increased, decreased, or had no additional effect on that person’s COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs over a 4-month period. Objective We used panel data to explore whether use of conservative and social media in the United States, which were previously found to be positively related to holding conspiracy beliefs about the origins and prevention of COVID-19, were associated with a net increase in the strength of those beliefs from March to July of 2020. We also asked whether mainstream news sources, which were previously found to be negatively related to belief in pandemic-related conspiracies, were associated with a net decrease in the strength of such beliefs over the study period. Additionally, we asked whether subsequent changes in pandemic conspiracy beliefs related to the use of media were also related to subsequent mask wearing and vaccination intentions. Methods A survey that we conducted with a national US probability sample in March of 2020 and again in July with the same 840 respondents assessed belief in pandemic-related conspiracies, use of various types of media information sources, actions taken to prevent the spread of the disease and intentions to vaccinate, and various demographic characteristics. Change across the two waves was analyzed using path analytic techniques. Results We found that conservative media use predicted an increase in conspiracy beliefs (β=.17, 99% CI .10-.25) and that reliance on mainstream print predicted a decrease in their belief (β=–.08, 99% CI –.14 to –.02). Although many social media platforms reported downgrading or removing false or misleading content, ongoing use of such platforms by respondents predicted growth in conspiracy beliefs as well (β=.072, 99% CI .018-.123). Importantly, conspiracy belief changes related to media use between the two waves of the study were associated with the uptake of mask wearing and changes in vaccination intentions in July. Unlike other media, use of mainstream broadcast television predicted greater mask wearing (β=.17, 99% CI .09-.26) and vaccination intention (β=.08, 95% CI .02-.14), independent of conspiracy beliefs. Conclusions The findings point to the need for greater efforts on the part of commentators, reporters, and guests on conservative media to report verifiable information about the pandemic. The results also suggest that social media platforms need to be more aggressive in downgrading, blocking, and counteracting claims about COVID-19 vaccines, claims about mask wearing, and conspir...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Media Use, Strength of Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories, and the Prevention of COVID-19 From March to July 2020 in the United States: Survey Study

Romer¹,

Jamieson²

2021

J Med Internet Res

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Prior research has highlighted an association between conservative political leaning and misinformation sharing (Grinberg et al, 2019) and exposure (Chen et al, 2020). The proliferation of conspiratorial narratives about COVID-19 (Kearney et al, 2020;Evanega et al, 2020) and voter fraud (Benkler et al, 2020) in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. election is consistent with this association. As social media platforms have moved to more aggressively moderate disinformation around the election, they have come under heavy accusations of political censorship.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Right and left, partisanship predicts (asymmetric) vulnerability to misinformation

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We analyze the relationship between partisanship, echo chambers, and vulnerability to online mis-information by studying news sharing behavior on Twitter. While our results confirm prior findings that online misinformation sharing is strongly correlated with right-leaning partisanship, we also uncover a similar, though weaker, trend among left-leaning users. Because of the correlation be-tween a user’s partisanship and their position within a partisan echo chamber, these types of influ-ence are confounded. To disentangle their effects, we performed a regression analysis and found that vulnerability to misinformation is most strongly influenced by partisanship for both left- and right-leaning users.

show abstract

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a deluge of complex and changing information, resulting in an “infodemic”—an overabundance of information rife with misinformation and hoaxes [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Online communication channels are especially vulnerable to the spread of incorrect information, and many social media news feeds are refreshed automatically with similarly misleading content [ 1 , 2 ]. However, online communication channels have also been a central resource for reliable health information throughout the pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Literacy, Digital Health Literacy, and COVID-19 Pandemic Attitudes and Behaviors in U.S. College Students: Implications for Interventions

Patil

Kostareva

Hadley

et al. 2021

IJERPH

Self Cite

160

141

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by rapidly emerging evidence, changing guidance, and misinformation, which present new challenges for health literacy (HL) and digital health literacy (DHL) skills. This study explored whether COVID-19-related information access, attitudes, and behaviors were associated with health literacy and digital health literacy among college students in the United States. Self-reported measures of health literacy, along with items on pandemic-related attitudes, behaviors, information sources, and social networks, were collected online using a managed research panel. In July 2020, 256 responses were collected, which mirrored the racial/ethnic and gender diversity of U.S. colleges. Only 49% reported adequate HL, and 57% found DHL tasks easy overall. DHL did not vary by HL level. In multivariable models, both HL and DHL were independently associated with overall compliance with basic preventive practices. Higher DHL, but not HL, was significantly associated with greater willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine and the belief that acquiring the disease would negatively impact their life. On average, respondents discussed health with 4–5 people, which did not vary by HL or DHL measures. The usage of online information sources varied by HL and DHL. The study findings can inform future student-focused interventions, including identifying the distinct roles of HL and DHL in pandemic information access, attitudes, and behaviors.

show abstract

The Twitter origins and evolution of the COVID-19 “plandemic” conspiracy theory

Cited by 58 publications

References 21 publications

Patterns of Media Use, Strength of Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories, and the Prevention of COVID-19 From March to July 2020 in the United States: Survey Study

Patterns of Media Use, Strength of Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories, and the Prevention of COVID-19 From March to July 2020 in the United States: Survey Study

Right and left, partisanship predicts (asymmetric) vulnerability to misinformation

Health Literacy, Digital Health Literacy, and COVID-19 Pandemic Attitudes and Behaviors in U.S. College Students: Implications for Interventions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About