JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Given the permeation of social media through society, rumors spread faster than ever before, significantly complicating government response to public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective:

We examined the characteristics and propagation of rumors during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and evaluated the effectiveness of the health authorities’ releasing correction announcements.

Methods:

We retrieved rumors widely circulating on social media in China during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed the effectiveness of official government clarifications and popular science articles refuting those rumors.

Results:

We show that the number of rumors related to the domestic COVID-19 epidemic fluctuated widely in China between 12/1/2019 and 4/15/2020. Rumors mainly occurred in three provinces: Hubei, Zhejiang, and Guangxi. Personal social media accounts constituted the major source of media reports of the four most widely-distributed rumors (71.7%, 92.4%, 99.2% and 99.7%). The number of rumors circulating was positively associated with the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic (rs=0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.93). Release of correction articles was associated with a substantial decrease in the proportion of rumor reports compared to accurate reports. The proportion of negative sentiments appearing among comments by citizens in response to media articles disseminating rumors and disseminating correct information did not differ significantly.

Conclusions:

Our results highlight the importance and urgency to monitor and correct false or misleading reports on websites and personal social media accounts. Circulation of incorrect rumors can influence public health, and governmental bodies should establish recommendations to prevent such rumors and promote both internal and external monitoring to reduce and remove such rumors.