Managing Misinformation on Twitter and Other Social Media Platforms: How Can Twitter and Other Social Media Platforms Manage the COVID-19 Misinformation?
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When it comes to managing the COVID-19 epidemic, Twitter and other social media platforms are well-positioned.
In the case of COVID-19, disinformation on Twitter has taken on political and medical implications that are increasingly becoming a global infodemic. According to Alam et al.(2020), the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the fight against the infodemic as the second most important priority in their fight against the pandemic. Fake rumors and conspiracy theories, which generate xenophobia and panic among many people, are among the dangers associated with the dissemination of such misinformation, according to reports. It is important to follow norms, do checks on information, ensure clarity, verify sources, and ensure that material provided on Twitter and other social media platforms is factual. It is the purpose of this research study to examine various approaches and strategies that such platforms can employ to prevent the spread of political and medical misinformation on the internet.
The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to be in the forefront of the fight against the pandemic as the hope for finding a solution to the pandemic grows. Based on the statement made by Alam et al.(2020) that the organization was proactive in battling the infodemic after the pandemic, WHO provides guidelines to Twitter and other social media platforms that advise users about pillars that may be used to assist regulate the spread of infodemics. For online platforms, Eysenbach(2020) presented the pillars in the form of a cake, which he dubbed the “information cake model,” or “information cake model.” The first of these pillars is the facilitation of accurate knowledge transfer. It is important to note that when the influencers’ translation on social media is poor, the majority of the information gets incorrect. In order to be effective, Eysenbach(2020) recommends that the material provided on Twitter be accurately translated and reinforced with reliable medical information about the pandemic.
The refinement, filtering, and fact-checking of information is the second pillar of managing infodemics in the social media environment. For all social media sites, fact-checking and verification should continue to be required. When it comes to quality assurance, there should be a peer review committee that examines, filters, refines, and enhances any material before allowing it to be published on their platform. Lastly, social media platforms should promote electronic health literacy, which allows users to seek, interpret, and appraise information on the pandemic and other health problems, as well as apply the knowledge learned in order to solve the problem. Such answers, rather than false rumors intended to cause panic, might then be disseminated on social media platforms such as Twitter. The fourth pillar is the ongoing monitoring and surveillance of information shared on the internet while implementing all of the other pillars described previously. Eysenbach(2020) goes on to say that by implementing these pillars, social media platforms will be able to detect fraudulent images, statements, and misinformation and counter them with facts and verified information from public health groups, among other things.
The following is an illustration of the information crisis management cake:
Twitter and other social media platforms can also be used to create links that point users to reputable sources for any information about COVID-19 that they may come across. When users click links in tweets, Facebook posts, or Instagram posts, redirection links can assist them in getting the relevant information. Mourad et al.(2020), Naeem & Bhatti(2020) promote redirection links. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have the ability to automate the links on posts, so that when users make any post on their accounts, the information is verified and then backed up with a re-directional link, which any viewer can click and be re-directed to the correct information, rather than the original post. Overall, if sufficient checks and balances are not put in place on social media sites, misconceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic may not be eliminated anytime soon. It is recommended that all social media platforms follow the WHO’s infodemic management pillars in order to decrease the amount of politics and misleading information being spread online concerning the pandemic.
References
In this article, F. Alam and colleagues discuss the role of adversity in the development of adversity in the development of adversity in the development of adversity in the development of adversity in the development of adversity (2020). Fighting the COVID-19 Infodemic: Considering the Point of Views of Journalists, Fact-Checkers, Social Media Platforms, Policy Makers, and the General Population. 1 arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.00033., 1 arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.00033 (1). http://arxiv.org/abs/2005.00033 was used to get this information:
G. Eysenbach is the author of this article (2020). Managing an Infodemic: The Four Pillars of Infodemic Preparedness and Response. The Journal of Medical Internet Research published an article titled e21820 in its 22nd issue. The information was obtained fromhttps://www.jmir.org/2020/6/e21820/.
