The COVID-19 Infodemic: Misinformation About Health on Social Media in Istanbul

Abstract

Misinformation and conspiracy theories can spread as quickly as the COVID-19 pathogen itself. The infodemic, which describes false or misleading information about this recent epidemic on the internet, has become a serious problem all over the world, and has been declared as an “enemy” by the World Health Organization. In this sense, in order to combat the epidemic, it becomes important to reveal the nuances of COVID-19 related infodemic available on the internet. Particularly, internet users in Turkey are increasingly utilizing social media –a platform synonymous with misinformation– to access news coverage regarding the pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). In this quantitative study focusing on the city of Istanbul (n=399), which is at the epicenter of the outbreak in Turkey, the social media usage of individuals, their trust in these platforms, exposure to misinformation and conspiracy theories, and fact-checking behaviors were examined. Our results indicate that participants tended to believe in misinformation and conspiracy theories rather than confirming information through fact-checking platforms. Nearly half of all participants believed at least one of four widespread conspiracy theories about the virus. Moreover, when fact-checking did identify misinformation, the participants’ trust in social media showed a slight decrease. Based on these findings, our study proposes a comprehensive model for pandemic-related trust, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fact-checking factors on digital platforms.

Keywords

• Covid-19 Infodemic
• Misinformation
• Conspiracy Theories
• Fact-Checking
• Social Media

COVID-19 İnfodemi: İstanbul Örneklemi Kapsamında Nicel Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Yaşanan COVID-19 salgını, yanlış-yalan haber ve komplo teorilerinin, salgının kendisi kadar hızlı yayılabildiğini ortaya koymuştur. İnternetteki salgın ile ilgili yalan-yanlış bilgileri tarif eden infodemi, tüm dünyada ciddi bir sorun haline gelmiş ve Dünya Sağlık Örgütü (2020) tarafından “düşman” ilan edilmiştir. Bu anlamıyla, salgın ile mücadele etmek için, internette bulunan COVID-19 ile ilgili infodeminin nüanslarını ortaya koymak önem kazanmaktadır. Türkiye’deki internet kullanıcıları, salgın ile ilgili haberlere erişmek için, yanlış bilgilerin de çokça paylaşıldığı sosyal medya platformlarını kullanmaktadır. Salgının merkez üslerinin başında gelen İstanbul (n = 399) kentine odaklanan bu nicel çalışmada, bireylerin sosyal medya kullanımları, bu platformlara olan güvenleri, yanlış bilgi ve komplo teorilerine maruz kalışları ve son olarak bilgileri teyit etme alışkanlıkları incelenmiştir. Çalışmamız, katılımcıların gerçek bilgiyi teyit etmeden, yanlış bilgilere ve komplo teorilerine inanma eğiliminde olduklarını göstermektedir. Katılımcıların yaklaşık yarısı, virüsle ilgili tespit edilen dört yaygın komplo teorisinden en az birine inandığını belirtmektedir. Bununla birlikte, katılımcıların inanma eğiliminde oldukları haberin/bilginin yanlış çıkması halinde, sosyal medyaya olan güvenlerinde nispi bir azalma olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Çalışmamız bu bulgular ışığında, dijital platformlar ve pandemi bağlamında güven, yanlış bilgi, komplo teorileri ve teyit faktörlerini kapsayan bir model önermektedir.

Keywords

• Kovid-19 Infodemi
• Yanliş Bilgi
• Komplo Teorileri
• Teyit
• Sosyal Medya

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