Social Media Misinformation About Covid-19

Society is heavily dependent on social media as it plays a vital role in spreading information, both accurate and misinformation. As Covid-19 numbers continue to increase worldwide, the demand for information increases and more people continuously share their news and experiences with the pandemic. The role played by social media in spreading information both right and wrong during the pandemic has led to many referring to it as an “Infodemic” (Gabarron, Oyeyemi, & Wynn, 2021). Since it is hard to regulate what every individual posts on social media, it is essential to ensure that society is educated on the suitable sources of information to regulate what they consume. Most of what is posted by individuals are misinformation.

As evident in the conflict theory, inequities and inequalities contribute primarily to what people consume and assume right on social media. Currently, smartphones are readily available to most people, and hence they can access the internet as they wish. Except for those who are well versed with the sites, some would rely on information posted by individuals without considering its accuracy (Gabarron, Oyeyemi, & Wynn, 2021). Due to people relying on this misinformation, a large population has yet to receive covid -19 vaccination as they have read on social media the myths associated with it. One of the most common rumors is that the vaccination affects fertility; hence, when one is vaccinated, they may become impotent.

Social media have different parts that play varied roles in conveying information. Social listening has made most people realize the need to receive information on the pandemic, thereby utilizing social networking to gain an audience (Barua, Aktar, Kabir, & Li, 2020). By realizing the needs of people, they know what to sell and write to gain likes and trust. According to records by WHO, nearly 6000 people were hospitalized in the first three months of 2020 due to misinformation (Gabarron, Oyeyemi, & Wynn, 2021). Many people were misled on the reality of Covid-19, including how it was transmitted and its effects claiming more than 800 lives. To control what is consumed by the public on social media concerning Covid-19, there is a need to focus on different parts to establish the sources of misinformation.

Since most people make sense of their social life through communication, they rely on information passed to them through one-on-one interactions. Due to the growth in social media, platforms have been created where they directly engage with one another. Some people offer to educate others on Covid-19 without their audience realizing they are not qualified; hence, sharing the information may be wrong (Barua, Aktar, Kabir, & Li, 2020). Such occurrences have seen the spread of information that discredits the threat of Covid-19, leading to some disobeying the set guidelines to regulate its spread.

As stated by many, little knowledge is dangerous, and as noted during the pandemic, acting on inaccurate data and information can lead to death. Therefore, to control and treat Covid-19, there is a need to deal with issues related to infodemic as they lead to uncertainty on how the population will react to measures meant to curb the pandemic. Notably, despite WHO’s measure to curb misinformation about covid-19, governments need to instill measures that regulate what people post on social media about the disease. “Wrong information on COVID 19 is spreading and endangering the lives of more innocent people. Make sure to double-check what you hear or read to ensure it is from trusted sources.” It is only through the right information that we can learn about COVID 19, thereby taking the right measure to control the pandemic

References

Gabarron, E., Oyeyemi, S. O., & Wynn, R. (2021). COVID-19-related misinformation on social media: a systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 99(6), 455.

Barua, Z., Barua, S., Aktar, S., Kabir, N., & Li, M. (2020). Effects of misinformation on COVID-19 individual responses and recommendations for resilience of disastrous consequences of misinformation. Progress in Disaster Science, 8, 100119.