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Use of Twitter Amplifiers by Medical Professionals To Combat Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Regina Royan;
Tricia Rae Pendergrast;
Marina Del Rios;
Shannon M Rotolo;
N. Seth Trueger;
Eve Bloomgarden;
Deanna Behrens;
Shikha Jain;
Vineet M. Arora
ABSTRACT
The prolific rise of medical misinformation is a pressing public health concern. As an organic response to this phenomenon, a new type of professional organization was born: the health professional amplifier. In this piece, we describe the creation of the IMPACT (Illinois Medical Professional Action Collaborative Team) Amplifier. In this piece, we describe the creation of the IMPACT (Illinois Medical Professional Action Collaborative Team) Amplifier, which is a backchannel line of communication for the 501c3 and verified Twitter account @IMPACT4HC focusing on public communication and advocacy around the COVID-19 pandemic.
We define an amplifier as a private group of people with a similar mission who use Twitter for private discussion, brainstorming, planning, and the subsequent public communication and promotion of the group’s work and messaging. We discuss the use of amplifiers to achieve the following goals: rapid dissemination and promotion of accurate medical information and public health guidance, combatting disinformation, and countering harassment.
Citation
Please cite as:
Royan R, Pendergrast TR, Del Rios M, Rotolo SM, Trueger NS, Bloomgarden E, Behrens D, Jain S, Arora VM
Use of Twitter Amplifiers by Medical Professionals to Combat Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic