Social media and health desinformation: the facebook case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62758/re.v2i3.106Keywords:
Facebook, Disinformation, Health Information, Public Health, COVID-19Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of the quality and reliability of health information, especially that which is consumed daily by citizens through Facebook and other social media. Studies on information behaviour cannot ignore that the Facebook news feed emerges as an information channel for many individuals, who read and share health information for different purposes, including fake news and misinformation sources, ignoring basic evaluation criteria or fact-checking strategies. This article aims to analyse research results on behaviour towards online health information through social media, focusing on Facebook, in the most intense period of the pandemic crisis and the phenomenon of disinformation. A literature review is conducted using 51 recent papers (between 2020-2021) with the following objectives: to understand online information behaviour in the context of social media; to assess the landscape of false or misinformed health information transmitted through Facebook; and, to acknowledge some proposals to counteract the infodemic caused by the pandemic. The results show two dominant research approaches: analysis of information behaviour, mostly information acquisition and sharing activities; and analysis of published content, focusing on the infodemic, social behaviour and communication strategies of public health authorities. Despite concerns regarding disinformation, research reveals a still uncertain scenario regarding the solutions to counteract this serious public health issue.
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