Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Sharing Behavior among Adults on Social Media during Covid-19

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4182001
AutoresAmmara Malik (0000-0002-1190-7383, University of the Punjab), Faiza Bashir (0000-0002-1507-063X, Lahore College for Women University, autor de correspondencia), Khalid Mahmood (0000-0003-1601-7168, University of the Punjab)
Año2023
Volumen13
Número1
Páginas21582440221147022-21582440221147022
Fecha de publicación2023-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/21582440221147022
PMID36699545
OpenAlexW4318167642
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas17
Referencias citadas50

Misinformation has been existed for centuries, though emerge as a severe concern in the age of social media, and particularly during COVID-19 global pandemic. As the pandemic approached, a massive influx of mixed quality data appeared on social media, which had adverse effects on society. This study highlights the possible factors contributing to the sharing and spreading misinformation through social media during the crisis. Preferred Reporting Items and Meta-Analysis guidelines were used for systematic review. Anxiety or risk perception associated with COVID-19 was one of the significant motivators for misinformation sharing, followed by entertainment, information seeking, sociability, social tie strength, self-promotion, trust in science, self-efficacy, and altruism. WhatsApp and Facebook were the most used platforms for spreading rumors and misinformation. The results indicated five significant factors associated with COVID-19 misinformation sharing on social media, including socio-demographic characteristics, financial considerations, political affiliation or interest, conspiracy ideation, and religious factors. Misinformation sharing could have profound consequences for individual and society and impeding the efforts of government and health institutions to manage the crisis. This SLR focuses solely on quantitative studies, hence, studies are overlooked from a qualitative standpoint. Furthermore, this study only looked at the predictors of misinformation sharing behavior during COVID-19. It did not look into the factors that could curb the sharing of misinformation on social media platforms as a whole. The study's findings will help the public, in general, to be cautious about sharing misinformation, and the health care workers, and institutions, in particular, for devising strategies and measures to reduce the flow of misinformation by releasing credible information through concerned official social media accounts. The findings will be valuable for health professionals and government agencies to devise strategies for handling misinformation during public health emergencies

Misinformation · Political science · Public relations · Social media · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology