Health-protective behaviour, social media usage and conspiracy belief during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Social media platforms have long been recognised as major disseminators of health misinformation. Many previous studies have found a negative association between health-protective behaviours and belief in the specific form of misinformation popularly known as 'conspiracy theory'. Concerns have arisen regarding the spread of COVID-19 conspiracy theories on social media.

Methods

Three questionnaire surveys of social media use, conspiracy beliefs and health-protective behaviours with regard to COVID-19 among UK residents were carried out online, one using a self-selecting sample (N = 949) and two using stratified random samples from a recruited panel (N = 2250, N = 2254).

Results

All three studies found a negative relationship between COVID-19 conspiracy belie

SUBMITTER: Allington D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7298098 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature