JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

South Asians, inclusive of individuals originating in India, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal, comprise the largest diaspora in the world with large South Asian communities residing in the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and elsewhere. There is evidence that South Asian communities have disproportionately experienced COVID-19 infections and mortality. WhatsApp, a free messaging application, is widely used in transnational communication within the South Asian diaspora. Limited studies exist on COVID-related misinformation specific to the South Asian community on WhatsApp. Understanding communication on WhatsApp may improve public health messaging to address COVID-19 disparities among South Asian communities worldwide.

Objective:

We developed the COVID-Associated misinfoRmation On Messaging (CAROM) Apps Study to identify messages containing misinformation about COVID-19 shared via WhatsApp.

Methods:

We collected messages forwarded through WhatsApp from self-identified South Asian community members globally between March 23 and June 3, 2021. We excluded messages that were in languages other than English that did not contain misinformation, or were not relevant to COVID-19. We de-identified each message and coded them for one or more content categories, media types (video, image, text, web link, or a combination of these elements) and tone (e.g. fearful, well-intentioned, pleading, etc.). We then performed a qualitative content analysis to arrive at key themes of COVID misinformation.

Results:

We received 108 messages; 55 messages met inclusion criteria for the final analytic sample. 32 (58.2%) contained text, 15 (27.3%) images, and 13 (23.6%) video. Content analysis revealed the following themes: ‘community transmission’ relating to misinformation on how COVID-19 spreads in the community; ‘prevention’ and ‘treatment,’ including Ayurvedic and traditional remedies for how to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection; and messaging attempting to sell ‘product/services’ to prevent or cure COVID-19. Messages varied in audience from the general public to South Asians specifically; the latter included messages alluding to South Asian pride and solidarity. Scientific jargon and references to major organizations and leaders in healthcare were included to provide credibility. Messages with a pleading tone encouraged users to forward to friends or family.

Conclusions:

Misinformation in the South Asian community on WhatsApp spreads erroneous ideas regarding disease transmission, prevention, and treatment. Content evoking solidarity, “trustworthy” sources, and encouragement to forward may increase misinformation spread. Public health outlets and social media companies must actively combat misinformation to address health disparities among the South Asian diaspora during the COVID-19 pandemic and in future public health emergencies. Clinical Trial: This study was approved by the Internal Review Board of University of California, San Francisco (IRB # 20-32758).