Misinformation Sharing and Behavioural Pattern of Nigerians on a Viral Covid-19 Disinformation Video

Year 2023, , 94 - 117, 21.04.2023

Raheemat Adeniran , Lai Oso

https://doi.org/10.32739/etkilesim.2023.6.11.191

Abstract

This study focuses on a COVID-19 disinformation video promoting hydroxychloroquine as a cure, while dismissing other promoted preventive behaviours. It examines the virality of the video among Nigerians, their convictions on claims made, and likely behaviour in the possibility of suspected COVID-19 infection. The study was premised on the Availability Cascade Effect which predicts a higher tendency for people to believe viral information, especially when supported by individuals considered experts on the issue being promoted. It adopted the survey research method, using snowball sampling. Data for the study was gathered electronically online from 222 participants who responded to survey. The snowball sampling method was adopted by the researcher due to movement restrictions in the country occasioned by the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic at the time of data collection. Findings from the study show that over 90 percent or respondents were aware of the video, but with limited shares. Despite repeated fact-checks, those who still believed the claims were found more likely to try hydroxychloroquine than those who do not. Respondents were mostly positive on adhering to promoted COVID-19 preventive measures despite the contrary claim in the video. The virality of the video, compared to its fact-checks, supports the need to stop misinformation from spreading very early. Hence, there must be sustained efforts to continuously track misinformation in the public space, and strive to stop its spread immediately.

Keywords

COVID-19 Disinformation/Misinformation, COVID-19 Behaviour, COVID-19 Video, hydroxychloroquine, Nigeria.

Viral Bir Covid-19 Dezenformasyon Videosu Bağlamında Nijeryalıların Davranış Modelleri ve Yanlış Bilgi Paylaşımı

Abstract

This study focuses on a COVID-19 disinformation video promoting hydroxychloroquine as a cure, while dismissing other promoted preventive behaviours. It examines the virality of the video among Nigerians, their convictions on claims made, and likely behaviour in the possibility of suspected COVID-19 infection. The study was premised on the Availability Cascade Effect which predicts a higher tendency for people to believe viral information, especially when supported by individuals considered experts on the issue being promoted. It adopted the survey research method, using snowball sampling. Data for the study was gathered electronically online from 222 participants who responded to survey. The snowball sampling method was adopted by the researcher due to movement restrictions in the country occasioned by the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic at the time of data collection. Findings from the study show that over 90 percent or respondents were aware of the video, but with limited shares. Despite repeated fact-checks, those who still believed the claims were found more likely to try hydroxychloroquine than those who do not. Respondents were mostly positive on adhering to promoted COVID-19 preventive measures despite the contrary claim in the video. The virality of the video, compared to its fact-checks, supports the need to stop misinformation from spreading very early. Hence, there must be sustained efforts to continuously track misinformation in the public space, and strive to stop its spread immediately.

Keywords

COVID-19 Disinformation/Misinformation, COVID-19 Behaviour, COVID-19 Video, hydroxychloroquine, Nigeria.

References

• Adebowale, N. (2020, May 26). COVID-19: Nigeria won’t suspend hydroxychloroquine trial-NAFDAC. Premium Times. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/ headlines/394681-covid-19-nigeria-wont-suspend-hydroxychloroquine-trial- nafdac.html
• Adeniran, R. (2020). Misinformation sharing and behavioural pattern of Nigerians on viral Stella Immanuel video. https://dubawa.org/misinformation-sharing-and-behavioural- pattern-of-nigerians-on-viral-stella-immanuel-video/
• Africa Check, Chequeado & Full Fact (2020). Health misinformation - In Africa, Latin America and the UK: impacts and possible solutions. Authors. https://fullfact. org/media/uploads/en-tackling-health-misinfo.pdf
• Akinpelu, Y. (2020, July 29). Nigerian doctors refute COVID-19 cure claim by U.S.- based physician. Premium Times. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/topnews/ 405716-nigerian-doctors-refute-covid-19-cure-claim-by-u-s-based-physician. html
• Andrews, T. M., & Paquette, D. (2020, July 29). Trump retweeted a video with false covid-19 claims. One doctor in it has said demons cause illnesses. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/28/stella-immanuel- hydroxychloroquine-video-trump-americas-frontline-doctors/
• Apuke, O. D., & Omar, B. (2020). User motivation in fake news sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic: An application of the uses and gratification theory. Online Information Review, 45, 220-239. DOI: 10.1108/OIR-03-2020-0116.
• Basen, R., D’Ambrosio, A., & Fiore. K. (2020, July 29). No evidence that doctor group in viral video got near COVID ‘front lines’. MedPage Today. https://www. medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/87797
• Bjärkefur, K., de Andrade, L. C., Daniels, B., & Jones, M. R. (2021). Development research in practice: The DIME analytics data handbook. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1694-9
• Brashier N. M., & Schacter, D. L. (2020a). Aging in an era of fake news. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2020, 29(3) 316-323. https://doi. org/10.1177/0963721420915872
• ----------------------------------------- (2020b). Op-Ed: Older people spread more fake news, a deadly habit in the COVID-19 pandemic. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes. com/opinion/story/2020-08-07/fake-news-older-people-social-media
• Britt, M. A., Rouet, J.-F., Blaum, D., & Millis, K. K. (2019). A reasoned approach to dealing with fake news. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 6, 94-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732218814855
• Buchanan, T. (2020). Why do people spread false information online? The effects of message and viewer characteristics on selfreported likelihood of sharing social media disinformation. PLoS ONE, 15(10): e0239666. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0239666
• Center for Countering Digital Hate (2021). The disinformation dozen: Why platforms must act on twelve leading online anti-vaxxers. Author. https://www. counterhate.com/disinformationdozen
• Chakravorti, B. (2020, March 30). Social media companies are taking steps to tamp down coronavirus misinformation-but they can do more. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/social-media-companies-are-taking-steps-totamp- down-coronavirus-misinformation-but-they-can-do-more-133335
• Frenkel, S. & Alba, D. (2020, July 28). Misleading virus video, Pushed by the Trumps, spreads online. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/ technology/virus-video-trump.html
• Funke, D. (2019, May 30). Fact checks couldn’t contain the virality of that altered Pelosi video. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on them. Poynter. https:// www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2019/fact-checks-couldnt-contain-the-virality- of-that-altered-pelosi-video-but-that-doesnt-mean-we-should-give-up-onthem/
• Goodman, J., & Giles, C. (2020, July 27). Coronavirus and hydroxychloroquine: What do we know? BBC Reality Check. https://www.bbc.com/news/51980731
• Gould, S., & Norris, S. L. (2021, March 25). Contested effects and chaotic policies: The 2020 story of (hydroxyl)chloroquine for treating COVID-19. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.ED000151
• Guess, A., Nagler, J., & Tucker, J. (2019). Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook. Science Advances, 5(1) eaau4586, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau4586
• Hyland-Wood, B., Gardner, J., Leask, J., & Ecker, U. K. H. (2021). Toward effective government communication strategies in the era of COVID-19. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8, Article number: 30. https://doi.org/10.1057/ s41599-020-00701-w
• Kawu, I. M. (2014, August 14). Ebola virus and the salt water of ignorance. Vanguard. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/ebola-virus-salt-water-ignorance/
• Kuran, T., & Sunstein, C. R. (1999). Availability cascades and risk regulation. Stanford Law Review, 51, 683-768. Retrieved July 2, 2021 from https://chicagounbound. uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12209&context=journal_articles