The authors (Mouradet al.) cite Harmanani et al., Harmanani et al., Jenainatiy et al., and Arafeh et al (2020). The Infodemic on Social Networks Has a Significant Impact on Defeating Coronavirus Twitter-based investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as research directions Preprint available at arXiv:2005.08820. http://arxiv.org/abs/2005.08820 was used to get this information:
Naeem, S. B., and Bhatti, R. (2001). (2020). Information professionals face a new challenge as a result of the Covid19 ‘infodemic.’ Health Information & Libraries Journal,1-7. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 1-7. The data was obtained from https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12311/.
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Twitter and Online Politics: How can Twitter and Other Social Media Platforms Manage the COVID-19 Misinformation?
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How can Twitter and Other Social Media Platforms Manage the COVID-19 Infodemic?
Political and medical aspects of disinformation on Twitter regarding COVID-19 are slowly becoming a global infodemic. Alam et al. (2020) reported that WHO ranked the fight for infodemic as second in their fight against the pandemic. The dangers reported by the spread of such misinformation include fake rumors and conspiracy theories that spread xenophobia and panic among many individuals. In this regard, guidelines, checks, clarity, source verification and factuality must be observed on information shared on twitter and other social media platforms. This research paper explores various methods and strategies that such platforms can use to reduce political and medical disinformation spread online.
The World Health Organization remains at the forefront in fighting the pandemic as the hope to get a solution for the Pandemic rise. As Alam et al. (2020) stated that the organization took the initiative of fighting infodemic after the pandemic, WHO presents guidelines to Twitter and other social media platforms inform of pillars to help manage the spread of infodemics. Eysenbach (2020) presented the pillars in the form of a cake, which he called, the information cake model for online platforms. The first pillar is facilitating accurate knowledge translation. It is worth noting that most information becomes misinformed when the influencers’ translation is poor on social media. Thus, Eysenbach (2020) suggests that the information shared on twitter must be correctly translated and supported by accurate medical facts on the pandemic.
The second pillar of managing infodemic in the social space is knowledge refinement, filtering and fact-checking. Fact checking and verification should remain mandatory for all social media platforms. There should be quality assurance mechanisms and a peer review team that checks, filters, refines and improves any information before approving such information on their space. The third pillar is for the social media platforms to establish an e-health literacy where users can seek, understand and appraise information on the pandemic and other health problems and further apply the knowledge gained in solving the problem. Such solutions can then get shared on twitter rather than false rumors meant to stir panic. The final pillar is continuous monitoring and surveillance of information shared online while applying all the above pillars. Eysenbach (2020) adds that using these pillars will enable social media platforms to detect false images, messages and misinformation and further counter them with facts and verified information from public health organizations.
Image showing the infodemic management cake:
Twitter and other social media platforms can also set links that redirect users to verified sources on any information regarding COVID-19. Mourad et al. (2020), Naeem & Bhatti (2020) support redirection links that help users get the correct information by clicking links on twitter tweets or Facebook and Instagram posts. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can automate the links on posts, so when users make any post on their accounts, the information is verified and then backed with a re-directional link where any view clicks and is re-directed to the correct information. Overall, misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic may not end soon if proper checks and balances in social media platforms are not put in place. All the social media platforms should adopt WHO’s infodemic management pillars to help reduce politics and false information shared online about the pandemic.
References
Alam, F., Shaar, S., Nikolov, A., Mubarak, H., Martino, G. D. S., Abdelali, A., … & Nakov, P. (2020). Fighting the COVID-19 Infodemic: Modeling the Perspective of Journalists, Fact-Checkers, Social Media Platforms, Policy Makers, and the Society. arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.00033., 1(1). Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.00033
Eysenbach, G. (2020). How to Fight an Infodemic: The Four Pillars of Infodemic Management. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(6), e21820. Retrieved from https://www.jmir.org/2020/6/e21820/
Mourad, A., Srour, A., Harmanani, H., Jenainatiy, C., & Arafeh, M. (2020). Critical Impact of Social Networks Infodemic on Defeating Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic: Twitter-Based Study and Research Directions. arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.08820. Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.08820
Naeem, S. B., & Bhatti, R. (2020). The Covid‐19 ‘infodemic’: a new front for information professionals. Health Information & Libraries Journal., 1-7. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12311
