Cross-Verification of COVID-19 Information Obtained From Unofficial Social Media Accounts and Associated Changes in Health Behaviors: Web-Based Questionnaire Study Among Chinese Netizens.

ABSTRACT:

Background

As social media platforms have become significant sources of information during the pandemic, a significant volume of both factual and inaccurate information related to the prevention of COVID-19 has been disseminated through social media. Thus, disparities in COVID-19 information verification across populations have the potential to promote the dissemination of misinformation among clustered groups of people with similar characteristics.

Objective

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of social media users who obtained COVID-19 information through unofficial social media accounts and were (1) most likely to change their health behaviors according to web-based information and (2) least likely to actively verify the accuracy of COVID-19 information, as t

SUBMITTER: Li P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9198829 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature