scholarly journals COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
K. S. Meena
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

The Fifth Troll Prerequisite

Cyberwar ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 141-154
Author(s):  
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Voter Models ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

Chapter 8 focuses on the fifth troll prerequisite which needed to be met if hacked and Russian-generated content were to influence the U.S. election: was it targeted to reach the desired constituencies? The chapter contends that, despite some arguments against the impact of the Russian troll messaging, the trolls targeted audiences needed to influence the election in both battleground and nonbattleground states, through the use of organic content and paid advertisements. The trolls had access to multiple sources of information about how to reach voters susceptible to mobilizing or demobilizing appeals, including publicly accessible analyses of the candidates’ objectives and tactics, stolen voter models hacked from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and toolkits offered by social media platforms to help identify desired audience members.

scholarly journals Policy response, social media and science journalism for the sustainability of the public health system amid the COVID-19 outbreak: The Vietnam lessons

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viet-Phuong La ◽  
Thanh-Hang Pham ◽  
Toan Manh Ho ◽  
NGUYỄN Minh Hoàng ◽  
Nguyen Phuc Khanh Linh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

Having geographical proximity and a high volume of trade with China, the first country to record an outbreak of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Vietnam was expected to have a high risk of transmission. However, as of 4 April 2020, in comparison to attempts to containing the disease around the world, responses from Vietnam are seen as prompt and effective in protecting the interests of its citizens, with 239 confirmed cases and no fatalities. This study analyzes the situation in terms of Vietnam’s policy response, social media and science journalism. A self-made web crawl engine was used to scan and collect official media news related to COVID-19 between the beginning of January and April 4, yielding a comprehensive dataset of 14,952 news items. The findings shed light on how Vietnam—despite being under-resourced—has demonstrated political readiness to combat the emerging pandemic since the earliest days. Timely communication on any developments of the outbreak from the government and the media, combined with up-to-date research on the new virus by the Vietnamese science community, have altogether provided reliable sources of information. By emphasizing the need for immediate and genuine cooperation between government, civil society and private individuals, the case study offers valuable lessons for other nations concerning not only the concurrent fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also the overall responses to a public health crisis.

scholarly journals COVID-19 in Ethiopia: a geospatial analysis of vulnerability to infection, case severity and death

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e044606
Author(s):  
Kefyalew Addis Alene ◽  
Yalemzewod Assefa Gelaw ◽  
Dagnachew Muluye Fetene ◽  
Digsu N. Koye ◽  
Yohannes Adama Melaku ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Geospatial Analysis ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Geographical Differences ◽  
Geographic Scale ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Nationally Representative

BackgroundCOVID-19 has caused a global public health crisis affecting most countries, including Ethiopia, in various ways. This study maps the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia.MethodsThirty-eight potential indicators of vulnerability to COVID-19 infection, case severity and likelihood of death, identified based on a literature review and the availability of nationally representative data at a low geographic scale, were assembled from multiple sources for geospatial analysis. Geospatial analysis techniques were applied to produce maps showing the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death in Ethiopia at a spatial resolution of 1 km×1 km.ResultsThis study showed that vulnerability to COVID-19 infection is likely to be high across most parts of Ethiopia, particularly in the Somali, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and Tigray regions. The number of severe cases of COVID-19 infection requiring hospitalisation and intensive care unit admission is likely to be high across Amhara, most parts of Oromia and some parts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region. The risk of COVID-19-related death is high in the country’s border regions, where public health preparedness for responding to COVID-19 is limited.ConclusionThis study revealed geographical differences in vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia. The study offers maps that can guide the targeted interventions necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Ethiopia.

scholarly journals Who And What Influences Choice Of University? Student And University Perceptions.

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy C. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
University Employees ◽  
Receiver Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Personal Media

Emerging peer-to-peer communication via social media, and the role of influential peers, is changing the way that marketers communicate with prospects.  The model is changing from a sender-receiver model to one that includes influential peer-to-peer and receiver-to-sender communication.  This research examines this phenomenon in the context of student choice of a university.  What is the relative influence that various sources of information have on students’ choice of university?  How does the influence of friends and family members compare to the influence of non-personal media?  How do high-touch tools like campus visits compare to high-tech tools such as social media sites?  Results of a survey of students showed that parents, along with other family and friends, were the most influential sources of information.  Outside of personal contacts, a student’s visit to campus was highly influential.  Surprisingly, social media was not rated as highly influential compared to traditional media.  Results of a second survey of university employees generally predicted student responses well, although employees underestimated the influence of university representatives (faculty members, staff, and coaches) and underestimated the impact of a visit to campus as sources of information for prospective students.

scholarly journals Policy response, social media and science journalism for the sustainability of the public health system amid the COVID-19 outbreak: The Vietnam lessons

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viet-Phuong La ◽  
Thanh-Hang Pham ◽  
Toan Manh Ho ◽  
NGUYỄN Minh Hoàng ◽  
Nguyen Phuc Khanh Linh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

Having geographical proximity and a high volume of trade with China, the first country to record an outbreak of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Vietnam was expected to have a high risk of transmission. However, as of 4 April 2020, in comparison to attempts to containing the disease around the world, responses from Vietnam are seen as prompt and effective in protecting the interests of its citizens, with 239 confirmed cases and no fatalities. This study analyzes the situation in terms of Vietnam’s policy response, social media and science journalism. A self-made web crawl engine was used to scan and collect official media news related to COVID-19 between the beginning of January and April 4, yielding a comprehensive dataset of 14,952 news items. The findings shed light on how Vietnam—despite being under-resourced—has demonstrated political readiness to combat the emerging pandemic since the earliest days. Timely communication on any developments of the outbreak from the government and the media, combined with up-to-date research on the new virus by the Vietnamese science community, have altogether provided reliable sources of information. By emphasizing the need for immediate and genuine cooperation between government, civil society and private individuals, the case study offers valuable lessons for other nations concerning not only the concurrent fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also the overall responses to a public health crisis.

scholarly journals Attitude Toward Protective Behavior Engagement During COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: The Role of E-government and Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norazryana Mat Dawi ◽  
Hamidreza Namazi ◽  
Ha Jin Hwang ◽  
Suriani Ismail ◽  
Petra Maresova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Protective Behavior ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Health Decision ◽  
Social Media Platforms

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still evolving and affecting millions of lives. E-government and social media have been used widely during this unprecedented time to spread awareness and educate the public on preventive measures. However, the extent to which the 2 digital platforms bring to improve public health awareness and prevention during a health crisis is unknown. In this study, we examined the influence of e-government and social media on the public's attitude to adopt protective behavior. For this purpose, a Web survey was conducted among 404 Malaysian residents during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period in the country. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS software. Social media was chosen by most of the respondents (n = 331 or 81.9%) as the source to get information related to COVID-19. Multiple regression analysis suggests the roles of e-government and social media to be significantly related to people's attitudes to engage in protective behavior. In conclusion, during the COVID-19 outbreak, public health decision makers may use e-government and social media platforms as effective tools to improve public engagement on protective behavior. This, in turn, will help the country to contain the transmission of the virus.

COVID-19 and the Media in Nigeria

Glimpse ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Obiageli Pauline Ohiagu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The Other ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

This chapter provides a Nigerian perspective to the global COVID-19 public health crisis that began in 2019. Two approaches were used to explain the impact of COVID-19 on the media in Nigeria and the effect of the latter on the spread/containment of the virus. The pandemic directly limited the operations of the media in many ways: socially, economically, and otherwise. On the other hand, both mainstream and social media was instrumental in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 through information, education, and infotainment.

Influence of New Media on University Students: Merits, Pitfalls and Preventions

2021 ◽  
pp. 167-177
Author(s):  
Suria Binti Baba ◽  
Nik Maheran Binti Nik Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
University Students ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Multiple Groups

The trends in using social media like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have gained substantial attention from the researchers across the globe. This paper outlines the findings of a qualitative inquiry using an interview procedure to address the issues that have emerged from these three themes. These themes are the positive influence of social media on university students, the negative influence of social media on university students and the role of authorities in preventing the negative influence. The participants of this study were experts from two universities. Seventy-five participants were interviewed, and their responses were analysed using NVivo. The findings suggest that social media has both positive and negative influence on university students. The positive influences of social media include sharing knowledge and information, exploring real-time multiple sources of information and engaging with multiple groups for gaining and sharing information using different modes. The negative influences include students' disengagement with the society, addiction, inconsistent beliefs. Further, the students may be easily manipulated by the fake information. However, the authorities could easily check the negative influence by imposing strict regulations.

scholarly journals Capitalising on chaos – exploring the impact and future of social media influencer engagement during the early stages of a global pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2095815
Author(s):  
Catherine Archer ◽  
Katharina Wolf ◽  
Joseph Nalloor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Disaster Capitalism ◽  
The Impact

This article examines the role of influencers during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of the global pandemic on Social Media Influencers’ (SMIs) lifestyle and business model, using the concept of Disaster Capitalism as a springboard for discussion. Worldwide it first appeared that the global pandemic would severely impact SMI sole traders, as income from travel, luxury goods and other ‘lifestyle’ brands dried up. However, we suggest that brands and influencers themselves have pivoted to meet the COVID challenge, with some brands exploiting the opaque influence of these micro-celebrities. We further suggest that while a handful of governments and health organisations have recognised the reach and social capital of SMIs, their potential in health communication has been underutilised. We write this essay as a starting point, raising questions and calling for further research to be conducted to inform the understanding of SMIs’ role and potential as conveyors of public health information.

scholarly journals Effects of scientific literacy on attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccinations and preventive behaviors: A pre-registered study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Motoki ◽  
Toshiki Saito ◽  
Yuji Takano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Preventive Behaviors ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Vaccine Administration ◽  
Subjective Knowledge ◽  
Public Health Crisis

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, is a global public health crisis. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is necessary to promote vaccine administration and preventive behaviors (e.g., mask, handwashing, social distancing). However, some people have negative attitudes toward vaccine administration and preventive behaviors. The present study investigated how scientific literacy and perceived understanding of COVID-19 influence attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccinations and preventive behaviors. The findings demonstrated that both scientific literacy and perceived understanding of COVID-19 vaccines were positively associated with attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally, perceived understanding of COVID-19 preventive behaviors (but not scientific literacy) was positively associated with attitudes toward/practice of COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Collectively, our findings revealed the role of cognitive factors in preventing the global public health crisis and demonstrated the effects of objective and subjective knowledge on attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccinations and preventive behaviors.

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