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The COVID-19 infodemic in Brazil: trends in Google search data.
Harb, Maria da Penha; Veiga E Silva, Lena; Vijaykumar, Nandamudi; Silva da Silva, Marcelino; Lisboa Frances, Carlos Renato.
  • Harb MDP; Institute of Technology, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
  • Veiga E Silva L; Institute of Technology, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
  • Vijaykumar N; University of Amazon, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
  • Silva da Silva M; National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Lisboa Frances CR; Federal University of Western Pará, Santarém, Pará, Brazil.
PeerJ ; 10: e13747, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1975334
ABSTRACT

Background:

Since the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic, there has been much information about the disease and the virus has been in the spotlight, shared and commented upon on the Internet. However, much of this information is infodemics and can interfere with the advancement of the disease and that way that populations act. Thus, Brazil is a country that requires attention, as despite the fact that in almost two years of pandemic it has shown a devastating numbers of deaths and number of cases, and generates false, distorted and malicious news about the pandemic. This work intends to understand the attitudes of the Brazilian population using infodemic queries from the Google Trends search tool and social and income variables.

Methods:

Data from infodemic research carried out on Google Trends, between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, with socioeconomic data, such as income and education, were unified in a single database standardization and exploratory and multivalued techniques based on grouping were used in the study.

Results:

In the analysis of the search trend of infodemic terms, it is clear that the categories of Prevention and Beliefs should stand out in Brazil, where there is a diverse culture. It is followed by the COVID-19 Treatment category, with treatments that were not those recommended by the authorities. Income transfer programs and information on socioeconomic variables did not have much impact on infodemic surveys, but it was observed that states where President Bolsonaro has more supporters had researched more infodemic information.

Conclusions:

In a country as geographically large as Brazil, it is important that political authorities go to great lengths to disseminate reliable information and monitor the infodemic in the media and on the internet. It was concluded that the denial of the pandemic and the influence of political leaders influenced the search for infodemic information, contributing to a disorganization in the control of the disease and prevention measures.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Observational study Country/Region as subject: South America / Brazil Language: English Journal: PeerJ Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Peerj.13747

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Observational study Country/Region as subject: South America / Brazil Language: English Journal: PeerJ Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Peerj.13747