ABSTRACT
Online health-related misinformation has become a major problem in society and in-depth research is needed to understand its propagation patterns and underlying mechanisms. This study proposes a psychological typhoon eye effect to understand how health-related misinformation spreads during the pandemic using two national studies. In Study 1, we collected online search data from the United States and China to explore the relationship between the physical distance from the epicenter and the spread of health-related misinformation. Two common pieces of health-related misinformation were examined: "Microwaves kill coronavirus" in the United States and "Taking a hot bath can prevent against COVID-19" in China. Our results indicated a "typhoon eye effect" in the spread of two actual pieces of health-related misinformation using online data from the United States and China. In Study 2, we fabricated a piece of health-related misinformation, "Wash Clothes with Salt Water to Block Infection," and measured the spread behavior and perceived credibility of the misinformation. Again, we observed a typhoon eye effect on the spread behavior as well as the perceived credibility of health-related misinformation among people with limited education. In addition, based on the stimulus-organism-response theory, perceived credibility could serve as a mediator in the relationship between physical distance from the epicenter and the spread of health-related misinformation. Our results highlight the importance of psychological approaches to understanding the propagation patterns of health-related misinformation. The present findings provide a new perspective for development of prevention and control strategies to reduce the spread of health-related misinformation during pandemics.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Cyclonic Storms , Humans , United States , COVID-19/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Communication , Internet , WaterABSTRACT
El 31 de diciembre del año 2019 una neumonía de causa desconocida recién detectada en Wuhan, China, aparentemente vinculada a un mercado de animales vivos, comenzó a ser monitoreada por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). Desde los primeros días de enero de 2020 la OMS puso en marcha su sistema de preparación y respuesta a emergencias con notas informativas sistemáticas, evaluación de riesgos y recomendaciones de salud pública.(1) Se identificó el causante del brote como un nuevo coronavirus, que posteriormente sería nombrado como Sars-Cov-2, y la enfermedad como COVID-19. En la medida en que los casos de la enfermedad comenzaron a diseminarse velozmente por el mundo, comenzó también a diseminarse rápidamente una avalancha de desinformación. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), dijo a mediados de febrero, refiriéndose a la situación con el COVID-19: no estamos luchando solo contra una epidemia; estamos luchando contra una infodemia. Las noticias falsas se propagan más rápido y más fácilmente que este virus, y son igual de peligrosas(AU)
