A content analysis of social media on outbreak of infodemic amidst COVID‑19 pandemic
نویسندگان
1 Department of Medicine, Geetam Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
2 Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth Puducherry, India
3 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Sri Venkateshwara Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
4 Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Sri Balaji Vidyap
5 Department of Medicine, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry, India
6 Department of Anesthesia, Chengalpattu Government Medical College and Hospital, Tamil Nadu, India
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چکیده
BACKGROUND: With so much content on social media platforms about COVID‑19, determiningwhich information is reliable can be a daunting task. Hence, this study is aimed to analyze variousposts with regard to COVID‑19 on various social media platforms for their reliability and also examinedvarious factors that influence information reliability.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross‑sectional study was conducted, with 934 samples relatedto coronavirus pandemic published on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using systematic randomsampling. We adopted the criteria given by Paul Bradshaw and modified to assess the characteristicsof the samples. Training and calibration of the investigators were carried out for 3 consecutive daysbefore beginning the study. The data were analyzed using the Chi‑square test and multinomial logisticregression to estimate the odds ratios.RESULTS: Out of 934 samples studied, only 570 (61%) were found to be reliable of which243 (42.6%) were from Twitter, 117 (20.6%) from Instagram, and 210 (36.8%) from Facebook.We found that the reliability of the information on social media platforms is significantly influencedby network (odds: 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16–1.52; P = 0.036), content (odds: 1.83;95% CI: 1.69–1.92; P = 0.009), contextual update (odds: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.24–1.53) and age of theaccount (odds: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.64–2.09; P = 0.002).CONCLUSION: Our study shows that the reliability of the social media posts significantly dependson the network, contextual update, and age of the account. Hence, cross verifying the informationfrom a reliable source is the need of the hour to prevent panic and mental distress.
