Misinformation about COVID-19 on social media
Citation: Gabarron E, Oyeyemi SO, Wynn R. COVID-19-related misinformation on social media: a systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2021;99(6):455-463.
Language: Abstract available in EN, ES, FR, AR, RU, ZH. Full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for peer-reviewed articles about misinformation on social media related to COVID-19 during the first phase of the pandemic. The authors searched in June 2020 and included 22 articles. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42020182154.
What was found: Of the 22 studies, 11 categorised the type of COVID-19-related misinformation, nine described specific misinformation myths and two reported sarcasm or humour related to COVID-19. Only four studies addressed the possible consequences of misinformation related to COVID-19, all of which reported that it led to fear or panic. The quality of articles was low.
Implications: The authors noted that misinformation on social media about COVID-19 was an important issue because of the amount in circulation and the consequences. The findings of this review may help healthcare organisations prepare their responses to misinformation in subsequent phases of the COVID–19 infodemic and future infodemics. The most effective strategies to address COVID-19 misinformation were not known.
Other considerations: The authors of the review did not discuss their findings in the context of issues relating to health equity.
This summary was prepared by Joly Ghanawi, checked by Surya Ramachandran and Sydney Johnson, and finalized by William Summerskill.