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Humans use the internet to learn about health and to examine their health problems. On the other hand, they might quickly become uninformed due to the abundance of false information available online. Patients have traditionally sought information from sources other than the formal healthcare system (Swire-Thompson & Lazer, 2019). The paper examines how people interact with health misinformation online, including user-generated content, search, mobile apps, and content. It also considers whether individual access to information is beneficial or harmful to health patients and how the perceived reliability of credited institutions communicating health has evolved through time. The article incorporates different communication theories in the health context depicting the correlation of the Covid-19 pandemic to the theories.
In a nutshell, the uses and gratification model depicts the media’s effects on people. It demonstrates how people use social media to satisfy their wants. As a result, rather than depicting what media does to users, the model portrays what users do with media. The model is designed with the audience in mind. Individuals rely on media for discussion topics, including interpersonal communication. They access more information and exposure globally beyond their small circle by reaching the media platform. The model depicts three broad aspects of misinformation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Giving without expecting anything in return is what altruism means. Individuals engage in altruistic behavior when they share without expecting anything in return. In terms of news sharing, altruism can be defined as the act of spreading news and information with no expectation for compensation. A generous individual is often thinking about how they might help others. This means that when people are looking for knowledge or news, a generous individual is always willing to provide it without asking anything in return. Knowledge, information, and news sharing research have thoroughly investigated and documented altruistic behavior. As a result, altruism is favorably connected with the discretionary gathering and transmission of information, implying that social media users will volunteer without expecting anything in return.
Studies have demonstrated that distributing news around the platforms of social media contributes to social cohesion, supporting this viewpoint. The emotional impact and significance also drive individuals who engage in such actions that the news may have on the recipient. According to a recent study of public health misinformation, people have a practice of spreading knowledge to help others without thinking about whether it is true or a lie; self-interest (Swire-Thompson & Lazer, 2019). As a result, a correlation between charity and sharing fake news can be expected. It is proposed that persons with a more generous attitude are more likely to spread false information on COVID-19 while spreading knowledge that will benefit others.
Using social media to break the monotony results in interesting acts such as escaping from daily life activities for pleasure. Through social media, usage entertainment is achieved together with reducing emotional strain and anxiety. In terms of sharing, a recent survey found that people use Facebook for entertainment, leisure, and enjoyment.
Nonetheless, evidence suggests that people enjoy disseminating knowledge in internet groups because they want to interact on social media platforms and with different personalities. Although no research has linked pleasure gratifications to false information sharing during the covid-19 pandemic, it can be argued that it is due to mandatory global self-quarantine. It is expected that the temptation for social media usage for pleasure will rise, as users will be online to track the virus’s position and try to be the first to report it. As a result, misinformation will tend to be spread globally.
In terms of misinformation dissemination, studies show that socialization reward predicts erroneous information dissemination favorably. As a result, a recent study has demonstrated that people do not trust information from strangers like they do with friends and family members. People with a more social disposition have a high probability of sharing on social media. Therefore, individual news intake is now considered socially motivated (Karnowski et al., 2018). Consequently, it can be claimed that those motivated by a great desire for social connection are more inclined to spread information and news, including misleading information. Furthermore, many people would want to share and add to the news during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the spread of fake news.
The COVID-19 immunization is, without a doubt, a novel practice. One of the most widely accepted models for analyzing the adoption of innovative behavior is the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI). The model explains circumstances to the spread of new technology and ideas. The theory provides four aspects to explain the adoption of creative behaviors such as innovation attributes, communication channels, adopter traits, and social system. Therefore, Considering the behavioral intention aspect results in the spreading of covid-19 misinformation through open data usability; not all sources are credible. Additionally, the stereotype perception, functional value, and security concerns affect behavioral intentions, resulting in misinformation. The four components of the DOI are thought to be helpful in explaining a person’s desire to receive the innovative COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the theory, the media has a powerful effect on individuals by making assumptions about the popular opinion on a topic, effectively silencing one’s minority viewpoints. This is because people do not want to be isolated from others in our social lives due to a fear of isolation. Another new issue has been misinformation echo chambers, in which people are fed material that confirms their perspective and makes extremism worse. Although there is an increasing consensus that complaints about political echo chambers are exaggerated, health echo chambers need to be investigated more. COVID-19 misinformation abounds on several social media platforms, as users are served content suggestions based on their anxieties and viewing history, leading them down deeper rabbit holes. It is not easy to judge the veracity or balance of information when non-experts deliver it with little fact-checking. As a result, unregulated social media sources are a significant contributor to vaccine apprehension.
The situational theory of publics shows how large groups of individuals can be categorized into four publics (Perez, 2018). The categorization depends on how they are recognized and involved within an organization or problem. It explains why some publics are more active than others in their hunt for details on a given issue. The global spread of COVID-19 has come with a surge of disinformation that has threatened the policy responses and heightened citizen distrust and worries. Governments all across the world are using public communication to combat misinformation and support policy. The effectiveness of these activities will be determined by their adherence to open government ideals, particularly openness, to foster public trust. As such, the policy brief gives an insight into the current type of disinformation. It highlights some rising cases of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries’ reactions to it, notably through activities of public communication. It also provides preliminary principles for engaging individuals during a crisis to aid in resolving this problem.
The article “Public health messaging in an era of social media” gives a precise explanation of the importance of media in public health (Merchant et al., 2021). As indicated, to restrict the spread of epidemic diseases, public health institutions have historically employed communications to educate the public. As new technologies appeared, early initiatives that relied on word-of-mouth and poster campaigns shifted to radio and television. However, traditional modes of communication are likely to be less effective in a crowded, noisy, and hostile online environment. Emerging digital platforms have improved their ability to reach and influence the public during the last decade by becoming more intelligent, targeted, and responsive.
The article “Where we go from here: Health Misinformation on Social Media” argues that there has been misinformation about health on social media (Sylvia et al., 2020). This aspect necessitates an immediate response from individuals involved in public health research and practice. Any health-related claim of truth that is erroneous based on the current scientific agreement is defined as “health disinformation.” It also shows that, as mounting data shows, widespread health misinformation can have potentially fatal repercussions in domains as diverse as childhood immunizations and COVID-19 and that countermeasures must be timely, strategic, and evidence-based.
Lastly, “Characteristics of misinformation spreading on social media during the COVID-19 outbreak in China: A Descriptive Analysis,” indicates that social media is a crucial channel or vector for transmitting rumors during a public health emergency (Chen et al., 2021)). Understanding the features of fake news can serve as a foundation for addressing and refuting it on social media. The three articles prove that with the advancement of technology and use of social media, misinformation is vastly increasing that may have adverse effects of not curbed.
References
Chen, K., Luo, Y., Hu, A., Zhao, J., & Zhang, L. (2021). Characteristics of misinformation spreading on social media during the COVID-19 Outbreak in China: A descriptive analysis. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 14, 1869–1879.
Karnowski V., Leonhard L., Kümpel A.S. (2018).Why users share the news: A theory of reasoned action-based study on the antecedents of news-sharing behavior. Communication Research Reports.
Merchant RM, South EC, Lurie N (2021). Public health messaging in an era of social media. JAMA.
Perez, F. R. (2018). Exploring perceptions of fake news using situational theories (Doctoral dissertation).
Swire-Thompson, B., & Lazer, D. (2019). Public health and online misinformation: Challenges and recommendations. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 433-451.
Sylvia Chou, W. Y., Gaysynsky, A., & Cappella, J. N. (2020). Where we go From here: Health misinformation on social media. American Journal of Public Health, 110(S3), S273–S275.
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