COVID-19 Vs Social media
Covid-19 has undoubtedly changed the lives of everyone this year. The whole world has been put into a state of shock. With such a impact on livelihood, why has there recently been an up rise in anti vaccination, health guidelines, lock downs and government advice in general among public?
Social media
Social media such as YouTube and Facebook give access to an unlimited amount of opinion which may cause rumors and contain questionable information. The platforms monitor users’ preferences and generate algorithms which causes the spread of information to be spread among users who seem to be alike. Since 2019, a report by the center for countering digital hate (CCDH) found that 31 million people follow anti vaccine groups on Facebook and 17 million people subscribing to anti vaccination accounts on YouTube, $989 million is the value that could be generated for Facebook and Instagram from advertisement alone, from targeting the 39 million followers of anti vaccine accounts. In the UK, around one in six people were unlikely to agree to being vaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The survey from the CCDH found that the individuals who used social media to get news on the pandemic were hesitant about the vaccine.
The world health organisation (WHO) has even warned about the false information on social media. This video was shared over 2300 times on Facebook suggesting that over a hundred people have died during clinical trials for the “gates vaccine”, here is a list of vaccine candidates and the gates vaccine does not even exist. It’s gone as far as labour party wanting to make it illegal to post fake news on social media in this news report. It was also rumored when 5G technology came around many social media outlets had a spike in posts about how it causes the spread of the virus. Ofcom found that roughly half of UKs adults on social media have been exposed to false or misleading information Here is the official report of for the safety and efficacy for the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 released for the public.
This raises the question of what outlets should you believe? A report on the social media issue really highlights the issues in which it compares each social media outlet. YouTube for example has the ability to both bring light and dark to public information. However, the accuracy of most viewed YouTube videos on COVID-19 have not been investigated. Over one quarter of the most viewed YouTube videos related to the virus information in one way at least gave viewers misleading information. These videos reach millions of viewers worldwide. The engagement of the public is important in managing of this pandemic by ensuring public understanding of and adherence with public health measures. Social media is a powerful tool in controlling the information and in shaping public understanding and attitude towards trusting the science.
In conclusion, false information about COVID-19 has spread widely on social media, from the peddling of fake cures like gargling salt water and even something ridiculous as injecting yourself with bleach! To conspiracy theories like the “gates vaccine”, or that the 5G towers causing COVID-19. Public engagement through reliable sources is paramount in keeping the public informed, this can be done through debunking and making reliable sources more widespread and accessible.
