ABSTRACT
This study aims to structure the available body of knowledge relating to the infodemic by means of a systematic review and explore it in a multidimensional manner by taking into account the speed of the propagation of misinformation, its fast-changing nature and effects. The study also aims to present the interaction between the field of communication and other fields of study within the framework of the ongoing infodemic. The studies for systematic review were gathered from internationally known scientific databases, namely the Web of Science Core Collection and Google Scholar, over two stages. A total of 46 studies were included in this systematic review. This study utilized an inductive research approach for systematic review. Using this approach, the authors' identified the reasons for the propagation of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic in these papers. The authors also identified the effects of this misinformation, the methods of individuals, official and non-official actors to combat misinformation, the cultural factors and legal measures for combating misinformation, and the recommendations related to traditional media, the new media and other verification structures. The studies conducted in the field of communication were predominantly cited in studies conducted within Communication and Health & Health Care Sciences fields. A notable observation made in this study was that studies which focused on combating misinformation were cited more than other studies reviewed.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced conventional and new media. In this context, it has been observed that the infodemic that emerges due to parameters of new media poses social risks. This study aims to analyze the relationship between misinformation, hate speech and the amount of user interaction during COVID-19 on digital platforms in the context of vaccines produced in China. 2919 user comments were collected from the five YouTube videos. Comments were analysed with deductive content analysis and Chi-square test was implemented. A significant relationship exists between misinformation existence and hate speech existence. In addition, a significant relationship was found between hate speech existence and amount of user interaction in comments. Content of comments, where both misinformation and hate speech exist, shows that users often claim that the virus is a project, a war instrument or vaccines arc commercial instruments. It is observed that a "they versus us" discourse was established in the context of the situation in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Turkophobia. It was identified that when misinformation exists in user comments, the existence of hate speech is 5,1% higher. It was observed that the average amount of user interaction of comments that contain hate speech is 6,6 while the average amount of user interaction in overall comments is 3,4. Finally, it is concluded that this situation can potentially impact the fight with ongoing health crisis in a negative way.