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The Evolution of Rumors on a Closed Social Networking Platform During COVID-19: Algorithm Development and Content
Andrea W Wang1, Jo-Yu Lan2, Ming-Hung Wang3
1Information Operations Research Group, Taipei, Taiwan.
JMIR Medical Informatics
|October 8, 2021
Summary
COVID-19 rumors spread rapidly on social media, with many originating from outside Taiwan and often misquoting experts. Fact-checked misinformation frequently resurfaced, highlighting the need to understand rumor dynamics during health crises.
Area of Science:
- Social Media Analysis
- Public Health Communication
- Infodemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic created a global health crisis exacerbated by widespread unverified information, termed an 'infodemic' by the World Health Organization.
- Social media platforms became primary channels for information dissemination, including a significant volume of unverified and potentially harmful content.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the propagation patterns and textual evolution of COVID-19 rumors on a closed social media platform.
- To identify characteristics of COVID-19 misinformation circulating on instant messaging services.
Main Methods:
- Collected and analyzed 114,124 text messages from Taiwan's LINE platform between January and July 2020.
- Developed a classification-based clustering algorithm to group messages into 'rumor groups', identifying distinct rumors and their variations.
- Conducted qualitative analysis on prominent COVID-19 rumors to understand content transformation and propagation triggers.
Main Results:
- Identified 936 rumor groups, with 396 (42.3%) related to COVID-19.
- Over a third (33.8%) of COVID-19 rumors were fact-checked as false or misleading.
- COVID-19 messages were significantly more likely than non-COVID-19 messages to originate from non-Taiwanese users (P<.001), indicated by simplified Chinese characters.
- Popular rumors often misquoted authoritative figures and resurfaced after fact-checking, frequently linked to societal events or message modifications.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the mechanisms behind rumor propagation is essential for combating the infodemic.
- Social media offers a valuable, albeit challenging, environment for studying rumor dynamics and societal interactions.
- Further research into rumor propagation and societal impact is crucial for developing effective mitigation strategies.
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