The COVID-19 Infodemic: Twitter versus Facebook (2012.09353v2)

Abstract: The global spread of the novel coronavirus is affected by the spread of related misinformation -- the so-called COVID-19 Infodemic -- that makes populations more vulnerable to the disease through resistance to mitigation efforts. Here we analyze the prevalence and diffusion of links to low-credibility content about the pandemic across two major social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook. We characterize cross-platform similarities and differences in popular sources, diffusion patterns, influencers, coordination, and automation. Comparing the two platforms, we find divergence among the prevalence of popular low-credibility sources and suspicious videos. A minority of accounts and pages exert a strong influence on each platform. These misinformation "superspreaders" are often associated with the low-credibility sources and tend to be verified by the platforms. On both platforms, there is evidence of coordinated sharing of Infodemic content. The overt nature of this manipulation points to the need for societal-level solutions in addition to mitigation strategies within the platforms. However, we highlight limits imposed by inconsistent data-access policies on our capability to study harmful manipulations of information ecosystems.

Analysis of COVID-19 Infodemic Spread on Social Media Platforms: Twitter vs. Facebook

The paper "The COVID-19 Infodemic: Twitter versus Facebook" provides an in-depth analytical comparison of misinformation spread across two major social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper investigates the prevalence and dissemination patterns of low-credibility content, revealing how misinformation superspreaders operate and the coordinated efforts in promoting misleading information.

Key Findings

The paper highlights several notable observations:

1. Misinformation Prevalence: The paper demonstrates that low-credibility sources, collectively, surpass the prevalence of any single high-credibility domain across both platforms, although individual low-credibility domains generally exhibit lower prevalence than high-credibility ones.
2. Temporal Dynamics: Low-credibility content experienced drastic growth correlating with the initial outbreak in March 2020, followed by a stabilization period. The rise in misinformation parallels the surge in public attention to the pandemic, indicating external factors influencing dissemination rates more than platform-specific interventions.
3. Superspreaders and Verified Accounts: A critical discovery is the dominant role of verified accounts in propagating misinformation, where such accounts account for a disproportionate share of retweets/reshares despite forming a minority. Official handles of low-credibility sources tend to be pivotal in this dissemination, highlighting an overt spread of misinformation.
4. Coordination and Automation: Evidence of coordinated networks amplifying misinformation was found on both platforms, involving accounts with aligned content-sharing patterns. Surprisingly, the role of bots was less pronounced, suggesting the Infodemic phenomenon involved organized entities rather than automated bots.

Implications and Future Directions

This research extends practical insights into the mechanisms driving the COVID-19 Infodemic. The findings underline the notion that high-status users are central to spreading misinformation, complicating content moderation approaches. The paper urges consideration of platform and user demographics in shaping misinformation mitigation strategies. Further, the results stress the need for improved data-sharing protocols, facilitating transparent and cross-platform analyses while respecting privacy concerns.

Future inquiries could explore demographic influences further, assessing how various socio-economic backgrounds influence information consumption and the effectiveness of misinformation countermeasures. Moreover, understanding the balance between moderation and censorship, especially given the political sensitivities involved in engaging high-profile users, remains critical for steering public discourse toward greater accuracy and reliability in health crises.

In summary, the paper provides a robust framework and significant findings that enhance understanding of social media's role in misinformation dissemination during global health emergencies, offering a foundation for developing informed strategies to counteract such challenges in modern digital ecosystems.