The COVID-19 Infodemic: Infodemiology Study Analyzing Stigmatizing Search Terms

Area of Science:

• Infodemiology
• Public Health Communication
• Sociolinguistics

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an infodemic, characterized by widespread use of various names and hashtags.
• This proliferation of terms contributed to a rise in anti-China sentiment and discrimination against Chinese people globally.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine public engagement with COVID-19 crisis communication during the early epidemic phase.
• To analyze the use of social mobilization strategies to mitigate the infodemic.
• To investigate the collective behavioral response to stigmatizing versus official COVID-19 terms.

Main Methods:

• Retrieved and analyzed Google Search data from December 30, 2019, to July 15, 2020.
• Normalized search phrase data to identify top-ranked official and stigmatizing terms.
• Calculated cumulative COVID-19 case rates (R) and Gini coefficients (G) to measure population impact and behavioral heterogeneity.

Main Results:

• Stigmatizing terms like "Wuhan pneumonia" and "China coronavirus" were searched more frequently and earlier than official terms such as "COVID-19".
• High collective heterogeneity (Gini coefficient) was observed for stigmatizing monikers, indicating widespread and varied usage.
• Official terms "COVID-19" and "SARS-CoV-2" did not achieve de facto standard usage, with lower heterogeneity.
• Consistent usage of stigmatizing terms was noted in territories with low cumulative COVID-19 rates, suggesting a disconnect between disease prevalence and public perception.

Conclusions:

• Infodemiological analysis reveals collective tendencies towards stigmatizing COVID-19 monikers, reflecting global backlash against China.
• Adoption of official nomenclature is vital to counteract negative perceptual biases and combat the infodemic.
• Standardized naming conventions and unified social mobilization are essential for future pandemic preparedness.