• Mailu, S. K., Adem, A., Mbugua, D. K., Gathuka, P., & Mwogoi, T. (2021). Response rate, incentives and timing of online surveys: A study of agriculture researchers in Kenya. Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 20(1), 82-93. https://www. ajol.info/index.php/tjags/article/view/217207/204853
• Muanya, C. (2020, August 26). Chloroquine potent for COVID-19 prevention, says NAFDAC. The Guardian. https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/national/chloroquine- potent-for-covid-19-prevention-says-nafdac/
• National Malaria Elimination Programme (2014). The Federal Republic of Nigeria National Malaria Policy. Abuja: Federal Ministry of Health. https://www.health. gov.ng/doc/NATIONAL-MALARIA-POLICY_2014_28022014.pdf
• Nwakaego, O. F. (2021). Examining the factors affecting the adoption of online survey tools amongst researchers in Nigeria. European Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology, 9(3), 19-28. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3917960
• Olatunji, K. (2020, July 29). Medical directors fault Stella’s claim on COVID-19 cure. The Guardian. https://guardian.ng/news/medical-directors-fault-stellas-claimon- covid-19-cure/
• Pennycook, G., Epstein, Z., Mosleh, M., Arechar, A. A., Eckles, D., & Rand, D. G. (2021). Shifting attention to accuracy can reduce misinformation online. Nature, 592, 590-595. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03344-2
• Portera, E. & Wood, T. J. (2021). The global effectiveness of fact-checking: Evidence from simultaneous experiments in Argentina, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. PNAS, 118 (37), e2104235118, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1073/ pnas.2104235118
• Poynter (2022). Fighting the infodemic: The #CoronaVirusFacts alliance. COVID-19: Poynter Resources. https://www.poynter.org/coronavirusfactsalliance/
• Rafiu, A. (2020, 13 August). A vote for Stella Immanuel. The Guardian. https:// guardian.ng/opinion/a-vote-for-stella-immanuel/
• Salisu, O. H. (2021). COVID-19 WhatsApp messages sharing habit among Ikorodu residents (Unpublished BSc research project). Lagos State University.
• Schwarcz, J. (2021, 4 Feb). Back away from “America’s Frontline Doctors”. Office for Science and Society, McGill University. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/ covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/back-away-americas-frontline-doctors
• Skopeliti, C., & John, B. (2020, March 19). Coronavirus: How are the social media platforms responding to the ‘infodemic’? First Draft. https://firstdraftnews. org/latest/how-social-media-platforms-are-responding-to-the-coronavirus-infodemic/
• Spencer, S. H., & Fichera, A. (2020, July 28). In viral video, doctor falsely touts hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 ‘Cure’. FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck. org/2020/07/in-viral-video-doctor-falsely-touts-hydroxychloroquine-as-covid- 19-cure/
• Spring, M. (2020, May 27). Coronavirus: The human cost of virus misinformation. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-52731624
• Statista (2022). Total number of active social media users in Nigeria from 2017 to 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1176096/number-of-social-media-users- nigeria/
• Talwar, S. Dhir, A., Singh D., Virk, G. S., & Salo, J. (2020). Sharing of fake news on social media: Application of the honeycomb framework and the third-person effect hypothesis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 57, 102197. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102197
• Tardáguila, C, (2020, July 30). This is how you can take oxygen away from those false videos about COVID-19. Poynter. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/ this-is-how-you-can-take-oxygen-away-from-those-false-videos-about-covid-19/ The Guardian Editorial Board (2020, June 23). COVID-19 solution: Think globally, act locally. The Guardian. https://guardian.ng/opinion/covid-19-solution-thinkglobally- act-locally/
• Tijani-Adenle, G. (2021, August 16). How to avoid sharing misinformation. Dubawa. https://dubawa.org/how-to-avoid-sharing-misinformation/
• Ugbede, Lois. (2022, January 12). Fact-checkers accuse YouTube of aiding false information spread, propose 4-point solution. Premium Times. https://www. premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/505359-fact-checkers-accuse-youtubeof- aiding-false-information-spread-propose-4-point-solution.html
• Ugbodaga, K. (2020, August 7). ‘Hydroxychloroquine’ Doctor Stella Immanuel speaks again. PM News. https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/08/07/hydroxychloroquine- doctor-stella-immanuel-speaks-again/
• Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. Council of Europe report DGI(2017)09. Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe
• World Health Organisation (2020, February 2). Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation report – 13. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation- reports/20200202-sitrep-13-ncov-v3.pdf?sfvrsn=195f4010_6
• ------------------------------------ (2021, April 30). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Hydroxychloroquine. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-( covid-19)-hydroxychloroquine