Constructing and Communicating COVID-19 Stigma on Twitter: A Content Analysis of Tweets during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Yachao Li,Kelsey Ignace,Breeda Bennett-Jones,Radhika Purandare,Sylvia Twersky,Mei Zhao,Scott R Weaver

doi:10.3390/ijerph17186847

Abstract

This study focuses on stigma communication about COVID-19 on Twitter in the early stage of the outbreak, given the lack of information and rapid global expansion of new cases during this period. Guided by the model of stigma communication, we examine four types of message content, namely mark, group labeling, responsibility, and peril, that are instrumental in forming stigma beliefs and sharing stigma messages. We also explore whether the presence of misinformation and conspiracy theories in COVID-19-related tweets is associated with the presence of COVID-19 stigma content. A total of 155,353 unique COVID-19-related tweets posted between December 31, 2019, and March 13, 2020, were identified, from which 7000 tweets were randomly selected for manual coding. Results showed that the peril of COVID-19 was mentioned the most often, followed by mark, responsibility, and group labeling content. Tweets with conspiracy theories were more likely to include group labeling and responsibility information, but less likely to mention COVID-19 peril. Public health agencies should be aware of the unintentional stigmatization of COVID-19 in public health messages and the urgency to engage and educate the public about the facts of COVID-19.

Highlights

On December 31, 2019, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, and shortly thereafter the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) came to the public’s attention
Our first study goal is to understand the specific topics of mark, group labeling, responsibility, and peril in COVID-19 related tweets
Among the 243 tweets (3.47%) that included marks for COVID-19, four specific types of marks emerged from the data, including flu-like symptoms, personal protective equipment (PPE), Asian origin, and healthcare providers and essential workers

Summary

Introduction

On December 31, 2019, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, and shortly thereafter the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) came to the public’s attention. COVID-19 is a recently identified infectious disease that can lead to severe health consequences [2,3,4]. Concerned by the “alarming levels of spread and severity,”. WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 [1]. As this public health emergency evolves, community members find themselves increasingly frightened and concerned by the many uncertainties regarding the novel disease and the surging number of cases and deaths across the world [5,6]. The heightened fear and anxiety about COVID-19 and the tendency to associate negative emotions with outgroup members can lead to COVID-19 stigma, which involves negative attitudes and discrimination against people with characteristics that are perceived to make them more likely to contract and spread COVID-19 [5]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion